Written question asked by Peter Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Thursday, 10 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 November 2005. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour) on Thursday, 17 November 2005 on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office.

Cormorants

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the number of cormorants in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Answer

A 10-year average of 2,773 cormorants are present in Northern Ireland during the winter months (November to February), when numbers are highest. Data for the past 10 years is as follows:Winter population of Cormorants for Northern Ireland 1995–2005

	Population
2004–05	2,507
2003–04	3,613
2002–03	3,606
2001–02	1,706
2000–01	2,508
1999–2000	3,116
1998–99	3,725
1997–98	2,447
1996–97	1,978
1995–96	2,522
Average	2,773

There are around 600 breeding pairs in summer.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 439 c1490W;439 c1494W; 28850
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Northern Ireland Cormorants
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Cormorants

Secondary information

Librarians' tools