Africa: African penguins are facing one of the most severe wildlife crises in southern Africa, with more than 60,000 birds starving to death over the past two decades as sardine numbers have collapsed along the country’s west coast.
A new study published in Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology reports that two of the species’ most important breeding sites, Dassen Island and Robben Island, lost more than 95 percent of their penguins between 2004 and 2012.
Researchers say the mass deaths occurred largely during the moulting season, when penguins replace their feathers and cannot enter the water for about three weeks. The birds must accumulate enough fat beforehand to survive the fasting period. With prey increasingly scarce, many are thought to have died at sea either before or just after moulting.
The study shows that for almost every year since 2004, sardine biomass off western South Africa fell to a quarter of its historic maximum. Sardinops sagax, the sardine species that African penguins rely on, has been hit by shifts in ocean temperature and salinity that hinder spawning. Despite these pressures, fishing activity in the region remained high during much of the decline, further reducing available prey.
African penguins have suffered an overall population drop of nearly 80 percent in 30 years. In 2024, the species was listed as critically endangered, with fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining. Scientists warn that the long-term collapse of small fish stocks threatens not only penguins but a wide range of marine species that depend on the same food sources.
South Africa has introduced new protections in an effort to stabilise the situation. Commercial purse-seine fishing has been halted around the six largest penguin colonies to improve access to food at vital stages of their life cycle. Conservation teams are also building artificial nests, managing predators, and hand-rearing chicks and adults that require rescue.
Experts say these steps are essential but must be accompanied by stronger fisheries management. The findings highlight years of inadequate oversight of small pelagic fish in South African waters, with researchers noting that conditions have not improved since the period covered in the study.
Marine ecologists warn that without decisive action to rebuild sardine stocks, the African penguin could edge closer to extinction.
