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African Penguin numbers now at all time low - Alarming decline in breeding colonies continues

Report from 2nd International African Penguin Conference sponsored by Dyer Island Conservation Trust

Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa
15th-18th April 2009

African Penguin numbers have fallen to a historic low point and urgent action is required to halt the alarming decline in the breeding colonies of the Western Cape of South Africa.

New research presented at this international congress attended by scientists from South Africa, Europe and the USA revealed that:

WHAT IS CAUSING THE CRISIS?

Delegates to the conference, held in Gansbaai, Western Cape, said further, research is urgently needed to establish the concerns in the decline in numbers of breeding pairs and the lifespan of adult penguins.

Currently, concern is focussing on the shortage of sardines and anchovies - the penguins' major food source. Commercial fishing and migration of sardine shoals due to changes in sea temperatures mean that adults have to swim increasing distances from their breeding colonies to feed. As a result, the survival of chicks is threatened.

The keynote speaker at the conference, Professor Peter Barham of Bristol University, UK summarised the views of researchers. He said: "In common with all those who have been working with African penguins in the last few years, I have noticed the steep decline in numbers with much concern and even some alarm. We need to understand the underlying causes; of course, food supply must be a major factor. But we do not know for sure whether this is caused by overfishing, by fish stocks moving with changing ocean currents due to effects of global warming, or even whether the penguins are less able to find fish than previously (they may be weaker due to, for example, build up of pollutants over the years). Other issues affecting penguins include increased predation by fur seals around some colonies, the continuing risk of oil spills, and as the climate warms up the lack of suitable, cool, places to breed within the traditional colonies."

"We can address some of these issues head on. We can provide suitable nesting sites (the Dyer Island Conservation Trust nest boxes are a prime example of how this can be done); we already do request that rogue seals found taking large numbers of penguins are culled; and we can argue for reductions in the fishing quotas around the main colonies. But we also need to continue research to understand better the underlying causes of the decline. If we are to be able to correlate penguin population decline with, for example, the amount of fish taken by the purse seine fisheries around the main colonies; we need accurately to establish the population numbers and how they are changing; to have reliable estimates of annual breeding success at all the colonies as well as good data on where the penguins are foraging and how long they spend at sea to find the food they need to feed themselves and their chicks. It is only with such reliable data that we are likely to be able to persuade the fishermen to change their behaviour."

"However, this may not be enough, if we find that the problems arise from movement of fish, rather then reduction in the number of fish, we need to learn how we can persuade penguins to form new colonies closer to the fish stocks. Again this requires some basic research so that we can understand what factors influence young birds to form new colonies rather than simply returning to their natal colony. This is something we are starting to do in the chick bolstering project with the hand reared orphaned chicks taken each year from Dyer Island."

"I do believe that if we continue with all the current efforts there is a good chance that we can understand well enough what the problems are before they become insurmountable that we will be able to take appropriate actions to prevent the species becoming extinct." To read a full report of Professor Barham's speech click here...

To read more about the 2nd International African Penguin Conference click here...

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The Dyer Island Conservation Trust's Faces of Need campaign is a major sponsor of research and the conservation of the African Penguin.

We rely on your support. Please purchase a penguin nest or make a donation to our research by clicking on the link below.

Dyer Island Conservation Trust
P.O. Box 78 Gansbaai 7220 Western Cape, South Africa
Ph: +27 (0) 28 384 0406 | Fax: +27 (0) 28 384 1266
Email: info@dict.org.za

© 2009 Dyer Island Conservation Trust