In a major win for conservation, South African fishing industry associations and conservationists have reached a 10 year legal agreement to create no fishing zones around prime African penguin breeding colonies. The agreement seeks to save the critically endangered bird which is threatened with extinction by 2035 because their numbers are declining at an alarming rate.
The accord will establish a 12 mile (20 km) fishing closure around Robben Island and Bird Island, which are breeding colonies of penguins. Restrictive fishing is also to be limited to four other colonies. The decision was made following heated arguments over several years regarding the contribution of commercial fishing, mainly sardine and anchovy catches, to the declining numbers of penguins. With fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining, from 1 million a hundred years ago, the penguin population is shrinking at a shocking rate of 7.9% per year.
Conservationists like Nicky Stander of SANCCOB see the settlement as a forward step in the battle to preserve the species. But experts point out that closures on fishing alone will not work. Climate change and predation are other factors driving the penguin’s extinction.
The no fishing zones are important in safeguarding the food sources of the penguin but wider efforts to combat other factors impacting their survival are also necessary.
