Efforts to stop the critically endangered African penguin from going extinct took a step forward on Tuesday after South African conservationists and fishing industry groups reached a legal settlement on no-fishing zones around six of the penguins’ major breeding colonies.
Sardine and anchovy fishing will not be allowed for 12 miles (20km) around the penguin colony off Cape Town on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and Bird Island, across the bay from Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth. There will be more limited closures around four other colonies, according to a court order formalising the agreement.
Conservationists and the fishing industry had been at loggerheads for years over how much commercial fishing contributed to the African penguin population’s precipitous decline and to what extent fishing restrictions would arrest the fall.
African penguins are threatened with extinction by 2035 if their population continues falling at the current rate of 7.9% a year. There are now fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs. A century ago there were 1 million.
Nicky Stander, head of conservation at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) said: “Today’s order is a significant step forward in our fight to save the African Penguin from extinction … However, while we celebrate today’s success, we remain acutely aware that our journey is far from over. The threats facing the African Penguin are complex and ongoing.”
Two fishing industry groups, the South African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association and the Eastern and Southern Cape Pelagic Association, welcomed the “middle of the road compromise”, which will apply for 10 years, subject to review after six years.
They said: “The perception that the fishing industry (or that fishing near to breeding sites) is the primary cause of the decline in the penguin population is a false one … We are especially pleased that this settlement will now allow scarce resources to be used constructively to scientifically determine the principal factors causing the decline in the penguin population and to ameliorate those where possible.”
South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, said: “This agreement is a testament to what can be achieved when industries and conservationists unite for a common cause. It delivers on the DFFE’s vision of protecting our penguins and preserving our biodiversity, while ensuring the sustainability of our fishing industry.”
Two NGOs – BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB – had taken George’s predecessor, Barbara Creecy, to court in May 2024, arguing she had failed to implement “biologically meaningful [fishing] closures” around the six penguin colonies, which are home to 76% of the bird’s population. George had sought an out-of-court settlement after taking office in July.
“It is good to hear that the island closures have been agreed at last,” said Bob Furness, a University of Glasgow emeritus professor, who was part of an independent panel that in 2023 recommended the fishing closures but said the conservation benefits would be “small”.
“These alone may not be sufficient if penguins continue to be under pressure from many factors and in particular if sardine total stock biomass remains vulnerable to overexploitation at low stock abundances.”
Other factors affecting the penguin population include the climate crisis, land predators and noise pollution from ship-to-ship refuelling near Gqeberha.
The fishing closures now needed to be monitored, said Phil Trathan, a visiting professor at Southampton University, who was also part of the expert panel: “It is now critical that the focus now turn to examining the industrial fisheries for sardine and anchovy.”
The environment ministry did not answer questions about whether it was considering further sardine fishing control measures.
