African penguins starve as fish vanish from southern seas

African penguins are starving as climate change and industrial fishing empty southern seas, pushing the species toward extinction and prompting urgent calls for sustainable fisheries management across the South African coast.

On a bright, sunlit morning at Betties Bay beach, a group of African penguins stand upright, lifting their spotless white bellies towards the sun. The scene is a familiar one along South Africa’s coast. But behind the postcard image lies a growing fear: these charismatic birds are edging closer to extinction.

Unlike their Antarctic relatives, African penguins thrive in the temperate climates of South Africa and Namibia rather than extreme cold. Their small size and distinctive appearance draw thousands of tourists each year. Yet their survival is now under serious threat.

In 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the African penguin as “Critically Endangered”. Fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs are believed to remain.

Since 1968, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds has been working to protect seabirds along the region’s coastline. Its rehabilitation manager, Zed Suku, said many penguins arriving at the centre are suffering from severe trauma and malnutrition.

“We are seeing these birds come in daily in desperate condition,” Suku said. “Surviving in the wild has become a huge struggle for them.”

Research shows the African penguin population has fallen by nearly 80 percent over the past 30 years. Pollution, habitat destruction and food shortages are all major factors. But recent studies point to starvation as the leading cause of death.

A joint study by South Africa’s forestry and fisheries department and the University of Exeter found that more than 60,000 penguins died of starvation between 2004 and 2011 at two key breeding sites, Robben Island and Dassen Island.

Without urgent and effective conservation measures, scientists warn the species could disappear entirely in the near future.

African penguins rely mainly on small fish such as sardines and anchovies. Climate change and intense commercial fishing have sharply reduced these stocks. Along South Africa’s coast, sardine numbers have fallen so dramatically that penguins are now forced to swim much farther offshore in search of food.

The long journeys exhaust adult birds and directly affect their chicks. Many chicks die before receiving enough nourishment.

Studies show sardine stocks in western South Africa have declined alarmingly over the past two decades. Only about 25 percent of previous levels remain. Off the coast of Namibia, once a stronghold for penguins, sardines have almost vanished due to rising sea temperatures, changing salinity and overfishing.

To save vulnerable chicks, SANCCOB has launched a special rescue programme. Abandoned or sick chicks are collected, rehabilitated and later released back into the wild.

Robin Fraser-Knowles of SANCCOB said the fishing industry plays a vital role in the economy and should not be shut down entirely. But he warned that failing to regulate catches now could lead to the collapse of the entire marine ecosystem.

Experts say sustainable fisheries management is the only way to restore balance. Otherwise, the crisis will extend far beyond penguins.

At SANCCOB’s rehabilitation centre last year, 948 penguins received treatment. Almost all were severely underweight, Fraser-Knowles said.

The scale of starvation is stark. One adult penguin recently rescued weighed just 1.9 kilograms. A healthy penguin should weigh at least four kilograms.

“Finding a penguin at its ideal weight in the wild has become extremely rare,” Fraser-Knowles said.

Perhaps the most disturbing evidence comes from researcher Albert Snyman, who keeps a pile of stones in his laboratory. These stones were removed from the stomachs of dead penguin and cormorant chicks.

With fish increasingly scarce, starving parents have been feeding their chicks stones and sand. In other cases, abandoned chicks swallow stones out of desperation. The stones block their digestive systems, preventing nutrient absorption and eventually causing slow death.

African penguins are monogamous and raise their young together, taking turns to forage and guard the nest. But as fish disappear near the shore, adults must travel farther and stay away longer.

Sometimes a parent fails to return, either delayed by the long journey or killed by predators. The remaining adult may be forced to leave the chicks unattended in search of food. Many chicks die while left exposed, accelerating the species’ decline.

For African penguins, survival has become a daily battle against hunger and time.