Update: Just days ahead of a scheduled court case on March 18, the South African government agreed to implement closures to commercial fishing around six of the last major African Penguin breeding colonies.
What You Need to Know
The African Penguin is at risk of going extinct in the wild within the next 10 years. Recent studies show that current conservation measures are not enough to ensure their future. With an estimated population of less than 10,000 breeding pairs these endangered birds — among the smallest of all penguin species — are struggling to survive due to a shortage of their primary food sources. Sardines and anchovy stocks are dwindling as a result of climate change and commercial purse-seine fishing. Food deprivation and starvation is contributing to a dramatic decline in African Penguin numbers.
The current commercial fishery no-take zones in South Africa surround six African Penguin colonies that represent 76% of the global population. These zones fail to sufficiently protect important foraging areas for the penguins, forcing them to compete with commercial purse seine fisheries for food. Simply put, African Penguins need to eat to survive. If nothing changes, African Penguins could disappear from the wild by 2035.
We must act now to save the African Penguin before it’s too late.
Here’s why the survival of this species is crucial:
To protect our ocean: African Penguins are key indicators of healthy marine ecosystems. As specialised predators, they play a pivotal role in the marine food web, and their disappearance signals fish stocks falling below critical thresholds required to sustain other marine predators such as whales, dolphins, seals and linefish.
To support livelihoods and public education: African Penguins are a major draw for tourists, providing opportunities for people to learn about the species and the marine environment. Protecting them not only supports the South African ecotourism industry and livelihoods of local communities, but also helps raise awareness of the importance of conservation.
For global ocean advocacy: Defending African Penguins goes beyond saving a single species — it’s about taking a stand for ecologically sustainable fishing practices and ocean conservation worldwide. By protecting African Penguins, we’re also protecting our planet.
We call on the South African government to:
Establish effective no-take zones around the six key African Penguin colonies, where commercial purse-seine fishing for anchovy and sardine occurs, to help ensure that there is enough prey to sustain the species.
Adequately enforce existing marine pollution regulations and close legal loopholes that currently enable pollution, including noise pollution, to interfere with penguin breeding.
