The in-principle agreement, now an order of the court, establishes critical island closures to protect South Africa’s penguin populations at six locations around breeding colonies at Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island and Bird Island.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
After a six-year battle for the conservation and protection of South Africa’s critically endangered African Penguin, BirdLife South Africa and Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) celebrated a historic victory after the hard-won settlement agreement was made an order of the court.
On Monday at the Pretoria High Court, the two conservation NGOs alongside commercial sardine and anchovy purse-seine fishers, heard the order which provides for the delineations of no-take zones for the commercial sardine and anchovy fishery around six key African Penguin breeding colonies that lie within coastal areas.
According to the NGOs, the six closures work together to secure biologically meaningful foraging areas for African Penguins in each of the west coast, southern Cape and Algoa Bay regions to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
The order of the court comes after the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) minister, Dr Deon George, recently made the announcement of the in-principle agreement.
The order provides that DFFE will have two weeks to ensure that these closures are implemented by amending the permit conditions applicable to commercial sardine and anchovy fishers.
According to BirdLifeSA and Sanccob the permit conditions are set to be renewed by the DFFE each January for the next 10 years.
“The 10-year period takes closures to the critical year, 2035, when the iconic African Penguin is predicted by scientists to be extinct in the wild – just a generation of penguins away,” the NGOs said.
Penguins at Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town.
Image: Ian Landsberg/Independent Newspapers Archive
Executive director of the Biodiversity Law Centre, Kate Handley, said: “This order is an important step in moving the dial in the long impasse between conservation and industry which has seen inaction since 2018. We look to the DFFE and the Minister to ensure full implementation of this order and to follow-through on taking all necessary steps to protect the African Penguin. Doing so is not only important for the wellbeing and survival of this iconic species but is critical to ensure that our ocean ecosystem is protected for the benefit of future generations.
“The order spans the same 10 years before the predicted date of extinction of African Penguins in the wild – and it is absolutely essential that the South African government takes proactive, precautionary steps to protect our country’s mega-biodiversity, protect threatened species and prevent extinction. The imposition of scientifically-informed fishing closures, to limit commercial purse-seine anchovy and sardine fishing activities around key African Penguin breeding colonies is a long-overdue step towards securing their survival in the wild and bringing this species back from the brink of extinction,” said Handley.
Sanccob head of conservation, Nicky Stander, said: “The threats facing the African Penguin are complex and ongoing – and the order itself requires monitoring, enforcement and continued cooperation from Industry and the government processes which monitor and allocate sardine and anchovy populations for commercial purposes. We must continue to advocate on the basis of our scientific research, and implement effective conservation strategies to ensure that African Penguins will thrive in the future.”
BirdLife’s seabird conservation programme manager, Dr Alistair McInnes, said: “We will continue to be led by the status of African Penguins and other seabirds, as indicators of the health of our oceans, and to focus with our partners on science-led solutions to conservation management along South Africa’s coastline.”
George praised the court order as a monumental achievement.
“Today marks a triumph for conservation and sustainable development. This court-ordered settlement realises the DFFE’s long-standing commitment to protecting our penguins and biodiversity while ensuring the fishing industry’s viability. I am immensely proud of the collaborative spirit that has brought us here, a model for how industry and conservation can work hand in hand for the greater good," said George.
chevon.booysen@inl.co.za