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MARINE INITIATIVES
"..an extraordinary extinction of species is taking place all over the world, breaking vital links in the chain of life.
We are aware that most large - fish species, including cod, marlin, swordfish and tuna, are critically endangered, and huge dead zones are appearing in our oceans, silent places devoid of life.
It took billions of years for nature to develop dynamic, viable relationships between Earth and its countless life-forms. Now, in just over a hundred years, these natural balances are threatening to fall irrevocably out of kilter. We are witnessing firsthand a massive disruption of Earth’s life systems, and all fingers point to one culprit: man."
In 2008, Miss Earth South Africa pledged to aid the plight of penguins. Our objective is to create awareness and support for this beautiful and unique creature.
“I sat upon the rocks, with the ocean sounds behind me, and before me and beneath the boulders where I sat, the penguins waddled back and forth. This is a place of God, of creation, of purity, and yet man has been the cause for the diminishing numbers of this species. They are so different to other creatures and they seem to know so much more than us. I would not want to live in a world that had been responsible for the extinction of this creature.”
Oiled seabirds sometimes get a second chance, as SANCCOB and other partner conservation organisations are very successful in cleaning, rehabilitating and releasing them. These birds have a very good survival rate. We have pledged our support of SANCCOB. Their objectives are as follows:
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To rehabilitate ill, injured, oiled and orphaned sea birds on a daily basis |
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Prepare for and manage the rehabilitation of sea birds during a major oil spill |
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Raise awareness about conservation through environmental education |
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Collaborate on research projects |
In South Africa, we remain concerned about our African penguin population. The 2007 African penguin census counted about 31,000 breeding pairs. This is only a fraction of the estimated four million penguins at the turn of the 20th century. Even more alarming is the 2008 census that indicates the entire African penguin population to be only 26 000 breeding pairs. Factors that caused the decline in the numbers include guano harvesting and egg collection during the 1950's, oil spills and most recently the declining fish availability is seriously threatening the population. SANCCOB aims to save the population by rehabilitating sea birds that are affected by oil spills, injured by predators, suffering from illness and hand rearing abandoned chicks. |
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| Worldwide Stats |
| 26,000 breeding pairs of African penguins, they are listed as “Vulnerable” by the 2000 IUCN Red List. |
| Initially, the decline was due mostly to the exploitation of penguin eggs, and habitat alteration and disturbance associated with guano collection at breeding colonies. These factors have now largely ceased, and the major current threats include competition with commercial fisheries and oil pollution. |
| Other threats include competition with Cape fur seals for space at breeding colonies and for food resources, as well as predation by seals. |
Feral cats are present on some of the islands and pose a problem at a few of the colonies. African penguins also face predation of eggs and chicks by avian predators such as Kelp Gulls and Sacred Ibises, while natural terrestrial predators, such as mongoose, genets and leopard are present at the mainland colonies. |
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| Facts |
| Less than 10% of the original African penguin populations remain. |
| 1900, estimate 1.5 million birds (Dassen Island alone) |
| 1956, estimate 750 million birds |
| 1978, estimate 220,000 thousand adult birds. |
| 1988, estimate 194,000 thousand adult birds. |
| 1992, estimate 179,000 thousand adult birds.
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