Since 31 October 2021 the African Penguin has been languishing on the ‘Largely Depleted’ status as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
After the last assessment (4 July 2024) of the global African Penguin population the ongoing threats to this indicator species has resulted in the International Union for Conservation ‘upgrading’ the threat level to ‘Critically Endangered’.
See: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697810/256021744 for the full breakdown.
Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species.
In their threat assessment of the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) the IUC say that the African Penguin is assessed as Critically Endangered because it is undergoing an extremely rapid population decline, probably principally because of the impacts of competition with commercial fisheries and climate-mediated shifts in prey populations. Recent, near-complete count data for the number of breeding pairs show an alarming acceleration in the rate of decline and the current and future projected population reduction exceeds 80% over three generations. This trend currently shows no sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required.
In Algoa Bay there appear to be four main events that led to this Critical Listing:
In South Africa, 8,536 breeding pairs were counted in 2023: Dassen Island, 2037 pairs; Bird Island (Algoa Bay), 1,722 pairs; Stony Point, 1,200 pairs; Robben Island, 931 pairs; Dyer Island, 903 pairs; Simon’s Town, 845 pairs; St Croix Island, 712 pairs; and 186 pairs at six other colonies that each held less than 65 pairs (Sherley et al. 2024). The seven named colonies support almost 98% of the South African population and nine colonies (with Halifax Island and Possession Island in Namibia) support >95% of the global population. Recent declines at South African colonies are coincident with changes in the abundance and availability of forage fish, competition with commercial fisheries and the establishment of ship-to-ship bunkering activities in Algoa Bay (Crawford et al. 2011, 2019; Waller 2011; Sherley et al. 2014a, 2018, Pichegru et al. 2022).
The Algoa Bay population are faced with multiple threats to their liveliehood with dwindling fish stocks, increased noise and destruction of habitat from increased shipping and the establishment of the Nqurha Port which hastened the denuement of the small osland of Jaheel. Jahleel, at less than 10m in height, is just over 1km from the closest beach and less than that from the Port of Ngqura’s 2.6km long eastern breakwater.
The building of this breakwater created a pathway for rats to swim across and decimate the bird and egg population, forcing them to move to St. Croix and Bird Islands.
In the early part of the 1900’s penguin eggs by the thousand were removed for human consumption, halting only around 1956. Guano harvesting resulted in all its soil finding its way onto foreign ships to serve elsewhere as fertiliser. This is why most of these islands are just rocky outcrops today.
The population on St. Croix island reduced rapidly after the guano was removed from the island ending in the late 1970’s. Guano was an essential building material for African Penguin nests and attempts at purpose man-made nesting material failed (concrete is not as warm or home;y smelling as guano).
Before the commencement of ship-to-ship fuel transfers, an estimated 23 000 endangered African penguins were living and breeding on St Croix Island, Algoa Bay. This was the largest single colony on the planet but, after only six years of fuel transfers, only 3 000 penguins are left.
The Recovery Prognosis is ‘MEDIUM’:
The African Penguin’s Species Recovery Score of 33% represents the species’ threatened status in all of its spatial units; the species has greatly declined since the late 1800s, first from egg collecting and guano scraping and later, in the mid-1900s, due to industrial fishing. The African Penguin has a High Conservation Legacy; without protected areas, the African Penguin would possibly be extinct today. Conservation Dependence and Conservation Gain are both Zero: the species would likely not disappear from any spatial units within 10 years without conservation; with conservation, the species is not expected to become Viable in any spatial units within 10 years, given the species’ slow reproduction. However, within 100 years it would be possible for the African Penguin to become Viable in three out of four spatial units, leading to a score of 58%. Therefore, the Recovery Potential for the African Penguin is Medium.
Related: Surprise move in litigation over African Penguins.
Alan Straton
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