African penguins, including those in Simon’s Town, face extinction by 2035 without swift action, warn conservation groups now taking legal action to protect the birds’ feeding grounds.
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BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) report a 97% decline in the penguin population over the past century, with fewer than 10 000 breeding pairs remaining. The crisis is primarily due to a lack of access to prey, as penguins compete with commercial purse-seine boats that catch sardine and anchovy near the six largest African penguin breeding colonies, home to 90% of South Africa’s African penguins.
The Simon’s Town colony is currently safe because False Bay has been closed to commercial fishing for small pelagics since the 1980s. Dr. Katta Ludynia of Sanccob noted that penguins in Simon’s Town forage exclusively within False Bay during the breeding season, though other terrestrial and marine threats remain.
The Simon’s Town colony has remained relatively stable, likely due to good food availability in False Bay and extensive management by SANParks and the City of Cape Town with Sanccob’s assistance. This colony is crucial for the species’ survival, as fledglings from one colony may bolster other colonies by starting to breed there. False Bay provides a control area to study penguin foraging behaviour without competition from commercial fisheries. Hand-rearing rescued eggs and chicks also helps bolster the overall population.
To save the species, BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob have initiated litigation against the office of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) Minister Barbara Creecy. Represented by the Biodiversity Law Centre in the Pretoria High Court, they seek to replace what they claim are ineffective fishing closures around six key breeding colonies with ‘biologically meaningful’ closures in areas where penguins actually feed.
In August last year, Minister Creecy announced a 10-year implementation of fishing closures with a review after six years. However, BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob argue these closures are insufficient and in the wrong locations, risking penguin extinction by 2033 when the closures are up for review.
A DFFE statement from August 2023 mentioned that some areas around major penguin colonies were closed to commercial fishing for anchovy and sardine in September 2022 while an expert review panel assessed the fishing limitations’ value for penguins. Despite the panel’s recommendation to close sardine and anchovy fishing grounds around the six main breeding colonies, Minister Creecy maintained the interim fishing limitations until 2033.
Kate Handley, executive director of the Biodiversity Law Centre, stated this was the first South African litigation invoking the minister’s constitutional obligation to prevent the extinction of an endangered species. A trial date is set for October. DFFE spokesperson Peter Mbelengwa declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Mike Copeland, chairman of the South African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association, confirmed their involvement as a respondent in the court action.
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Picture: Two Oceans Aquarium / Facebook
