South Africa's sardine shortage leads to devastating impact on African penguin population.
A staggering 60,000 African penguins have died from starvation as a result of the severe decline in sardine numbers off the coast of South Africa. This alarming finding is based on a new study published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology, which highlights the devastating impact of climate change and overfishing on the African penguin species.
The loss of these iconic birds is not isolated to two breeding colonies, Dassen Island and Robben Island, but rather is part of a broader decline that affects nearly 80% of the population in just 30 years. According to Dr Richard Sherley from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, African penguins rely on sardines as their primary food source, particularly during the moulting period when they are forced to stay on land.
During this critical period, penguins need to fatten up beforehand to survive. However, if food is scarce, they may not have sufficient reserves to make it through the fast, leading to starvation and death. Sherley suggests that while large carcasses from dead penguins are not typically found, it's likely that many of these birds died at sea due to lack of access to sustenance.
The decline in sardine numbers is attributed to changes in temperature and salinity off the west coast of Africa, which have reduced their spawning success. Meanwhile, fishing levels remain high, despite efforts to introduce more sustainable management practices. The study's findings are echoed by Lorien Pichegru, a professor of marine biology at Nelson Mandela University, who notes that the results are "extremely concerning" and highlight decades-long mismanagement of small fish populations in South Africa.
Pichegru emphasizes the need for urgent action to address the extremely low levels of small fish stocks, not only for African penguins but also for other endemic species depending on these stocks. Conservation efforts, such as building artificial nests, managing predators, and hand-rearing chicks and adults, are underway to help combat the decline of this critically endangered species.
A staggering 60,000 African penguins have died from starvation as a result of the severe decline in sardine numbers off the coast of South Africa. This alarming finding is based on a new study published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology, which highlights the devastating impact of climate change and overfishing on the African penguin species.
The loss of these iconic birds is not isolated to two breeding colonies, Dassen Island and Robben Island, but rather is part of a broader decline that affects nearly 80% of the population in just 30 years. According to Dr Richard Sherley from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, African penguins rely on sardines as their primary food source, particularly during the moulting period when they are forced to stay on land.
During this critical period, penguins need to fatten up beforehand to survive. However, if food is scarce, they may not have sufficient reserves to make it through the fast, leading to starvation and death. Sherley suggests that while large carcasses from dead penguins are not typically found, it's likely that many of these birds died at sea due to lack of access to sustenance.
The decline in sardine numbers is attributed to changes in temperature and salinity off the west coast of Africa, which have reduced their spawning success. Meanwhile, fishing levels remain high, despite efforts to introduce more sustainable management practices. The study's findings are echoed by Lorien Pichegru, a professor of marine biology at Nelson Mandela University, who notes that the results are "extremely concerning" and highlight decades-long mismanagement of small fish populations in South Africa.
Pichegru emphasizes the need for urgent action to address the extremely low levels of small fish stocks, not only for African penguins but also for other endemic species depending on these stocks. Conservation efforts, such as building artificial nests, managing predators, and hand-rearing chicks and adults, are underway to help combat the decline of this critically endangered species.
this is just devastating... 60k+ penguins died from starvation? that's a whole colony worth of birds gone in 30 years 
how can we not be doing more to save them? 
i mean, i know sardines are in decline and all, but come on! fishing levels need to go down ASAP 
conservation efforts are great, but what about actual policy change? like, what's the point of having laws if they're not enforced properly 
also lol 30 yrs is like, ancient human time 
. what's the plan to actually tackle this? more conservation efforts? 
how about we just start by reducing fishing levels and protecting those sardines already? 
anyway, back to south africa and their sardine shortage... ugh, it's so sad that those adorable african penguins are struggling 
what's up with the climate change and overfishing combo? can't they just chill for a second? 
60k dead penguins is just insane... like what's next? 
the fact that fishing levels r still high despite efforts 2 introduce more sustainable practices makes me wanna scream 
we need 2 do more 2 protect these amazing creatures n their habitats. conservation efforts r a good start but we need 2 see some REAL change 
I'm literally like "good luck with that" on the whole conservation effort for African penguins. Like, we're basically just throwing money at a problem here. They rely on sardines and stuff, but humans are all about catching 'em up, you know? It's not like we can just leave our fishing boats in the harbor or something 
. The fish is gone, folks. And even if we were to somehow magically turn it back around with some fancy conservation tech, what's to say those penguins won't be starving all over again? We're basically playing a game of "let's guess how many sardines you'll need to survive" 
60k dead is like, wow... i dont think my fave video game has that many no-scopes 
. Climate change & overfishing r the real MVPs of destruction 
... i mean, who knew our oceans could be so extra 
... meanwhilez let's just hope these cute little birds dont become a goner 
We need to get our act together and make some serious changes ASAP! 
gotta do more to reduce fishing levels & protect marine life 
conservation efforts are underway but we need more urgency on this one ASAP 
building artificial nests, managing predators, etc... all good startin points, but let's get real, we need MAJOR change in the next few yrs 
. And the fact that most of these birds are dying at sea is just devastating 
. I mean, we should've taken care of our oceans a looong time ago... 
We need to step up our game, governments and fishermen alike! Climate change is no joke, but overfishing? That's just basic math 
Can't we just chill and let nature thrive for once? 
