The DA welcomes the decision by Dr. Dion George, DA Minister, to pursue an out-of-court settlement regarding the closure of areas surrounding African Penguin colonies to fishing.
This initiative is crucial for ensuring penguins have sufficient food near their breeding grounds, a factor biologists have identified as vital for their conservation.
By reducing competition between penguins and industrial fishing, this measure addresses a significant threat to the species. Continuing a court battle while penguins starve and their numbers decline would be counterproductive. The actions by the Minister will support the recovery of this highly endangered and iconic species, which is endemic to Southern Africa.
African Penguins are an endangered species and recent science has predicted that they could be extinct in the wild as soon as 2035 should they continue their current downward trajectory. The species has endured an estimated decline of 80% in just 30 years, with fewer than 10 000 breeding pairs remaining. African Penguins are a much-loved species and are an important contributor to the tourism industry as well as their surrounding environments.
The previous Minister established a high-level international scientific panel to consider fishing closures around penguin breeding colonies. This panel considered both benefits to penguins and trade offs for the fishing industry. It is important that the considerations of both biodiversity and fisheries are taken into account in this matter, especially with the Minister having the mandate of both in their Department.
The set of closure areas put forward by the scientific panel was carefully formulated to be biologically meaningful while limiting the potential consequences for fishing. Former Minister Creecy chose not to follow this recommendation, which resulted in the legal case being brought against the Minister’s Office. This decision will now be corrected by Minister George.
The implementation of the closure areas recommended by the panel will also have positive effects for the support of other dependent fisheries such as line fish as well as other marine predators including whales, dolphins, sharks, seals, birds, and other fish.
The Minister and his Department are constitutionally mandated to ensure the survival and protection of our threatened species. We are encouraged by the positive actions being shown by our new Minister in this regard. We are confident that future positive steps for conservation will follow.