Along the entire coast of continental Patagonia, the imperial cormorant (Phalacrocórax Atriceps) is a species almost piscivorous but also feeds on marine invertebrates such as cephalopods, crustaceans and polychaetes. The Imperial Cormorant consumes a large proportion of pelagic and demersal fishes such as anchovy, hake and some species of mackerel and uses a broad range of depths throughout the water column. Recent studies showed that the Imperial Cormorant feeds both in shallow coastal waters as well as deep waters (about 70m) and offshore (more than 8 km).
The imperial cormorant is the leading producer of guano in Patagonia. Currently, the guano is mined in only a few colonies of Chubut and Santa Cruz. The guano exploitation is still carried out in a similar way to that of a few decades ago, and its extraction is carried out manually and sporadically.