Cape Town - The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) has used Penguin Awareness Day to raise awareness about the critically endangered African penguin, and also encourage support ahead of the forthcoming court case that it is fighting.

SANCCOB is a registered non-profit organisation (NPO) with the primary objective to reverse the decline of seabird populations through the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill, injured, abandoned and oiled seabirds – especially critically endangered species like the African penguin.

The NPO said that the species has already lost over 97% of its population, and if “we don’t act now, they could vanish from the wild by 2035”.

Together with BirdLife South Africa (BLSA), the two have taken the step to legally challenge the decision taken by the office of the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), who has implemented no-take fishing zones for a period of 10 years around six key African penguin breeding colonies.

“These closures are aimed at reducing the competition between African Penguins and the commercial small pelagic fisheries; however, the closures implemented are inadequate in size and we do not foresee them providing a meaningful benefit for the species,” SANCCOB said.

The African Penguin faces threats from lack of food availability and therefore having to compete with commercial fisheries, climate change affecting fish stocks and breeding sites, and habitat destruction and oil spills.

One of the lawyers from Biodiversity Law Centre, Kate Handley, working with the organisations in preparation for the court case, said that the matter is set down from 18 to 20 March in the Pretoria High Court.

“We are working hard to ensure that the matter is ready, and are in the process of preparing Heads of Argument, which will need to be filed by 31 January 2025.”

Handley said that the African Penguin is a critical part of the marine ecosystem and performs many important functions, such as transferring nutrients between the ocean and the land and, through their own fishing efforts, driving fish to the surface for other bird species to be able to fish.

“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. The Biodiversity Law Centre embarked on the fight for the African Penguins because of the important role they play in the marine ecosystem, and the impact their extinction would have, but also because we cannot, as humans, let this charismatic species go extinct on our watch.

“We advocate for healthy marine ecosystems that support sustainable livelihoods, and saving the African Penguin is part of this effort,” Handley said.

Handley added that the more people learn about how important African Penguins are, and the threats they face, the more people can advocate for better regulation of the threats facing Penguins.

“Ultimately it is the Minister and DFFE who are responsible for ensuring that measures are implemented in terms of domestic and international law to prevent a threatened species going extinct. People can write to the minister, ask Parliamentary questions, and come and support at the hearing of the case in March.”

People can sign the petition to expand no-take fishing zones around key penguin colonies here: https://only.one/act/save-african-penguins

Cape Argus