African Penguins have been sliding towards extinction since industrial fishing started around the Cape. In the past 30 years, the population has crashed by more than 50%. The IUCNs Red List of threatened species was revised on 26 May 2010 and the status of the African Penguin was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered. In 1956 the first full census of the species was conducted. 150,000 pairs were counted mostly on islands off the South African and Namibian coasts. These birds had survived a century of persecution. Guano was the new-found gold, and prospectors plundered the colonies, destroying nests and eggs. In 2009 there were only 26,000 pairs. That is a decline of over 80% in just 50 years.
Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division Manager for BirdLife South Africa, warns that these shrinking populations make colonies particularly vulnerable. Bad weather, seal predation and even seagulls taking eggs, are potentially disastrous. “In large, healthy populations, these events were trivial. Now a fierce gale can have serious consequences. We’re almost at the point of managing individual birds.”
Dr Rob Crawford, chief scientist for Marine and Coastal Management, said while it’s difficult to pinpoint one cause, “all the indications are that the penguins are struggling to find enough sardines and anchovies”. Dr Lorien Pichegru from the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at UCT, has been studying the impact of closing fishing areas around key penguin breeding islands. Preliminary results suggest that this might well benefit the birds. Marine and Coastal Management has commissioned a team to consider how best to implement restrictions while minimising the impacts on the fishing industry. But competing with commercial fisheries is just one hurdle penguins face. The effects of climate change on sea temperatures, oil pollution and new constructions, like the proposed PetroSA refinery at Algoa Bay could have a devastating impact on the breeding colonies at Bird Island and St Croix, home to the largest number of African Penguins globally.
BirdLife, in partnership with SANCCOB, the Dyer Island Trust other dedicated organisations, is continuously monitoring African Penguins to determine what action needs to be taken to ensure the survival of the African Penguin.