New Danish research shows that cormorants take 88% of cod fry and flounder.
85% confidence
EnvironmentDenmark
Omissions
The 88% figure is the UPPER bound for young cod only (average predation on cod ranged 52–88% depending on size class); for flounder the maximum was up to 84%, and across all tagged fish the average predation was about 70% (per DR's reporting).
The study is geographically specific: western Baltic Sea (Genner Bugt / open coastal area), not all Danish waters.
The claim drops the qualifier 'up to / op mod' used in the study and in Danish media headlines.
Sources are very recent (peer-reviewed publication and Danish news coverage from early July 2026, i.e. immediately before the session date of 2026-07-09).
PrimaryDTU Orbit – DTU Aqua publication record'Thus, on average between 52% and 88% of cod were eaten by great cormorants, depending on cod size. For flounder, the average predation proportion ranged between ...'
SecondarySportsfiskeren (Danmarks Sportsfiskerforbund)Headline: 'Ny DTU-forskning: Skarv æder op mod 88 procent af unge torsk og skrubber' (New DTU research: cormorant eats up to 88 percent of young cod and flounder); 'En ny DTU Aqua-undersøgelse dokumenterer, at skarvens prædation har en massiv indflydelse på dødeligheden af torsk og skrubber' (a new DTU Aqua study documents that cormorant predation has a massive influence on the mortality of cod and flounder in the western Baltic Sea, also in open coastal areas).
SecondaryFiskeritidende'Skarven spiser op mod 88 procent af torsk og skrubber i den vestlige Østersø, viser en ny videnskabelig publikation fra DTU Aqua' (The cormorant eats up to 88 percent of cod and flounder in the western Baltic Sea, shows a new scientific publication from DTU Aqua). 'Studiet, som har taget to år at udføre, har taget udgangspunkt i den vestlige Østersø' (the study, which took two years, is based in the western Baltic Sea).
SecondaryDansk Lystfiskeri – 'Skarv æder over 80% af torsk og skrubber''Undersøgelserne viser, at skarver æder op til 88% af de undersøgte unge torsk og op til 84% af skrubberne. Afhængigt af størrelse bliver mellem 52 og 88% af de undersøgte torsk ...' (The studies show that cormorants eat up to 88% of the examined young cod and up to 84% of the flounders; depending on size, between 52 and 88% of the examined cod are eaten).
SecondaryDR (Danmarks Radio) – 'Nyt studie: Skarven har stor appetit på truet fisk''I alt er cirka 5.000 torsk og skrubber blevet mærket med en chip, og i gennemsnit er 70 procent af de mærkede fisk, blevet spist af skarverne' (In total, about 5,000 cod and flounder were tagged with a chip, and on average 70 percent of the tagged fish were eaten by cormorants).