THE ROLLERCOASTER OF FOOD AVAILABILITY FOR THE AFRICAN PENGUIN
Last year: The fishing closures. This year: The sardine die-off
On 18 March 2025, the Pretoria High Court made an ‘order of court’ into a negotiated settlement, reviewing and setting aside the Minister’s decision announced on 4 August 2023.
BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB, represented by the Biodiversity Law Centre, negotiated the settlement with commercial fishing representatives, and the State subsequently endorsed it. The order established year-round restrictions around six key breeding colonies for ten years, subject to scientific review after six years. Those colonies are Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St Croix Island and Bird Island.
And then, the mass sardine die-off.
A recent Daily Maverick article by Dr Adam Cruise highlighted the issues well.
Silent crisis -starving penguins, dying sardines and a government gambling with species extinction https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-11-penguins/
Organisations are calling for a moratorium on sardine fishing until more information is obtained on the status of the sardines. BBC supported a letter by the Wildlife Animal Protection Forum South Africa (WAPSA) to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, David Maynier. It calls for him to implement an immediate moratorium on all pelagic species fishing within South African marine waters for a minimum of six months. Read the letter at https://wapfsa.org/immed-moratorium-on-fishing-for…/
Carol Clark