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The government has slapped a temporary ban on commercial fishing for sardines and anchovy around major penguin colonies, including two off Algoa Bay.
In a statement on Friday, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said the restrictions came into effect on 1 September and will run through to 14 January 2023, following prolonged negotiations between conservation groups and the pelagic fishing industry.
Minister Barbara Creecy said while the closure does represent a consensus position, the Department believes it was the best decision to support penguin colonies.
“The closure will be temporary to allow for an international scientific panel to be set up to review all related science output over recent years,” she said.
Minister Creecy said the international review would advise the Department on the value of fishing limitations for penguins’ success as well as the impact on the fishing industry.
“Both sectors committed to abiding by the recommendations of the international panel,” the Minister said.
The Minister says the sardine stock in South African waters continues to be at historic low levels, with competition for food thought to be one among a set of pressures that contribute to the decline of the African penguin population.
“The species, which is endemic in South Africa and Namibia, has decreased from more than a million breeding pairs to just about ten thousand pairs over the last century.”
The fishing restriction includes defined areas around St Croix and Bird Islands in Algoa Bay, as well as Dassen and Robben Islands and Stony Point and Dyer Islands, which represent the larger penguin colonies.
