African penguins, or Spheniscus demersus, are becoming more and more endangered as they approach an ever increasing dangerous future with their population continuing to decrease. Over the last thirty years, African penguin populations have declined by almost 80%. This sudden and severe degeneration has driven them to the edge of extinction. The crisis has been compounded by increased competition with local fisheries. These fisheries are especially focused on important prey species such as sardines and anchovies.
The case of the South African government demonstrates what’s possible when political and public leaders deeply commit to addressing this problem. They reinstated biologically meaningful no-fishing zones around Robben Island, crucial for the species’ breeding. Endangered seabird chicks These measures will help safeguard these endangered birds. They are key in winning fights against one of the biggest threats to sensitive habitats and species — commercial fishing operations.
The research found that African penguins specifically look for areas with commercial fishing fleets. When fish abundance is low, this opportunistic behavior becomes even more pronounced during the angler’s anticipated fishing season. 2016 was characterized by an extremely low fish biomass. That year, nearly 1 in 5 African penguins searched for food in regions that overlapped with areas where fishing boats were heavily operating. On the flip side, in years with more robust fish stocks, this overlap plummeted to only 4%.
A landmark court case in South Africa recently brought attention to the need for fishery closures near African penguin breeding colonies. The conservation and fishing industries have won a landmark high court settlement. USCIS’s agreement emphasizes the very real need to be on founding protective blame. Scientists from the University of Exeter, the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs’ National Biodiversity Institute, and BirdLife South Africa co-authored this study. Dr. Jacqueline Glencross from the University of St Andrews exercised exceptional leadership during the life of this research.
Telemetry data that was originally collected from African penguins on Robben and Dassen Islands formed the basis of this essential research. The researchers found that the overlap between where African penguins forage and where fishing vessels operate has increased substantially. This trend happened in years with limited food availability.
“This research highlights why those closures are necessary. Previously unprotected areas with high overlap intensity are where the penguins were most at risk.” – Dr. Glencross
Dr. Glencross mentioned that she would like to improve knowledge about how local fisheries activities affect African penguin survival.
“We wanted a better way to assess how many penguins are potentially impacted when fisheries operate nearby — not just where the overlap occurs.” – Dr. Jacqueline Glencross