A six – year disagreement about areas to close to allow penguins to survive, has ended well.
A settlement agreement was reached between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and bird conservation organizations, BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB.
Penguin numbers dwindled from 2018’s count of 15,187 breeding pairs to just an estimated 8,750 at the end of 2023, BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB took to the courts a year ago, in March 2024.
Dr Dion George, Minister of DEFF said last week, this agreement would facilitate the critical closure of certain areas, to protect South Africa’s penguin population.
George first met with the fishing industry and then conservation groups to address the decline of penguin populations, without legal representation.
The agreed island closures are:
Dassen Island: Interim closure as per current permit conditions.
Robben Island: A 20 km closure, consistent with the Island Closure Experiment. Stony Point: Closure as depicted by the black hatched line in the agreed diagram, applicable to all fishing vessels.
Dyer Island: Interim closure as reflected in current permit conditions.
St Croix Island: Closure delineated by coordinates (western boundary: 25°45’E; southern boundary: 34°01′ to 25°50’E; southern boundary east: 33°59′ to 25°59’E; eastern boundary to MPA: 25°59’E).
Bird Island: A 20 km closure radius from the lighthouse, as implemented during the Island Closure Experiment.
George also said “these measures, subject to being made an order of court, reflect the duration outlined in the previous Minister’s decision of 4 August, 2023, and represent a balanced approach to conserving penguin habitats while respecting the needs of the fishing industry.”
The 10-year period takes closures to the critical year, 2035, when the iconic African Penguin is predicted by scientists to be extinct in the wild.
Kate Handley, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Law Centre, said “this order is an important step in moving the dial in the long impasse between conservation and industry which has seen inaction since 2018. We look to the DFFE and the Minister to ensure full implementation of this order and to follow-through on taking all necessary steps to protect the African Penguin. Doing so is not only important for the wellbeing and survival of this iconic species but is critical to ensure that our ocean ecosystem is protected for the benefit of future generations. The order spans the same 10 years before the predicted date of extinction of African Penguins in the wild – and it is absolutely essential that the South African government takes proactive, precautionary steps to protect our country’s mega-biodiversity, protect threatened species and prevent extinction. The imposition of scientifically-informed fishing closures, to limit commercial purse-seine anchovy and sardine fishing activities around key African Penguin breeding colonies is a long-overdue step towards securing their survival in the wild and bringing this species back from the brink of extinction.”
Dr Alistair McInnes, BirdLife South Africa’s Seabird Conservation Programme Manager, hailed the court order as an important milestone in the fight to protect African Penguins said “this case has been first and foremost about improving the chances of conserving Africa’s only penguin species, but the outcome of these closures will also benefit other marine predator species, such as Cape Gannets, Cape Cormorants, and other socio-economically important fish that also eat sardine and anchovy, as well as the livelihoods of many who derive benefits from marine ecosystems that are equitable and judiciously managed. We will continue to be led by the status of African Penguins and other seabirds, as indicators of the health of our oceans, and to focus with our partners on science-led solutions to conservation management along South Africa’s coastline.”