Monday 23 / June / 2025
Muscat : Musandam Governorate is one of the most prominent seasonal stations for Socotra Cormorants, which is a bird belonging to the cormorant species.
Endemic to the Arabian Gulf and found on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra Island, the existence of Socotra Cormorants are also threatened.
It also sometimes migrates to the far west, such as the Red Sea coast, and breeds on the Socotra Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Engineer Noura bint Abdullah Al Shehhi, Head of the Environmental Conservation Department at the Environment Department in Musandam Governorate, said: "Socotra Cormorants are found in the rocky areas and sandy beaches of the governorate from May to September. They feed on . sardines, which is the main food for this type of bird, whose numbers in the governorate were approximately 45,000 last year."
Al Shehhi explained that it was given this name due to its first recording on Socotra Island in Yemen, and the adult Socotra Cormorant is covered with black feathers. While the feathers of immature birds are brown, and are characterised by their slender neck and white belly, and their total length reaches about 80 centimetres.
Al Shehhi added that the Environment Authority is making efforts to monitor different types of migratory birds, in addition to conducting surveys and field studies, and monitoring any human encroachments on the species. Socotra cormorants face many threats, most notably marine pollution, coastal development and hunting.
