The Penguin problem is ours too
Marine Protected Areas are vital to promote a healthy oceans economy
The world’s penguin population is decreasing at an alarming rate, and that should be a cause for concern — as an indicator species, if they are in trouble, then so is humanity. The recent ban on fishing in water near penguin colonies is being criticised as too little, too late and the call for more Marine Protected Areas (MPAS) is growing.
According to the Southern African Foundation For The Conservation Of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) there are only 10 000 breeding pairs of African Penguins left, mostly due to low fish stocks, pollution from vessels and climate change.
While SANCCOB is lobbying for fishing bans, the environmental group Green Connection wants MPAS to expand, and describes this as “an investment for the future”. According to their strategic lead, Liz Mcdaid, the entire ocean should be regarded as protected. But what does that imply, and how feasible is it in South Africa?
Marine protected areas
Dr Judy Mann, the executive for strategic projects at the 2 Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, describes MPAS as “areas of the coastline or the ocean that have special legal protection because of the unique features, species and processes that are found there”. She says MPAS are critical, and without them there is no ocean economy.
In South Africa only 5% of the oceans are protected through 41 marine protected areas, while 30% of the country’s territory in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is protected by the Prince Edward Islands MPA, according to the latest government statistics and the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
Mann was part of the team that founded and launched South Africa’s MPA Day last year. The day is observed on 1 August and is necessary, she says, “because people do not know what MPAS are or how important they are”.
Taking stock
According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the sardine stock in South African waters continues to be at historically low levels. Mann believes MPAS have a role to play in replenishing their populations. “We’re protecting bigger fish, healthier fish, with females that are able to reproduce quite effectively,” she says, “so we’re actually building a stock of fish in those MPAS.”
Mann explains this with a simple, everyday comparison: “Think of the ocean as a bank. The fish are your capital. Those fish reproduce and grow, and spill out of the marine protected area, and they help feed adjacent areas.”
Their research shows that fishermen prefer to fish in these areas, which are considered the best fishing spots around. SANCCOB’S research manager, Katta Ludynia, agrees, adding that there is ample scientific research and recorded examples showing the positive spill-over effects of conservation efforts — whether through the establishment of MPAS or the implementation of fishing restrictions — and that the economy around fishing is not negatively impacted.
Ludynia says this is evident in the sustainable developments reports issued by the Oceana Group. This global fishing company has committed to responsible fishing practices, and is a founding member of the Responsible Fisheries Alliance. The company also works with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to promote a ecosystems approach to fisheries management.
Ludynia says there has been no mention of any risk of job losses due to fishing closures near penguin colonies over the last 12 years. In fact, she says, their reports show that the small pelagic fishing sector experienced an increase in the years that experimental island closures have been in place.
While the benefits of these areas to both people and planet are evident, Ludynia warns that the current measures are not enough. In the end, it all comes down to balance.
Balancing act
“What we need is effective marine spatial planning that looks at the needs of humans and the environment, and we need to look at zoning the ocean to meet both of those needs,” Mann explains. “We can’t have a situation where 90% of the ocean is set aside for exploitation and 10% is set aside for protection, or vice versa — we must find a balance.”
The Green Connection believes that this can be achieved by roping in local communities, according to the organisation’s strategic lead Liz Mcdaid: “If government focused on the people and the planet instead of profit, and worked with local communities, we could decide which were important areas that provide habitat to endangered species and areas where fish breed.” She believes there is a need to create co-management forums where local fishers can contribute to solutions for a sustainable future.
MPAS are not just important for sustainability in fishing or the oceans economy. They also help to protect landscapes and cultural heritage sites, and facilitate and accelerate development in the fast-growing eco-tourism sector. Mann says this has a knock-on effect and impacts the spiritual and cultural practices of surrounding communities, while also creating education opportunities and employment.
These areas also set a benchmark for what nature should look like without human interference, making them ideal for scientific and academic research. If the question is how to promote a healthy ocean economy that can benefit not only this generation, but those that will follow, then at least a part of the answer must be MPAS. Officially getting there, however, takes time — in most cases, more than a decade.
The long road towards protection
Mann explains that this isn’t an overnight exercise, a fact that continues to frustrate environmental organisations. A host of factors need to be considered, and there are various processes to go through.
She explains the first step is to create a clear understanding of what needs to be protected. This includes mapping the area of the ocean that needs to be protected, providing information on the marine diversity in that specific area, and how people in the area are using that part of the ocean. Next, oil and gas resources must be indicated and fishing lines determined. After that, she says, it is a process to “identify those areas where you will get the best bang for your buck”.
Consultation with the relevant role players and stakeholders are conducted to determine who will be involved in the MPA and who will be affected. “Then you are going to go through a very long legal process, until eventually the area may be proclaimed.” That is still not the end of the road, or the start of conservation efforts. “Then there’s the process of putting together a management plan and implementing it before the MPA actually starts being effective; it’s a very, very long process.”
Wilfred Chivell heads up Gansbaai-based ecotourism company Marine Dynamics, and says his team has been at the forefront of monitoring great white and other shark species in the area. “Through our eco-tourism partnership, we actually have almost 20 years of cetacean data from our Dyer Island Cruises and 15 years of shark data from our diving tours.” He says without shark cage diving, which he considers the only effective monitoring tool of white sharks in South Africa, people would still be oblivious to the fragility of and threat to this species.
They are also monitoring the Bronze Whaler Shark population in the Dyer Island Ecosystem and hope to create a protected area for these species, as well as the dwindling African Penguin population. “Many of our fish stocks are severely over-exploited after decades of heavy fishing, but MPAS allow ecosystems and the creatures and plants living in them to recover,” he explains. “They provide safe spaces in which fish can breed undisturbed, and protect spawning and nursery areas where young fish mature into adulthood without the pressure of fishing.”
A bleak outlook on the penguin problem
In the meantime, the story of the African Penguin’s decline is a warning sign of bigger problems. Ludynia says the need for marine protected areas has never been greater: “Numbers of breeding pairs are declining at rates between 5% and 10% in most regions. Historically, there were millions of African penguins along the South African coast, we now have about 1% left in the wild, and numbers continue to decline.”
Just two decades ago Dassen Island on the West Coast had 20 000 breeding pairs: “That was just one of many colonies. Today, we have half of that number left in the entire country, from the West Coast islands to the islands in Algoa Bay.” The penguins are in trouble, and so are we.