- The African penguin population has decreased by 97% and is on the verge of extinction.
- Conservationists at Sanccob and BirdLife South Africa have launched a campaign, urging the government to create no-fish zones to protect the species.
- A short film was released to raise awareness of the penguin’s plight, and a petition has been started to promote immediate government action.
The African Penguin is one step away from being extinct and meets the criteria for being listed as critically endangered, if urgent intervention isn’t forthcoming.
So says the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob).
It says the estimated population is less than 10 000 breeding pairs. The species has already lost 97% of its population due to ineffective commercial fishery no-take zones.
These were some of the concerning statistics announced at the launch of a new short film dedicated to the future of the African Penguin held at the Rooftop Terrace in Salt River on Tuesday 8 October.
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Nicky Stander, head of conservation at Sanccob, said the African Penguin should be protected because it is the continent’s only penguin species and an important part of its heritage.
“We don’t believe the government is doing enough to protect the species. It’s been consistently listed as a conservation concern since 1988. The writing is on the wall now, and now we have reached this point.”
Not too late
She explained that pressures facing penguins include oil pollution, the effects of climate change and habitat loss. But adds that the biggest threat is the lack of available prey.
“The fishing industry is fishing in the same grounds as where penguins fish, and they are not finding enough fish in the wild.”
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Stander believes it is not too late to save the species.
“We believe there is hope, we have the answers. We need the government to endorse what the penguins need.”
She hoped the new film will create visual awareness.
“This film will show what is happening to the penguins. The two main threats that we focused on are the lack of available prey and the expansion of marine time traffic. That is causing a lot of underwater noise pollution.”
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Sanccob and BirdLife South Africa, with the support of ocean conservation charity Blue Marine, have launched a petition that urges the South African government to take immediate action.
Dr Alistair McInnes, seabird conservation programme manager at BirdLife South Africa, said: “Science tells us that prey availability, sardines, and anchovies are the big limiting factors, so we need to protect the area around their breeding colonies limited roughly within 30 km of their colonies while they breed.
“We need to secure those areas from competition by industrial fishing which takes a substantial amount of that fish that has been shown scientifically to be significant competition to those birds.”
McInnes called on people to sign the petition.
“See what BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob are doing in terms of their conservation drive to save their species and support those projects.”
