African Penguin Numbers Plummet by 77%; Court Enforces No-Fishing Zones

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Conservation groups BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB have secured a historic court victory to protect critically endangered African penguins from commercial fishing pressures.

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African penguin populations have crashed by a staggering 76.9% in less than two decades, with breeding pairs plummeting from 27,151 in 2007 to just 8,750 by late 2023.

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The Pretoria High Court order establishes crucial no-fishing zones around six major penguin breeding colonies, creating safe feeding grounds for the struggling seabirds.

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Commercial sardine and anchovy fishers agreed to the settlement after weeks of intense negotiations, marking a rare collaboration between conservation and industry interests.

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The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment must implement these protective zones within two weeks by amending fishing permit conditions.

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These fishing restrictions will remain in place until 2035, the year scientists predict African penguins could face extinction in the wild without intervention.

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Conservation experts hail this as a dual victory - not only for Africa's only penguin species but also for small-scale fishers and coastal communities who depend on healthy ocean ecosystems.

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The Green Connection's Liziwe McDaid emphasized that declining penguin populations serve as a "red flag" warning about overall ocean health along South Africa's 3,000km coastline.

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