Litigation Against Environment Minister Barbara Creecy

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA

GAUTENG DIVISION, PRETORIA
Case No:- - - - -
In the matter between:
BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA First Applicant
SOUTH AFRICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE Second Applicant

CONSERVATION OF COASTAL BIRDS
and
THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND First Respondent

THE ENVIRONMENT
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: FISHERIES Second Respondent

MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY,
FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: OCEANS Third Respondent

AND COASTS, DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY,
THE SOUTH AFRICAN PELAGIC FISHING Fourth Respondent

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
EASTERN CAPE PELAGIC ASSOCIATION Fifth Respondent
FOUNDING AFFIDAVIT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE PARTIES ...................................................................................................................... 5
OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................... 9
IMPENDING EXTINCTION ................................................................................................. 20
1999: 42,768 breeding pairs ............................................................................................ 21
2007: 27,151 breeding pairs ............................................................................................ 22
2010: 22,802 breeding pairs............................................................................................ 23
2013: 18,835 breeding pairs............................................................................................ 23
2015: 19,284 breeding pairs................ .. ............... ........................................................... 24
2017: 17,277 breeding pairs ............................................................................................ 25
2019: 15, 187 breeding pairs............................................................................................ 26
2023: 8, 750 breeding pairs.............................................................................................. 26
2035: projected date of extinction in the wild .......... ... .. .................................................... 27
FACTUAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 29
2008-2020: South Africa's ground-breaking Island Closure Experiment and the need for
precautionary closures .................................................................................................... 29
2021-2022: Analysis paralysis in three rounds of scientific review .................... .. ............. 33
Round 1: The Joint Government Forum ...................................................................... 33
Round 2: The Extended Task Team ......................... ................ ........ ........................... 36
Round 3: The Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources (CAF) ......... 37
March-August 2022: Origin of the Panel and the Interim Closures .................................. 38
Step 1: Despite CAF failures, the Minister insists on compromise ............................... 39
Step 2: Industry refuses to compromise ........... ... ... ................ .... ...... ........ ... .... ... ......... 41
Step 3: proposing an international review to break the stalemate ................................ 42
Step 4: Arbitrary "Interim Closures" to facilitate the Panel process .............................. 43
October 2022: The Minister formally convenes the Panel ................................................ 49
March-July 2023: The Panel process and attempted Eastern Cape agreement .............. 53
July-August 2023: The Panel's Recommendations ......................................................... 55
4 August 2023: The impugned Decision .......................................................................... 60
August to October 2023: Illustrating the fundamental flaws of the Minister's decision ..... 62
Illustration 1: The Eastern Cape (non)agreement ........................................................ 62
Illustration 2: The DFFE fails to appreciate the Panel's recommendations .................. 63
Illustration 3: Attempting to persuade Oceana to lead in African Penguin conservation
····································································· ............................... ,............................... 67
Illustration 4: Attempting to identify and engage directly with smaller Industry players
····································································································································68
November 2023: SAPFIA rejects the need for island closures......................................... 74
December 2023: The end of the road.............................................................................. 76
January 2024 to 31 December 2033: Dire consequences for African Penguins ............... 78
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Dassen Island: Inadequate inclusion of African Penguins' valuable foraging areas and no
real reduction in resource competition .... ... ... ......... .. ............... .......... .. .............. .......... . 78
Robben Island: No meaningful reduction in resource competition or correlation with
valuable foraging areas ... .. ........... ... .......... ............. ............................ .. ....................... 80
Dyer Island: no meaningful reduction in resource competition .. .......... .... ...... .. .. .. ... .... .. 82
Stony Point: no reduction in resource competition ... ......... ...... ........... ........... ..... ......... . 84
St Croix: little to no value to African Penguins ............. ..... .............. .... .. ....... ........... ... .. 85
Bird Island: no scientific basis but a happy accident ... .......... ... ............ ............. .......... . 86
THE APPLICABLE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................... 88
The Constitution ................... .. ................... ................. ... ........... .. .... ...... ............... .. .......... 88
The National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 (NEMA) .. .... ........................ 89
The National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004 (NEM:BA) and
relevant international conventions ................... .............. ...................... .. ........... ... ........... . 91
The purpose of NEM:BA and relationship with NEMA and intern'ational biodiversity
obligations ... .,..... .. ............ ............. ............. ............ .. .. .. ... ..... ........ .......... .... .. ...... ........ . 91
Relevant international obligations .... .......... ..... ........ .. ............ .............. .. ............ ........... 92
The State's trusteeship of biodiversity and Minister's obligation to protect threatened
species .................... ............ .. ........... .. ........ ..... .......... ... .............. .................................... . 95
GROUNDS OF REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 99
First ground of review: the decision is irrational ..... ................ ..... ....................... ............ .. 99
Second ground of review: unlawfulness and unconstitutionality ..................... ... ... ... ...... 103
RELIEF ............................................................................................................................. 106
EXTENSION OR CONDONATION ................................................................................... 109
COSTS ............................................................................................................................. 112
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 113
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I, the undersigned,
ALISTAIR MC INTYRE MC INNES
do hereby make oath and state that:
1. I am an adult marine ecologist and the Seabird Conservation Programme
Manager at Birdlife South Africa, the first applicant (BLSA).
2. I am duly authorised to depose to this affidavit on behalf of BLSA. The relevant
resolution is attached as "AM1". I also attach as "AM2" and "AM3":
2.1 the resolution of the Board of the second applicant, the South African
Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), which
authorises this litigation; and
2.2 the supporting affidavit of Dr Katrin Ludynia, who is authorised to bring
this litigation on SANCCOB's behalf.
3. I have worked in the conservation sector since 1998. I hold a MSc in Zoology
from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and obtained a PhD from the University of
Cape Town in 2016. My PhD research focused on "Fine-scale drivers of African
Penguin prey dynamics in Algoa Bay, South Africa, and their impacts on penguin
foraging ecology". Subsequently, I worked as apost-doctoral fellow in the Marine

Apex Predator Research Unit at Nelson Mandela University (NMU), focusing on
the foraging ecology of African Penguins and Cape Cormorants at Stony Point
and Dyer Island, including developing tools to inform marine ecosystem
management. I held this position until mid-2019 when I took up my current

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position at BLSA, which entails overseeing projects concerned with mitigating
threats to seabirds within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone.
4. The facts contained herein are within my personal knowledge, unless otherwise
stated or as appears from the context, and are to the best of my belief both true
and correct.
5. Insofar as I make legal submissions, I rely on the advice of the applicants' legal
representatives, which advice I accept to be true and correct.
6. In addition to this affidavit, the applicants rely on the expert affidavits of Dr
Richard Sherley of Exeter University, attached as "AM4"; and Ms Eleanor
Weideman, attached as "AMS". Confirmatory affidavits have been provided by
Mr Mark Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of BLSA; Adj. Prof. Lorien Pichegru
of NMU; Mr Craig Smith of World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA);
and Dr Lauren Waller, formerly of SANCCOB and now of the Endangered Wildlife
Trust (EWT). Copies of these confirmatory affidavits are attached marked "AM6"
to "AM9". The applicants have filed this application in the absence of
commissioned affidavits from Adj. Prof. Pichegru and Dr Sherley who were
outside South Africa and unable to appear before a commissioner before these
papers were served. Their duly commissioned and/or apostilled affidavits will be
filed before the hearing of this matter.
THE PARTIES
7. The first applicant is BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA (BLSA).
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7.1 BLSA is registered as a non-profit organisation and public benefit
organisation in terms of the laws of South Africa. Its principal place of
business is at lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West,
Johannesburg.
7.2 BLSA's vision is a country and region where nature and people live in
greater harmony, more equitably and more sustainably, while its
mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and biodiversity through,
inter alia, scientifically-based programmes and supporting the
sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. A copy of BLSA's
constitution is attached as "AM10".
7.3 BLSA is recognised as a member of the Conservation Sector Group
(CSG) concerned with African Penguin conservation by the
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (the DFFE)
(alongside SANCCOB, EWT, WWF-SA and NMU) and has been a
participant in the processes and fora with which this application is
concerned.
8. The second applicant is the SOUTH AFRICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE
CONSERVATION OF COASTAL BIRDS (SANCCOB).
8.1 SANCCOB is registered as a non-profit company, non-profit
organisation and public benefit organisation in terms of the laws of
South Africa. Its registered address is at 22 Pentz Drive, Table View,
Western Cape.
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8.2 SANCCOB's primary objective is to conserve seabirds, the African
Penguin being the flagship species of focus, as well as other
complementary marine species. A copy of SANCCOB's memorandum
of incorporation is attached as "AM11 ".
8.3 SANCCOB is recognised by the DFFE as a member of the CSG
concerned with African Penguin conservation and has been a
participant in the processes and fora with which this application is
concerned.
9. The applicants bring this application in their own interest, in the interest of their
respective members, in the interest of the African Penguin and in the interest of
the public. As such, the applicants have legal standing in terms of sections 38(a),
38(c), 38(d) and 38(e) of the Constitution as well as sections 32(1)(a), 32(1)(c)
and 32( 1)(d) of the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998
(NEMA).
10. The applicants also bring these proceedings in the interests of protecting the
environment in terms of section 32(1)(e) of NEMA.
11. The first respondent is the MINISTER FOR FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE
ENVIRONMENT (the Minister) who has her office at Environment House, 473
Steve Biko Road, Arcadia, Pretoria. The Minister is cited in her official capacity
by virtue of having taken the decision which is subject to review in these
proceedings.
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12. The second respondent is the DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT (DOG: Fisheries) who has her office at Environment House,
473 Steve Biko Road, Arcadia, Pretoria. The DOG: Fisheries is cited by virtue of
the interest her directorate has in this matter and no relief is sought against her,
save for costs in the event of opposition.
13. The third respondent is the DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: OCEANS AND
COASTS (DOG: O&C) who has his office at Environment House, 473 Steve Biko
Road, Arcadia, Pretoria. The DOG: O&C is cited by virtue of the interest his
directorate has in this matter and no relief is sought against him, save for costs
in the event of opposition.
14. The fourth respondent is THE SOUTH AFRICAN PELAGIC FISHING
ASSOCIATION (SAPFIA).
14. 1 SAPFIA's offices are at 1st Floor, Harbour Place, 7 Martin
Hammerschlag Way, Foreshore, Cape Town.
14.2 SAPFIA is an association constituted as a non-profit organisation
whose object is to promote and protect the interests of its members. It
is the recognised industry body for small-pelagic fisheries in South
Africa in terms of section 8 of the Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of
1998 (MLRA) pursuant to Government Notice 270 in Government
Gazette 19792 of 5 March 1999.
14. 3 SAP FIA is cited by virtue of the interest it has in the matter with no relief
sought against it, save for costs in the event of opposition.

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15. The fifth respondent is the EASTERN CAPE PELAGIC ASSOCIATION (ECPA).
15.1 ECPA is recognised as an industry representative body for small-
pelagic fisheries in terms of section 8 of the MLRA pursuant to
Government Notice 183 in Government Gazette 36225 of 15 March
2023.
15.2 I note that while this is the body formally recognised in the Government
Gazette, the a~sociation with which the conservation sector has
engaged, representing holders of small-pelagic fishing rights in the
Eastern Cape, is the EASTERN AND SOUTHERN CAPE PELAGIC
ASSOCIATION (ESCPA). To the best of my knowledge, ECPA and
ESCPA are one and the same association and I therefore refer to it as
ESCPA throughout.
15.3 The address used by ESCPA in its correspondence, and assumed to
be its principal place of business, is 131 Albert Road, Walmer, Port
Elizabeth (Gqeberha).
15.4 ESCPA is cited by virtue of its interest in the matter and no relief is
sought against it, save for costs in the event of opposition.
OVERVIEW
16. This application is brought on an expedited basis in order to secure relief
designed to prevent the imminent extinction of Africa's only penguin: Spheniscus
demersus or the African Penguin.
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17. The African Penguin is recognised as a threatened species under South African
law 1 and is currently classified as "Endangered' on the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (the most
comprehensive global classification of global extinction risk). The most recent
IUCN Red List assessment, dated 2020, is attached as "AM12". It records the
IUCN's justification for assessing the African Penguin as "Endangered" as
follows:
"This species is classified as Endangered because it is undergoing a very rapid

population decline, probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in
prey populations. This trend currently shows no sign of reversing, and
immediate conservation action is required to prevent further declines. Recent
count data for the number of breeding pairs suggests that the rate of decline
may actually have increased in recent years. If the estimated rate of population
decline is confirmed to have accelerated, the species may require up/isling."
18. The IUCN's prediction of accelerated population decline has been confirmed by
the latest African Penguin census concluded in December 2023: the African
Penguin is now subject to consideration for reclassification as "Critically
Endangered' - just one step away from being extinct in the wild, which is
anticipated to occur as early as 2035. I refer in this regard to Dr Sherley's expert
affidavit (i.e. "AM4").
19. Since at least 2008, BLSA and SANCCOB have worked as part of an
international group of African Penguin specialist scientists on addressing the role
of prey availability in driving African Penguin declines. Since at least 2018, the
1 Lists of Marine Species that are Threatened or Protected, Restricted Activities that are Prohibited
and Exemption from Restriction published under GN 476 in Government Gazette 40875 of 30 May
2017.
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resulting scientific studies have demonstrated that population declines may be
partly arrested by optimising availability of African Penguins' preferred prey of
sardine (Sardinops sagax) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) around their
largest breeding colonies and that a precautionary approach requires fishing
closures in the vicinity of African Penguin breeding colonies. This demonstrates
the immediate need for long-term closures of African Penguin preferred foraging
areas to commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries i.e. the small-pelagic 2 purse-
seine fishing industry (Industry).
20. Despite acknowledging the plight of the African Penguin and the urgent need to
implement timeous conservation actions (including the appropriate fishing
closures) to prevent this species' extinction, the Minister has consistently failed
to implement appropriate and effective measures. Rather than taking decisive
steps to protect the African Penguin population and fulfil their constitutional and
international environmental protection obligations, the DFFE and the Minister
have engaged in at least four rounds of "scientific review" for purposes of, inter
alia, determining the delineation of island closures.
21. The last of these scientific review processes involved the appointment by the
Minister in October 2022 of the International Review Panel Regarding Fishing
Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies and
2
I note that small-pelagics in South African waters include sardine, anchovy and red-eye. Studies of African
Penguin diets have indicated that by far the major portion of their diet consists of sardine and anchovy -
however, they do also consume red-eye. Similarly, Industry is focused on anchovy and sardine which are
subject to the current issuance of small-pelagic fishing rights (and expressly referred to by the Minister in the
decision). It is for this reason that while we have included red-eye in our application of the Panel's
recommended trade-off mechanism (as further addressed in Ms Weideman's expert affidavit attached as
"AMS") I have referred, in this affidavit, to competition between African Penguins and Industry over sardine and
anchovy biomass as the core issue. To the extent that red-eye is caught in South African waters now and in
the future, this species should be considered as part of the closures under consideration in this application. (
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Declines in the Penguin Population (the Panel). The Panel, comprised of leading
international experts in the field, was convened "to advise on the proposed
closure of fishing areas adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin breeding
colonies and the decline in the penguin population". A copy of the Panel's terms
of reference is included in the attachment marked "AM13" (the Terms of
Reference).
22. It is evident from the Terms of Reference that it was specifically contemplated by
the Minister that the Panel would finally break the deadlock between penguin
scientists and conservationists on the one hand, and Industry on the other by
presenting a consolidated set of clear recommendations to enable the Minister
to put appropriate fishing closures in place.
23. While the Panel process was underway, the Minister implemented a set of
temporary closures which were highly compromised, not aligned with the
conservation sector's input and largely ineffective in stemming the decline of the
African Penguin population (the Interim Closures).
24. In their report (attached marked "AM14") the Panel endorsed the need for fishing
closures and made clear, scientifically supported recommendations for the
optimal approach to determining their delineation (referred to below as the
recommended "trade-off mechanism").
25. On 4 August 2023, when announcing the publication of the Panel's report, the
Minister communicated the decision forming the focus of these proceedings (the
decision), namely that:
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25.1 restrictions on purse-seine sardine and anchovy fishing would be
implemented in the waters around African Penguin colonies for a
minimum of 10 years, with a review after 6 years (the monitoring
period); and
25.2 unless the conservation sector and Industry agreed to alternative
closure delineations by 31 December 2023 (the deadline), the Interim
Closures would become "permanent".
26. The media statement conveying the Minister's decision is attached as "AM15".
27. The map below shows the locations of the six African Penguin breeding colonies
which are relevant to the decision (the breeding colonies). It also indicates the
Interim Closure delineations (shown in orange) as well as those applicable
should the Panel's recommendations be applied (shown in black). These are
placed in context by also including the full foraging range used by African
Penguins in each colony (shown in light green) and the foraging tracks generated
through tracking data (using grey lines). To provide further context, where
existing fisheries restrictions associated with marine protected areas (MPAs)
have been declared, I have indicated these in light blue. As can be seen in all
cases, the results of applying the Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism
covers a greater extent of areas in fact used by African Penguins to forage than
the Interim Closures - although this remains only part of the full range used by
African Penguins which we have recorded through scientific monitoring.
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28. Predictably, no agreement on alternative island closures was reached by the
deadline. Absent this Honourable Court's intervention, the Interim Closures will
now remain in place until 31 December 2033 - just over a year from the
anticipated extinction date of this charismatic and unique African species.
29. The applicants bring this application in terms of the Promotion of Administrative
Justice Act, 3 of 2000 (PAJA), alternatively the constitutional principle of legality.
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The applicants also rely on the provisions of the Constitution,
including sections 7(2) and 24.
30. The applicants seek the revi~w of the decision on the following grounds.
30.1 The decision to perpetuate the Interim Closures, unless the
conservation sector and Industry could reach an alternative agreement,
was irrational considering the purpose for which the Panel was
appointed; the Panel's recommendations; and the historical impasse
between the Industry, on the one hand, and penguin scientists and
conservation NGOs, on the other, regarding the need for, and
delineation of, island closures.
30.2 The Interim Closures were intended to be of a temporary nature to
enable the Panel to produce its findings. These closure delineations
were at no time accepted as fit-for-purpose by the conservation sector.
30.2.1 In all cases of African Penguin-Industry competition, the
science indicates that the Interim Closures do not provide the
requisite protections for African Penguins.
30.2.2 It was thus irrational for the Minister to rely on these
delineations for purposes of closures to remain in place over
the next ten years (particularly in light of the rate of African
Penguin population decline).
30.3 Further, the Panel not only found that island closures are a valid
intervention to prevent African Penguin population declines, but also
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provided specific recommendations regarding the best available
scientific basis for delineating closures that have biological benefit for
African Penguins (i.e. a benefit in relation to protection of their preferred
foraging areas as a mechanism for reducing competition between
African Penguins and Industry with the ultimate effect of improving the
availability of sardine and anchovy within African Penguins' preferred
foraging areas).
30.3.1 The Panel resolved scientific debates regarding the
appropriate method to be used to indicate "benefit to
penguins" by endorsing the "mlBA-ARS" method as the best
available scientific method to delineate preferred foraging
areas. This puts an end to debates regarding what method to
use for identifying areas of African Penguin "benefit" and the
most appropriate method to delineate areas of most forage
value to African Penguins.
30.3.2 Resolving scientific debates regarding how a trade-off
between maximum benefits to African Penguins and minimal
costs to Industry could be achieved, the Panel recommended
a trade-off mechanism which would assess the relative costs
and benefits of different closure delineation options (including
one aligned with preferred foraging area determined using
mlBA-ARS). It, further, indicated that these delineations
should be put in place at the commencement of the monitoring
period using data currently available - despite the need for
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further refinement of, inter a/ia, the economic modelling
currently available.
30.4 Moreover, it was irrational for the Minister to have accepted the Panel's
recommendations regarding the need for closures as well as the period
of time required for closures to have effect and be effectively monitored,
but then to fail to delineate the closures using the recommended trade-
off mechanism which included using the mlBA-ARS method and which
could achieve the purpose of contributing to slowing African Penguin
population declines.
30.5 This is still more egregious because the Interim Closures themselves
lack a clear relationship with the objective of improving African
Penguins' access to prey, through reduction in competition over
sardine and anchovy between these endangered birds and Industry.
30.6 Finally, it was entirely irrational to consider that an "agreement" over
alternative closure delineations could be achieved between Industry
and the conserv·ation sector given the impasse between these
stakeholders which had been unresolved since at least 2019, and
which was the primary reason for constituting the Panel. In effect, the
Minister's deferral to such agreement, without any process or
parameters in place for these stakeholder groups, had the effect of
rendering the Panel's recommendations writ in water - and returned
the parties to the stalemate which had precipitated the Panel process.
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31. In addition, the Minister's decision (compounded by her failure to act decisively
to protect African Penguins), is unlawful and unconstitutional.
31.1 The State has clear obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil
constitutional rights - including the rights set out in section 24(b) of the
Constitution. As such, the applicants were entitled to rely on the
Minister, in her role as Minister responsible for administration of NEMA
and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of
2004 (NEM:BA), to protect and enforce the rights to prevent
degradation of marine biodiversity and promote the conservation of the
African Penguin.
31.2 The Minister has self-evidently been aware of declining African
Penguin populations since at least 2018. Her announcement (i.e.
"AM15") indicates that the African Penguin is "critically endangered"
and that urgent measures are required to prevent its extinction. She
has also acknowledged that island closures are a necessary
conservation measure to prevent African Penguin population declines.
31.3 Despite this, the Minister has failed to take the necessary action to
protect this threatened species.
31.4 In addition, the legal basis on which the Minister has imposed the
Interim Closures and taken the decision is entirely unclear. While, as
already noted and elaborated below, the Minister has clear
constitutional, statutory and international obligations to act to protect
and conserve threatened species, she has not indicated in the
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announcement of her decision what the relevant empowering statute
or provision is which provides the legal basis for the decision taken.
31.5 It also appears that the Minister has unlawfully referred the question of
island closure delineation to private parties - namely "the industry" and
"the conservation sector". The Minister's insistence on "agreement"
goes well beyond consultation with interested and affected parties or
• seeking advice from experts in the field of marine ecology and
conservation. Rather, she has placed herself in a position to rubber
stamp whatever compromise positions may be achieved by
"agreement" notwithstanding the legal obligations placed upon her and
the merits or otherwise of these parties' bargaining positions. In effect,
the Minister has subordinated her duty to take steps to ensure the
survival of the African Penguin to a stillborn negotiation between
Industry and the conservation sector.
32. In the light of the above, the applicants seek the review and setting aside of the
decision and the substitution thereof with a decision to implement no-take small-
pelagic fishing areas around the breeding colonies in accordance with the maps
attached marked "AM16", which apply the Panel's recommendations regarding
the methods for determining preferred foraging areas and appropriate trade-offs
to determine closure delineations (the proposed closures).
33. In the alternative to the substituted relief, the applicants seek that the decision
be remitted to the Minister for reconsideration, on the basis that the new fishing
closures be based on the Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism and

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endorsement of the mlBA-ARS method to determine the preferred foraging area
of African Penguins and that, pending the Minister's decision, the proposed
closures are to be imposed around the breeding colonies.
SCHEME OF THIS AFFIDAVIT
34. I structure the remainder of this affidavit as follows:
34.1 First, I explain the need for urgent intervention driven by the impending
extinction of the African Penguin.
34.2 Second, I set out the factual background to the decision and this
application.
34.3 Third, I outline the relevant legislation.
34.4 Fourth, I address the applicants' grounds of review.
34.5 Fifth, I detail the relief sought.
34.6 Sixth, I explain why the applicants ought to be granted an extension, or
condoned, to the extent this application was not brought without
unreasonable delay.
34.7 Finally, I address the issue of costs.
IMPENDING EXTINCTION
35. The African Penguin has long been recognised as a seabird requiring legal
protection. Over the past three decades, its populations have dwindled to the
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precipice of extinction. And as the African Penguin's populations have
decreased, global recognition of its threatened status has steadily increased.
This is best demonstrated with reference to the milestones set out below.
1999: 42,768 breeding pairs
36. In 1997, the African Penguin was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Convention).
36.1 Appendix II lists species with an "unfavourable conservation status and
which require international agreements for their conservation and
management, as well as those which have a conservation status which
would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could
be achieved by an international agreemenf'. 3
36.2 In this context, "conservation status" refers to the "sum of the influences
acting on the migratory species that may affect its long-term distribution
and abundance". 4
36.3 A "conservation status" is unfavourable when population dynamics
data indicate that a species is failing to maintain itself on a long-term
basis as a viable part of its ecosystem; its range is being reduced or is
likely to be reduced on a long-term basis; there is, and will in the
foreseeable future be, insufficient habitat to maintain the species'
population on a long-term basis; and the distribution and abundance of
3 Bonn Convention, Art IV(1 ).

4 Bonn Convention, Art 1(1 )(b).
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the species approaches historic coverage and levels that indicate that
suitable ecosystems do not exist. 5
37. In 1999, just two years after the Bonn Convention listing, the total South Africa
population of African Penguins was estimated at 42,768 breeding pairs.
38. In 2007, the Policy on the Management of Seals, Seabirds and Shorebirds: 2007
was published in terms of the MLRA by the Minister responsible for
environmental affairs. 6 It recognised a number of threats to seabirds, including
insufficient availability of food through competition with fisheries, and
contemplated prohibition of "specified types of fishing in the vicinity of... seabird
breeding localities, where such fishing may reduce concentrations of fish
available to the breeding ... seabirds". 7 This policy specifically listed the African
Penguin as a seabird species needing protection. 8
39. At the time the Policy on the Management of Seals, Seabirds and Shorebirds
was published, the African Penguin was listed as "Vulnerable" in terms of the
IUCN Red List with a recorded estimate of 27, 151 breeding pairs in South Africa. 9
5 Bonn Convention, Art I(1)(d) read with Art I(1)(c).

6 At the time, the Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
7 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Policy on the Management of Seals, Seabirds
and Shorebirds: 2007, published as GN1717 in Government Gazette 30534 of 7 December 2007,
para 4.1.6.
8 Ibid Appendix C.
9 I note that Annexure A to the Policy on the Management of Seals, Seabirds and Shorebirds: 2007,
which sets out the conservation status of African Seabirds, reflects 56,900 breeding pairs based Du
Toit, M. et al. (Eds) (2003) Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for Southern African
y\/~
22
37
40. In 2010, the African Penguin was uplisted from "Vulnerable" to "Endangered' in
terms of the IUCN Red List.
41. In 2010, the African Penguin population in South Africa was estimated at 22,802
breeding pairs.
42. In June 2013, the African Penguin was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) .10
Appendix. II lists those species which may become threatened with extinction if
their trade is not clearly controlled.
43. A few months later, in October 2013, an African Penguin Biodiversity
Management Plan was gazetted (the 2013 BMP). 11 It recognised various threats
affecting the decline of the African Penguin population since the 1920s, but
highlighted that "[o]ne of the most important current threats to African Penguins
is considered to be the abundance and availability of prey .... In the Benguela
Upwelling Ecosystem, changes in the relative abundance of sardine and anchovy
Coastal Seabirds. Cape Town; Avian Demography Unit and IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding
Specialist Group. This technical report in fact reports a figure of 56,873 breeding pairs in South
Africa which appears to be based on the 2001 census figures.
10 See Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species {CITES) Regulations published as
GNR 629 in Government Gazette 36770 of 23 August 2013.
11 Department of Environmental Affairs, African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan , published as
GN824 in Government Gazette 36966 of 31 October 2013.
23
38
have been linked to changes in diet, breeding population size and breeding
success of various seabird populations, including .... African Penguin .... ". 12 The
interventions contemplated in the 2013 BMP included investigating the possibility
of spatial fishery management to address mismatches between fish location and
catches, and benefits for African Penguins. 13
44. At the time the relevant CITES listing was gazetted and the 2013 BMP was
published, South Africa had an estimated 18,835 breeding pairs of African
Penguins.
45. As set out below, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian
Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) gives effect to obligations in respect of African
Penguins pursuant to the Bonn Convention. In 2015, AEWA published its
International Multi-species Action Plan for the Conservation of Benguela Current
Upwelling System Coastal Seabirds (the AEWA Action Plan). The AEWA
Action Plan recognised that readily available and good quality prey affected all
four species of seabird which fed predominantly on sardine and anchovy (i.e. the
African Penguin, Cape Cormorant, Cape Gannet and Greater Crested Tern). 14
12 BMP 2013 para 2.2.11 . See also para 3.3.

13 BMP 2013, Action 4.3.1.7.
14 AEWA (2015) International Mufti-species Action Plan for the Conservation of Benguela Upwelling
System Coastal Seabirds. AEWA Technical Series No. 60 Bonn, Germany (AEWA Action Plan),
p 7.
24
39
45.1 Lack of food and low-quality prey was ranked as a "very high" - and
indeed as the foremost- threat to these species. 15
45.2 The AEWA Action Plan indicated that 'Tt]his is driven by a combination
of historical overfishing, the risk of current overfishing at small spatio-
temporal scales, and large-scale shifts in the abundance and
distributions of prey species. As seabird populations shrink, smaller
impacts, such as predation by seals, gulls and pelicans, can become
more significant at particular colonies."16
46. In 2015, the number of African Penguins in South Africa was estimated as 19,284
breeding pairs. 17
47. In May 2017, the African Penguin was listed as an endangered species in terms
of section 56(1) of NEM:BA and the Marine Threatened or Protected Species
Regulations. 18
15 AEWA Action Plan, p 23.

17 Note that the AEWA Action Plan reflected 2013 figures which, at that stage, demonstrated that two
colonies had become extinct (Bird Island: Lamberts Bay and Geyser Island). Colonies at Dassen,
Robben, Dyer, St Croix and Bird islands as well as Stony Point were all reflected as decreasing.
Seep 11 .
18 Lists of Marine Species that are Threatened or Protected, Restricted Activities that are Prohibited
and Exemption from Restriction published under GN 476 in Government Gazette 40875 of 30 May
2017.
25
40
48. At the time these regulations were published (in the first half of 2017), it was
estimated (based on counts conducted in 2016) that the number of African
Penguins in South Africa had dwindled to 17,277 breeding pairs.
49. The Robben Island MPA and Addo Elephant MPA were declared in part to
contribute to the conservation and protection of threatened seabird and shorebird
species including the African Penguin. 19 I emphasise that these MPAs were
declared with regard to these ecosystems as a whole - and not with particular
consideration of African Penguin foraging ranges or preferred foraging areas.
50. At the time these MPAs were gazetted in May 2019, the African Penguin count
(determined in 2018) had further reduced to an estimated 15,187 breeding pairs
in South Africa.
51 . The latest African Penguin census, completed in December 2023, has shown
that over three generations of birds, the global population has declined by 77.9%
(from approximately 44,300 breeding pairs in 1993 to approximately 9,900
19 Notice Declaring the Robben Island Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the National
Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003, published as GN774 in Government
Gazette 42478 of 23 May 2019; GN757 in Government Gazette 42478 of 23 May 2019.
26
41
breeding pairs in 2023). 20 In South Africa, the population has declined by 76.9%
to approximately 8,750 breeding pairs in the same period. 21
52. I refer in this regard to the assessment of current African Penguin population
trajectory prepared by Dr Richard Sherley for purposes of submission to the peer-
reviewed journal Ostrich and attached to his expert affidavit (i.e. "AM4") as "RS2".
The data and analysis in this article is the technical assessment which will be
submitted for review by Birdlife International, on behalf of the IUCN, with a view
to updating the status of the African Penguin on the IUCN Red List from
"Endangered" to "Critically Endangered'.
2035: projected date of extinction in the wild
53. Since penguin scientists indicated, in 2018, that small-pelagic purse-seine fishing
closures around breeding colonies may have positive impacts on arresting
population declines and that a precautionary approach supported such closures
as a conservation measure, a staggering 44% of the African Penguin population
in South Africa has been lost based on the official "counts". Put differently, the
African Penguin population has nearly halved in the time the Minister has had
the scientific input needed to help arrest these declines.
20 Note that these figures are those calculated for the purposes of the IUCN Assessment model.
21 I flag that the estimate provided in the DFFE's unpublished data referenced below is the slightly
lower figure of 8,534. This is because the figures used in the model employed for purposes of the
IUCN technical analysis utilises a series of adjustments to account for variability and/or errors in the
annual African Penguin count. The figures cited elsewhere in this affidavit are those sourced from
the DFFE's unpublished data.
27
42
54. Each year that passes without implementing science-backed mitigation
measures, including island closures, is likely to contribute to the exponential
decrease in the opportunity to conserve this population and prevent its extinction.
This has already been seen in Namibia, where remaining colonies - historically
threatened by inadequate prey availability due to overfishing of sardine and
anchovy between the 1960s and 1980s - now show very little chance of
recovery. 22
55. It is in the face of the rapidly declining African Penguin population, and the
imminent risk of extinction, that the Minister has failed to implement adequate
fishing closures. It is in the same context that the applicants have been
constrained to approach this Honourable Court on an expedited basis for the
necessary relief. We have done so as soon as possible after (1) being notified
on 19 December 2023 (after BLSA had commenced its annual shut-down) that
the "Interim Closures" would remain in place; (2) the passing of the Deadline of
31 December 2023; and (3) the entrenchment of the Interim Closures in the
permit conditions approved on 17 January 2024 for the 2024 anchovy and
sardine fishing season.
56. In the light of the above, the applicants have brought these proceedings in the
form of an expedited review application with truncated time periods. The urgency
of the matter is self-evident. Any delays in the grant and implementation of the
relief sought in these proceedings will result in further population decline of the
22 See JP Roux, CD van der Lingen, MJ Gibbons, NE Moroff, LJ Shannon, ADM Smith and PM Cury
(2013) "Jellyfication of marine ecosystems as a likely consequence of overfishing small pelagic
fishes: lesson from the Benguela", Bulletin of Marine Science, 89 (1), 249-284, available online
<http://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2011 .1145> (accessed 15 February 2024).
28
43
African Penguin at the material risk of it soon becoming extinct in the wild. In the
circumstances, I am advised that the minor truncation of the time periods, as
provided for in the applicants' notice of motion, is both reasonable and entirely
justified . Bearing in mind that the applicants must still receive the Rule 53 record
and supplement their founding papers before the respondents are required to
answer the case, there can be no prejudice to the respondents.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
2008-2020: South Africa's ground-breaking Island Closure Experiment and the
need for precautionary closures
57. The appointment of the Panel marked the fourth comprehensive scientific review
process initiated by the DFFE to re-examine the scientific rationale for closing
small-pelagic fishing grounds in the vicinity of African Penguin breeding colonies.
These reviews followed the internationally ground-breaking Island Closure
Experiment (ICE) which was piloted and implemented between 2008 and
2020/2021. The ICE was designed to empirically test whether closures could
reduce resource competition between the threatened African Penguin (a
specialist feeder on anchovy and sardine) and Industry. The ICE results
supported the merits of using targeted fishing closures to reduce resource
competition which, in turn, improved African Penguin prey availability as a key
contributor to species survival.
58. The ICE commenced with a feasibility study between 2008 and 2014. The
feasibility study was followed, between 2015 and 2021 by the experimental
~
rt· l\y\
29
44
imposition of closures to small-pelagic fishing within a radius of 20 km from
selected African Penguin colonies.
59. Three aspects of the ICE bear specific consideration in the context of this
application:
59.1 First, the experimental phase of the ICE involved alternative cycles of
three years of "open" and three years of "closed" fishing (periods not
aligned with African Penguin life cycles, as African Penguins reach
breeding maturity from only four years old). 23 These open and closed
cycles become relevant to economic and catch data available for
purposes of calculating appropriate trade-offs following the Panel's
recommended trade-off mechanism.
59.2 Second, the extent of scientific knowledge about African Penguin
foraging behaviour at the commencement of the ICE was appreciably
more limited than it is today. For example, tracking data has shown
that African Penguins forage further than 20 km from breeding colonies
even during the periods of their life cycles when they are most restricted
(such as during breeding). In addition, there are more sophisticated
methods determining the preferred foraging area of African Penguins
around a specific colony - including the "marine Important Bird Area -
23 Panel Report p 15. I note that, at the time the ICE was commenced, our knowledge of African
Penguin foraging ranges was limited. We have subsequently used telemetry data to better
understand foraging behaviour - which extends well beyond the 20 km radius even during the
periods of restricted forage applicable to the breeding season. See for example, Pichegru et al
(2012) "Industrial fishing, no-take zones and endangered penguins" Biological Conservation, 156,
117-125, available online <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.013> (accessed 15 February
2024). See "AM17". (-
tA' ~
30
45
Area Restricted Search" (mlBA-ARS) method relevant to the Panel's
recommendations and these proceedings. Once again, these
advances in scientific knowledge and method become relevant to the
irrationality of the Interim Closures and application of the Panel's
recommendations pertaining to closures .which are central to this
application.
59.3 Third, findings of the ICE published in 2018 indicated that fishing
closures were a legitimate management intervention to contribute to
African Penguin protection , preservation and conservation. 24 This lent
empirical support to the conservation sector's and penguin scientists'
emphasis on the importance of imposing closures consistent with
African Penguins' foraging behaviour in line with the precautionary
principle.
60. Accordingly, on 1 November 2019, a formal recommendation to the Minister
regarding the need for purse-seine small-pelagic fishing closures was addressed
by BLSA and SANCCOB, together with colleagues in the scientific community
affiliated with the University of Cape Town, NMU and VWI/F-SA. This
correspondence, attached as "AM18", highlighted the trajectory of African
Penguin decline, the danger of imminent extinction in the wild, the core role of
24 The relationship between food shortages and African Penguin population decline was formally
reported in scientific publications as early as 2006 as demonstrated by the references cited in BMP
2013 as well as the Draft African Penguin BMP gazetted for comment on 18 October 2019 under
GN1328 in Government Gazette 42775. See in particular RJM Crawford, PJ Barham, LG Underhill,
LJ Shannon, JC Coetzee, BM Dyer, T Mario Leshoro and L Upfold (2006) "The influence of food
availability on breeding success of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Robben Island, South
Africa", Biological Conservation, 132 (1), 119-125, available online
<https://doi.org/10/1016/j.biocon.2006.03.019> (accessed 15 February 2024). See also BMP 2013,
p 26 recognising the possibility of resource competition between fisheries around breeding colonies
and African Penguins.
31
46
declining sardine and anchovy availability in driving African Penguin population
decline and the evidence supporting island closures for a minimum of 10 years
around the six largest breeding colonies representing, at the time, 90% of the
South African breeding population. Despite follow-up, including on 3 and 29 April
2020 (attached as "AM19"), no response was received to this letter.
61 . At the time this letter was drafted, the African Penguin population in South Africa
was estimated at 13,312 breeding pairs according to the DFFE unpublished
census data. The latest census data presented by the DFFE on 23 August 2023
- a mere four years later - shows a meagre remaining population count of an
estimated 8,534 South African breeding pairs. 25
62. •However, as set out below, during the intervening four years and despite the
need for island closures being confirmed repeatedly by scientific review, the
Minister has persistently failed to take decisive action. Instead, she has ignored
the precautionary principle and allowed the DFFE to vacillate over the optimal
delineation of fishing closures to the point of paralysis. Meanwhile, all indications
are that sardine and anchovy biomass continues to decline; resource competition
between Industry and African Penguins continues; African Penguins' mounting
pressures in accessing prey leave them increasingly vulnerable to other threats
- and African Penguins are sliding towards extinction.
25
Note that the census for the global population , including Namibia, was completed in December 2023.
32
47
2021-2022: Analysis paralysis in three rounds of scientific review
Round 1: The Joint Government Forum
63. During the course of January 2021, the Minister requested that DFFE officials
synthesise the available scientific information relating to island closures and
African Penguin population declines. This led to the constitution of the Joint
Governance Forum (JGF) on 22 February 2021 .
64. In anticipation of the JGF, on 10 February 2021, BLSA addressed
correspondence to the Minister, providing a detailed account of all scientific
evidence which, as at that date, supported the importance of forage fish prey to
African Penguins and the benefits of island closures demonstrated by the ICE.
The scientific review was authored by scientists affiliated with BLSA, SANCCOB,
WWF-SA, NMU, the Universities of Cape Town, the Western Cape and Exeter,
as well as government-employed scientists at SANParks, CapeNature and
DFFE: O&C. I attach the e-mail and review as "AM20".
65. On 24 March 2021, further correspondence followed from BLSA to the Minister
recording meetings and future collaborations between BLSA and SANParks.
This correspondence, once again, emphasised lack of prey as the most
significant threat to African Penguins and the importance of the ICE. It
particularly noted SANParks' report of dramatic declines in African Penguin
numbers on St Croix Island and the need for the Minister exercising her decision-
making authority to impose island closures based on the precautionary principle.
BLSA's covering e-mail highlighted that the African Penguin was "edging closer
48
and closer to the edge of the extinction precipice". I attach this correspondence
as "AM21".
66. The Minister appeared to recognise the need to take action when, on 19 April
2021, a meeting was convened for BLSA, SANCCOB and W\/1/F-SA to present
their concerns to the Minister and DFFE officials, including Dr Ashley Naidoo (of
DFFE: O&C) and Dr Kim Prochazka (of DFFE: Fisheries). During this meeting,
I, and the other conservation sector representatives, emphasised the crisis facing
African Penguins; the threat of extinction; and the peer-reviewed scientific papers
identifying reduced food availability as contributing to population declines. We
stressed that the science warranted urgent and decisive action which ( 1) reduced
Industry-penguin competition for access to sardines and anchovy around African
Penguin breeding colonies; and (2) addressed the long-term sustainability of the
small-pelagic fisheries industry. I attach follow-up correspondence sent to the
Minister, including the meeting minutes, as "AM22".
66.1 I note that the minutes record that "BC [i.e. the Minister] highlighted the
importance of having the scientific evidence to back up decisions and
thus to resolve differences in scientific outputs to motivate for a
management decision on island closures. BS [sic] further noted that
this was important to minimise potential litigation from the fishing
industry".
66.2 Further, among the "[p]roposed ways forward' was "[a] transparent,
impartial, peer-reviewed process be initiated that includes FAQ
member and seabird-prey specialists".

49
67. On 22 July 2021, the Minister responded to BLSA's letter of 24 March 2021. In
doing so she confirmed that a technical task team had been established (referring
to the JGF). She also recognised that, "[a]lthough the African penguin population
is exposed to a multitude of stressors, the technical task team has identified food
availability. habitat degradation as a result of increased anthropogenic activity
around breeding colonies and oil pollution as the main reasons for the continuing
decline of the African penguins". I attach this letter as "AM23".
68. On 12 August 2021, the Minister held a public meeting at which the JGF's
Synthesis Report was presented. This report was intended, inter alia, to enable
the Minister to make decisions regarding closures to small-pelagic sardine and
anchovy fisheries around African Penguin breeding colonies - with the principles
of conservation, sustainable use and precaution expressly forming part of the
JGF's brief. 26 The Synthesis Report recognised that:
68.1 abundance of and quality of prey (particularly sardine and anchovy)
were important to African Penguins during breeding and before and
after moulting (activities occurring year-round); and
68.2 there was disagreement between seabird scientists and marine
ecologists on the one hand, and fisheries scientists on the other, as to
whether prey availability was the primary driver of African Penguin
population declines. 27
26 Synthesis Report pp 2; 52.

27 Synthesis Report p 15.
35
50
69. The e-mail following this meeting, attaching the meeting presentation and
Synthesis Report itself, is attached as "AM24".
70. Despite the Minister's emphasis on precaution and the JGF's express
acknowledgment that prey was important to African Penguin populations, the
Minister once again failed to take any decision regarding island closures.
Instead, a further round of discussions and analysis in the form of the "Extended
Task Team" (ETT) was set in motion.
71. By this stage, the African Penguin population had fallen further in South Africa:
from the estimated number of 13,312 breeding pairs in November 2019 to an
estimated 10, 117 breeding pairs.
Round 2: The Extended Task Team
72. Rather than the independent review agreed to between the conservation sector
ana the DFFE in April 2021, the ETT consisted of a series of meetings between
August and November 2021 at which SAPFIA represented Industry and the
conservation sector was represented by Dr Lauren Waller (at the time of
SANCCOB), Mr Craig Smith (\/WvF-SA) and myself (see "AM25"). Predictably,
the ETT meetings merely rehashed old debates over the necessity and relative
impacts of closures on African Penguin population stability and entirely failed to
address the urgent need to arrest African Penguin population declines. The
conservation sector highlighted these issues in its submission dated 2 November
2021, attached as "AM26".
36
51
73. We also made it clear in this submission and throughout the ETT that the
closures proposed by the DFFE would not have meaningful biological impacts
for African Penguins. Notwithstanding this analysis being provided to the DFFE
in November 2021, on 1 September 2022 the DFFE imposed these "DFFE 2021"
closures as the Interim Closures around Robben, Dassen and Dyer islands -
with a modification around Dyer Island further reducing African Penguin benefits
by allowing vessels being 26 m or shorter, to continue sardine and anchovy
fishing within the closure area (see further the explanation at paragraph 97.1
below). I highlight that a consequence of the Minister's decision which forms the
subject of this review, is that these closures are now in place until 31 December
2033.
74. Unsurprisingly, the ETT concluded without any clear resolution. Accordingly, in
January 2022, the Minister referred the issues to yet another review: the
"Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources".
Round 3: The Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources (CAF)
75. The GAF was established in terms of section 5 of the MLRA on 21 June 2021
and entailed eight all-day meetings in the period 1 February 2022 to 8 March
2022. According to its terms of reference, this "Special Project to Review
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions" required the
GAF to "[c]onsider outputs from the Extended Task Team on Penguin
Conservation and make agreed upon recommendations to the Minister on
limiting of Small Pelagic Fishing Activities adjacent to penguin colonies". I attach
the terms of reference as "AM27".

52
76. Industry was represented by Dr Mike Bergh, Mr Mike Copeland (both of SAPFIA)
and Mr Redah de Maine (of ESCPA) while the conservation sector was
represented by myself, together with Dr Lauren Waller (representing both
SANCCOB and EWT) and Mr Craig Smith of WWF-SA. As expressed in my
"observer letter' (attached as "AM28"), the purpose of appointing conservation
sector representatives was to:
"1.1 Consider outputs from the Extended Task Team on Penguin Conservation
and make recommendations on the limiting of Small Pelagic Fishing Activities
adjacent to penguin colonies ....
1. 2 To provide the Minister with agreed upon recommendations to the approach

to possible island closures.
1. 3 Make additional recommendations on other conservation measures that

may be adopted by the Minister."
77. Almost no weight, however, was ultimately given to conservation sector
recommendations and, predictably, there were no "agreed upon
recommendations" between those representing Industry interests and those
focused on African Penguin conservation imperatives. Critically, the science-
backed rationale for biologically meaningful closures was ignored and the CAF
stood as yet another avoidance of decisive Ministerial action. Meanwhile, the
African Penguin census for 2022 reflected an alarming decline in the South
African population to an estimated 9,997 breeding pairs.
March-August 2022: Origin of the Panel and the Interim Closures
78. Following the failure of the CAF, the conservation sector engaged with the
Minister, representatives of the DFFE as well as Industry to explore solutions to

~
r\~rt
38
53
the urgent crisis of population decline faced by African Penguins. While the
conservation sector at all times motivated for the adoption of scientifically
determined island closures based on increasing scientific evidence and the
precautionary principle, the Minister continued to insist on consensus-driven
delineations. Meanwhile, Industry persisted in questioning the findings of the
ICE and the need for imposing any anchovy and sardine fisheries closures at all.
79. In what follows, I outline the steps in the negotiations led by the conservation
sector (and compromises that became necessary, including over the woefully
inadequate Interim Closures) to establish an international expert panel to finally
break the impasse between Industry and conservationists over what the science
indicated and what the Minister should do about it.
Step 1: Despite CAF failures , the Minister insists on compromise
80. On 16 March 2022, following a call with the Minister, Mr Mark Anderson, sent the
Minister an e-mail (later forwarded to key individuals in the conservation sector
- including myself) which pointed out key procedural and substantive
irregularities in the CAF's conduct. These shortcomings were elaborated in the
conservation representatives' report on the "Failed Consultative Process" of the
CAF which he enclosed. I attach this e-mail and report as "AM29".
81. Subsequently, on 28 March 2022, the CAF's findings were presented at a
meeting which attended together with other conservation sector
representatives. Tellingly, during the course of the meeting, the Minister
suggested that the conservation sector had three options, namely that we: (1)
39
54
accept the recommendations made by the CAF; (2) re-enter discussions with
Industry; or (3) accept that the CAF process failed and take such action as we
deem fit.
82. On 5 April 2022, Mr Anderson engaged in a lengthy meeting with the Minister,
the details of which he recorded in an e-mail to conservation sector members,
including myself. As indicated in the e-mail, attached as "AM30", and confirmed
in Mr Anderson's confirmatory affidavit, the Minister:
82.1 expressed her concern about legal action and indicated that the "fishing
industry has deep pockets and that a legal process could delay the
closures by years";
82.2 requested that Mr Anderson reach out to Mr Copeland of SAPFIA; and
82.3 recommended that the conservation sector meet with Mr Copeland as
well as Mr de Maine of ESCPA.
83. Mr Anderson accordingly called Mr Copeland on 5 April 2022, and a meeting
between Messrs Anderson and du Plessis representing the conservation sector
and Messrs Copeland and de Maine was arranged for 13 April 2022. These
engagements clarified that, like the conservation sector, Industry was dissatisfied
with the procedure and outcomes of the CAF and supported an independent
review - albeit for different reasons. It was equally apparent that Industry
fundamentally questioned the need for island closures.

55
84. Consequently, on 27 April 2022, the conservation sector addressed
correspondence to the Minister, which I attach as "AM31", recommending that:
84.1 an independent international review panel be convened to review the
information before the CAF as well as the CAF's recommendations;
and
84.2 as an urgent measure to prevent further population declines, closures
to small-pelagic fishing be implemented on a temporary basis around
the six islands supporting more than 1,000 breeding pairs of African
Penguins, on the basis that they would be revised based on the
independent review panel's recommendations.
85. This led to the Minister inviting the leadership of the NGOs comprising the core
conservation sector group to meet with her on 6 May 2022. Mr Anderson
attended the meeting and subsequently provided feedback. As appears from his
e-mail, attached as "AM32", the Minister continued strongly to urge compromise
between Industry and the conservation sector.
Step 2: Industry refuses to compromise
86. On 25 May 2022, Mr Anderson and Mr du Plessis again met with Industry to
discuss a way forward . On this occasion, Industry was represented by Mr
Copeland and Mr Mike van den Heever of Pioneer Fishing. It was agreed that
joint correspondence would be drafted to the Minister recommending an
independent review panel and proposing urgent and temporary closures of St
Croix, Dyer and Dassen Islands. Mr Anderson e-mailed a recordal of the agreed
lv
V'- ,to1
41
56
next steps to Mr Copeland and Mr van den Heever on 27 May 2022 which I attach
as AM33".
87. Soon afterwards, and on 30 May 2022, Dr Waller reported her engagements with
another industry stakeholder, Mr Andre Coetzee of Gansbaai Marine (operating
a factory in Mossel Bay and engaged in purse-seine small-pelagic fishing around
Dyer Island). As appears from Dr Waller's correspondence, attached as "AM34",
Mr Coetzee was unhappy about the proposed closures around Dyer Island on
the basis of economic concerns; his perceptions of the scientific position (which
were misconceived); and fears of competition from larger "West Coast" fishing
operations within the small-pelagic sector.
88. These attempts by the conservation sector to compromise on closures with
various Industry representatives had clearly come to nought. In the result, Mr
Anderson addressed correspondence to the Minister's office on 5 June 2022
requesting a meeting to discuss the "way forward for (a) the island closures and
(b) the international review". Mr Anderson's e-mail is attached as "AM35".
Step 3: proposing an international review to break the stalemate
89. It appears that, on or about 29 June 2022, SAPFIA addressed correspondence
to the Minister, supporting the need for an international review panel. I attach
this letter as "AM36".
90. On 5 July 2022, the conservation sector (including BLSA, WWF-SA, EWT,
SANCCOB as well as SANParks) sent the Minister its report "on the outcomes
42
57
of the consultations between the Conservation Sector and the Fishing Industry
on Island Closures and the conservation of the "Endangered" African Penguin".
This report again implored the Minister to appoint an international review panel
and to implement closures based on the precautionary principle. I attach the
report as "AM37".
91. Following a meeting between Mr Anderson and the Minister on 6 July 2022, Mr
Anderson addressed an e-mail to the Minister on 10 July 2022 forwarding
documents she had requested together with a description of the outcome of Dr
Waller's attempts to agree on a Dyer Island closure with the CEO of Gansbaai
Marine. I attach this e-mail with its attachments as "AM38".
92. What followed between 12 July 2022 and 12 August 2022 were a series of
meetings and e-mails between the conservation sector and Industry (eventually
also including Dr Naidoo of DFFE: O&C) as well as regular updates to the
Minister. These engagements focused on compiling terms of reference and the
composition of the mooted expert panel. This process concluded on 12 August
2022, when Dr Naidoo circulated the final version of the terms of reference to be
provided to the Minister, together with a list of prospective members. I attach Dr
Naidoo's e-mail as "AM39".
Step 4: Arbitra ry "Interim Closures" to facilitate the Panel process
93. For the purposes of facilitating the Panel process, the conservation sector was
prepared to accept that temporary closures around the six major African Penguin
breeding colonies could be imposed based on delineations presented at the end

58
of the JGF process. As indicated above, post-CAF negotiations with Industry
had indicated that it was not prepared to compromise on closure delineations.
This refusal to compromise extended to temporary closures. As shown by the
correspondence exchanged between 15 and 18 August 2022, the result was
DFFE imposing a set of arbitrary Interim Closures - which, as a result of the
Minister's decision, are now in place for the next ten years.
94. The discussions regarding temporary closures between 15 and 16 August 2022
were facilitated by the DFFE, led by Dr Naidoo who engaged separately with
Industry and the conservation sector. However, it appeared ultimately to be the
DFFE which decided on the temporary closure delineations - the reasons and
internal processes being unclear.
94.1 While the conservation sector had indicated that it was prepared to
accept the closure delineations presented at the end of the JGF as
temporary measures, this was clearly not acceptable to Industry.
94.2 This was highlighted when, on 15 August 2022, Dr Naidoo asked Dr
Waller and I whether the conservation sector would make various
concessions for purposes of delineating temporary closures around
Dyer and St Croix islands. Dr Waller responded, detailing the
conservation sector's prior engagements with Gansbaai Marine in
relation to Dyer Island and explaining that the "trade off' which allowed
Gansbaai Marine to fish within African Penguins' preferred foraging
area (and which had been discussed in the context of the CAF's flawed
approach to closures) was highly imbalanced when it came to

59
promoting African Penguin prey availability. This exchange of
correspondence is attached as "AM40".
94.3 We next heard from Dr Naidoo on 16 August 2022 when he set out
Industry's proposed temporary closures as follows:
"1 . Dassen - 60 %
2. Robben - 100%
3. Stony- as per MPA
4. Dyer- 40% as per GAF, but allowing vessel less than 24m in the areas
between this and the red no go area - need to confirm this with their
stakeholders - so a variation of the GF limits - you proposed
5. St Croix - 27% - as per GAF
6. Bird - 93 % as per GAF".
94.4 As Dr Naidoo acknowledged, these were "quiet [sic] a departure" from
the closures proposed at the end of the JGF and to which the
conservation sector had been prepared to agree on a temporary basis.
94.5 Indeed, these closures were covered in part or entirely by existing MPA
closures or non-fishing zones in the case of Robben, Stony and Bird
Islands; effectively allowed all local industry fishing to continue around
Dyer Island; and presented entirely inadequate fishing closure extents
around St Croix and Dassen islands.
94.6 It should be noted that Dassen, Dyer and St Croix islands receive the
most purse-seine fishing in the waters around breeding colonies while
the waters around Bird Island experience relatively little purse-seine
small-pelagic fishing. As such the meagre concessions by Industry

60
were focused on those colony waters that already received less (to
negligible) fishing pressure.
95. This lack of compromise, the inadequacy of Industry's concessions and the
absence of a clear socio-economic basis for Industry's proposed temporary
closures were pointed out in Mr Anderson's response of 16 August 2022. He
emphasised the following:
"Given the dire situation for the African Penguins, the proposals do not
meet the minimum requirement of an adequate response to this crisis.
The Eastern Cape penguin population is Critically Endangered, yet the
closure extent in this proposal is less than that of the closure experiment,
which was already insufficient. Furthermore, St Croix was closed for three
consecutive years on two different occasions during ICE. The industry did
not provide any real-time evidence for socio-economic costs due to
closures during this time. There is no justification for a 27% closure.
Furthermore, industry, on the whole, has provided no evidence for actual

socio-economic costs. This continues to limit a transparent negotiation
based on the best available data to weigh up costs to industry and
benefits to penguins.
Another breeding season with no closures has gone by and this is the
second year that the breeding foraging areas have not been
protected. We are now moving into the moult period, and a recent study
has shown that closures will benefit the non-breeding birds. Since no
closures have been implemented for the last 1 ½ years, with seasonal
closures the year before, and most of the TAC already caught,
implementing the Governance Forum proposals for the remainder of the
year has the most support. The Governance Forum proposals were also
supported by both DFFE's Oceans & Coasts and Fisheries branches.
The industry's concern that they don't want to support the Governance
Forum closures in the interim because they believe they may become
permanent is unfounded, given that DFFE has agreed that these
measures are temporary.
61
Given the rationale, we maintain that the strongest defensible position for
interim closures is to implement the recommendations from the
Governance Forum with proposed adjustments for the Dyer and Stony
colonies."
95.1 I attach the relevant e-mail chain as "AM41".
96. The debate regarding temporary closure delineations concluded on 18 August
2022, when Dr Lisolomzi Fikizolo (at the time, the Chief Director: Specialist
Monitoring Services; DFFE: O&C) circulated an e-mail announcing temporary
closures. In outlining these "interim closures", Dr Fikizolo:
96.1 indicated that they would be recommended to the Minister for
implementation from 1 September 2022 to 14 January 2023;
96.2 emphasised that these closures were of a temporary nature, with a new
decision to be imposed from 15 January 2023; and
96.3 suggested that the Interim Closures represented an "uneasy"
consensus between the industry and the conservation sector.
97. I flag that Dr Fikizolo referred to the origin of each closure with reference to when,
and by which party, it had first been proposed. While St Croix, Stony Point and
Bird Island reflected various Industry proposals, Dassen, Robben and Dyer
islands were described as originating as "DFFE 2021" (i.e. the DFFE's proposals
at the commencement of the ETT). This is relevant, not only in reflecting the
entire absence of reference to conservation sector proposals, but also in an
important inaccuracy in relation to Dyer Island.
47
62
97.1 As Dr Waller had explained, the closure to be imposed around Dyer
Island was in fact based on the discussions between the conservation
sector and Gansbaai Marine during the GAF which imposed a closure
on all fishing in a relatively little-used fishing area near the coast
(proposed by Industry during the GAF) and allowing vessels under 26m
in length, including those of Gansbaai Marine, to continue fishing in the
area between this boundary and the perimeter of "DFFE 2021 ".
97.2 Accordingly, the Interim Closures effectively acceded to Industry in
relation to four of the six breeding colonies and this was, by no means
a consensus. This absence of consensus was pointed out in Mr
Anderson's response to Dr Fikizolo (which the latter conceded).
97.3 I attach Dr Fikizolo's original e-mails and the exchange between he and
Mr Anderson that followed as "AM42".
98. In the result, with effect from 1 September 2022 to 14 January 2023, the DFFE
declared that certain areas around the six major African Penguin colonies would
be closed to commercial fishing for anchovy and sardine (i.e. the Interim
Closures) 28 and the sardine/anchovy fishing permit conditions were amended
accordingly.
99. The Interim Closures were, by definition, at all times intended to be nothing more
than a temporary measure to help protect the declining African Penguin
28 DFFE, (2022) Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on interim fishing closures and limitations
around key penguin colonies, available online <https://www.gov.za/news/media-
statementslforestry-fisheries-and-environment-%C2%AO-interim-fishinq-closures-and-limitations>
(accessed 16 February 2024). '{,
48
t~
63
population whilst the international review panel was constituted and prepared its
report. Indeed, the media statement announcing the Interim Closures indicated
that they would "be temporary to allow for an international scientific panel to be
set up to review all related science output over recent years" and to "advise the
Department on the value of fishing limitations for penguins' success, as well as
the impacts such limitations will have on the fishing industry". The media
statement is attached marked "AM43".
100. As a result of the haphazard manner in which the Interim Closures were
determined, they do not align with the preferred foraging range of African
Penguins (save for Bird island, where there is minimal to negligible purse-seine
fishing activity - although this is a coincidence as the Bird Island closure
delineation originates in an irrational method as explained at paragraphs 179 to
183 below).
101. The Interim Closures were in fact delineated using a confusing mix of different
delineation methods, all of which pre-date (1) the Panel's consolidated
examination of the ICE, JGF, ETT, CAF; and (2) the latest scientific data and
methods for determining African Penguins' preferred foraging ranges.
elaborate at paragraphs 165 to 183 below.
October 2022: The Minister formally convenes the Panel
102. On 28 October 2022, the Minister gave notice in the Government Gazette of her
intention to establish a panel of experts in terms of section 3A of NEMA "to advise
on the proposed closure of fishing areas adjacent to South Africa's African

\(_,,
~\/lM
49
•
64
Penguin breeding colonies and the decline in the penguin population". This
notice, attached as "AM13", included the Panel's Terms of Reference.
103. The Terms of Reference explained that prior studies concerning the effects of
fishing closures on African Penguin breeding colonies had resulted in "lengthy
debate with dichotomous views" and that comments and recommendations of
the ETT and CAF "remain contested'. 29 Accordingly, the Terms of Reference
made it clear that the Panel was being convened with the purpose of providing
an independent, scientific review of prior scientific disagreements and presenting
consolidated recommendations to enable the Minister to make a decision about
closures.
104. This purpose was detailed through specific objectives which required the Panel,
inter alia:
104.1 To evaluate whether the scientific evidence from the ICE and
subsequent publications "indicates that limiting small pelagic fishing
around [African Penguin] colonies provides a meaningful improvement
to penguin parameters that have a known scientific link to population
demography in the context of the present rate of population decline"
and "[a]ssess the cost-benefit trade-off of 1) costs to fisheries, versus
2) the proportion of penguin foraging range protected during the
breeding season, for different fisheries exclusion scenarios". 30
29 Terms of Reference, para 1.

30 Terms of Reference, para 2(a).
50
65
104.2 "Within the context of an urgent need to implement timeous
conservation actions for the African Penguin and considering the
information and rationale of the various scientific reviews and
associated documents of the Island Closure Experiment evaluate the
evidence supporting the benefits of fishery restrictions around African
Penguin colonies to adopt precautionary measures by implementing
long-term fishery restrictions'1'J 1 (emphasis added).
104.3 "If closures or fishing limitations are viewed to contribute positively to
the support of the African Penguin population, [to] recommend a trade-
off mechanism as a basis for setting fishing limitations and mappind ' 32
(emphasis added).
104.4 Also if determining that fishing limitations were of benefit to African
Penguins to recommend "Delineation of fishery no-take areas around
six African Penguin colonies (Dassen Island, Robben Island, Dyer
Island, Stony Point, St Croix Island and Bird Island) and the duration of
the closures, considering life history traits, e.g. age when most birds
start breeding, and associated duration required to signal potential
population benefits". 33
105. The Panel's recommendations thus had to include:
31 Terms of Reference, para 2(b).

32 Terms of Reference, para 2(c).
33 Terms of Reference, para 2(c)(a).
66
105.1 "whether, based on the results from ICE and other evidence-based
information, island closures are likely to benefit penguins"; 34
105.2 "whether a percentage (%) of penguin foraging range and other
biological criteria ... provide a basis for determining benefits from
closures for penguins and assess the merits of different proposed
methods to delineate important penguin foraging habitaf'; 35 and
105.3 "trade-off mechanisms for island closures in the event that the panel
finds that the results of the ICE and other evidence demonstrate that
island closures are likely to benefit penguins, including specific areas
and durations [and]. .. advise on biologically meaningful penguin habitat
extents for fishery limitations per island, recommendations must be
spatially and temporally explicit, and provided on a map". 36
106. As explained at paragraphs 113 to 114 below, the Panel duly:
106.1 determined that island closures were likely to benefit African Penguins;
106.2 endorsed the "mlBA-ARS" method as appropriate for delineating
important penguin foraging habitat and determining benefits to African
Penguins; and
34 Terms of Reference, para S(a).

35 Terms of Reference, para S(c).
36 Terms of Reference, para S(d).
67
106.3 critically, provided a clear trade-off mechanism which would enable the
Minister to determine biologically meaningful African Penguin habitat
extents for fishery limitations per island.
107. The second of these recommendations was omitted from the Minister's decision,
leading to continued debates about the validity of using "mlBAs" in determining
African Penguin foraging areas. However, it is the Minister's failure to follow the
last of these three recommendations which is central to this application and the
urgent need to intervene to prevent African Penguins' fight for food over the next
ten years.
108. Before I elaborate on these consequences for African Penguins, I return to the
events of 2023, commencing with the Panel process itself and the other aspect
of the Minister's irrationality: the expectation of "agreement".
March-July 2023: The Panel process and attempted Eastern Cape agreement
109. The Panel process involved comprehensive engagements between the
members of the Panel and the interested community of penguin scientists,
marine ecologists, conservationists, Industry and the DFFE through e-mail
correspondence; written submissions; online presentations and meetings
between 20 and 23 March 2023 and on 15 May 2023; and in-person stakeholder
meetings on 5 and 6 June 2023.
110. During the 6 June 2023 session Mr de Maine of ESCPA indicated his willingness
to discuss closures around St Croix and Bird islands - both located in Algoa Bay
\L-
53
~· ~
68
(the Eastern Cape closures). This initiated a course of events which would
highlight the futility of the Minister's continued emphasis on "agreement" but also
cast into the relief the DFFE and Minister's apparent refusal to take decisive
action to benefit African . Penguins. Nevertheless, on 9 June 2023, the
conservation sector followed Mr de Maine's lead and confirmed that Adj. Prof.
Pichegru would be their representative in further Eastern Cape closure
discussions due to her expertise in the Algoa Bay area and her being based in
Gqeberha, as was Mr de Maine. This e-mail, and Mr de Maine's confirmation of
the arrangement, is attached as "AM44".
111 . Further steps were delayed until 20 July 2023 when, after Adj. Prof. Pichegru
returned from a period abroad, I am advised that a meeting was held between
her, Mr de Maine and Ms Tasneem Wesley (also of ESCPA). A further call on
2 August 2023 and subsequent e-mail correspondence appeared to confirm a
potential compromise on the boundaries of the Eastern Cape closures. I attach
the relevant e-mails as "AM45, "AM46" and "AM47".
112. The fate of these discussions which commenced before the Minister's decision;
which the DFFE ironically celebrated as a consequence of her decision; and
which unravelled on the very day the "agreement" was to be implemented,
demonstrate the inherent unworkability of the Minister's contemplation of any
"agreement" being reached between the "conservation sector" and Industry. I
have not detailed every tortious step of this (non)agreement. However, I touch
on its conclusion; ESPCA's reversal; and the DFFE's yielding to Industry's
complaints in their chronological context below (see paragraphs 122 to 125; 130
to 131; 152 to 153; and 161).

69
July-August 2023: The Panel's Recommendations
113. The Panel appears to have provided its report to the Minister during the course
of July 2023. As foreshadowed above, its key findings include the following:
113.1 Despite its weaknesses, the ICE showed that excluding purse-seine
sardine and anchovy fishing from waters around the breeding colonies
is likely to contribute to reducing the rate of decline of the African
Penguin population. 37 In other words, the Panel answered the
questions posed at paragraphs 2(a) and S(a) of the Terms of Reference
(paragraphs 104.1 and 105.1 above) to confirm that "the results of the
ICE and other evidence-based information" showed that island
closures are likely to benefit African Penguins.
113.2 In determining that fishing limitations would likely benefit African
Penguins, the Panel recommended that closures should be year-round
and reviewed after a period corresponding with African Penguin life-
histories i.e. between six and ten years after designation of closures.38
This answered the question at paragraph 2(c)(a) of the Terms of
Reference cited at paragraph 104.4 above.
113.3 The best scientific basis for delineating preferred foraging areas of
African Penguins during breeding was the mlBA-ARS method.39 This
method would provide a conservative indication of where these
37 Panel Report, p 8; p 23, para 2.3; p 26 para 2.5; p 44 para 7.1 .

38
Panel Report, p 33 para 4.1; p 46 para 7.3; p 47 para 7.6.
39
Panel Report, p 34, para 4.3; p 46 para 7.3.
70
seabirds forage year-round (including during moult). 40 This is because
the mlBA-ARS for each island is based on telemetry data collected for
African Penguin at-sea movements collected when African Penguins
are engaged in early chick-rearing and they travel the shortest
distances from the colony. In other words, the Panel responded to
paragraph 5(c) of the Terms of Reference cited at paragraph 105.2 by
stating that the most appropriate method for delineating important
penguin foraging habit was the "mlBA-ARS" method which remained
conservative in terms of African Penguins' year-round foraging
behaviour.
113.4 It is desirable to identify a trade-off solution that minimises societal
costs and maximises benefits to African Penguins. In this regard, the
point at which the change in African Penguin benefits matches the
change in costs to Industry based on the Opportunity Based Model
(OBM) was recommended as a reference point to guide the selection
of optimal closures. 41 In other words, a trade-off mechanism was
provided as contemplated by paragraphs 2(c) and 5(d) of the Terms of
Reference cited respectively at paragraphs 104.3 and 105.3 above.
113.5 The Panel made further specific recommendations regarding the
recommended trade-off mechanism as well as how the mechanism
could be applied using currently available economic and scientific data.
Accordingly, the Panel recommended that:
40
Panel Report, p 34, para 4.3.
41 Panel Report, p 36, para 4.4.
71
113.5.1 Although the OBM and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) used
by SAPFIA's commissioned consultants to estimate the costs
ofdifferent closure delineations to Industry likely overestimate
the actual costs and needed refinement, 42 existing OBM
outputs could be used to assess and rank closure options in
a relative sense. 43 In other words, it was possible to use this
data in determining an appropriate trade-off so that island
closures could be immediately delineated and implemented.
113.5.2 Closure areas should be selected based on the suitability of
these delineations to evaluate the effectiveness of alleviating
resource competition on African Penguins. 44 This meant that
the rationale for the trade-off mechanism (and island closures
imposed) had to in fact reduce resource competition. If a
closure was imposed in an area where there was in fact little
to no fishing for sardines and anchovy, that closure would
have no bearing on reducing resource competition and would,
accordingly, be meaningless.
113.5.3 Closures that reflect valuable African Penguin foraging areas
will have greater benefits than those that close less valuable
foraging areas. 45 In other words, it was necessary to assess
those areas which were valuable to African Penguins (which
42 Panel Report, p 31, para 3.3; p 44 para 7.2; p 46 para 7.3. See also p 30 and Appendix E.
43 Panel Report, p 8; p 44 para 7.2.
57
72
the Panel indicated should be considered in terms of the
mlBA-ARS method). Moreover, when imposing island
closures, these would only have meaning if they in fact
covered the areas in which African Penguins preferred to
forage.
114. The three consequences of the Panel's recommendations that are of immediate
relevance to these proceedings are:
114.1 First, the Panel recommended that island closures were an appropriate
conservation intervention. This should have settled debates regarding
whether small-pelagic no-take areas around African Penguin breeding
colonies should be implemented. As indicated below, the Minister's
decision accepted this recommendation. Whether or not closures
should be implemented is thus not subject to dispute.
114.2 Second, the Panel recommended that the appropriate method for
delineating important penguin foraging habitat was "mlBA-ARS". This
recommendation was made without qualification and answered a
specific question posed to the Panel (as indicated above). This was
distinct from other questions put to the Panel and Panel
recommendations regarding the merits or otherwise of the ICE;
economic models used by Industry; the need for ongoing monitoring;
and the possibility of future revision of closure delineations. The Panel
thus settled what should define a "valuable area for African Penguins"
when the Minister considered how to balance African Penguin needs

73
with Industry interests. This appears to have been omitted from the
Minister's considerations.
114.3 Third, the Panel recommended an appropriate "trade;.off mechanism"
to be used by the Minister when deciding which particular delineation
to impose around each specific breeding colony. The Panel's
recommendation allowed for a comparison of relative costs to Industry
and benefits to African Penguins for the primary delineation proposals
submitted by the conservation sector, Industry and the DFFE to date
(including the original 20 km delineations of the ICE, the DFFE 2021
closures presented at the commencement of the ETT, CAF
delineations, the delineations imposed as Interim Closures, and
delineations based on mlBA-ARS). The recommended trade-off
mechanism accounted for the existing state of scientific and fisheries
data to enable biologically meaningful closures to be imposed at the
commencement of the Monitoring Period. It is this particular
recommendation which has not been followed by the Minister and
which is central to the relief sought in these proceedings.
115. In summary, the Panel supported the immediate imposition of biologically
meaningful closures using a clearly articulated trade-off mechanism which
required an assessment of a range of delineation options, including one based
on African Penguins' preferred foraging area determined using the mlBA-ARS
method.
59
74
4 August 2023: The impugned Decision
116. On 4 August 2023, the Minister released the Panel's report and communicated
her decision regarding island closures. In material parts, it provided that:
116.1 The Minister had made her decision "in the light of the reporf'. This
suggests approval of the report;
116.2 Restrictions on purse-seine sardine and anchovy fishing would be
implemented in the waters around African Penguin colonies for a
minimum of 10 years, with a review after 6 years (i.e. the monitoring
period); and
116.3 The fishing restrictions would use the "Interim Closure" delineations
unless "the conservation sector" and "the fishing industry" agreed to
alternative closure delineations by 31 December 2023 (i.e. the
deadline).
117. The media statement in terms of which the decision was announced is
referenced above as "AM15". It is the only documentary record of the Minister's
decision available to the applicants.
118. The effect of the decision was that:
118.1 On the one hand, the Minister accepted the importance of island
closures as a conservation measure consonant with the Panel's
findings and imposed closures for a period consonant with Panel's

75
• recommendations (for ten years until December 2033, subject to
review at the end of 2029).
118.2 On the other hand, the Minister inexplicably imposed delineations
entirely at odds with the Panel's recommendations regarding its
recommended trade-off mechanism and confirmation that the most
valuable African Penguin areas should be assessed using the mlBA-
ARS method (as had been their brief). Moreover, she rendered the
Interim (now permanent) Closures subject to further "agreement" by
private actors which was contrary to the very purpose and objects of
the Panel i.e. to remove the debate from these stakeholder groups and
enable the Minister to take a decision regarding island closures and
their delineations, informed by the best available science.
119. Instead of acting on the Panel's clear recommendations regarding closure
delineations, the Minister ignored them , imposed closures with little to no basis
in scientific data (let alone the recommended methods) and, once again, referred
the matter to "agreement" between stakeholders.
120. Predictably, no agreement was reached between Industry and the conservation
sector to alter the Interim Closures by the deadline and, as set out in the sections
which follow, events between August and December 2023 demonstrated the
fundamental flaws in the Minister's conduct. The Interim Closures are now
"permanent" and will remain in place for the next decade. This sounds the death
knell of the African Penguin.

76
August to October 2023: Illustrating the fundamental flaws of the Minister's
decision
121. Following the Minister's decision, the conservation sector attempted to
understand the basis for her decision-making and how the Minister and DFFE
envisaged implementing the decision. We also made various attempts to
mitigate the decision having ignored the trade-off mechanism and reverting to
the pre-Panel approach of stakeholder "agreement". As is illustrated by the
events between August and October 2023, it was simply impossible to overcome
the fundamental flaws in the Minister's decision which disregarded the crux of
the Panel's recommendations - and its central rationale.
Illustration 1: The Eastern Cape (non)agreement
122. Between 8 and 31 August 2023, the pre-decision discussions regarding Eastern
Cape closures continued with a focus on St Croix. On 25 August 2023 at a
meeting between ESCPA, the DFFE and conservation sector representatives,
"agreement" appeared to be reached which was confirmed by way of a series of
e-mails exchanged on 28 August 2023. The relevant e-mails are attached as
"AM48"; "AM49"; "AMSO" and "AM51 ".
123. Accordingly, on 30 August 2023 Dr Naidoo circulated a revised St Croix
delineation map and, on 31 August 2023 the DFFE issued a media release
celebrating this compromise (implying that it was a consequence of the decision,
which it clearly was not) while DFFE: Fisheries issued amended permit
conditions incorporating the agreed St Croix and Bird islands delineations for
77
implementation from 1 September 2023. The media release is attached as
"AM52".
124. In any event, on 1 September 2023, the commencement date of the "agreed"
closures, Mr de Maine called Dr Naidoo and Adj. Prof. Pichegru indicating that
there was an error in the amended permit conditions. This was despite clear
consensus on the closures indicated by me, Adj. Prof. Pichegru, Dr Waller, Mr
Smith and Mr de Maine himself. To the conservation sector's surprise, Dr Naidoo
appeared to contemplate acceding to Mr de Maine's demands. I attach the
relevant e-mail chain as "AM53".
125. In the result, the DFFE showed no signs of enforcing the "agreement" and on 19
December 2023, Dr Naidoo informed the conservation sector that the anchovy
and sardine fishing permit conditions would be amended at the commencement
of the January 2024 fishing season to reflect the Interim Closures around St Croix
and Bird islands (see paragraph 161 below). Once again, the DFFE had bowed
to resistance from Industry at the expense of African Penguins.
Illustration 2: The DFFE fails to appreciate the Panel's recommendations
126. Between September and November 2023, the conservation sector attempted to
co-operate with a process led by Dr Naidoo which appeared to have very little
relationship with the Panel's recommendations; little potential to use the Panel's
recommendations to break the impasse that had led to the Panel being
convened; and generally little relationship with rational or logical decision-making
reflecting the Panel's history and outcomes.

78
127. On 13 September 2023, Dr Waller raised some of these concerns with Dr Naidoo
by way of the e-mail attached as "AM54". Amongst other things, Dr Waller:
127.1 pointed out that the Panel had recommended that the most scientifically
defensible areas for closures could be determined using the "mlBA-
ARS" method;
127.2 asked what had led to the Minister deciding to continue the Interim
Closures which were not aligned with the Panel's recommendations;
and
127.3 sought the basis on which the DFFE had determined not to follow the
Panel's recommendations.
128. Dr Naidoo's response on 15 September 2023, attached as "AM55", indicated
that:
128.1 he did "not have insights into the Minister's processes";
128.2 the outcome of the Panel's process resulted in the ICE being
considered final and that "closures or limitations of fishing adjacent to
penguin colonies does have a positive effect for penguins";
128.3 a "policy" decision had been taken to impose fishing limitations as a
penguin conservation measure which required implementation through
(1) continuation of Interim Closures unless replaced by agreement; and
(2) scientific investigation as recommended by the Panel;

79
128.4 further scientific investigation over the next six years (i.e. the monitoring
period) would include investigating "ARS for MIBAS, fishing costs
estimates etc"; and
128.5 the policy decision to use fishing closures as a conservation measure
had been made and could not be revised.
' It was clear from Dr Naidoo's e-mail, that he had not properly appreciated the
129.
Panel's recommendations regarding closure delineations, the trade-off
mechanism and the use of mlBA-ARS to assess foraging areas of value to
African Penguins. I am further advised that his approach was irrational in light of
the purpose, objects and legal context of the Panel's appointment and the
Minister's obligations regarding the protection of threatened species.
130. On 21 September 2023, Adj. Prof. Pichegru responded to Dr Naidoo's e-mail
pointing out that he had not properly answered Dr Waller's queries regarding the
DFFE's decision to retain the Interim Closures rather than following the Panel's
recommend method for delineating closures. In her e-mail, a copy of which is
attached as "AM56", Adj. Prof. Pichegru also:
130.1 noted that Dr Naidoo had not explained how the DFFE could entertain
amendment to the Eastern Cape closures in light of the agreement
reached with ESCPA; and
130.2 emphasised that waiting out a six-year review period to revise Interim
Closures was entirely inappropriate as the Interim Closures would not

80
have meaningful biological impacts for African Penguins which were
"on the verge of being critically endangered".
131 . Dr Naidoo's response on 22 September 2023 (attached as "AM57") stated:
131.1 in respect of the DFFE's process prior to the Minister's decision:
"There was a submission to Minister, as is usually the case. This one

was initially drafted by myself, this follows the hierarchy for comment I
amendments the DOG (Deputy-Director General), OG (Director General)
and then to the Minister. On extending the interim closures, I did not see
that the Panel made recommendations on limitations (maps) in the
Report, but offered a process and mechanisms to look at trade-offs. . .. I
thought extending the interim closures for the remainder of this year will
allow some time for all involved to look at the report. I was hoping that
before January 15th next year there could be more and better agreements
based on the Panel Report, while the other work is set in motion and was
trying to avoid a break in fishing limitations while these discussions took
place. This plan has been impacted by the 're-negotiation ', as Eastern
Cape Agreement will have been a good base to encourage negotiations
on the other colonies".
131.2 in respect of Mr de Maine's attempt to renegotiate:
"this is certainly not for me to allow or not allow, this is an initiative among
yourselves as conservation representatives and the fishing industry".
132. It is apparent from Dr Naidoo's e-mail that the Minister's decision may have been
heavily influenced by Dr Naidoo's misinterpretation of the Panel's
recommendations and that the notion of "agreement" was integral to Dr Naidoo's
approach. It is also clear that Dr Naidoo had not fully appreciated the DFFE's
and the Minister's obligations to intervene to protect threatened species. Indeed,
the DFFE and the Minister subordinated both their duty to intervene, ~nd the
81
Panel's scientifically informed recommendations, to the negotiating foibles of
Industry and the conservation sector.
133. It was also increasingly apparent that the DFFE and Minister's attention needed
to be drawn to these issues directly so the Panel process did not - like those
before it - amount to an exercise in futility. With this in mind, I replied to Dr
Naidoo welcoming the suggestion of a meeting to discuss our understanding of
the Panel's recommendations. The relevant e-mail chain is attached as "AM58".
Illustration 3: Attempting to persuade Oceana to lead in African Penguin conservation
134. To mitigate the impact of the Minister's decision, but mindful of the historic
impasse with SAPFIA regarding closure delineations, the conservation sector
reached out to the CEO of the Oceana Group (Oceana) to discuss whether
Oceana would voluntarily avoid fishing in African Penguin preferred foraging
areas. We hoped that Oceana, as a member of the Responsible Fisheries
Alliance and the largest small-pelagic rights holder, could be persuaded to take
a lead in supporting urgent African Penguin conservation measures despite there
being no incentive for Industry to move from the Interim Closures to more
meaningful conservation measures for African Penguins.
135. With this in mind, Mr Smith and I met with Mr Suleiman Salie, the Managing
Director of Oceana, on 18 September 2023. Although Mr Salie reiterated
Oceana's support for following the Panel's recommendations, he was non-
committal about voluntarily agreeing to meaningful closures. Mr Salie also
expressed concern that any steps taken by Oceana to adopt closures voluntarily
82
and in the absence of formally-imposed DFFE no-take zones, would likely result
in skippers leaving the Oceana fold for other Industry players that had not made
commitments to stop fishing in African Penguins' preferred foraging grounds.
136. It was clear that there was little (if any) prospect of Oceana breaking the Industry
mould. It was equally evident that a clear decision on no-take zones from the
DFFE or Minister was the only way that this major Industry player would risk its
competitive advantage by acting in the interests of African Penguins. Again,
"agreement" seemed to be wishful thinking.
Illustration 4: Attempting to identify and engage directly with smaller Industry players
137. As another avenue for mitigating the effect of the Minister's decision, the
conservation sector considered engaging directly with holders of small-pelagic
purse-seine fishing rights (other than Oceana). We knew that not all rights
holders were affiliated with SAPFIA and ESCPA. We also knew that the
leadership of SAPFIA was unlikely to move from old positions (subsequently
confirmed as set out below). Our difficulty was the absence of a publicly available
register of small-pelagic purse-seine fishing rights holders that would allow us to
identify these rights holders. Further, the DFFE had not taken steps to facilitate
engagement beyond SAPFIA and ESPCA or clarify precisely who "Industry" was.
138. Consequently, on 19 September 2023, Mr Smith approached the DOG: Fisheries
to obtain the information necessary to progress inclusive and transparent
engagements with Industry that could reflect the interests of all small-pelagic
rights holders - including those outside the SAPFIA and ESCPA fold. The DFFE,
83
however, insisted on a request being filed in terms of the Promotion of Access to
Information Act, 2 of 2000 (PAIA).
139. It struck us as peculiar that the DFFE would insist on a PAIA request to obtain
information required to give effect to the "agreement" contemplated by the
Minister's decision. We consequently presented our difficulty to the Minister by
way of correspondence addressed by BLSA on 2 October 2023 (attached as
"AM59").
140. Despite follow-up on 16 October 2023, nothing was forthcoming until 24
November 2023. Rather than tendering the requested information, the Minister
proceeded to invoke the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 to
explain why the details of rights holders could not be provided in the absence of
a PAIA request. As an alternative to submitting a PAIA request, BLSA was
unhelpfully advised that "the industry can also be engage [sic] through the South
African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association (SAPFIA), which is a legally
recognised industrial body which represents a large number of Rights Holder [sic]
in the small pelagic sector'. The correspondence of 16 October and 24
November is attached as "AM60" and "AM61" respectively.
141. The Minister's response entirely failed to appreciate that the request for rights-
holder details was made in an attempt to implement the Minister's call to reach
"agreement" and because SAPFIA had been intransigent. It further failed to
recognise that SAPFIA was not the sole representative of small-pelagic fishing
rights holders. I am advised that this correspondence may well misconstrue the
true legal position regarding the information requested and is also a further t'"
~tr1
69 fr_
84
example of the Minister's irrationality of expecting "agreement" between parties
which had been unable to agree on the need for and extent of closures since the
ICE and where the Panel was constituted to advise the Minister on how she could
end this very impasse.
142. The events that occurred between Mr Smith's initial request for rights-holders'
details on 19 September 2023 and the date of the Minister's letter on 24
November 2023 (set out below), emphasise that the Minister's insistence on
agreement was not only clearly a continued unlawful abrogation of her
responsibilities but has also been conclusively proved to be entirely unworkable.
Illustration 5: The conservation sector applies the Panel's recommended trade-off
mechanism while the DFFE and Minister fail to do so
143. Still another avenue for trying to mitigate the effect of the Minister's decision was
pursued by the conservation sector in preparing a consolidated analysis of the
Panel's recommendations which also demonstrated how its recommendations
regarding the application of the mlBA-ARS method and trade-off mechanism
could be immediately implemented (the Assessment). Since the decision itself
made provision for "both the fishing industry and the conservation sector
[studying] the Panel's Reporf', we anticipated that Industry would be undertaking
a similar exercise.
144. Accordingly, on 17 October 2023, Adj. Prof. Pichegru e-mailed the Assessment
to Dr Naidoo for his information and consideration (see "AM62") while Mr

85
Anderson sent the Assessment under cover of a letter from the conservation
sector to the Minister (see "AM63").
145. The letterto the Minister:
145.1 made it clear that the conservation sector had carefully analysed the
Panel's report, considered it "scientifically robust and well balanced'
and wished to ensure that its recommendations were implemented -
including in respect of selection of optimal island closure delineations;
145.2 emphasised that the seabird scientists had relied on the Panel's
recommendations to assess the suitability of the Interim Closures
relative to the methodology for closure design recommended by the
Panel and had found that the Interim Closures neither maximised
positive outcomes for African Penguins nor represented an appropriate
trade-off between benefits to African Penguins and costs to Industry;
and
145.3 requested that the Assessment be circulated to Industry.
146. The Assessment itself set out the key findings of the Panel's report (at
paragraph 3); explained how the conservation sector had assessed Interim
Closures in light of the Panel's findings (at paragraph 4.1 ); and applied the
Panel's recommended mechanism to each colony which remained subject to
Interim Closures (at paragraph 4.2). In doing so, the Assessment:

86
146.1 defined the preferred foraging areas of the African Penguin by using
the mlBA-ARS method for each colony based on colony-specific
foraging data; and
146.2 presented a trade-off analysis, as recommended by the Panel, which
illustrated that implementing closures around the preferred foraging
areas determined according to the mlBA-ARS method for the relevant
islands would incur very little and, in some instances, negligible costs
to Industry.
147. The Assessment did not analyse St Croix or Bird Islands because, at this time,
the conservation sector still understood these islands to be subject to closures
which had been agreed with ESCPA and pre-dated the Panel recommendations.
In addition, we omitted Dyer Island as we lacked OBM data to account for the
"split" zone imposed by the Interim Closure which allowed vessels of 26 m in
length or less to continue fishing (and we had not yet been able to establish a
method for applying the trade-off mechanism to account for this - which has
proved unnecessary as illustrated in Ms Weideman's expert affidavit attached as
"AMS").
148. A week later, on 24 October 2023, Dr Ludynia, Dr Waller, Adj. Prof. Pichegru and
I met with Dr Naidoo (and Mr de Maine) to discuss next steps. During the course
of this meeting, it became apparent that the DFFE had not completed its own
analysis of the Panel's recommendations. The inescapable inference was that
the DFFE (and, thus, the Minister's advisors) had not properly cons!dered the
87
Panel's recommendations prior to the decision. It was entirely unclear whether
the Minister herself had (or could have) done so.
149. On 30 October 2023, I addressed an e-mail to Dr Naidoo, a copy of which is
attached as "AM64", in which I summarised the next steps agreed to at our
meeting of 24 October 2023, namely:
"1. The Governance Forum will be reconstituted to consider the merits of the
analyses of the Panel's Report by the "conservation sector" (already provided
to you) and the "fishing industry". As we understand it, Alison's suggestion
allows for an existing forum to consider the merits of both analyses and to then
provide an updated memorandum to the Minister which applies the
recommended methodology from the Panel Report. This would build on the
study of the Panel Report by ourselves and fisheries which the Minister
contemplated.
2. To facilitate this process, you will circulate our Assessment to Fisheries and
invite them to submit their own assessment of the Panel Report to the DFFE;
3. If helpful to DFFE, a presentation of both assessments would be arranged

(along the lines of the presentation we gave on 24 October) to ensure the
Governance Forum is fully appraised of both assessments.
4. The Governance Forum will then consider both assessments and draft a
memorandum of their recommendations to the Minister."
150. On 31 October 2023, Dr Naidoo replied, once again signalling the DFFE's "hands
off' approach by stating, inter alia, that he had not understood that the DFFE was
responsible for facilitating agreement. His e-mail is attached as "AM65".

88
November 2023: SAPFIA rejects the need for island closures
151. On 3 November 2023, Dr Naidoo sent the conservation sector and Industry
representatives a request for a meeting to be held on 10 November 2023 to
discuss the Panel's recommendations.
151.1 Concerned about Dr Naidoo's response to our summary of the agreed
way forward on 31 October 2023, we sought clarity on the meeting
agenda and requested that Industry provide its own analysis in
advance so that we could have a meaningful discussion.
151 .2 On 9 November 2023, Dr Naidoo responded by conceding the merits
of having both analyses circulated prior to an all-party meeting and
postponed the meeting to allow Industry to prepare its equivalent of the
Assessment. Dr Naidoo also appeared to back-track on the agreed
way forward of 24 October 2023 by indicating that it was unlikely that
an updated recommendation could be drafted for purposes of clarifying
the Panel's recommendations with the Minister.
151.3 The relevant chain of correspondence is attached as "AM66".
152. Until this point, the conservation sector was unaware of ongoing discussions Dr
Naidoo had been having with Industry regarding the Eastern Cape closures.
However, on 8 November 2023, Mr de Maine again reached out to Adj. Prof.
Pichegru to "discuss that mistake ... with the St Croix closure" and followed with
an e-mail which gave insight into what had transpired. It appears that from at
least 26 September 2023, the DFFE, with the assistance of Zishan Ebrahim of
89
SANParks, had circulated various maps to Mr de Maine as well as to Messrs
Copeland, Mike Bergh and Matt Horton (all representing SAPFIA) for purposes
of "rectifying" the maps. I attach the WhatsApp exchange and e-mail chain
reflecting these interactions as "AM67" and "AM68".
153. I mention this correspondence as the Eastern Cape closures were rapidly
becoming an issue muddying the waters in relation to implementing the Panel's
delineation recommendations. It was also becoming apparent that ESCPA was
again aligning with SAPFIA's position. In the event, Dr Naidoo agreed to add the
Eastern Cape closures to the agenda for the meeting he had called to address
the Panel's recommendations - and which was now rescheduled for 16
November 2023.
154. On 14 November 2023, Dr Naidoo circulated the document entitled SAPFIA 's
initial comments and view on the International Review Panel report and on the
trade-off between the costs and benefits of island closures (dated 13 November
2023). Alarmingly, the opening paragraph of this document stated the following
in bold and underlined text:
"In SAPFIA 'S view, given its knowledge and opinion of the economic
impacts, and the benefits reported b y Punt et al (2023) there should be no
closures."
155. This was directly contrary to the Panel's recommendations. It was contrary to
the position taken by Dr Naidoo that the "policy decision" to use closures as a
conservation measure had been taken (and would not change). It was also
entirely destructive of a viable solution or "agreement" being found . The e-mail
and SAPFIA's "initial comments" are attached as "AM69".

90
156. Given the position taken in SAPFIA's "initial comments", the conservation sector
had grave concerns about the merit of further meetings. These were articulated
in an e-mail sent to Dr Naidoo on 15 November 2023, attached as "AM70".
157. In reply, Dr Naidoo cancelled the planned meeting of 16 November 2023. In
doing so, he confirmed the conservation sector's concerns that the Panel's
recommendations regarding closure delineations were unlikely to be followed in
saying "the Fisheries Sector Reps or ourselves at DFFE were not on the same
work schedule as the Conservations Reps in assessing use of the Panel Report
- trade-off method". This correspondence is attached as "AM71".
December 2023: The end of the road
158. During the course of December 2023, no further progress was made.
158.1 On 1 December 2023, we were advised that Mr de Maine had sent a
formal request to the DFFE to "correct" the Eastern Cape Closures.
158.2 On 11 December 2023, we were asked by the DFFE to consider the
"two options" proposed by Mr de Maine, neither of which adhered to
either the Panel's recommendations or the agreed Eastern Cape
closures.
158.3 On 13 December 2023, we received further correspondence from Mr
de Maine justifying his position.
159. These e-mails and the responses from the conservation sector are attached as
"AM72" and "AM73".

91
160. The conservation sector accordingly addressed correspondence to the Minister's
office on 13 December 2023 pointing out the difficulties with the approach
adopted and the need to act urgently to ensure implementation of the Panel's
recommendations - including implementing island closures which would ensure
ecologically meaningful outcomes for African Penguins. This letter is attached
as "AM74". To date, no response has been received.
161 . Two further updates were provided by Dr Naidoo on 14 and 19 December 2023
- neither of which indicated any determination to implement the closure designs
according to the method recommended by the Panel (and the second of which I
received upon my return from leave, in January 2024). The e-mail of
19 December 2023 further confirmed that, in the absence of agreement
regarding the Eastern Cape closures, Bird and St Croix islands would be subject
to the Interim Closures from 15 January 2023. The relevant e-mail chain is
attached as "AM75".
162. On the same day, Mr Copeland forwarded a further assessment of SAPFIA's
position (which I also only received once back from leave in January). This e-
mail is attached as "AM76".
163. As matters stand, there is little to no prospect of the conservation sector reaching
agreement with Industry to agree to island closures. This being so, the Interim
Closures - without any rational connection to the preferred foraging areas of
African Penguins around colonies where the activities of purse-seine small-
pelagic fishing are a known risk to this species are now in place for the next ten
77
92
years. This is the very period during which this endemic species is anticipated,
at current rates of population declines, to become extinct in the wild.
January 2024 to 31 December 2033: Dire consequences for African Penguins
164. The decision is not merely irregular. It has dire consequences. This is because
the Interim Closures do not adequately protect the rapidly declining African
Penguin population. If not urgently addressed, these closures will facilitate the
extinction of this Endangered species. I explain why this is so by expanding on
the shortcomings of each of the Interim Closures. The expert affidavit of Ms
Weideman (i.e. "AMS") explains the underlying methods used which support the
analysis below, insofar as it touches on the use of mlBA-ARS, the application of
the Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism and the results of such
application.
Dassen Island: Inadequate inclusion of African Penguins' valuable foraging areas and
no real reduction in resource competition
165. This Interim Closure was based on the DFFE 2021 proposal (presented in August
2021). Contrary to Panel recommendations (see paragraph 113.5.3 above) it
does not adequately represent the preferred foraging areas of African Penguins.
In particular, it excludes a region of the preferred foraging area to the north of the
Interim Closure in close proximity to this colony which is especially valuable to
these African Penguins during their breeding season.

93
166. Moreover, the Interim Closure is inconsistent with using the best available
science to inform environmental management decisions. This is because DFFE
2021 used an outdated method for delineating penguin foraging areas, namely
"combined kernel density estimates" - as opposed to more accurate methods
such as the Panel-recommended mlBA-ARS method to determine African
Penguins' preferred foraging area.
167. There is an additional, practical consideration linked to the Panel's
recommendation that closure delineations should in fact reduce resource
competition between Industry and African Penguins (see paragraph 113.5.2
above). It should be noted that juvenile anchovies move southward along the
West Coast between autumn and winter. This period corresponds with the most
important breeding period for the Dassen Island African Penguins. As can be
seen from the map below, as this important source of African Penguin nutrition
moves south, it passes through areas open to purse-seine anchovy fishing to the
north of the Interim Closure - including the key northern portion of African
Penguins' preferred foraging area. Not only does this mean that competition
between African Penguins and Industry continues inside a key area which is
valuable to African Penguins, but it also means that prey availability in the "no-
take zone" further south could be reduced. In combination, this means that the
purpose of the closure could be negated. It certainly means that critical aspects
of the Panel's recommendations are ignored.
168. I illustrate these difficulties using the map below. It shows the area of most value
to African Penguins using the Panel's recommended method of determining
preferred foraging area i.e. mlBA-ARS in dark green. The DFFE 2021 / Interim LL,,
'"'\
79 ~t'\
94
Closure (now in place for the next decade) is shown using a line of dark blue and
orange dashes. It is clear that an important segment of the mlBA-ARS lies to the
north of this area. To place the most valuable foraging area and Interim Closure
in perspective, I have also included the full foraging range of Dassen Island's
African Penguins in light green.
32.6°S
: 0 15 30km
32.8°S
" 1:
33.0°S
Q)
""C
Foraging range (mlBA-UD90)
~ 33.2°S
ro
0 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
...J -
/-'.. ___ .... .__
Interim
_ I DFFE (2021)
33.4°S
33.6°S
33.8°S
17.4°E 17.8°E 18.2°E 18.6°E

Longitude
Robben Island: No meaningful reduction in resource competition or correlation with
valuable foraging areas
169. This Interim Closure, which was also based on the DFFE 2021 proposal
presented in August 2021, is not really a closure at all. This is because it is
aligned with the no-take fishing zone of the existing MPA implemented around
t·lL
Ar'
80
95
Robben Island. This no-take fishing zone includes only 43% of this island's
African Penguins' preferred foraging area.
170. In 2021, the conservation sector pointed this out. At the time, we were using the
"mlBA-h7" method to reflect African Penguins' preferred foraging area - and thus
their most valuable feeding grounds. On this metric, the DFFE 2021 closure
covered a mere 41 % of African Penguins' preferred foraging area. (See "AM26").
Both the mlBA-h7 and mlBA-ARS methods are well-recognised, peer reviewed
methods for identifying preferred penguin foraging areas. 46 The Panel elected
to endorse mlBA-ARS. 47 Little turns on this for present purposes: the point
remains that the DFFE 2021 delineation covers a fraction of the foraging area of
most value to the Robben Island African Penguins and does not accord with the
Panel's recommendation that closures need to account for the foraging areas of
most value to this species.
171 . This is evident from the map below. As above, the full foraging area of this
island's African Penguins is shown in light green. Of this extensive area, the
most valuable foraging area has been delineated using the mlBA-ARS method
which is shown in dark green. This is self-evidently not the relatively small Interim
Closure / DFFE 2021 closure represented on the map by a dark blue and orange
dashed line. It is also evident that this closure - now in place for 10 years -
merely reflects the MPA area already out-of-bounds to Industry. It is neither
46 The mlBA-h7 method is, like the mlBA-ARS method, more accurate than the older "combined kernel
density estimates" method. During the Panel process, the conservation sector presented both
"mlBA" methods as viable methods of using tracking data to determine the foraging areas of most
benefit to African Penguins. The Panel elected to endorse to endorse mlBA-ARS.
47
Panel Report pp 34 and 46. "-
t ' ~~
81
96
representative of an area valuable to African Penguins, nor meaningful in
reducing competition over fish.
32.6°S
~•.' .
0 15 30km
\ \,
32.8°S
33.0°S
33.2°s Foraging range (mlBA-UD90)

(I)
"t:I P. Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
.a
~ 33.4°S I Interim
....I
□ DFFE (2021)
MPA
33.6°S
't ..:,
. ffe----~_,,ac ,..._
33.8°S
34.0°S
17.5°E 18.0°E 18.5°E 19.0°E

Longitude
Dyer Island: no meaningful reduction in resource competition
172. This is the third and final Interim Closure that the DFFE indicated was determined
using the DFFE 2021 proposals. As indicated in paragraph 97.1 above, this is
not entirely accurate. The Interim Closure is based on a compromised closure
originating in the CAF. Accordingly this closure is "split" between a complete
closure and an area allowing fishing to continue.
173. The map below illustrates this "split" approach. The area closest to shore, which
is represented by a dashed orange and purple line, represents Industry's CAF

\_L
f-·
~ti\
82
97
proposal which corresponds to an area where very little fishing occurs. No fishing
is permitted within this area. However, vessels of 26 m (and less) are permitted
to fish between the boundary of this "no-take area" and the DFFE 2021 perimeter
represented by a dashed dark blue and orange line. This effectively enables the
local industry, including the largest regional player which is Gansbaai Marine, to
continue to compete with African Penguins for sardine and anchovy biomass.
34.2°s
30km
34.4°S
Q)
"'C
0 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ 34.6°S Interim (strict)= inner
ltl
..J Interim (partial)= outer
r- I DFFE (2021)
,: I Industry CAF
34.8°S
35.0°S
18.8°E 19.0°E 19.2°E 19.4°E 19.6°E 19.8°E
Longitude
174. Accordingly, it is not clear that the Interim Closure may achieve the purpose of
reducing resource competition and thus improving African Penguins' prey
availability. It certainly does not follow the Panel's recommendations regarding
the need for delineations to focus on reducing resource competition and
maximising African Penguins' access to preferred foraging areas.

98
Stony Point: no reduction in resource competition
175. This Interim Closure was based on the proposal presented by Industry during the
CAF in March 2022. It, too, is a closure in name only which has no clear basis
in scientific data. This is because it mostly reflects areas in which Industry does
not fish. What is more, it represents only 30% of preferred foraging area for
Stony Point's African Penguins. This "closure" therefore does not in any way
reduce competition over sardines / anchovies between Industry and African
Penguins. This being so, it is entirely inconsistent with the Panel's
recommendations and cannot possibly help conserve these African Penguins
through improving adequate prey availability.
176. This is clearly illustrated using the map below. The Interim Closure is shown
here as reflecting the "Industry CAF" proposal using an orange and purple
dashed line. This is clearly a fraction of Stony Point's African Penguins' preferred
foraging area shown in dark green (let alone the full foraging range shown in light
green).
34.0°S 0 10 20km
34.1°s
34.2°s
Q)
-g 34.3°S Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~
_J
Interim
34.4°S I Industry CAF
■ MPA
34.5°S
34.6°S
18.6°E 18.8°E 19.0°E 19.2°E 19.4°E

Longitude
84
99
St Croix: little to no value to African Penguins
177. This closure was based on the proposal presented by Industry during the ETT in
November 2021. The basis of that proposal was, and remains, unclear. It does
not appear to be based on any scientific method for delineating preferred foraging
areas, let alone the best available science. In the event, the Interim Closure
covers only 50% of African Penguins' preferred foraging area.
178. As shown in the map below, this Interim Closure (represented by a red and
orange dashed line) overlaps with and is smaller than the 20 km radius around
St Croix (shown as a turquoise line). This 20 km radius, imposed during the ICE,
was shown by Pichegru et al in 2012 48 to have provided insufficient protection
from purse-seine fishing for this critical island population. Accordingly, it is
entirely questionable whether this "closure" can possibly achieve its objective of
conserving St Croix's African Penguins by reducing their competition with
Industry and taking account of their valuable foraging areas.
33.6°S
0 10 20km
33.1°s
33.8°S Foraging range (mlBA-UD90)

Q) Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
"'Cl
~ 33.9°S Interim
ra
...I 20 km closure
34.0°S ■ MPA
-: I Industry ETT
34.1°s
34.2°s
25.4°E 25.6°E 25.8°E 26.0°E 26.2°E
Longitude
48 See "AM17".
85
100
Bird Island: no scientific basis but a happy accident
179. The inclusion of this island in closure discussions has always been something of
an anomaly. While it is one of the islands with the largest numbers of breeding
pairs and was part of the ICE (which is why it has been included), it is located in
an area where very little fishing takes place. 49 It is, therefore, not surprising that
a relatively arbitrary closure would not materially affect African Penguin prey
access.
180. I emphasise, however, that the Interim Closure around Bird Island is a good
illustration of the generally arbitrary nature of the Interim Closures and their
continuation in light of the Panel's recommendations.
181. The Bird Island Interim Closure is based on the proposal presented by Industry
during the CAF in March 2022. The context of this proposal was a direction by
the CAF panel that closures should be determined by (1) aggregating all core-
foraging areas around six colonies calculated by the marine scientists; (2)
dividing this aggregated area in half; and (3) assigning 50% of this area to
"closures" and allowing fishing to continue in the remaining 50%. 50 The caveat
was that existing fishing no-take zones (including those corresponding with
MPAs) would form part of the 50% designated as no-take fishing zones and set
aside for the benefit of African Penguin foraging areas. This meant that almost
no closures to reduce resource competition would in fact be proposed, with "CAF"
49 See Panel Report, p 25.

50 See the criticism of this approach in the Panel Report, p 46.
86
101
closures reflecting areas where fishing already did not take place or was very
limited. It is in this context that the Bird Island closure was proposed.
182. This closure is not based on the Panel's recommendations, but since there is
almost no small-pelagic fishing in this area (as it is not a preferred fishing
ground}, this "closure" is essentially meaningless. As explained in Ms
Weideman's expert affidavit (i.e. "AM5") applying the Panel's recommended
mechanism for selecting an appropriate delineation in fact indicates that the
original (and larger) 20 km closure imposed during the ICE has the greatest
benefit to African Penguins at the lowest cost to Industry.
183. This is evident from the map below. Here the full foraging range around Bird
Island is shown in light green, the preferred foraging area in dark green and the
20km ICE shown in turquoise. By contrast, the Interim Closure is shown using a
line of purple and orange dashes.
33.4°S . 0 15 30km
33.6°S
Q)
-0
D Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ 33.8°S Interim
ra
__J _ I Industry CAF
D 20 km closure
34.0°S ■ MPA
34.2°s
25.8°E 26.2°E 26.6°E 27.0°E
Longitude
87
102
THE APPLICABLE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The Constitution
184. Section 24(b) of the Constitution provides that:
"Everyone has the right:
(a)[. . .]
(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future
generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that:
(i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
(iii) promote conservation; and
(iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural

resources while promoting justifiable economic and social
development".
185. The rapidly declining population and impending extinction of the African Penguin
constitutes an actual or threatened infringement of the rights of the applicants,
their members', the general public's, and "everyone's" rights under section 24{b)
of the Constitution.
186. Section 7(2) of the Constitution obliges the Minister and the DFFE to "respect,
protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights". Under the current
circumstances, this imposes a positive obligation on the Minister and DFFE
officials to ensure that the necessary measures are put in place to protect the
African Penguin from extinction.
88
103
The National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 (NEMA)
187. NEMA is the central, overarching legislation which gives effect to section 24(b)
of the Constitution. As such it provides the framework and principles for all
environmental decision-making, including that applicable to biodiversity and
protection of threatened species. 51
188. Section 2 of NEMA sets out the binding environmental management principles
applicable to all environmental management and decision-making (the
environmental management principles). I draw particular attention to the
following principles:
188.1 "the disturbance of ecosystems and loss of biological diversity are
avoided, or, where they cannot be altogether avoided, are minimised
and remedied"·,52
188.2 "a risk averse and cautious approach is applied, which takes into
account the limits of current knowledge about the consequences of
decisions and action" (the precautionary principle); 53
188.3 "the use and exploitation of non-renewable natural resources is
responsible and equitable and takes into account the consequences of
the depletion of the resource"; 54
51 NEM:BA, 55 6(1) and 7.

52 NEMA, 5 2(4)(a)(i).
53 NEMA, 5 2(4)(a)(vii).
54 NEMA, 5 2(4)(a)(v).
89
104
188.4 "the environment is held in public trust for the people, the beneficial use
of environmental resources must serve the public interest and the
environment must be protected as the people's common heritage"; 55
and
188.5 "sensitive, vulnerable, highly dynamic or stressed ecosystems, such as
coastal shores, estuaries, wetlands, and similar systems require
specific attention in management and planning procedures, especially
where they are subject to significant human resource usage and
development pressure". 56
189. The Benguela Upwelling System of which African Penguins are part is such a
"sensitive, vulnerable, highly dynamic and stressed ecosystem".
190. The environmental management principles setout in section 2 are integral to the
framework of South African environmental law. They apply to any decision taken-
in terms of, and must guide the interpretation, administration and implementation
of, NEMA as well as any other statutory provision or decision-making concerned
with protection or management of the environment. 57
191 . In accordance with NEMA's role as framework legislation, section 3A of NEMA
deals with the establishment of fora or advisory committees. As with all
provisions of NEMA, the powers conferred by section 3A must be exercised
55 NEMA, s s(4)(o).
56 NEMA, s 2(4)(r).
57 NEMA, s 2(1}(c) and (e). See also NEMA, s 23(2)(a).
90
105
consistently with both the environmental management principles set out in
section 2 and the purpose of NEMA in giving effect to section 24 of the
Constitution.
192. All administrative processes or decisions taken in terms of NEMA must adhere
to PAJA unless otherwise specified in NEMA. 58
The National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004 (NEM:BA)
and relevant international conventions
The purpose of NEM:BA and relationship with NEMA and international biodiversity
obligations
193. NEM:BA is a specific environmental Act as contemplated in NEMA and must
therefore be interpreted pursuant to the environmental management principles
and read with applicable provisions of NEMA. 59
194. NEM:BA is the primary legal instrument concerning the management of South
Africa's mega-biodiverse environment. Section 2 of NEM:BA sets out the
objectives of the Act, which are principally the management and conservation of
biological diversity and its components in South Africa 60 and the protection of
ecosystems as a whole, including species not targeted for exploitation (such as
the African Penguin). 61 In addition, it aims to ensure consideration of the well-
58 NEMA, s 1(5).
59 NEM:BA, s 6(1) ands 7.
60 NEM:BA, s 2 (a)(i).
61 NEM:BA, s 2(a)(iA).
91
106
being of animals in their management, conservation and sustainable use 62 and
to give effect to international biodiversity agreements which are binding on the
State. 63
195. NEM:BA thus not only deals with biodiversity issues with regard to the
environmental management principles expressed in NEMA, but also is the
primary instrument giving effect to South Africa's international obligations under
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as the Convention on
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention) and
Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
(AEWA). 64
Relevant international obligations
196. The CBD is the chief international treaty determining international biodiversity
conservation obligations. The definitions in NEM:BA largely domesticate the
CBD and the CBD's provisions regarding "in situ conservation" are essential to
interpreting and implementing the provisions of NEM:BA. The obligations placed
on State parties in respect of in-situ conservation include the duty to:
196.1 "[r]egulate or manage biological resources important for the
conservation of biological diversity whether within or outside protected
62 NEM:BA, s 2(a)(iiA).
63 NEM:BA, s 2(b). See also s 5.
64 South Africa has been party to the Bonn Convention since 1991 and a party to AEWA since 2002. ~
• f ' ~y\
92
107
areas, with a view to ensuring their conservation and sustainable
_ , 65
use"·
196.2 "[p]romote the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and the
maintenance of viable population species in natural surroundinqs"; 66
196.3 "[r]ehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the
recovery of threatened species, inter alia, through the development and
implementation of plans and other management strategies"; 67
196.4 "[e]ndeavour to provide the conditions needed for compatibility
between present uses and the conservation of biological diversity and
the sustainable use of its components"; 68
196.5 "[d]evelop or maintain necessary legislation and/or other regulatory
provisions for the protection of threatened species and populations";69
and
196.6 "Where a significant adverse effect on biological diversity has been
determined... regulate or manage the relevant processes and
categories of activities". 70
197. The Bonn Convention is the key United Nations instrument applicable to South
Africa's obligations in relation to African Penguins. The agreement concluded
65 CBD, art 8(c).

66 CBD, art 8(d).
67 CBD, art 8(t).
68 CBD, art 8(i).
69 CBD, art 8(k) .
70 CBD, art 8(1).
93
108
pursuant to the Bonn Convention which addresses the details of these
international obligations is AEWA. The African Penguin is the only penguin
species covered by this agreement. 71
197 .1 Article 111 of AEWA, which sets out the general conservation measures
to be taken by convention parties, includes the obligation to "investigate
problems that are posed or are likely to be posed by human activities
and endeavour to implement remedial measures, including habitat
rehabilitation and restoration, and compensatory measures for loss of
habitat".
197.2 I have already addressed the findings of the AEWA Action Plan that
identified prey availability as the foremost threat to African Penguins. I
emphasise that AEWA does not merely entail an investigatory
obligation, but also requires positive interventions to rehabilitate and
restore African Penguin habitats. Indeed, the "Conservation
Measures" in the AEWA Action Plan specifically reference the ICE and
state that "a permanent purse-seine fishing exclusion zone has been
recommended". 72
197.3 The recommendations of the Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop
(convened to give effect to the AEWA Action Plan) held between 2 and
71 AEWA, Table 1 (as amended at the 8th session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA, 26-30
September 2022, Budapest, Hungary and corrected by the Contracting States via silence procedure
with effect as of 10 August 2023, available online <https://www.unep-
aewa.org/sites/default/files/uploads/aewa agreement text 2023-
2025 corrected%20version%20as%20of%2010%20Auqust%202023 EN. pdf> (accessed 15
February 2024).
94
109
4 November 2020 committed to a number of actions, including, inter
a/ia, to:
197.3.1 develop a forage fish management "toolbox" including
"closing of key foraging areas to fishing adjacent to major
seabird colonies during the critical stages of their life cycle"
and "implementing spatial management of fishing pressure in
important foraging areas for non-breeding seabirds";
197 .3.2 "[e]nsure the existence or creation of suitable seabird
breeding habitat within the contracted or altered distributions
of forage fish species to partially alleviate the impact of an
altered distribution of prey on affected seabird species; and
197.3.3 "[f]acilitate and prioritise the recovery of seabird colonies to
sufficient size to minimise known and potential Allee effects
thus reducing the probability of colony extinction". 73
The State's trusteeship of biodiversity and Minister's obligation to protect
threatened species
198. The State's trusteeship of the country's biodiversity derives primarily from
section 24(b) of the Constitution.
73 Final Recommendations of the Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop, 2-4 November 2020 -
Online via GoToMeeting, available online <https://www.unep-
aewa.org/sites/default/files/document/FINAL recommendations benguela workshop nov2020. pdf
> (accessed 15 February 2024).
95
110
199. It is, in turn, entrenched by section 3(1) of NEM:BA, which provides that "[i]n
fulfilling the rights contained in section 24 of the Constitution, the state through
its organs that implement legislation applicable to biodiversity, must - (a)
manage, conserve and sustain South Africa's biodiversity and its components
and genetic resources; and (b) implement this Act to achieve the progressive
realisation of those rights".
200. The obligations of the State under section 3(1) of NEM:BA buttress its obligation
under section 7(2) of the Constitution to "respect, protect, promote and fulfil the
rights in .the Bill of Rights" and the corresponding positive obligation it bears to
ensure that reasonable and effective·measures are put in place to ensure the
protection and fulfilment of the environmental protection rights under
section 24(b) of the Constitution.
201. To enable compliance with section 3(1 }, NEM:BA empowers the Minister to:
201.1 issue norms and standards to achieve any objectives in NEM:BA
including for the "(i) management and conservation of South Africa's
biological diversity and its components; (ii) restriction of activities which
impact on biodiversity and its components"; 74
201.2 prohibit any activity that "may negatively impact on the well-being of an
animaf' - including African Penguins; 75
74 NEM :BA, s 9(1)(a).

75
NEM:BA, s 9A.
111
201.3 approve biodiversity management plans for purposes of ensuring the
long-term survival of a species listed as threatened or in need of
national protection in terms of section 56, which includes the African
Penguin; 76
201.4 publish a national list of threatened ecosystems in need of protection; 77
201.5 identify threatening processes in such ecosystems; 78
201.6 publish lists of "critically endangered species" (at extremely high risk of
extinction in the wild in the immediate future), "endangered species"
(facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future), "vulnerable
species" (facing extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the
medium-term) and "protected species" (being of high conservation
value or national importance and requiring ecologically sustainable
management through regulation); 79
201.7 prohibit the carrying out of any activity "which is of a nature that may
negatively impact on the survival of a listed threatened or protected
species ... " throughout South Africa or a smaller, specified area, with
reference to a specific species and/or specific persons or categories of
76 NEM :BA, s 43(1)(b)(i) read with ss 45(a) and 56.

77 NEM:BA, s 52(1)(a).
78 NEM:BA, s 53(1).
79
NEM:BA, s 56(1).
97
112
persons. 80 As indicated at paragraph 17 above, the African Penguin is
such a species. 81 '
202. Having regard to:
202.1 the obligations on the State under sections 7(2) and 24 of the
Constitution and the environmental management principles set out
under NEMA - which inform the interpretation and implementation of
NEM:BA;
202.2 the State's international obligations and commitments under the CBD,
Bonn Convention and AEWA which must similarly inform the
interpretation and implementation of NEM:BA;
202.3 the State's trusteeship role in terms of section 3(1) of NEM:BA and the
powers and duties imposed on the Minister by NEM:BA in respect of
South Africa's international obligations to protect African Penguins; and
202.4 the scheme of NEM:BA, which grants express powers to the Minister
to prevent activities which threaten an animal's well-being and species
survival -
the Minister was under an obligation to impose fishing closures to limit purse-
seine sardine and anchovy fishing activities that negatively impact the survival
and well-being of the African Penguin.
80 NEM:BA, s 57(2)(a) read with section 57(5).

81 Lists of Marine Species that are Threatened or Protected , Restricted Activities that are Prohibited
and Exemption from Restriction published under GN 476 in Government Gazette 40875 of 30 May ,( ,
2017. t°"'
~At-A
98
113
GROUNDS OF REVIEW
203. The applicants reserve the right to supplement their review grounds once they
have received the record of the decision. However, for present purposes, the
applicants contend that the decision is subject to review on two grounds, both
capable of being accommodated under PAJA and the principle of legality.
First ground of review: the decision is irrational
204. The decision is irrational in a number of important respects.
205. First, the decision bears no connection to the purpose for which it was ostensibly
taken.
205.1 The Minister appointed the Panel to provide recommendations, inter
alia, regarding "a trade-off mechanism as a basis for setting fishing
limitations and mapping". The purpose for constituting the Panel and
the decision to be taken pursuant to its recommendations was thus to
put in place scientifically-informed fishing closures which could strike
an optimal trade-off between protecting African Penguins and
minimising impact to Industry.
205.2 The Panel concluded that the best available science indicated that the
recommended approach to implementing island closures was to
employ a trade-off mechanism incorporating (1) the mlBA-ARS method
for purposes of identifying African Penguins' preferred foraging areas;
99
114
and (2) using the OBM model in a relative sense to compare the impact
of different delineations on Industry.
205.3 But instead of acting on the Panel's recommendations, the Minister
ignored them and decided that, unless the conservation sector could
negotiate improved fishing closures with Industry, the Interim Closure
delineations would remain in place for the next ten years.
205.4 As indicated in paragraphs 165 to 183 above, these closures are not
informed by the best available science and are incapable of achieving
the objective of science-based conservation measures to reduce
competition between Industry and African Penguins. Consequently,
the decision is not rationally connected to the purpose for which it was
taken, and bears no connection to the purpose sought to be achieved.
Indeed, the closures imposed pursuant to the decision on 4 August
•2023 and confirmed in revised permit conditions on 17 January 2024
were already in place from September 2022 (albeit only on a temporary
basis). The decision has accordingly served no purpose at all.
206. Second, the decision is not supported by the evidence and information
specifically procured by the Minister for purposes of the closure decision. Indeed,
having sought and obtained expert recommendations from the Panel, the
Minister's decision bears little relation to it.
206.1 The decision reflects certain of the Panel's recommendations regarding
the need for and duration of island closures, however, not the basis for
determining their delineation. However, there is no point in adopting L,,

~
v~~
100
115
the former recommendations without adopting the latter. Nor is there
any basis for doing so. There was simply no reason why the Minister
should follow the Panel's recommendations on the need for and
duration of closures, but not those specifically relating to the manner in
which the closures should be determined.
206.2 As indicated above, there are indications from correspondence with the
DFFE that the Minister may not have considered accurate and
complete information prior to taking the decision.
206.3 In the result, the decision is inconsistent with the evidence and
information that served before the Minister; suffers from a failure to
consider a relevant material factor; and is both irrational and potentially
unreasonable.
207. Third, the decision is not capable of advancing the purpose for which it was
ostensibly taken.
207.1 The decision leaves it to the conservation sector to negotiate closures
which strike a better trade-off between African Penguin imperatives
and Industry interests than the Interim Closures. This reflects an
implied acknowledgment that Interim Closures are unlikely to
contribute to reducing the rate of decline of the African Penguin
population.
207.2 However, any revision to the delineations of the Interim Closures which
better adheres to African Penguins' preferred foraging ranges is likely
to lead to a position for Industry that is less favourable than the status \l
f~
101
116
quo. The decision has thus provided no impetus for cooperation from
Industry. This has been clearly illustrated by the conservation sector's
engagements with ESCPA, SAPFIA and Oceana.
207 .3 What makes the Minister's decision particularly egregious is that her
preceding decision to constitute the Panel was explicitly driven by the
"urgent need to implement timeous conservation actions for the African
Penguin"82 and the "lengthy debate" and "dichotomous views" which
had persisted regarding the effects of fishing closures on African
Penguin breeding colonies. 83 It is plainly irrational, under these
circumstances, to leave it to the conservation sector to reach
agreement with Industry on the appropriate closure parameters. Doing
so could never advance the purpose for which the decision was
purportedly taken. Indeed, the decision does nothing to address either
the urgency of conservation measures or the disputes which
necessitated the decision in the first place.
208. Accordingly, the decision falls to be reviewed and set aside in terms of:
208.1 section 6(2)(f)(ii)(aa) of PAJA as the decision was not rationally
connected to the purpose for which it was taken;
208.2 sections 6(2)(f)(ii)(cc) and 6(2)(e)(iii) of PAJA as the decision was not
rationally connected to the information before the Minister and failed to
82 Terms of Reference, para 2(b).

83 Terms of Reference, para 1.
117
take into account relevant aspects of the Panel's report and
recommendations;
208.3 section 6(2)(h) of PAJA as the decision was unreasonable; and
208.4 section 6(2)(c) of PAJA as the decision was not taken in a manner that
was procedurally fair and rational.
209. Alternatively, the decision stands to be reviewed and set aside in terms of the
principle of legality.
Second ground of review: unlawfulness and unconstitutionality
210. As indicated above, trusteeship of the country's biodiversity falls to the State. It
is the State which, in terms of section 7(2) of the Constitution, bears the obligation
to "respect, protect, promote and fulfil' the rights in section·24(b). Accordingly,
when fulfilling the rights under section 24(b) to ''protect the environment for the
benefit of present and future generations", the State "through its organs that
implement legislation applicable to biodiversity, must ... manage, conserve and
sustain South Africa's biodiversity'' (my emphasis).
211. The Minister and the DFFE are the primary State actors that "implement
legislation applicable to biodiversity'' and those who therefore "must ... manage,
conserve and sustain South African's biodiversity". This is not a function which
they may subordinate to a negotiation between the conservation sector and
Industry. It goes without saying that this is a function that must be performed in
full accordance with the law - including the precautionary principle and \l-
V''
VJt'1
103
118
requirement that decisions that affect the environment are based on the best
available science. It is further self-evident that the Minister may not simply defer
decision-making and the taking of decisive measures to prevent environmental
degradation while waiting for "more and better science" or where scientific debate
exists. Debate, the accrual of knowledge and scientific development is inherent
to science - and the very rationale for the precautionary principle.
212. In any event, the Minister and DFFE have acknowledged that access to prey
availability is a threat to African Penguin population survival since at least the
publication of the Policy on the Management of Seals, Seabirds and Shorebirds
in 2007 and commencement of the ICE in 2008 to test the hypothesis that
reducing African Penguin-Industry competition could contribute to improving
African Pe.nguin population survival. Further, the Minister has acknowledged the
need to act urgently at least since engaging with the conservation sector in 2019
while the DFFE's own scientists, during the JGF process expressly
acknowledged that prey was important to sustaining African Penguin
populations. The ETT and CAF have not demonstrated anything contrary to this
position (other than that scientific debate exists). The Panel - appointed to
resolve the debate about the merits of island closures to remedy the issue of
access to prey - has concluded that island closures are a valid conservation
intervention. The Minister has accepted the need for closures in her decision.
However, the Minister has not, in fact, adhered to her positive obligations to
intervene in the interests of African Penguins; prevention of their extinction ; their
conservation; or in ensuring that the food chain and ecosystem of which they are
part is in fact ecologically sustainably used and managed.

119
213. Moreover, by subordinating the protection of an Endangered species (likely soon
to be formally recognised as "Critically Endangered') to the preservation of
healthy relationships with Industry, the Minister has fundamentally misconstrued
her function, powers and constitutional obligations. Her constitutional mandate
is not to appease Industry but to protect our country's biodiversity and, in this
instance, the Endangered African Penguin and ecologically sustainable use of
sardine and anchovy. Her preference for consultation and consensus, however
virtuous it may be, must yield to her superseding obligation to put reasonable
and effective measures in place to ensure the survival of the African Penguin.
214. Indeed, having regard to the obligations on the State under section 24 of the
Constitution and section 3(1) of the NEMBA (read with the Minister's powers and
obligations under NEM:BA and the relevant international conventions) the
Minister is obliged to implement urgent measures including the imposition of
fishing closures which limit purse-seine anchovy and sardine fishing activities to
prevent the impending extinction of the African Penguin. The Minister has simply
failed to do so. The unlawfulness of her decision is compounded by the series
of delays over at least the past four years. The Minister has thus acted in breach
of her obligations to ensure the survival and well-being of the African Penguin
and to adhere to the environmental management principles under the
Constitution, NEMA and NEM:BA as well as in violation of South Africa's
international obligations arising from commitments made under, inter alia,
AEWA. Accordingly, the Minister has acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally.
215. Accordingly, the decision stands to be reviewed and set aside in terms of:
120
215.1 section 6(2)(d) of PAJA, in that it was materially influenced by an error
of law;
215.2 section 6(2)(e)(vi) of PAJA, in that it was taken arbitrarily or
capriciously;
215.3 section 6(2)(f)(i) of PAJA, in that it contravenes a law or is not
authorised by the empowering provision; and
215.4 section 6(2)0) of PAJA, in that it was unlawful and unconstitutional.
216. Alternatively, the decision stands to be reviewed and set aside in terms of the
principle of legality.
RELIEF
217. For the reasons set out above, the applicants seek that the decision be reviewed
and set aside.
218. As consequential relief, flowing from the above, the applicants seek an order
substituting the decision with a decision to implement no-take small-pelagic
fishing areas around the breeding colonies in accordance with the Panel's
recommended trade-off mechanism. The application of such trade-off -
including the incorporation of the important mlBA-ARS areas and use of the OBM
model in a relative sense - is reflected in the maps attached marked "AM16".
The circumstances of this case are sufficiently exceptional to warrant substituted
relief. This is for, at least, the following four reasons:
106
121
218.1 First, if the Panel's recommendations are to be followed, the delineation
of the closures is a foregone conclusion. The Panel has clearly
recommended the trade-off mechanism for determining the fishing
closures around the breeding colonies. The maps attached as "AM16"
were prepared in accordance with the trade-off mechanism based on
data available to the conservation sector at this time. The fishing
closures reflected in the maps are therefore the only fishing closures
which can be imposed in alignment with the Panel's recommendations
given the currently available data. This is explained further in Ms
Weideman's expert affidavit (i.e. "AMS").
218.2 Second, the African Penguin population has been severely prejudiced
by the Minister's dithering and delay in dealing with their rapid decline.
I refer in this regard to the Minister's countless scientific review
processes, as set out above, none of which yielded a decisive
resolution. For too long, the Minister has placed her preference for a
consensus-driven solution above her obligation to ensure the survival
of the African Penguin. All the while, the African Penguin population
has steadily declined on her watch. The African Penguin cannot afford
further fence-sitting by the Minister. Its survival and well-being
depends on the correct decision being taken now, by order of this
Honourable Court, and not being, once again deferred.
218.3 Third, the Minister's decision was so patently irrational and unlawful
that it would be entirely unfair to remit the decision to the Minister. The
Minister has shown over a prolonged period that she lacks the appetite
122
to deal decisively with the African Penguin crisis. It took the Minister
years to take a decision to impose fishing closures around the breeding
colonies. When she finally did so, her decision was so irrational and
unlawful that it has served no purpose at all. It would thus be unfair to
subject the applicants to yet a further process in terms of which the
Minister is required to take a decision on the matter. The prejudice to
the applicants, their members, the broader public and African Penguins
is self-evident.
218.4 Fourth, this Honourable Court is as well placed as the Minister to take
a decision on the matter. Having been presented with the Panel's
recommendation, as well as the applicants' assessment and
application thereof together with the maps of the proposed closures,
this Honourable Court will have before it not only the same information
as that which served before the Minister and supposedly informed her
decision, but more. With the benefit of considered input from a Panel
of leading international experts in the field, and its subsequent
application by local experts (all of which have international standing),
this Honourable Court is at least as well placed to take a decision as
the Minister, if not better.
219. Should this Honourable Court not be minded to grant substituted relief, the
applicants seek, in the alternative, that the decision on the delineation of the new
fishing closures around the breeding colonies be remitted to the Minister for
reconsideration, subject to the following directions:

123
219.1 the Minister must base the delineation of the new fishing closures on
the Panel's recommendation to apply the trade-off mechanism in
respect of closure delineation - including by incorporating delineations
based on the mlBA-ARS method and using existing OBM model data
in a relative sense;
219.2 to the extent that the Panel report does not determine specific closure
delineations for each island, the Minister must refer the conservation
sector's analysis and any Industry assessment to the Panel to confirm
the accuracy of application of the trade-off mechanism and the
delineations identified through its application based on currently
available data;
219.3 the Minister shall be required to take a decision on the delineation of
the new fishing closures within 90 days of this Honourable Court's
order, which period shall cover any referral to the Panel for
confirmation; and
219.4 pending the Minister's decision, the Minister shall be required to
implement fishing closures around the breeding colonies in accordance
with the maps attached as "AM16".
EXTENSION OR CONDONATION
220. I am advised that a review application under PAJA must be brought within 180
days of becoming aware of the decision being reviewed and the reasons for it.
Where an applicant fails to bring its application in time, the court may extend the
\:
t Aa1
109
124
180-day time period where the interests of justice so permit. Similarly, a review
application under the principle of legality must be brought within a reasonable
period of time. Where an applicant fails to bring such an application in time, the
court may condone the failure.
221. The applicants submit that this application was brought within time and without
unreasonable delay. Indeed, the applicants have not received reasons for the
Minister's decision and, in fact, do not even know in terms of which power it was
ostensibly taken. However, to the extent it is considered to have brought this
application outside of the 180-day period under PAJA or a reasonable period
under the principle of legality, the applicants request an extension of the 180-day
period under section 9 of PAJA or condonation, as the case may be.
222. The applicants sought to bring this application with all possible urgency once it
became clear that they had been left with no choice but to approach this
Honourable Court for the relief sought. Any delay in taking steps to launch court
proceedings was a consequence of the applicants' attempt to mitigate the
Minister's decision during the period between 4 August 2023 and December
2023. I have set these steps out in detail above.
223. It was only during the course of October 2023 that it became apparent that the
DFFE and the- Minister were not prepared to provide definitive guidelines to
implement the Panel's recommendations and on 14 November 2023 that the
applicants received SAPFIA's Interim Comments confirming their position that no
island closures should be in place. Further, the Minister's refusal to provide
details of rights holders was made known only on 24 November 2023, while Dr \ (.,,,-
f-,rt
110
125
Naidoo finally confirmed that the DFFE would not support the agreement that
had been achieved in respect of the Eastern Cape Closures on 19 December
2023 (an e-mail I received on my return from leave on 8 January 2024). The
futility of all efforts to seek "agreement" thus became entirely apparent only after
the passing of the deadline, in early January 2024.
224. As soon as possible in January 202~, BLSA and SANCCOB's management
convened to confirm the necessity of litigation. Resolutions to this effect were
obtained by BLSA on 1 February 2024 and circulated by SANCCOB on
2 February 2024 (with the final signature obtained on 13 February 2024). In
parallel, BLSA and SANCCOB instructed their legal representatives to obtain the
views of Senior Counsel which was only possible on her return from leave on
26 January 2024. While the applicants had at all times understood the Minister's
decision to over!ook the relevant science and the Panel's recommendations, it
was not at all times apparent to us that this translated into a reviewable
irregularity. It was only upon taking the necessary legal advice that this was
confirmed . These proceedings were instituted promptly after such advice and
the relevant resolutions having been obtained. In the circumstances, to the
extent the applicants delayed, they did not do so unreasonably.
225. We emphasise that the number of role-players and extent of the evidence has
required considerable review by our legal team who have also had to consult with
multiple experts, including those located outside of South Africa. The measure
of context and technical detail incorporated in this affidavit speaks for itself in
demonstrating the significant time and effort taken to prepare this application. I
111
126
submit that the applicants have moved with all due alacrity to bring this
application as soon as reasonably possible.
226. More critically, the applicants bring these proceedings overwhelmingly in the
public interest. The issue in question is one of life and death: the very survival
of the African Penguin is at stake. The interests of justice self-evidently warrant
that extension or condonation be granted. Further, there can be no conceivable
prejudice to the respondents.
227. Therefore, to the extent necessary, the applicants seek either an extension of
the 180-day period under PAJA or, should PAJA not apply, condonation for any
unreasonable delay in bringing these proceedings.
COSTS
228. BLSA and SANCCOB are instituting these proceedings in their own interest as
African Penguin conservation organisations, out of a concern for the public
interest and in the interest of protecting the environment. They also bring these
proceedings in the interest of the well-being of African Penguins - a species
which has no standing before a South African court of law.
229. At all times, the applicants have acted reasonably and made due efforts to use
other means reasonably available, to obtain the relief sought. Accordingly, in
terms of section 32(2) of NEMA as well as the "Biowatch" principle, the applicants
should not be held liable for any costs arising from this application.
112
127
CONCLUSION
230. For these reasons, the applicants pray for relief set out in the notice of motion.
ALISTAIR MC INTYRE MC INNES
The deponent has acknowledged that he knows and understands the contents of this
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at Cl\ f'E lD ~-u N on this the
/f{r,..f day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R1648 of 19 August
1977, as amended, having been complied with.
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
Full Names: COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
Capacity:
NAME:_~_\_,_k:'.'._ c., ~-'-1_A_v\.,_\_I\.:.___
Designation: i-1'ACTISING ATTORNEY - RSA
1st FLOOR. BIRKDALE 2. RIVER PARK ,
Address: ·1 "IVER LANE. LIESBEEK PARKWAY.
MOWBRAY 7700
CAPE TOWN
113
128
"AM1 "
APPENDIX A
ROUND ROBIN RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA
Non-profit registration: NPO 001-298
PBO Number: 930 004 518
IN RESPECT OF INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS TO REVIEW AND SET ASIDE THE DECISION OF THE
MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT, DATED 4 AUGUST 2023
It is resolved that:
1. Birdlife South Africa, on its own behalf; in the interests of protecting the environment; as a
member of, or in the interests of, a group or class of persons; in the public interest; and/or as an
association acting in the interests of its members, will:
1.1 Institute legal proceedings to review and set aside the decision, as the case may be, of the
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister), dated 4 August 2023, to
impose interim closures around six key island breeding colonies for African Penguins for a
period of ten years (subject to review after six years), subject to "agreement" being reached
in respect of alternative closures between the Conservation Sector and Fishing Industry by 31
December 2023 (the Anticipated Review);
1.2 Seek any such interim relief as may be necessary in the context of the legal proceedings
described above, and pending the final determination thereof;
1.3 Seek an appropriate costs order against the respondents should Birdlife South Africa be
successful in any of the legal proceedings described above, and to enforce such costs order;
and
1.4 Seek any further appropriate relief in relation to the above legal proceedings.
Authorised persons
2. The Seabird Conservation Programme Manager of Bird life South Africa, in his capacity as such, is
hereby authorised to depose to any affidavit and sign any other documents which may be required
in the aforesaid administrative and legal proceedings and to take all other necessary steps to fulfil
this resolution on behalf of Bird life South Africa.
3. The Biodiversity Law Centre (BLC) is hereby appointed to represent Birdlife South Africa in all of
the aforesaid administrative and legal proceedings; and Katherine Handley, Executive Director of
the BLC, Nina Braude, attorney at the BLC, and/or any other attorney employed as such by the
BLC are hereby authorised to depose to any affidavit and take any steps as may be required in the
aforesaid legal proceedings.
4. All steps taken by Birdlife South Africa and the BLC on behalf of Birdlife South Africa in the
Anticipated Review are ratified to the extent necessary.
129
5. This resolution may be signed in one or more counterparts, all of which together shall be
considered to constitute one and the same resolution as at the date of the signature by the party
last signing one of the counterparts.
Date: 1 February 2024
Chairperson: Yvonne Patricia Pennington
Chief Executive Officer: Mark David Anderson

Honorary Treasurer: Philip Calinikos
Co-opted Member: Ismail Ebrahim Bhorat
4
130
Co-opted Member: Xolani Nicholus Funda

Co-opted Member: Linda Anne Hart
Co-opted Member: Vernon Richard Laurence Head

Co-opted Member: Galeboe Thomas Modisapodi
Members' Director: Louise Coetzee
NT ForlJes
Members' Director: Nicolette Tracy Forbes
5
131

Members' Director: Matthew Philip Biden

Chief Financial Officer: Stephanus Cornelius Venter du Plessis
Resolution approved at the Birdlife South Africa Board meeting held on 1 February 2024, with a
quorum present.
6
NPO number: 003-134 NPO
Registration Number: 2001/026273/08
PO Box 11116, Bloubergrant, Cape Town, 7443, South Africa
Physical Address: 22 Pentz Drive, Table View, 7441
Telephone: + 27 215576155 Fax:+ 27 21 557 8804
SANCCOB™ Email: [email protected] Website: www.sanccob.co.za
saves seabirds
SANCCOB "NPC"
REGISTRATION NUMBER 2001/026273/08
(the "Company")
ROUND ROBIN RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY ON 2 FEBRUARY 2024 IN
TERMS OF SECTION 74 OF THE COMPANIES ACT, NO 71 OF 2008 (THE "ACT")
IT IS NOTED THAT the Resolution had been submitted to the Directors of the Company. and that the Directors had waived their
rights to receive notice of the resolutions contained herein, all in terms of section 74 of the Companies Act, No 71 of 2008 (the
"Act").
RESOLUTION NUMBER I
WA IVER OF NOTICE PERIOD IN TERMS OF SECTION 7J(S)(A) (Jill OF THE ACT:
It was RESOLVED:
That in accordance with the provisions of section 73(5)(a)(iii) of the Act, the Directors of the Company had duly waived the
respective notice period for the adoption of the below resolutions.
RESOLUTION NUMBER 2
IN RESPECT OF INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS TO REVIEW AND SET ASIDE THE DECISION OF THE
MINJSJf;R QF FORESTRY1 FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT DATED 4 AUGUST 2023;
It was RESOLVED:
That the Directors agree to proceed \Vith litigation proceedings to review and set aside the decision of the Minister of Forestry.
Fisheries and the Environment dated 4 August 2023, to impose interim closures around six key island breeding colonies, subject
to the following terms and conditions:
• Litigation must be implemented by the Biodiversity Law Centre (BLC) in a phased approach, whereby at the start of
each round of litigation, the BLC provides a risk and cost assessment for Board approval, prior to proceeding with
further litigation.
• SANCCOB actively fundraises, to reduce litigation and public relations costs .
• SANCCOB and BirdLife South Africa enter into an agreement to confirm the financial roles and responsibilities of
each organisation as co-litigants.
RESOLUTION NUMBER J
AUTHORITY TO TRANSACT:
It was RESOLVED:
That each and every Director of the company, be and is hereby authorised to carry out and to do all such things necessary in
connection with the subject matter of the aforesaid resolutions including without limitation being authorised to make, amend and
sign all and any such necessary documents, letters, applications, announcements and atlidavits as may be required for and in
connection with aforesaid resolutions.
I.( 11.LIERS DATE: 2 February 2024
V.J.M. BOULLE DATE: 02 February 2024

Page 1 of2
133
~
SANCCOB"
saves seabirds
J.COOPER DATE:
3 Feb 2024
S.L. DE VILLIERS DATE:
P.A. ISDELL
K. HANDLll DATE: 4 February 2024
~l.
N.C. MASKELL
A.C. WOLFAARDT DATE: 02 February 2024

134
ROUND ROBIN RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SANCCOBNPC
Registration Number: 2001/026273/08
("SANCCOB")
IN RESPECT OF INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS TO REVIEW AND SET ASIDE THE

DECISION OF THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
DATED 4 AUGUST 2023
It is resolved that:
1. SANCCOB, on its own behalf; in the interests of protecting the environment; as a member
of, or in the interests of, a group or class of persons; in the public interest; and/or as an
association acting in the interests of its members, will:
1.1 Institute legal proceedings to review and set aside the decision, as the case may be,
of the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister), dated 4 August
2023, to impose interim closures around six key island breeding colonies for African
penguins for a period of ten years (subject to review after six years), subject to
"agreement" being reached in respect of alternative closures between the
Conservation Sector and Fishing Industry by 31 December 2023 (the Anticipated
Review);
1.2 Seek any such interim relief as may be necessary in the context of the legal
proceedings described above, and pending the final determination thereof;
1.3 Seek an appropriate costs order against the respondents should SANCCOB be
successful in any of the legal proceedings described above, and to enforce such costs
order; and
1.4 Seek any further appropriate relief in relation to the above legal proceedings.
Authorised persons
2. The Chief Executive Officer, Head of Conservation and Research Manager of SANCCOB,
in their capacities as such, are hereby authorised to depose to any affidavit and sign any
other documents which may be required in the aforesaid administrative and legal
proceedings and to take all other necessary steps to fulfil this resolution on behalf of
SANCCOB.
3. The Biodiversity Law Centre (BLC) is hereby appointed to represent SANCCOB in all of
the aforesaid administrative and legal proceedings; and Katherine Handley, Executive
Director of the BLC, Nina Braude, attorney at the BLC, and/or any other attorney employed
as such by the BLC are hereby authorised to depose to any affidavit and take any steps
as may be required in the aforesaid legal proceedings.
4. All steps taken by SANCCOB and the BLC on behalf of SANCCOB in the Anticipated
Review are ratified to the extent necessary.
5. This resolution may be signed in one or more counterparts, all of which together shall be
considered to constitute one and the same resolution as at the date of the signature by the
party last signing one of the counterparts.
135
NAME SIGNATURE DATE
INGE CILLIERS
}tu!; 2 February 2024
NATALIE MASKELL
~~ - 2 -fao,u~~ 2-CVf
~
PAMELA ISDELL
\o t ti> (..M ~ w1.lt,

-
~~
VERNON BOULLE
02 February 2024
( -,.
SAMANTHA PETERSEN
~
----:-
--
3 Feb 2024
ANTON WOLFAARDT 1,r,/lr,Jv.

4 . ·- (I ' 02 February 2024
JOHN COOPER
;:C/: l1 ~:.
0 4 ~OJ 2~
KATHERINE HANDLEY 4 February 2023

~lll~
Resolution approved at the SANCCOB Board meeting held on 31 January 2024, with a
auorum present.
Case No:- - - - -

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



SUPPORTING AFFIDAVIT
I, the undersigned,
KATRIN LUDYNIA
1. I am an adult female with identity number 7506021590186 and am the Research
Manager at South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, the
Second Applicant (SANCCOB), a registered non-profit company; non-profit

137
organisation and public benefit organisation with its registered address at Seabird
Centre, Pentz Drive, Table View, Western Cape.
2. I am duly authorised to bring these proceedings and to depose to this affidavit on
behalf of SANCCOB. The relevant Board resolution is attached to the founding
affidavit as "AM2"
3. The facts and circumstances set out in this supporting affidavit are within my
personal knowledge and belief, unless otherwise stated or as appears from the
context - and are to the best of my belief both true a11d correct.
4. I have read the Founding Affidavit deposed to by ALISTAIR MC INTYRE MC
INNES and confirm that its contents are true and correct insofar as they pertain
to me as well as to SANCCOB.
KATRIN LUDYNIA
The deponent has acknowledged that she knows and understands the contents of this
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at (A p~ 10cutN on this the
)<G:rH day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R1648 of 19August
COMMISSIONER OF OAT~MMISSIONER OF OATHS
Full Names:
NAME : tM ' l:::_e;
'(J1 v4 ;1-
Capacity: PRACTISING ATTORNEY - RSA
1st FLOOR. BIRKDALE 2. RIVER PARK
Designation: ,, RIVER LANE . LIESBEEK PARKWAY
MOWBRAY 7700
Address:
CAPE TOWN
138

"AM4"
Case No:- - - - -
BIROLIFE SOUTH AFRICA First Applicant

CONSERVATION OF COASTAL BIROS
and
THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES ANO First Respondent

THE ENVIRONMENT

FISHERIES ANO THE ENVIRONMENT

ANO COASTS, DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY,

EXPERT AFFIDAVIT
I, the undersigned,
RICHARD BRIAN SHERLEY
1. I am an adult male marine ecologist and conservation biologist and a Senior
Lecturer at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom as well as a Research Fellow
at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

139
2. The facts contained in this affidavit are within my personal knowledge and belief,
unless otherwise stated or appears from the context, and are to the best of my
belief both true and correct.
3. My qualifications are set out in my curriculum vitae, attached marked "RS1". In
brief my qualifications and expertise are as follows:
3.1. I hold a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology and Zoology as well as
a Doctorate from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. My doctoral thesis
was entitled "Factors influencing the demography of Endangered seabirds at
Robben Island, South Africa".
3.2. I have subsequently held positions as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University
of Cape Town, South Africa, Research Fellow at the Bristol Zoological Society
and University of Exeter, Lecturer at the University of Exeter and, since 2022 I
have been a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. I
have, in addition, been a Research Fellow at the University of the Western
Cape, South Africa since 2023.
3.3. I have been a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Penguin
Specialist Group since 2017 and have advised the South African Government
as a member of the Seabird Technical Team of the Top Predator Working Group
(currently convened by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment, Branch: Oceans and Coasts) since 2020. I have also previously
advised the South African Government as a scientific observer of the Small
Pelagic Working Group (currently convened by the Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment, Branch: Fisheries Management) and served as
the chairperson of the Population Reinforcement Working Group convened
2
140
between 2012 and 2015 to develop the African Penguin Biodiversity
Management Plan, 2013.
3.4. I have published 66 academic papers in peer-reviewed journals and have over
3,100 citations. In addition, I have been co-author of over 80 government
reports and IUCN Red List texts and have provided expert advice to
government fora in three countries on marine policy. I have also served as a
peer-reviewer for over 29 journals concerned with marine ecology and
conservation biology.
4. I am the lead author of the article "The African Penguin should be considered
Critically Endangered" submitted as a Short Note to the peer-reviewed journal
Ostrich (Manuscript ID: TOST-2024-0008) on 13 February 2024 (uplisting
submission).
5. This uplisting submission presents the calculations and outcome of a modelling
process based on the latest census of the global population of the African Penguin
concluded in December 2023. The method and calculations used will be
incorporated in the submission made to Birdlife International for purposes of
assessing whether the African Penguin . meets the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria for uplisting the status of the African
Penguin from "Endangered" to "Critically Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. Bird life International conducts this assessment on behalf of
the IUCN.
6. The IUCN considers a status of "Criticaliy Endangered" to mean that a species
faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The uplisting submission
concludes that the African Penguin faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the
wild by 2035.
141
7. The IUCN Red List uses five different criteria (A to E) to assess the conservation
status of species. These criteria assess extinction risk on the basis of population
reduction, very small population size, and/or restricted geographic range. A
species must be evaluated against all five criteria and is then assigned to a threat
category if any one criterion is met and according to the criterion that indicates the
highest level of extinction risk.
8. The uplisting submission has assessed African Penguins' conservation status
under two relevant sub-categories of criterion A, namely criteria "A2." and "A4":
8.1. The IUCN Red List criterion "A2." assess reductions in a species' population
over the longer of (a) the last ten years; or (b) three generations. 1 In the case
of African Penguins, the longer period is three generations, i.e. 30 years.
8.2. The IUCN Red List criterion "A4" assesses a species based on "an observed,
estimated, inferred, projected or suspected population size reduction... over
any 10 year or three generation period ... where the time period must include
both the past and the future". 2
9. The uplisting submission concludes that a combination of observed and projected
data indicates that by 2027 the median decline of the global African Penguin
population over three generations would exceed the 80% threshold for a "Critically
Endangered" listing with a probability of 56%. However, when examining the data
from 2028 onwards, this probability increases to more than 95%. Further, the
projections suggest that the present decline shows no clear sign of a reversal if
the conditions over the next ten years (i.e. until the end of 2033, beginning of 2034)
1 See IUCN (2022) Guidelines for Using the /UCN Red List Categories and Criteria Version 15.1, available
online <https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/redlistguidelines> (accessed 29 February 2024) p 63.
2 Ibid.
4
142
reflect those of the recent past. For this reason, the uplisting submission
concludes that the threshold under category A4 has been met and the African
Penguin's conservation status qualifies for uplisting to "Critically Endangered".
10. The uplisting submission uses the results of counts of African Penguin breeding
pairs at 26 South African and Namibian breeding colonies. These counts
(conducted between 1979 and 2023) are used together with a recognised
"Bayesian state-space model" to reassess the species' conservation status. A
Bayesian state-space model is a robust modelling framework for analysing
ecological time-series data.
11. The resulting figures show that over the last 30 years (i.e. across three African
Penguin generations since 1993), the global African Penguin population has
declined by 77.8% (from an estimated 44,300 to 9,900 breeding pairs). The model
used to calculate the African Penguin population decline generates a credible
range 3 of 71.8% to 84.6%. This provides some support for listing African Penguins
as "Critically Endangered" under criterion "A2" (based on past considerations),
which requires the rate of decline to be at least 80%.
12. In addition, the threshold for listing as "Critically Endangered" under criterion "A2"
has been exceeded in Namibia with a high degree of certainty, while the rate of
population decline in the Eastern Cape of South Africa has worsened significantly.
The South African population has declined by 76.9% since 1993.
3
This range covers the most plausible 95% of all the decline rates estimated by the model, given the 6....-\
data. w I
5
143
13. Overall, the last ten years has seen the global population reduced by more than
half its numbers. It has now fallen below 10,000 breeding pairs for the first time. I
pause to note that-
13.1. until 2007, Dassen Island alone had approximately 11,000 breeding pairs;
13.2. until 2003, St Croix held more than 12,000 breeding pairs; and
13.3. until 1990, Dyer Island had more than 10,000 breeding pairs.
14. With an estimated global number of 9,900 breeding pairs (31,700 individuals) (in
2023),4 there are now fewer African Penguins globally than at the time of the MV
Treasure oil spill in 2000 when approximately 38,500 individual birds were oiled,
cleaned and released or relocated.
15. At these rates of decline, there is a real threat that the global African Penguin
population could be extinct in the wild by 2035.
16. We have also had regard to the recent increase in the rates of declines of African
Penguin populations under criterion A4. Using this criterion (explained above},
and with regard to the dramatic recent rates of population declines, our
assessment indicates that the African Penguin will almost certainly exceed the
relevant "Critically Endangered" threshold of an 80% decline over a 30-year period
by 2028 in the event that the rates of decline observed over the last decade persist
into the near future.
17. In the result, and subject to review by Birdlife International on behalf of the IUCN,
in my opinion (and as borne out in the uplisting submission) the African Penguin
now meets the criteria for uplisting to "Critically Endangered".
4
Note that scientific convention multiplies the number of breeding pairs by 3.2 in order to account for
birds who may not breed in a given year or are immature. vJ, ,lAt-1
6
144
18. Given my qualifications and experience, as set out above, I am duly qualified to
express an expert opinion on the data provided in the upli~ting submission.
19. I confirm the content of the uplisting submission and the expert opinion expressed
therein. I further confirm that the method and data relied upon are robust, credible
and based on methods recognised by the IUCN according to v. 3.1 of the IUCN
Red List categories and criteria, second edition
(https://portals.iucn.orq/library/node/10315) and version 15.1 (July 2022) of the
guidelines for their use (https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/redlistguidelines).
20. The uplifting submission is attached marked "RS2".
RICHARD BRIAN SHERLEY
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on this the
_ _ _ day of _ _ _ _ _ _2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice
No. R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R1648 of 19
August 1977, as amended, having been complied with.
Full Names:
Capacity:
Designation:
Address:
7
c.v. 145
"1!I\ University "RS1"
'II' ofExeter Richard Brian Sherley
http://richardsherley.com/
Summary Marine Ecologist and Conservation Biologist: studying human impacts on the oceans
using long-term data on marine vertebrates, technology-led approaches to study behaviour
and powerful analytical techniques. My work on the interactions between fish populations,
economically important fisheries and marine predators is influencing marine spatial planning
in southern Africa and contributing to ecosystem-based fisheries management.
Publications: 66 in peer-reviewed journals, >3100 citations. H-lndex = 31.
Research Income: >£2 million from research councils, governments, and charitable trusts.
Impact: Input into government fora on marine policy. Author or co-author of >80 government
reports and IUCN Red List texts with strong track record of REF impact case studies.
Professional 2023-present Research Fellow, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Experience 2022-present Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter, UK.
2020-2022 Lecturer, University of Exeter, UK.
2019-2022 Pew Marine Conservation Fellow, University of Exeter, UK.
2015-2018 Independent Research Fellow, Bristol Zoological Society.
2011-2014 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
2005-2006 Editorial Assistant, F1000, Science Navigation Group, UK.
Qualifications 2022 PGCert (Academic Practise}: University of Exeter, UK

2010 PhD: University of Bristol, UK: 'Factors Influencing the Demography of
Endangered Seabirds at Robben Island, South Africa".
2005 BSc (Hons}: University of Bristol, UK: Psychology and Zoology (1 st Class).
Teaching Includes: supervising research students, often actively in the field; invited contributions
Experience to undergraduate and postgraduate education at several institutions; teaching on marine
field courses; and developing teaching material on ecology, conservation, fisheries
science and applied statistical modelling. I use real world content drawn from my research
to enthuse students and I recognize the value of continually developing my skills. I have
been a Fellow of the HEA since 2022.
Postgraduate Level
• PhD Student Supervision - 5 completed (University of Cape Town [UCT], University
of Exeter [UoE]), 8 ongoing (UoE, Heriot-Watt University, University of St. Andrews).
• MSc/MSci Student Supervision - 20 completed (UoE, UCT, University of Bristol,
University of the Western Cape), 4 ongoing (UoE).
• Lecturing - Ecosystem-based Management of Marine Systems, University of St.
Andrews (2015), Numerical Skills and Statistics, UCT (2013), Statistical Modelling in
R, UoE (2020), Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation, UoE (2020-2023).
Undergraduate Level
• BSc (Hons) Student Supervision -12 completed (UCT, UoE), 1 ongoing (UoE).
• Lecturing - Level 1: Integrated Wildlife Conservation, University of the West of
England (2016-2018) and Biological Diversity, UCT (2012). Level 2: Biology of Aquatic
Vertebrates, UoE (2019-2022). Level 3: Conservation Biology, UCT (2012).
• Marine Biology field courses- UoE (2018-2023) and UCT (2013).
1
c.v. 146
Key Research Principal Investigator:
Income 2023 SuMMeR CDT PhD Studentship (£102,721): "Predicting regional vulnerability of
threatened seabirds to offshore wind energy developments".
2022 Natural England (£38,159): 'Supporting Protected Seabird Populations'.
2022 Joint Nature Conservation Committee {£13,336): 'Bird collision and avoidance
data review'.
2019 Marie Sktodowska-Curie Global Fellowship (~£205,000) (Awarded but handed
back).
2019 Pew Charitable Trusts Marine Conservation Fellowship, USA (~£115,000) '.
2017/18 Zoological Society of San Diego, USA (~£41,200).
2016/18 Leiden Conservation Foundation, USA (~£67,000): 3-year fellowship at Bristol
Zoological Society and University of Exeter.
2015/21 Earthwatch Institute, USA (~£150,000): 'South African Penguins' Citizen
Science project, renewal of funding for 2016-2018 and 2019-2022.
2014/15 Leiden Conservation Foundation, USA (~£21,000): 2-year Fellowship at UCT.
2011 Various Zoos, USA and Europe (~£26,000): Satellite tracking fledgling penguins
over 3 years (output published in Current Biology).
Co-investigator:
2023 Bromley PhD Studentship (£104,886): "Protecting foraging fish and seabird
populations in the Isles of Scilly" - 3.5-year Philanthropic funding.
2021/22 Darwin Plus (£50,298): 1-year grant to rationalise the Ascension Island Green
Turtle Monitoring Programme.
2021 Bertarelli Foundation (£713,854): 4-year grant to study population connectivity
of seabirds in the Chagos Archipelago (£259,808 to Exeter).
2019 Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, UK (£294,000): 1.5-year government
tender to conduct surveys of nesting seabirds in Scotland (MarPAMM project).
2019 Oiled Wildlife Care Network (£27,000): 3-year grant to study post-oiling
rehabilitation outcomes and long-term survival in seabirds.
2016/17 British Antarctic Survey and Trans~Antarctic Association, UK (£8,300): 3-
month research expedition to South Georgia.
2016 National Research Foundation, South Africa (~£12,000): 1-year grant to
identify foraging hotspots for non-breeding seabirds.
2012 National Research Foundation, South Africa (~£30,000): 3-year research
grant for bank cormorant conservation research.
Impact and 2017-present IUCN Species Survival Commission Penguin Specialist Group
Leadership Commission member, providing advice to SSC Chairs on African penguin conservation
2020-present Seabird Technical Team Member, Top Predator Working Group
Advising the South African (SA) government on seabird conservation and policy needs.
2010-2021 Scientific Observer, Small Pelagic Working Group
Advising the South African (SA) government on penguin-fisheries interactions and policy to
account for seabirds in fisheries management.
2012-2015 Population Reinforcement Working Group Chairperson

Contributing to the development of the African Penguin National Biodiversity Management
Plan and leading advice to the SA government on the required conservation actions.
~ "C,
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Plenary and 2021 Plenary Presentation: British Ornithologists Union (BOU), "Birds and People",
Keynote Autumn Scientific Meeting 2021, Online conference.
Conference 2016 Opening Keynote: 9th International Penguin Congress, Cape Town, South Africa.
Talks
2015 Plenary Presentation: Workshop on 'Guidelines and best practise to determine
potential fisheries competition with seabirds', Cape Town, South Africa.
Media Television and Radio: Live TV interviews on South African Broadcasting Corporation
Engagement channels in 2007, 2011 and 2012, and on Talk Radio (2012), Radio Today (2013) and BBC
Cornwall (2019).
Online and print: Press coverage includes Audubon (USA), BBC News (UK), Bloomberg
(USA), CNN (USA), Conservation Magazine (USA), Guardian (UK), Independent (UK),
National Geographic (USA), New Scientist (UK), New York Times (USA), Scientific
American (USA), Smithsonian (USA), Spiegel (Germany) and Times of India (India). See:
https://sites.qooqle.com/view/rbsherley/media-coveraqe for more detail.
Academic PGR Pastoral Tutor: University of Exeter (2022-present).

Citizenship
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy: (2022-present).
Travel Awards Committee Member: 3rd World Seabird Conference (2019-2020).
Social Committee Member: University of Exeter (2018-present).
Graduate Network Committee Member: African Climate Change and Development
Initiative, University of Cape Town (2012-2013).
Zoology Departmental Seminar Convener: University of Cape Town (2010-2012).
Editorial roles: Editor of Seabird (2016-2018); Associate Editor of Ostrich (2014-present)
and Journal of Applied Ecology (2023-present).
Peer-review roles: Reviewing for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, UK),
the National Research Foundation (South Africa) and 29 journals including Biological
Conservation, Biology Letters, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment, Journal of Applied Ecology, Marine Ecology Progress Series, Methods in
Ecology and Evolution, Nature Communications, Oecologia and Proceedings B.
Skills 2022 EMBO Leadership Course: four-day course.

Training 2022 Hierarchical statistical modelling with NIMBLE: half-day course.
2022 Bayesian Analysis of Capture-Recapture Data with Hidden Markov Models in
NIMBLE: half-day course.
2021/22 Academic Professional Programme: level 7 teaching qualification.
2020 Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (Stage 1): one-day course.
2015 Bayesian Integrated Population Modelling: five-day course.
2015 Bayesian Approaches and Mixed Effects Models: one-day workshop.
2014 Introduction to E-SURGE: two-day capture-mark recapture course.
2013 Spatial analysis using R: two-day course.
References Professor Astrid Jarre: Marine Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch
7701, South Africa. Email: [email protected]
Professor Stephen Votier: The Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Research Avenue
South, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Key Soriano-Redondo, A., Inger, R., Sherley, R.B., Rees, E., Gebreselassie, F.A., McElwaine,
Publications G., Einarsson, 0., Thorstensen, S., Newth, J., Hodgson, D. and Bearhop, S. 2023.
Demographic rates reveal the benefit of protected areas in a long-lived migratory bird.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 120: e2212035120.
Kuepfer, A., Sherley, R.B., Brickle, P., Arkhipkin, A., Votier, S.C. 2022. Strategic discarding
reduces seabird numbers and contact rates with trawl fishery gears in the Southwest
Atlantic. Biological Conservation 266: 109462.
Pacoureau, N., Rigby, C.L., Kyne, P.M., Sherley, R.B., Winker, H., Carlson, J.K., Fordham,
S.V., Barreto, R, Fernando, D., Francis, M.P., Jabado, R.W., Herman, K.B., Liu, K-M.,
Marshall, A.O., Pollom, R.A., Romanov, E.V., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Yin, J.S., Kindsvater,
H.K. and Dulvy, N.K. 2021. Half a century of global decline in oceanic sharks and rays.
Nature 589: 567-571.
Sydeman, W.J., Schoeman, D.S., Thompson, S.A., Hoover, B.A., Garcia-Reyes, M., Daunt,
F., Agnew, P., Anker-Nilssen, T., Barbaud, C., Barrett, R., Becker, P.H., Bell, E.,
Boersma, P.O., Bouwhuis, S., Cannell, B., Crawford, R.J.M., Dann, P., Delord, K., Elliott,
G., Erikstad, K.E., Flint, E., Furness, R.W., Harris, M.P., Hatch, S., Hilwig, K., Hinke,
J.T., Jahncke, J., Mills, J.A., Reiertsen, T.K., Renner, H., Sherley, R.B., Surman, C.,
Taylor, G., Thayer, J.A., Trathan, P.N., Velarde, E., Walker, K., Wanless, S., Warzybok,
P. and Watanuki, Y. 2021. Hemispheric asymmetry in ocean change and the
productivity of ecosystem sentinels. Science 372: 980-983.
Sherley R.B., Winker H., Rigby C.L, Kyne P.M., Pollom R.A., Pacoureau N., Herman K.B.,
Carlson J.C., Yin J.S., Kindsvater H.K. and Dulvy N.K. 2020. Estimating IUCN Red List
population reduction: JARA - a decision-support tool applied to pelagic sharks.
Conservation Letters 13: e 12688.
Sherley R.B., Ladd-Jones H., Garthe S., Stevenson 0. and Votier S.C. 2020. Scavenger
communities and fisheries waste: North Sea discards support 3 million seabirds, 2
million fewer than in 1990. Fish and Fisheries 21: 132-145.
Sherley R.B., Ludynia K., Dyer B.M., Lamont T., Makhado A.B., Roux J-P., Scales K.L.,
Underhill LG. and Votier S.C. 2017. Metapopulation tracking juvenile penguins reveals
an ecosystem-wide ecological trap. CurrentBiology 27: 563-568.
Other papers Votier S.C., Sherley R.B., Scales K.L., Camphuysen C.J. and Phillips R.A. 2023. An
in peer- overview of the impacts of fishing on seabirds, including identifying future research
reviewed directions. ICES Journal of Marine Science 80: 2380-2392.
journals
Kressler M.M., Dall S.R.X. and Sherley R.B. 2023. A framework for studying ecological
energy in the contemporary marine environment. 2023. ICES Journal of Marine
Science 80: 1580-1593.
Kuepfer A., Catry P., Bearhop S., Sherley R.B., Bell 0., Newton J., Brickle P., Arkhipkin A.
and Votier S.C. 2023. Inter-colony and inter-annual variation in discard use by albatross
chicks reve~led using isotopes and regurgitates. Marine Biology 170: 46.
Atkins K., Bearhop S., Grecian W.J., Hamer K., Pereira J.M., Meinertzhagen H., Mitchell C.,
Morgan G., Morgan L., Newton J., Sherley R.B., Votier S. 2023. Geolocator tracking
seabird migration and moult reveal large-scale temperature-driven isoscapes in the NE
Atlantic. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 37: e9489.
Vanstreels R.E.T., Parsons N.J., Sherley R.B., Stander N., Strauss V., Kemper J., Waller
L., Barham B.J. and Ludynia K. 2023. Factors determining the number of seabirds
impacted by oil spills and the success of their rehabilitation: lessons learned from
Namibia and South Africa. Marine Pollution Bulletin 118: 114708.
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Carr P., Trevail A.M., Koldewey H.J., Sherley R.B., Wilkinson T., Wood H. and Votier S.C.
2023. Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in the Chagos Archipelago. Bird
Conservation International 33: e29.
Kuepfer A., Votier S.C., Sherley R.B., Ventura F., Matias R., Anderson 0., Brickle P.,
Arkhipkin A. and Catry P. 2023. Prey-switching to fishery discards does not compensate
for poor natural foraging conditions in breeding albatross. ICES Journal of Marine
Science 80: 2414-2426.
Leith F, Grigg JL, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Ludynia K, McGeorge C, Mdluli A, Parsons NJ,
Waller LJ and Sherley RB. 2022. lntercolony variation in reproductive skipping in the
African penguin. Ecology and Evolution 12: e9255.
Sydeman W.J., Hunt Jr., G.L., Pikitch E.K., Parrish J.K., Piatt J.F., Boersma P.O., Kaufman
L., Anderson D.W., Thompson S.A. and Sherley R.B. 2022. African Penguins and
Localized Fisheries Management: Response to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie. ICES
Journal of Marine Science 79: 1972-1978.
Crawford R.J.M., Sydeman W.J., Tom D.B., Thayer J.A., Sherley R.B., Shannon L.J.,
Mcinnes AM., Makhado AB., Hagen C., Furness R.W., Carpenter-Kling T. and Saraux
C. 2022. Food limitation of seabirds in the Benguela ecosystem and management of
their prey base. Namibian Journal of Environment 6(A): 1-13.
Proud R., Le Guen C., Sherley R.B., Kato A., Ropert-Coudert Y., Ratcliffe N., Jarman S.,
Wyness A, Arnould J.P.Y., Saunders R.A., Fernandes P.G., Boehme L., and Brierley
A.S. 2021. Using predicted patterns of 3D prey distribution to map king penguin foraging
habitat. Frontiers in Marine Science 8: 745200.
Sherley R.B., Barham B.J., Barham P.J., Campbell K.J., Crawford R.J.M., Grigg J., Horswill
C., Mcinnes A, Morris T.L., Pichegru L., Steinfurth A., Weller F., Winker H. and Votier
S.C. 2021. Correction to "Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of
experimental fishery closures on marine predator demographics". Proceedings of the
Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288: 20212129.
Sydeman W.J., Hunt Jr. G.L., Pikitch E.K., Parrish J.K., Piatt J.F., Boersma P.O., Kaufman
L., Anderson D.W., Thompson S.A. and Sherley R.B. 2021. South Africa's experimental
fisheries closures and recovery of the endangered African penguin. ICES Journal of
Marine Science 78: 3538-3543.
Omeyer L.C.M., Stokes K.L., Beton D., Cic;ek B.A., Davey S., Fuller W.J., Godley B.J.,
Sherley R.B., Snape R.T.E. and Broderick A.C. 2021. Investigating differences in
population recovery rates of two sympatric sea turtle species. Animal Conservation
24: 832-846.
Scheun J., Miller R.J., Ganswindt A., Waller L.J., Pichegru L., Sherley R.B. and Maneveldt
G.W. 2021. Urofaecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in African penguin
(Spheniscus demersus) chick populations experiencing different levels of human
disturbance. Conservation Physiology 9: coab078.
Clark B.L., Cox S.L., Atkins K.M., Bearhop S., Bicknell A.W.J., Bodey T.W., Cleasby I.R.,
Grecian W.J., Hamer K.C., Loveday B., Miller P.I., Morgan G., Morgan L., Newton J.,
Patrick S.C., Scales K.L., Sherley R.B., Vigfusd6ttir F., Wakefield E.D. and Votier, S.C.
2021. Sexual segregation of gannet foraging over 11 years: movements vary but
isotopic differences remain stable. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 661: 1-16.
Lane J.V., Jeavons R., Deakin Z., Sherley R.B., Pollock C.J., Wanless R.J. and Hamer K.C.
2021. Vulnerability of northern gannets to offshore wind farms; seasonal and sex-
specific collision risk and demographic consequences. Marine Environmental
Research 162: 105196.
Sherley R.B., Crawford R.J.M., de Blocq AD., Dyer B.M., Geldenhuys D., Hagen C.,
Kemper J., Makhado A.B., Pichegru L., Tom D., Upfold L., Visagie J., Waller L.J. and
5 ~t-\ ~J-
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Winker H. 2020. The conservation status and population decline of the African penguin
deconstructed in space and time. Ecology and Evolution 10: 8506-8516.
Cook T.R., Martin R., Roberts J., Hakkinen H., Botha P., Meyer C., Sparks E., Underhill
LG., Ryan P.G. and Sherley R.B. 2020. Parenting in a warming world:
thermoregulatory responses to heat stress in an endangered seabird. Conservation
Physiology 8: coz109.
Le Guen C., Suaria G., Sherley R.B., Ryan P.G., Aliani S., Boehme L. and Brierley A.S.
2020. Microplastic study reveals the presence of natural and synthetic fibres in the diet
of King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) foraging from South Georgia.
Environment International 134: 105303.
Sherley R.B., Crawford R.J.M., Dyer B.M., Kemper J., Makhado A.B., Masotla M., Pichergu
L., Pistorius P.A., Roux J-P., Ryan P.G., Tom D., Upfold L. and Winker H. 2019. The
status and conservation of the Cape Gannet Morus capensis. Ostrich 90: 335-346.
Dyer B.M., Cooper J., Crawford R.J.M., Sherley R.B., Somhlaba S., Cockcroft A., Upfold L.
and Makhado A.B. 2019. Geographical and temporal variation in the diet of Bank
Cormorants Phalacrocorax neg/ectus in South Africa. Ostrich 90: 373-390.
Crawford R.J.M., Sydeman W.J., Thompson S.A., Sherley R.B. and Makhado A.B. 2019.
Food habits of an endangered seabird indicate poor availability of abundant forage
resources. ICES Journal of Marine Science 76: 1344-1352.
Gianuca D., Votier S.C., Pardo D., Wood A.G., Sherley R.B., Ireland L., Choquet R., Pradel
R., Townley S., Forcada J., Tuck G.N. and Phillips R.A. 2019. Sex-specific effects of
fisheries and climate on the demography of sexually dimorphic seabirds. Journal of
Animal Ecology 88: 1366-1378.
Deakin Z., Hamer K., Sherley R.B., Bearhop S., Bodey T.W., Clark B., Grecian W.J.,
Gummery M., Lane J., Morgan G., Morgan L., Phillips R.A., Wakefield E.D. and Votier
S.C. In press. Sex differences in migration and demography of a wide-ranging seabird,
the northern gannet. Marine Ecology Progress Series 622: 191-201.
Campbell K.J., Steinfurth A., Underhill L.G., Coetzee J.C., Dyer B.M., Ludynia K., Makhado
A.B., Merkle D., Rademan J., Upfold L. and Sherley R.B. 2019. Local forage fish
abundance predicts foraging effort and offspring condition in an Endangered marine
predator. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 1751-1760.
Ropert-Coudert Y., Chiaradia A., Ainley D., Barbosa A., Boersma P.O., Brasso R., Dewar
M., Ellenberg U., Garcia Borboroglu P., Emmerson L., Hickcox R., Jenouvrier S., Kato
A., McIntosh R.R., Lewis P., Ramirez F., Ruoppolo V., Ryan P.G., Seddon P.J., Sherley
R.B., Vanstreels R.E.T., Waller L., Woehler E.J. and Trathan P.N. 2019. Happy Feet in
a hostile world? The future of penguins depends on proactive management of current
and predictable threats. Frontiers in Marine Science 6: 248.
Gaglio D., Sherley R.B., Cook T.R., Ryan P.G. and Flower T. 2018. The costs of
kleptoparasitism: a study of mixed species seabird breeding colonies. Behavioral
Ecology 29: 939-947. •
Gaglio D., Sherley R.B., Ryan P.G. and Cook T.R. 2018. A non-invasive approach to
estimate the energetic requirements of an increasing seabird population in a perturbed
marine ecosystem. Scientific Reports 8: 8343.
Gaglio D., Cook T.R., Sherley R.B. and Ryan P.G. 2018. How many can you catch? Factors
influencing the occurrence of multi-prey loading in provisioning Greater Crested Terns.
Ostrich 89: 145-149.
Payo-Payo A., Sanz-Aguilar A., Gaglio D., Sherley R.B., Cook T.R., Altwegg R. and Ryan
P.G. 2018. Survival estimates for the greater crested tern Thalasseus bergii in southern
Africa. African Journal of Marine Science 40: 43-50.
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Gaglio D., Cook T.R., Mcinnes A., Sherley R.B. and Ryan P.G. 2018. Foraging plasticity in
seabirds: a non-invasive study of the diet of greater crested terns breeding in the
Benguela Region. PLoS One 13: e0190444.
Sherley R.B., Barham B.J., Barham P.J., Campbell K.J., Crawford R.J.M., Grigg J., Horswill
C., Mcinnes A., Morris T.L., Pichegru L., Steinfurth A., Weller F., Winker H. and Votier
S.C. 2018. Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery
closures on marine predator demographics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences 285: 20172443.
Brisson-Curadeau E., Bird D., Burke C., Fifield D.A., Pace P., Sherley R.B. and Elliot K.H.
2017. Seabird species vary in behavioural response to drone census. Scientific
Reports 7: 17884.
Sherley R.B. 2017. PhD jobs: Revamp funding structures. Nature 551: 440.
Votier S.C. and Sherley R.B. 2017. Quick guide: Seabirds. Current Biology 27: R448--
R450.
Sherley R.B., Botha P., Underhill LG., Ryan P.G., van Zyl D., Cockcroft A.C., Crawforq
R.J.M., Dyer B.M. and Cook T.R. 2017. Defining ecologically relevant scales for spatial
protection with long-term data on an endangered seabird and local prey availability.
Conservation Biology 31 : 1312-1321 .
Crawford R., Ellenberg U., Frere E., Hagen C., Baird K., Brewin P., Crofts S., Glass J.,
Mattern T., Pompert J., Ross K., Kemper J., Ludynia K., Sherley R.B., Steinfurth A.,
Suazo C.G., Yorio P., Tamini L., Mangel J.C., Bugoni L., Jimenez-Uzcategui G.,
Simeone A., Luna-Jorquera G., Gandini P., Woehler E.J., Putz K., Dann P., Chiaradia
A. and Small C. 2017. Tangled and drowned: A global review of penguin bycatch in
fisheries. Endangered Species Research 34: 373-396.
Morten J.M., Parsons N.J., Schwitzer C., Holderied M.W. and Sherley R.B. 2017. Body
condition as a quantitative tool to guide hand-rearing decisions in an endangered
seabird. Animal Conservation 20: 471-479.
Gaglio D., Cook T.R., Connan M., Ryan P.G. and Sherley R.B. 2017. Dietary studies in
birds: testing a non-invasive method using digital photography in seabirds. Methods in
Ecology and Evolution 8: 214-222.
Sydeman W.J., Thompson S.A., Anker-Nilssen T., Arimitsu M., Bennison A., Bertrand S.,
Boersch-Supan P., Boyd C., Bransome N., Crawford R.J.M., Daunt F., Furness R.,
Gianuca D., Gladics A., Koehn L., Lang J., Logerwell E., Morris T.L., Phillips E.M.,
Provencher J., Punt A.E., Saraux C., Shannon L., Sherley R.B., Simeone A., Wanless
R.M., Wanless S. and Zador S. 2017. Best Practices for Assessing Forage Fish
Fisheries-Seabird Resource Competition. Fisheries Research 194:-209-221.
Weller F., Sherley R.B., Shannon L.J., Jarre A., Stewart T., Scott L., Altwegg R., Cecchini
L-A., Crawford R.J.M., Geldenhuys D., Ludynia K. and Waller L.J. 2016. Penguins'
perilous conservation status calls for complementary approach based on sound
ecological principles: reply to Butterworth et al. (2015). Ecological Modelling 337: 1-
3.
Weller F., Sherley R.B., Waller L.J., Ludynia K., Geldenhuys D., Shannon L.J., and Jarre
A. 2016. System dynamics modelling of the Endangered African penguin populations
on Dyer and Robben islands, South Africa. Ecological Modelling 327: 44-56.
Sherley R.B., Winker H., Altwegg R., van der Lingen C.D., Votier S.C. and Crawford R.J.M.
2015. Bottom-up effects of a no-take zone on endangered penguin demographics.
Biology Letters 11: 20150237.
Gaglio D., Cook T. and Sherl~y R.B. 2015. Egg morphology of Swift Terns in South Africa.
Ostrich 86: 287-289.
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Gaglio D., Sherley R.B. and Cook T. 2015. Insects in the diet of the Greater Crested Tern
Tha/asseus bergii bergii in Southern Africa. Marine Ornithology. 43: 131-132.
Sherley R.B., Waller L.J., Strauss V., Geldenhuys D., Underhill L.G. and Parsons N.J. 2014.
Hand-rearing, release and survival of African penguin chicks abandoned before
independence by moulting parents. PLoS One 9: e110794.
Sherley R.B., Abadi F., Ludynia K., Barham B.J., Clark A.E. and Altwegg R. 2014. Age-
specific survival and movement among major African Penguin Spheniscus demersus
colonies. Ibis 156: 716-728.
Ludynia K., Waller L.J., Sherley R.B., Abadi F., Galada Y., Geldenhuys D., Crawford R.J.M.,
Shannon L. and Jarre A. 2014. Processes influencing the population dynamics and
conservation of African penguins at Dyer Island, South Africa. African Journal of
Weller F., Cecchini L-A., Shannon L., Sherley R.B., Crawford R.J.M., Altwegg R., Scott L.,
Stewart T. and Jarre A. 2014. A system dynamics approach to modelling multiple drivers
of the African penguin population on Robben Island, South Africa. Ecological
Modelling 277: 38-56.
Sherley R.B., Barham P.J., Barham B.J., Crawford R.J.M., Dyer B.M., Leshoro T.M.,
Makhado A.B., Upfold L. and Underhill L.G. 2014. Growth and decline of a penguin
colony and the influence on nesting density and reproductive success. Population
Ecology 56: 119-128.
Sherley R.B., Ludynia K., Lamont T., Roux J-P., Crawford R.J.M. and Underhill L.G. 2013.
The initial journey of an endangered penguin: implications for seabird conservation.
Endangered Species Research 21: 89-95.
Bonato M., Evans M.R., Hasselquist D., Sherley R.B. Cloete S.W.P. and Cherry I.C. 2013.
Ostrich chick humoral immune responses and growth rate are predicted by parental
immune responses and paternal colouration. Behavioral Ecology Sociobiology 67:
1891-1901.
Sherley R.B., Underhill L.G., Barham B.J., Barham P.J., Coetzee J.C., Crawford R.J.M.,
Dyer B.M., Leshoro T.M. and Upfold L. 2013. Influence of local and regional prey
availability on breeding performance of African penguins Spheniscus demersus. Marine
Ecology Progress Series 473: 291-301.
Sherley R.B., Barham B.J., Barham P.J., Leshoro T.M. and Underhill L.G. 2012. Artificial
nests enhance the breeding productivity of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) on
Robben Island, South Africa. Emu 112: 97-106.
Sherley R.B., Ludynia K., Underhill L.G., Jones R. and Kemper J. 2012. Storms and heat
limit the nest success of Bank Cormorants: implications of future climate change for a
surface-nesting seabird in southern Africa. Journal of Ornithology 153: 441-455.
de Villiers M.S., Mecenero S., Sherley R.B. Heinze E., Leshoro T.M., Merbold L., Nordt A.,
Parsons N.J., and Peter H-U. 2010. Introduced European rabbits (Oryctolagus
cuniculus) and domestic cats (Fe/is catus) on Robben Island: Population trends and
management recommendations. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 40:
139-148.
Sherley R.B., Burghardt T., Barham P.J., Campbell N. and Cuthill I.C. 2010. Spotting the
difference: towards fully-automated population monitoring of African penguins
Spheniscus demersus. Endangered Species Research 11: 101-111.
Underhill L.G., Sherley R.B., Dyer BM and Crawford RJM. 2009. Interactions between
snakes and seabirds on Robben, Schaapen and Meeuw Islands, Western Cape
province, South Africa. Ostrich 80: 115-118.
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Book chapters, Lang S.D.J., Votier S.C. and Sherley R.B. In Press. Supporting Protected Seabird
IUCN Red List Populations: Ecological Research into Generating Ecosystem Benefits from Fish Offal
texts and Waste. Natural England Report, Natural England.
Selected Policy Ozsanlav-Harris L., Inger R. and Sherley R. 2023. Review of data used to calculate
Reports: avoidance rates for collision risk modelling of seabirds. JNCC Report 732, JNCC,
Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091.
Sherley R.B. 2023. Synthesis document for 2023 panel considering South Africa's
experimental fisheries closures and their value for the endangered African penguin.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report.
Grigg J.L. and Sherley R.B. 2022. The Decline and Conservation Status of the African
Penguin. In: DellaSala D and Goldstein M (Eds.). Imperiled: The Encyclopedia of
Conservation. Elsevier. ISBN: 9780128211397.
Inger R., Sherley R.B., Lennon J., Winn N., Scriven N., Ozsanlav-Harris L. and Bearhop S.
2022. Surveys of Breeding Cliff-nesting Seabirds, Ground-nesting Seabirds and Burrow-
nesting Seabirds in Western Scotland. Report to Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and
Marine Scotland Science as part of the Marine Protected Area Management and
Monitoring (MarPAMM) project.
Makhado A.B., Crawford R.J.M., Sherley R.B., Upfold L. and Masotla M.J. 2022. The
ongoing decrease of African penguins globally and in South Africa, 1989-2022.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report: STT5_28072022.
Sherley R.B., Crawford R.J.M., Dyer B.M., Hagen C., Upfold L., Mcinnes A., Masotla M.J.,
Shannon L.J., Waller L. and Makhado A.B. 2021. Updated population trajectories and
conservation status of the African penguin in South Africa following the 2021 census.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report:
FISHERIES/2021/JUUSWG-PEL/46.
Crawford R.J.M., Furness R.W., Saraux C., Shannon L.J., Sherley R.B., Sydeman W.J. and
Makhado A.B. 2020. Ecosystem thresholds as tools to achieve an ecosystem-based
. approach to fisheries. Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop Report to the Benguela
Current Commission: Doc BCFF Inf. 9.
Crawford R.J.M., Shannon L.J., Sherley R.B. and Makhado A.B. 2020. Food limitation and
minimum viable populations of seabirds in the Benguela Current Large Marine
Ecosystem. Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop Report· to the Benguela Current
Commission: Doc BCFF Inf. 10.
·Sherley R.B., Hagen C., Ludynia K., Mcinnes A.M., Shannon L., Staasen M. and Waller L.
2020. Some observations on the relative impacts of different drivers on change in the
African penguin population growth rate. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment Report: FISHERIES/2020/SEP/SWG-PEU92.
Rigby C.L., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Herman K.,
Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley R.B. and
Winker H. 2019. Alopias pelagicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T161597A68607857.
Winker H. 2019. Alopias superciliosus. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T161696A894216.
Rigby C.L., Barreto R., Fernando D., Carlson J., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Herman K.,
Winker H. 2019. Alopias vulpinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T39339A2900765. H"'\
~
f,
9
c.v. 154
Kyne P.M., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Herman K.,
Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Pacoureau N., Romanov E. and Sherley R.B. 2019.
Carcharhinus galapagensis. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T41736A2954286.
Winker H. 2019. Carcharhinus /ongimanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
2019: e.T39374A2911619.
Winker H. 2019. Carcharhinus obscurus. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species
2019: e.T3852A2872747.
Rigby C~L.. Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Herman K.,
Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Lowe C.G, Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley
R.B. and Winker H. 2019. Carcharodon carcharias. The /UCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2019: e.T3855A2878674.
Winker H. 2019. Lamna nasus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T11200A500969.
Marshall A., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Herman K.,
Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Pacoureau N., Rigby C.L., Romanov E. and Sherley R.B. 2019.
Mobula a/fredi. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T195459A68632178.
Winker H. 2019. Prionace glauca. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T39381A2915850.
Rigby C.L., Dulvy N.K., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P.,
Herman K., Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E.,
Sherley R.B. and Winker H. 2019. Sphyrna /ewini. The /UCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2019: e.T39385A2918526.
Winker H. 2019. Sphyrna mokarran. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e. T39386A2920499.
Rigby C.L., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Herman K., Jabado R.W., Liu
K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley R.B. and Winker H. 2019.
Sphyrna zygaena. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39388A2921825.
Rigby C.L., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Jabado R.W.,
Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley R.B. and Winker, H. 2019.
lsurus oxyrinchus. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39341A2903170.
Rigby C.L., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P., Jabado R.W.,
Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley R.B. and Winker, H. 2019.
/surus paucus. The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T60225A3095898.
Kyne P.M., Romanov E., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Fordham S., Francis M.P.,
Jabado R.W., Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N. and Sherley R.B. 2019.
Pseudocarcharias kamoharai. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T39337A2900108.
Kyne P.M., Barreto R., Carlson J., Fernando D., Francis M.P., Fordham S., Jabado R.W.,
Liu K.M., Marshall A., Pacoureau N., Romanov E., Sherley R.B. and Winker H. 2019.
10 ~&'\ ff JC
c.v. 155
Pteroplatytrygon violacea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T161731 A896169.
Provencher J.F., Borrelle S., Sherley R.B., Avery-Gomm S., Hodum P., Bond A., Major
H.L., McCoy K., Crawford R., Merkel F., Votier S.C., Hatfield J., Reynolds M., Spatz D.
and Mallory M.L. 2019. Seabirds. In: Sheppard C.R.C. (Ed.). World Seas: An
Environmental Evaluation. Volume Ill: Ecological Issues and Environmental Impacts.
Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. ISBN: 9780128050521.
Sherley R.B., Barham B.J., Barham P.J., Campbell K.J., Crawford R.J.M., de Blocq A.,
Grigg J., Le Guen C., Hagen C., Ludynia K., Makhado A.B., Mcinnes A., Meyer A., Morris
T., Pichegru L., Steinfurth A., Upfold L., van Onselen M., Visagie J., Weller F. and Winker
H. 2019. A Bayesian approach to understand the overall effect of purse-seine fishing
closures around African penguin colonies. Department of Environment, Forestry and
Fisheries Report: FISHERIES/2019/NOV/SWG-PEL/32.
Waller L.J., Crawford R.J.M., Sherley R.B., Hagen C., Parsons N., Makhado A., Makoala
M., Mann-Lang J., Oosthuizen A., Oosthuizen H., Shaw K., Stander N., van der Spuy S.
and Werth J. 2019. Conservation translocation guidelines of African penguins in South
Africa. CapeNature.
Winker H., Sherley R.B., da Silva C., Leslie R., Attwood C., Sink K., Parker D., Fairweather
T. and Swart L. 2018. A Red Listing support tool applied on sharks, rays, and chimaeras
(chondrichthyans) abundance indices from South African demersal trawl surveys. Sub-
equatorial African endemics IUCN Shark Specialist Group Meeting: Grahamstown, 23-
26th April 2018.
Kemper J., Ludynia K., Morris T., Sherley R. and Simmons R. 2017. Phalacrocorax
neglectus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e. T22696766A 112367141.
Barham P., Crawford R., Kemper J., Ludynia K., Makhado A., Morris T., Pichegru L.,
Sherley R., Simmons R., Steinfurth A., Underhill L., Waller L., Wanless R. and van der
Spuy S. 2016. Spheniscus demersus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:
e. T2269781 0A93641269.
Sherley R.B. 2016. A Bayesian approach to understand the effect sizes, uncertainty and
demographic impact associated with purse-seine fishing closures around African penguin
colonies. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report:
MARAM/IWS/DEC16/Peng Clos/P2.
Weller F., Sherley R.B., Altwegg R., Jarre A. and Shannon L.J. 2016. Additional
perspectives for the Stock Assessment Review Panel on penguin population modelling
for decision making. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report:
MARAM/IWS/DEC16/Peng Press/P2.
Hagen C., Jarre A., Shannon L., Sherley R.B., Steinfurth A., Crawford R.J.M., van der
Merwe L., Wanless R.M., Oosthuizen H., Pichegru L., Robinson K., Weller F., Mcinnes
A., Winker H., Altwegg R., Ludynia K., Waller L. and Makhado A.B. 2014. Evaluating the
state of knowledge on fishing exclusions around major African Penguin colonies.
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report:
MARAM/IWS/DEC14/PENG/A 1.
Sherley R.B. 2014. Bayesian estimates of the power to detect an effect of fishing closures
around Robben Island on the breeding productivity of African Penguins (Spheniscus
demersus). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Report:
FISHERIES/2014/APR/SWG-PEL/ICTT/19.
11
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"RS2"
The African Penguin should be considered Critically

Endangered
Journal: Ostrich
Manuscript ID TOST-2024-0008.Rl
Manuscript Type: Research Article
Bayesian state-space model, Benguela ecosystem, Extinction risk, IUCN

Keywords:
Red List assessment, Population dynamics, Seabird conservation
SCHOL ON E ·
an
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•age 1 of 14 Ostrich
157
Short Note
1 The African Penguin should be considered Critically Endangered

2
3 The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus has been considered a threatened species since 1984 and, aside
4 from a short period around 2000, its population has been in constant decline since at least the 1950s. By
5 combining counts of the numbers of breeding pairs made at 26 colonies in South Africa and Namibia
6 between 1979 and 2023 with Bayesian state-space models we reassess the species' conservation status.
0 7 The breeding population has declined by 77.9% (95% credible intervals: 71.8-84.6%) over the last 30
8 years (3 generations) from ~44,300 breeding pairs in 1993 to ~9,900 pairs in 2023. This falls just below
2 9 the threshold for a global IUCN Red List status of Critically Endangered (CR) under criterion A2.
3 10 However, the decline in Namibia exceeds that threshold at the national level (30-year decline= 82.3:
4 11 78.2-86.2%) following the loss of ~3,600 breeding pairs there in the last 5 years. In South Africa, the
5 12 Western Cape population is now declining at <1.5% per annum, but the annual rate of decline in the
6 13 Eastern Cape has worsened substantially reaching 13% over the last 10 years. Overall, the global
7 14 population has more than halved in the last decade and has fallen below 10,000 pairs for the first time.
8 15 Moreover, "moving window" reductions over 3 generations using observed and projected population
9 16 trajectories (up to 2033) indicate that the decline of the African Penguin population will exceed the 80%
'.O 17 CR threshold (under criterion A4ab) with a high probability by 2028. Accordingly, we suggest that the
'.l 18 African Penguin should now be considered Critically Endangered.
'.2
'3 19
:4 20 The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus is one of seven seabird species endemic to southwest Africa's
:5 21 Benguela upwelling ecosystem, where it currently breeds at 26 localities clustered in three regions, South
'.6 22 Africa's Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces and central/southern Namibia (Makhado et al. submitted).
'.7 23 Although the total population at the start of the 20th century is unknown, the African Penguin may have been
'.8 24 the region's most abundant seabird with 1.5-3.0 million individuals across the species' range (Shannon &
'.9 25 Crawford 1999, Crawford et al. 2007). By 1956, ---0.3 million individuals remained, and the population has
;Q 26 declined consistently since then, apart from a brief recovery in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Crawford et al.
:1 27 2011, Sherley et al. 2020a; Figure 1). Since the first formal attempts to estimate the population size in 1956
:2 28 (Rand 1963a,b), the conservation status of the species has been reviewed several times (e.g. Frost et al. 1976,
:3 29 Brooke 1984, Shelton et al. 1984, Kemper et al. 2007, Sherley et al. 2020a). The species was first considered to
:4 30 have met the criteria to be listed as Vulnerable (VU) in 1984 (Brooke 1984, Shelton et al. 1984) and Endangered
;5 31 (EN) in 2007 (Kemper et al. 2007), with formal IUCN Red List assessments following suite in 2000 (VU), 2010
;6 32 (EN) and 2016 (EN). Here, we follow the methods outlined in Sherley et al. (2020a), which reassessed the
:7 33 species' conservation status up to 2019, and use updated counts of the numbers of breeding pairs made at 26
;8 34 colonies in South Africa and Namibia between 1979 and 2023, combined with Bayesian state-space models
;9
35 implemented via the JARA R package (https://github.com/Henning-Winker/JARA) to consider the current
0
• 36 population size and reassess the conservation status of the African Penguin under criterion A2ab and A4ab (see
-l 37 Table 1). We do not discuss the threats to the African Penguin or drivers underpinning their decline, as these
-2
-3 38 have been discussed extensively elsewhere (e.g. Crawford et al. 2011, Sherley et al. 2020a, Crawford et al.
4 39 2022). The state-space models were run using three chains of 25,000 iterations each, with a bum in of 10,000
-5 40 and a thinning rate of 5. We used a generation length of 10 years (Sherley et al. 2020a; but explore sensitivity
-6 41 to generation length in Appendix 1), the "census" model type in JARA, and set the proj.r setting to "GLl" to
.7 42 generate future projections based on the median rate of change over the final 10 years (1 generation length) of
-8 43 the observed data. Full methods detailing how the nest counts are undertaken can be found in Shelton et al.
-9 44 (1984) and Crawford et al. (2011) (and are summarised in Sherley et al. 2020a). Full details of the JARA state-
;o 45 space framework can be found in Sherley et al. (2020a,b) and Winker et al. (2020), and the full dataset and code
;1 46 needed to reproduce the analysis reported in this paper, along with all of the JARA outputs, are available on
;2 47 GitHub (https://github.com/rbsherley/AP IUCN CR).
;3 48
;4 49 Table 1. Summary of the A criterion used to evaluate if a species belongs in an IUCN Red List threatened
;5 50 category, along with the Critically Endangered (CR) and Endangered (EN) thresholds for each of the
;6 51 subcriteria (IUCN 2012). The A criterion assess population size reduction, measured over the longer of 10
;7 52 years or 3 generations, based on inter alia (a) direct observation [cannot be used for A3] and (b) an index of
;8 53 abundance appropriate to the taxon (see IUCN 2012, page 16, for data types c, d, and e, which were not used
;9 54 here). Criteria A2ab and A4ab were used in this analysis.
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158
Short Note
CR EN Applicable to
Subcriteria Description
threshold threshold African pemwin
Population reduction observed, estimated, inferred, or
suspected in the past where the causes of the reduction
Al 2':90% 2':70% No
are clearly reversible AND understood AND have
ceased.
Population reduction observed, estimated, inferred, or
suspected in the past where the causes of reduction may
0 A2
not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may
1 not be reversible.
2 A3
Population reduction projected, inferred or suspected to
3 be met in the future (up to a maximum of 100 years).
2':80% 2':50% Yes
4 An observed, estimated, inferred, projected or
suspected population reduction where the time period
5
must include both the past and the future (up to a max.
6 A4
of 100 years in future), and where the causes of
7 reduction may not have ceased OR may not be
8 understood OR may not be reversible.
9 55
'.0 56 Global population and Red List status under criterion A2: The African Penguin population has declined from
'.1 57 ~44,300 breeding pairs in 1993 to ~9,900 pairs in 2023. This corresponds to an estimated decline of 77.8%
'.2 58 (95% credible intervals: 71.8-84.6%) over the last 3 generations (3G), with 77% of the posterior distribution
'.3 59 falling within the range for Endangered (EN) status under the A2ab criteria (past decline) and 23 % meeting the
'.4 60 criteria for Critically Endangered (CR) (Figure IA). This represents a worsening situation relative to an
'.5
61 assessment conducted up to 2019, where the decline over 3G was 64.1% (51.0--77.5%) (Sherley et al. 2020a).
'.6
'.7
62 Although the observed decline falls just short of the 80% threshold for CR, this long-term trend should be
'.8
63 viewed in the context of four key observations. First, the global rate of decline over the last 10 years (or 1
'.9
64 generation, 1G) has nearly doubled from 4.3% per annum in the 2019 assessment (Sherley et al. 2020a) to 7.9%
:o 65 (3.9-11.8%) here. Second, the annual rate of decline over the last 10 years (IG) was 9.9% (3.1-17.4%) in
;1 66 Namibia and 12.9% (5.9-20.6%) in the Eastern Cape. Third, this is the first time that the global breeding
:2 67 population of African Penguins has fallen below 10,000 pairs. To contextualise this, three islands each held
;3 68 more breeding pairs than the current global population for periods between 1979 and 2007; Dassen Island had
;4 69 ~ 11,000 pairs as recently as 2007, Dyer Island had> 10,000 pairs until 1990, and St Croix Islands held > 12,000
;5 70 until 2003. There are also now considerably fewer individual African Penguins in the population (~31, 700) than
:6 71 the number affected by the MV Treasure Oil spill in 2000 when ~38,500 individuals were either oiled, cleaned,
;7 72 and released, or relocated to stop them becoming oiled (Crawford et al. 2000). And fourth, the global population
:8 73 has more than halved in the last decade, largely because of the combined loss of> 12,500 breeding pairs in
;9 74 Namibia (~4,450) and the Eastern Cape (~8,100) since 2015. In other words, substantially (>25%) more birds
-0 75 have been lost in less than 10 years than now remain in the African Penguin population. Thus, it is not
-1 76 unreasonable to be concerned that - if these rates of decline persist - the species could be extinct in the wild by
-2 77 2035.
-3 78
4 79 Namibia - national Red List status and trend: The African Penguin has been considered Endangered at a
-5
80 national level since 2007 (Kemper et al. 2007, Kemper 2015), but breeding numbers had been relatively stable
-6
-7
81 at ~5,000 breeding pairs for about two decades between 1997 and 2017. The assessment using data to 2019
-8
82 suggested a rate of decline over 3G of38.1 % (23.4%-51.0%) and a national Red List status of Vulnerable (VU)
-9
83 for Namibia (Sherley et al. 2020a). However, the population has subsequently declined sharply from ~4,800
;o 84 pairs in 2018 to ~1,200 pairs in 2023 (Figure 1B). Consequently, we recommend that the Namibian population
;1 85 be up listed to a national Red List status of CR as it exceeds the A2ab criterion with 87% probability and median
;2 86 decline over 3G of 82.4% (78.2-86.2%) (Figure 1B). Worryingly, the 2023 census detected no breeding pairs
;3 87 at Mercury Island - the colony that had held around 50% of the Namibian population in the period of stability
;4 88 between 1997 and 2017. The 2023 counts also suggest that only one of the Namibian colonies (Halifax Island)
;5 89 currently holds more than 500 breeding pairs (see Appendix 2); dropping below this number empirically implies
;6 90 a <50% probability of still being extant in the next 40 years (Crawford et al. 2001). Moreover, our projections
;7 91 over the next 10 years suggest that four of the seven major colonies in Namibia will be effectively extinct (fewer
;8 92 than 10 pairs) by 2034.
;9 93
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Short Note
94 South Africa - national Red List status and regional trends: In South Africa, the breeding population has
95 declined by 76.9% (69.4-84.0%) over the last 3GLs, to ~8,750 pairs in 2023 (Figure IC). As in Namibia, this
' 96 decline rate has worsened relative to the 2019 assessment where the median decline was 67.7% (52.9-82.5%)
' 97 over 3G (Sherley et al. 2020). EN remains the best supported national status in South Africa under criterion
98 A2ab, with 81 % of the posterior distribution within the EN decline range (Figure 1C). This national pattern,
1
99 however, is made up of quite different regional trajectories.
0100
1101 In the Western Cape Province, the population at the seven colonies north of Cape Town (the West Coast region)
2102 declined by 75.3% (68.2-81.6%) over the last 3G (vs. 68.7% in the 2019 assessment), but a period of rapid
3l 03 decline between 2004 and 2014 was followed by 10 years of relative stability when the population only declined
4104 at 0.6% (-5.1-6.1 %)per annum from ~3,500 pairs in 2014 to ~3,170 pairs in 2023. Meanwhile, the population
5105 in the South-West Coast region (the five Western Cape colonies south and east of Cape Town) declined slowly
6106 and fairly consistently (at 1.4%: -2.4-5.2%per annum), leading to an overall decline of 31.1% (9.6-49.9%)
7107 over the last 3G (vs. 53.1% in the 2019 assessment) from ~4,300 pairs around 1994 to ~3,100 pairs by 2023.
8108 Until recently this trajectory was dominated by the long-term decline at Dyer Island being partially offset by
9109 increases at Stony Point ancl the colony at Simonstown. Over recent years, however, these two mainland
'.0110 colonies have also declined: Stony Point from ~2,460 pairs in 2015 to ~1,260 in 2023 and Simonstown from
'.1111 ~ 1,100 pairs in 2020 to ~870 in 2023 (see Appendix 3).
12 112
'.3
'.4
'.5
'.6
'.7
'.8
'.9
:o
:1
:2
:3
:4
:5
:6
:7
:8
:9
.Q
-1
-2
.3
4
.5
-6
.7
-8
.9
;o
;1
;2
;3
;4
;5
;6
;7
;8
;9
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160
Short Note
A: Global
3G 2G lG
■ CR (23%)
o EN (77%)
0 D VU (0%)
1
2
■ LC (0%)
3
4
5
6
7
8 1979 1991 . 2003 2015 -100 -75 -50 -25
9 Year Change(%)
'.O
'. l B: Namibia Change =--82.4%
'. 2 3G 2G lG
'.3
'.4
'.5 ■ CR (87%)
'.6
'.7
EN (13%)
'.8 D VU (0%)
'. 9 ■ LC (0%)
;Q
;1
:2
;3
;4
;5
:6
1979 1991 2003 2015 -100 -75 -50 -25
;7 Year Change(%)
:8 C: South Africa
;9
0 80
3G 2G lG
-0
-1
-2
.3
-
8 70
X 60 ■ CR (19%)
-4
.5
·=0..4050
Cl)
~
□
EN (81%)
VU (0%)
-6 bJ)
■ LC (0%)
.7 .s
"'Cl
30
-8 ~ 20
.9 I,.,
;o O'.:l 10
;1 0 - - ~ - - . - ' - - ~ - - ~ -..........--.-..........
;2
;3 1979 1991 2003 2015 -100 -75 -50 -25
Year Change(%)
Figure 1. Left panels: The modelled trajectory (black line, posterior median) and 95% highest posterior
density intervals (HPDI; grey polygon) for the global African Penguin population at 26 breeding colonies (A:
Global), the Namibian population at 7 colonies (B: Namibia), and the South African breeding population at
19 colonies (C: South Africa) based on nest counts made between 1979 and 2023. The 10-year generation
lengths before 2023 are denoted by a blue dashed line (lG, 2013), a green dashed line (2G, 2003) and a red
dashed line (3G, 1993). Right panels: the associated median change(%, dashed line) in the breeding population
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Short Note
120 of penguins globally (top right), in Namibia only (middle right) and South Africa only (bottom right) over
121 three generations (3G) or 30 years and the corresponding posterior probability (grey polygon) for that change,
' 122 overlaid on the IUCN thresholds for the Red List criterion A2ab (LC-dark green, VU-yellow, EN-orange,
• 123 CR-red).
124
125 Most concerning, however, is the regional trend in the Eastern Cape. Here, the numbers breeding were relatively
I 126 stable at ~ 10,000 pairs for about a decade between 2003 and 2015. Thereafter, they declined sharply over the
0
127 last 10 years (1 G) from~ 11,450 pairs in 2014 to ~2,540 pairs in 2023 at an unsustainable annual rate of change
1
2
128 of-12.9% (-20.6--5.9%), resulting in an overall decline of 88.1 % (78.2-94.9%) in the breeding population in
3
129 this Province over the last 30 years (3G). This represents a substantive worsening of both population trajectory
4 130 and status since the 2019 assessment, when the 3G decline was 66.2% and the annual rate of change over the
5131 last lG was -3.5% (Sherley et al. 2020a). If the IUCN Red List criterion A2 were to be applied to the Eastern
6132 Cape subpopulation, it would qualify for CR with 93% probability.
7133
8134 Future population projections and Red List status under criterion A4: The IUCN Red List allows for a species
9135 to be assessed against the categories based on a "population size reduction... over any 10 year or three
:0136 generation period ... where the time period must include both the past and the future" (Criterion A4, Table 1;
'.1137 IUCN 2012). Given the concerning loss of~ 14,000 breeding pairs in less than a decade, that only around 70%
'.2138 of that number persist today, and that the estimated global decline over the last 3G was very close to the CR
'.3139 threshold (80%) under Criterion A2ab, we used JARA to assess the decline trajectory under Criterion A4ab.
'.4140 Although the IUCN Red List guidelines allow for projections up to 3G into the future (e.g. under Criterion A3,
'.5141 Table I), uncertainty increases and projections become less reliable further into the future. Thus, we used the
'. 6 142 projection function in JARA to project 10 years of future breeding counts (with uncertainty; Figure 2), with the
'. 7143 projections at each of the 26 colonies based on the median annual rate of change at that colony over the final
'. 8144 lG (10 years) of data (Sherley et al. 2020b; Appendix 2). In this way, we assume that the near future (10 years
'. 9145 after 2023) will be like the recent past (10 years prior to and including 2023). We then used a combination of
;0146 the last 20 years (2G) of observed data and 10 years (1 G) of projected data to estimate "moving window"
;l 147 reductions over 3G where the terminal year spanned 2023 (the A2 reduction in Figure I) to 2033. In other
:2
;3148 words, each 3G period would span 1993 to 2023, 1994 to 2024, and so on until 2003 to 2033. For each 3G
;4149 period, we recorded the posterior distribution of all population change percentages, the posterior median, the
;5150 best supported IUCN Red List Category based on the posterior distribution and the probability supporting a
:6151 listing of CR (Figure 3).
;7152
:8153 With 2024 as the terminal year of the "moving window", the median decline over 3G was 77.7% (70.6-85.1%)
;9154 with 27% of the posterior distribution of change percentages exceeding the 80% threshold for a CR listing (i.e.
-0155 the probability supporting a listing of CR was 27%); thus EN would remain the best supported category based
-1156 on the A criteria (Figure 3). However, by 2027 the combination of the observed and projected data indicated
-2157 that the median decline over 3G would exceed the 80% threshold for a CR listing under criterion A4ab with
-3158 56% probability. From 2028 onwards, CR was the best supported category based on the criterion A4ab with
4159 >95% support in each instance (Figure 3). The projections also suggest that the present decline shows no clear
•5160 sign ofreversing if conditions over the next IO years reflect conditions in the recent past (Figure 2 and 3). We
•6 161 therefore propose that the African Penguin has met the IUCN Red List threshold for a global status of CR under
•7162 criterion A4ab and should now be considered a Critically Endangered species.
"8163
.9
;o
;1
;2
;3
;4
;5
;6
;7
;8
;9
10
URL: http://mc.manu?criptcentral.com/tost
162
Short Note
60 +lG
50
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
----- ......
'.0 0 -Yf----,---,__.~----.----+---,----,----'-------'
'. l 2003 2011 2019 2027
12 164 Year
'.3165 Figure 2. The modelled population trajectory (black line, posterior median) and 95% highest posterior density
'.4166 intervals (HPDI; dark grey polygon) for the African Penguin breeding population based on observed nest
'. 5167 counts made at 26 colonies over the last 2 generations (2G), i.e. between 2003 (vertical dashed green line) and
'. 6168 2023 (vertical dashed black line), and the projected population trajectory (red dashed line) and 95% highest
'.7169 posterior density intervals (HPDI; light grey polygon) IO years, or 1 generation (1 G), into the future (+ 1G).
'.8170 The projections are based on the median annual rate of change at each colony over the final 10-year generation
'.9171 before 2023 (i.e. from the 1G blue dashed line to the 2023 black dashed line).
;0172
;1
0
:2 lr) EN EN EN EN CR CR CR CR CR CR CR
I
:3 23 26.9 29.1 31.2 55.7 95.8 99.6 100 99.8 99.8 98.9
:4
0
;5 \0
I
:6
:7
:8
:9
-0
-1
-2
-3
4
-5
-6
-7 0 -77.8 -77.7 -78 -78.3 -80.5 -83.6 -85.6 -87.2 -87.5 -87 -86.4
s~--.---..------r------r-----,-----.---..------r------r-----r----.-~
-8 I
-9 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 .
;o Assessment terminal year
1 173
'.2174 Figure 3. Posterior distribution of population change percentages for "moving window" assessments of the.
'.3175 global African Penguin population against criterion A4ab. Decline percentages are based on a combination of
'.4176 observed and projected data to give 3 generations where the terminal year spanned 2023 to 2033 (e.g. Figure
'.5177 2). The left most distribution is based on the population trajectory between 1993 and 2023 (the 3G and 2023
'.6178 lines in Figure 1) and the right most distribution is based on the trajectory between 2003 and 2033 (the 2G and
'. 7179 + 1G lines in Figure 2), with the terminal year of the moving window shifting one year to the right along the
:8180 x-axis. The median change(%) in the breeding population over each 30-year period is shown above the x-axis
'9181 (e.g. 83.6% decline for 1998 to 2028) Orange denotes declines that exceed the Endangered (EN) threshold
',O 182 (50% over 3G) and red denotes declines that exceed the Critically Endangered (CR) threshold (80% over 3G). ,\
A 'L
~I
163
Short Note
183 The best supported global Red List status at each terminal year (based on criterion A4ab) is shown at the top
184 of the plot, along with the probability that the species will meet the CR threshold (e.g. 55.7% in 2027).
185
186 References
187 Brooke RK. 1984. South African Red Data Book- Birds. South African National Scientific Programmes Report
1 188 No. 97. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria.
0 189 Crawford RJM, David JHM, Shannon LJ, Kemper J, Klages NTW, Roux J-P, Underhill LG, Ward VL, Williams
1190 AJ, Wolfaardt AC. 2001. African Penguins as predators and prey- coping (or not) with change. South
2191 African Journal ofMarine Science 23: 435-447.
3192 Crawford RJM, Davis SA, Harding RT, Jackson LF, Leshara TM, Meyer MA, Randall RM, Underhill LG,
4193 Upfold L, van Dalsen AP, van der Merwe E, Whitington PA, Williams AJ and Wolfaardt AC. 2000.
5194 Initial impact of the Treasure oil spill on seabirds off western South Africa. South African Journal of
6195 Marine Science 22: 157-176.
7196 Crawford RJM, Underhill LG, Upfold L, Dyer BM. 2007. An altered carrying capacity of the Benguela
8197 upwelling ecosystem for African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). ICES Journal ofMarine Science 64:
9198 570-576.
:o199 Crawford RJM, Altwegg R, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Durant JM, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Makhado AB,
'. 1200 Pichegru L, Ryan PG, Underhill LG, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LJ, Whittington PA. 2011. Collapse
'. 2201 of South Africa's penguins in the early 21st century. African Journal ofMarine Science 33: 139-156.
'. 3202 Crawford RJM, Sydeman WJ, Tom DB, Thayer JA, Sherley RB, Shannon LJ, Mcinnes AM, Makhado AB,
14
203 Hagen C, Furness RW, Carpenter-Kling T, Saraux C. 2022. Food limitation of seabirds in the Benguela
5
'. 204 ecosystem and management of their prey base. Namibian Journal of Environment 6(A): 1-13.
6
'.
7
205 Frost PGH, Siegfried WR, Cooper J. 1976. Conservation of the Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus (L.)).
206
'.'.8 Biological Conservation 9: 79-99.
:9207 IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1 (2nd edn). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and
;0208 Cambridge, UK.
;1209 Kemper J. 2015. African Penguin (Jackass Penguin) Spheniscus demersus. In: RE Simmons, CJ Brown and J
;2210 Kemper (eds). 2015. Birds to Watch in Namibia: Red, Rare and Endemic Species. Ministry of
;3211 Environment and Tourism, Namibia Nature Foundation. ISBN: 978-9-9945-0082-6.
;4212 Kemper J, Underhill LG, Crawford RJM, Kirkman SP. 2007. Revision of the conservation status of seabirds
5213 and seals breeding in the Benguela Ecosystem. In: SP Kirkman (ed). Final Report of the BCLME
;6214 (Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem) Project on Top Predators as Biological Indicators of
;7215 Ecosystem Change in the BCLME. Avian Demography Unit, Cape Town. pp 325-342.
;8216 Makhado AB, Carpenter-Kling T, Crawford RJM, Hagen C, Kock A, Lawrence C, Ludynia K, Masotla M,
;9217 Mcinnes AM, Pichegru L, Shannon LJ, Sherley RB, Tom DB, Waller LJ, Sydeman WJ. Submitted.
•0218 South Africa bans fishing around African Penguin colonies as their numbers continue to decease. ICES
•1219 Journal of Marine Science.
•2220 Rand, RW. 1963a. The biology of guano producing seabirds. 4. Composition of colonies on the Cape Islands.
•3221 Investigational Report Division of Fisheries South Africa 43: 1-32.
4
222 Rand, RW. 1963b. The biology of guano producing seabirds. 5. Composition of colonies on the South West
5
• 223 African Islands. Investigational Report Division of Fisheries South Africa 46: 1-26.
6
• 224
.7 Shannon LJ, Crawford RJM. 1999. Management of the African Penguin Spheniscus demersus - insights from
_8225 modelling. Marine Ornithology 27: 119-128 .
.9226 Shelton PA, Crawford RJM, Cooper J, Brooke RK. 1984. Distribution, population size and conservation of the
;0227 Jackass Penguin Spheniscus demersus. South African Journal of Marine Science 2: 217-257.
;1228 Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, de Blocq AD, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Hagen C, Kemper J, Makhado AB,
;2229 Pichegru L, Tom D, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LJ and Winker H. 2020a. The conservation status and
;3230 population decline of the African Penguin deconstructed in space and time. Ecology and Evolution 10:
4231 8506-8516.
;5232 Sherley RB, Winker H, Rigby CL, Kyne P, Pollom R, Pacoureau N, Herman K, Carlson JK, Yin JS, Kindsvater
;6233 HK and Dulvy NK. 2020b. Estimating IUCN Red List population reduction: JARA- a decision-support
;7234 tool applied to pelagic sharks. Conservation Letters 13: el 2688.
;8235 Winker H, Pacoureau N and Sherley RB. 2020. JARA: 'Just Another Red-List Assessment'. bioRxiv 672899.
;9236
,O
164
Short Note
: 237 Appendix 1
: 238 The generation length ( G) for the African penguin has usually been calculated using the second option in the
: 239 IUCN Red List guidelines (IUCN Standards & Petitions Subcommittee 2022), commonly referred to as the
: 240 adult mortality proxy (Bird et al. 2020), such that:
1
: 241 G = A + (1 - </>a)
I
0242 (Al)
1243 where A is age of first breeding and <Pa is adult survival. Following Sherley et al. (2020), we used values of <Pa
2244 = 0.81, A = 5 years, which yields G = 10.3 years, which we rounded to 10 years. This value is also a value
3245 supported by a recent meta-analysis of generation lengths in birds which returned estimated generation lengths
4246 for the African penguin of 9.5 to 10.5 years, depending .on the method used (Bird et al. 2020). However, there
5247 are sources of uncertainty in the estimation of a species' generation length. To acknowledge this, below we
6248 outline our rationale for using 10 years in more detail and explore the sensitivity of our results to a series of
7
8249 reasonable (given the data available) alternative generation lengths.
250
'.~51 The IUCN Red List guidelines state "where generation length varies under threat ... the more natural, that is
:1252 predisturbance, generation length should be used ... to avoid a shifting baseline effect [that] would arise because
:2253 using current, shorter generation length (under disturbance, such as harvest) may result in a lower threat category
:3254 (because a shorter period is used to calculate the reduction)" (IUCN Standards & Petitions Subcommittee 2022).
:4255 Accordingly, in the past we have used <l>a = 0.81 (e.g. Sherley et al. 2020) based on capture-mark-recapture
'.5256 studies at Dassen and Robben Islands between 1989 and 1998 (Whittington 2002) and between 1994/95 and
'.6257 1998/99 (Sherley et al. 2014). The African penguin population was recovering for much of this period (see
7258 Figure 1 in the main text), thus these survival rates might indicate a more natural situation than e.g. post 2001
'.8259 when annual survival was generally below 0.7 at Dassen and Robben Islands (Sherley et al. 2014).
'.9260
:0261 However, a long-run average adult survival of 0.81 is still relatively low both for a Spheniscus penguin and
:1262 amongst similarly-sized penguins in general. For example, even in a declining colony, long-term mean adult
:2263 survival of breeding Magellanic penguins S. magellanicus was ~0.87 (Boersma and Rebstock 2010, Gownaris
:3264 & Boersma 2019) and apparent mean survival of Galapagos penguins S. mendicu/us has been estimated as 0.84
:4265 for males and 0.85 for females (Cappello 2022). More broadly, adult survival is generally higher than 0.81 in
~:266 both northern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes moseleyi and southern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes chrysocome
;7267 at 0.84 (Guinard et al. 1998) and 0.84 to 0.96 (Dehnhard et al. 2013) respectively; these are similarly sized
:8268 penguin species to the African penguin (all around 2-3 kg body mass when breeding; Garcia Borboroglu &
;9269 Boersma 2013 ). And even little penguins Eudyptula minor, which weigh around 1 kg when breeding, have long-
.0270 term mean adult survival rates that range from 0.83 to 0.91 (Sidhu et al. 2007, Dann et al. 2014). A plausible
.1271 range for "predisturbance" survival for African penguins, therefore, could be 0.81 to 0.87, based on the data
.2272 from other Spheniscus penguins in particular.
.3273
4274 There is also potential uncertainty in the age of first breeding. African penguins will usually breed for the first
-5275 time at between 4 and 6 years of age (Crawford et al. 1999, Whittington et ai. 2005). Using data on 473 penguins
-6276 flipper banded as chicks and later recorded breeding at 5 colonies between 1992 and 1995, Whittington et al.
-7277 (2005) found that <33% of birds were breeding at the age of 3 at each of the colonies, but by the age of 6
-8278 between 81 % and 100% were breeding in each colony. At Dassen and Robben Islands, where re sighting effort
•9279 was the highest, 87% and 89% were breeding by age 5 respectively. Overall, the annual means and medians at
;0280 each colony ranged from 4.3 to 5.8 years (Whittington et al. 2005). Thus, 4 to 6 years represents a plausible
;1281 range for age at first breeding in African penguins.
;2282
;3283 Together these plausible <Pa values of0.81 to 0.87 and A values of 4 to 6 years yield generation length estimates
;4
;5284 of between 9.3 and 13.7 years. Accordingly, Table Al below explores the implications on the results reported
;6285 in the main text of using a generation length of 9, 10, 12 or 14 years for an A2 assessment (e.g. Figure 1 in the
;7286 main text) and the A4 assessment with 2028 as the terminal year. Regardless of the generation length used, CR
;8287 was the best supported category based on the criterion A4ab with >75% probability in 2028 (Table Al).
;9288
iO
165
Short Note
: 289 Table Al. The median and 95% highest density interval decline(%) of the African penguin population using
• 290 a generation length of 9, 12, 10 or 14 years along with the percentage of the decline posterior falling within
; 291 each of the Least Concern (LC), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) and Critically Endangered (CR) decline
I 292 ranges and the most likely IUCN Red List status based on the A2 or A4 assessment with 2028 as the terminal
'293
. year.
I
Relevant
Assessment Generation Median decline Likely
0
Dataset IUCN
terminal year Length (yrs) (95% HDI)%
LC vu EN CR
Status
criteria
1 9 75.2 (67.0-84.2)
2 10 77.8 (71.8-84.6)
3 Global observed A2 2023
12 78.8 (68.1-88.8)
4 14 81.9 70.7-90.8
5 9 86.9 (83.4-90.1)
6 Global observed 10 83.6 (79.9---87.2)
A4
7 + projected 12 82.4 (78.1-86.8)
8 14 82.9 74.4-90.2
9294
:0295 Appendix 1 references
'.1296 Bird JP, Martin R, Ak9akaya HR, Gilroy J, Burfield IJ, Garnett ST, Symes A, Taylor J, ~ekercioglu <;H,
'.2297 Butchart SHM. 2020. Generation lengths of the world's birds and their implications for extinction risk.
'.3298 Conservation Biology 34: 1252-1261.
'.4299 Boersma PD, Rebstock GA. 2010. Effects of double bands on Magellanic penguins. Journal of Field
'.5300 Ornithology 81: 195-205
'. 6301 Cappello CD. 2022. Ecology and Conservation of Magellanic and Galapagos Penguins in a Changing World.
?302 PhD thesis, University of Washington.
18303 Crawford RJM, Shannon LJ, Whittington PA. 1999. Population dynamics of the African Penguin at Robben
19304 Island. Marine Ornithology 27: 135-143.
:o305 Dann P, Sidhu LA, Jessop R, Renwick L, Healy M, Dettmann B, Baker B, Catchpole EA. 2014. Effects of
:1
:2306 flipper bands and injected transponders on the survival of adult Little Penguins Eudyptula minor. Ibis
;3307 156: 73-83.
;4308 Dehnhard N, Poisbleau M, Demongin L, Ludynia K, Lecoq M, Masello JF, Quillfeldt P. 2013. Survival of
;5309 rockhopper penguins in times of global climate change. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater
:5310 Ecosystems 23: 777-789.
:7311 Garcia Borboroglu P, Boersma PD (eds.) 2013. Penguins Natural History and Conservation. University of
:8312 Washington Press, Seattle.
:9313 Gownaris NJ, Boersma PD. 2019. Sex-biased survival contributes to population decline in a long-lived seabird,
-0314 the Magellanic Penguin. Ecological Applications 29: e01826.
-1315 Guinard E, Weimerskirch H, Jouventin P. 1998. Population changes and demography of the northern
-2316 rockhopper penguin on Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands. Waterbirds 21: 222-228.
-3317 IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. 2022. Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List Categories and
4318 Criteria. Version 15.1. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Gland, Switzerland and
•5319 Cambridge, UK: IUCN. Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf
•6320 Sidhu LA, Catchpole EA, Dann P. 2007. Mark-recapture-recovery modeling and age-related survival in Little
•7321 Penguins (Eudyptula minor). Auk 124: 815-827.
•8322 Sherley RB, Abadi F, Ludynia K, Barham BJ, Clark AE, Altwegg R. 2014. Age-specific survival and movement
•9323 among major African Penguin Spheniscus demersus colonies. Ibis 156: 716--728.
;o324 Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, de Blocq AD, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Hagen C, Kemper J, Makhado AB,
:~325 Pichegru L, Tom D, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LJ and Winker H. 2020a. The conservation status and
;3326 population decline of the African Penguin deconstructed in space and time. Ecology and Evolution 10:
;4327 8506--8516.
;s328 Whittington PA 2002. Survival and movements of African penguins, especially after oiling. PhD thesis,
;5329 University of Cape Town.
;7330 Whittington PA, Klages N, Crawford R, Wolfaardt A, Kemper J. 2005. Age at first breeding of the African
;8331 Penguin. Ostrich 76: 14-20.
;9
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Ostrich Page 10 of 1·
166
Short Note
: 332 Appendix2
: 333 Individual population counts (breeding pairs, points) with Bayesian State-space model fits (lines) and 95%
'. 334 credible intervals (grey polygons) at 26 African Penguin colonies in Namibia and South Africa between 1979
: 335 and 2023. Colonies are presented from North to South, and West to East. Green= Namibian colonies; Red=
, 336 South African colonies in the West Coast region (Western Cape, north of Cape Town); Orange= South African
; 337 colonies in the South Coast region (Western Cape, south and east of Cape Town); Pink= South African colonies
0338 in the Eastern Cape.
1 0
0
Mercury 0 lchaboe
2 0
3
4
5
6
0
7 0 0
0 0
8 N 0
N
9 0 0
'.O 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
'. l Year Year
'.2 0
0
'.3 LO
N 0 Possession
'.4 0
LO
N
'.5
0
'.6 0
~ LO
'.7
~
'.8
'.9 0
0 0
:o LO 0
LO
:1 0 0
:2
1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
:3
Year Year
:4
:5 0
co
Pomona Plumpudding
:6 0 8
LO
LO
:7
:8
~ 0
;9 -- 0
8!_M
-0
-1
0
-2 0 •
-3 0 ....... ft 0
-4
1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
-5
Year Year
-6
-7
Sinclair
-8 0
LO
-9 N
;o
;1
;2
;3
;4
;5
0
LO •.... •
0
;6
1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
;7
Year
;8339
;9340
,O
1·
167
Short Note
0
0
,- 0
Lamberts.Bay 0 Malgas. Island
LO
0
00
0
0 0
f!! <O
f!! 0
& ..,.0 &

0
0
LO
~·
0 0
,.,
N
..,,. I
2 0 0 ? : I I I
3 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
4 Year Year
5 0
0
0
0 0
6 0 Marcus.Island <O Jutten. Island
N
7
0
8 0
9 f!! f!!
..,.
0
0
'.O & ,- 0
0 &0
'.1 0
0
0
0 N
., .,
'.2
,_
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'.3 • - ---~
'.4 0 I -I? I a• I e I 0 I
'.5 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
'.6 Year Year
'.7
0
'.8 0
Vondeting.lsland 0
0 Dassen.lsland
0 0
'.9 00 M
:o 0
0
0
0
•
;1 f!! <O
f!!
0
0
N
:2 & ..,.00 &0
;3 0
0
-..
0 0
;4 0
N
;5
~
:6 0 0
;7 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
:8 Year Year
;9 0
0
.Q 0
Robben.Island
0
-1
-2
~
0
-3 f!! 0
0
<O
4 &
-5
....
0
-6 0
0
N
-7
-8 0
-9 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019

;o Year
;1341
;2
;3
A
;5
;6
;7
;8
;9
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URL: http://mc.manuJcriptcentral.com/tost t-~
Ostrich B Page 12 of l •
16
Short Note
Simonstown Seal.Island.False.Bay
0 0
0 in
in N
0
0
N
0
0
~ 0
0 ~
0
1 0
0
0
2 0
0 0 0 00 000
in
3 CIJO
0
0 0
4 0 in .c:PQ) 0
5 d'
o ?....._....,..,n...cPf'~---r--.------.----r--r---.--~ 0
6
7 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
8 Year Year
9 0
0
in
'.O M Stony.Point Dyer.Island
'.l
'.2 0
0
0 0
'.3 0
in 0 0
N 0 in
'.4
'.5 CIJ
0
'.6
'.7
0 0 0
'.8
0
'.9 0
:o 0
0
in
0
0
0 0
:1
:2 0 , ~ 900 0
:3 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009

:4 Year Year
:5 0
:6 g N
0
,-
Geyser.Island De.Hoop
;7 0
:8 0
in
0
:9 00
-0
-1
-2
0
-3 0
'<t"
4 0
0
in
-5 0
-6 0
0
-7
-8 0 0
-9 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
;o Year Year
1342
:2343
;3
;4
;5
;6
;7
;8
;9
iO
169
Short Note
0
0 0
lO '<I"
N Jahleel.lsland ,- Brenton.Island
0
0 N
0
0
N
0
0
0
0
lO 0
!!? ,-
!!? CX)
0 &0 &0
0 co
0
,-
2 0
3 0
• '<I"
-----
M~-,
0
lO 0
4 N
5
0 0 I
6
7 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
8 Year Year
9
'. O
'.l
'.2 0
0
r St.Croix.Island
0
0
0
0
0
Seal.lsland.Algoa.Bay
0
'. 3 0
CX)
lO
'. 4
0
'. 5 !!? 0
!!? co
'. 6 & 0
0
0
&
0 0
'. 7 C") 0
'<I"
'.8
•
'. 9
:o
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0
0
0
0
,-
' ""'
0
0
N
:2 0 0
:3 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
:4 Year Year
:5
:6 0
0
N
Stag.Island 0 Bird.Island
0
:7 r--
:8 0
0
:9 0
0
-0 0
0 lO
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-1 !!? !!?
-2 & co0 & 00
-3 0
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4 0
'<I"
-5
-6 0
N
✓ 0
0
0
-7
-8 0 •I 0 ••
.9 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019
;o Year Year
·1344
;i34s
;3
;4
;5
;6
;7
;8
;9
iO
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Ostrich Page 14 of 1·
170
Short Note
: 346 Appendix 3
: 347 Examples of individual population counts (breeding pairs, points) with Bayesian State-space model fits,
'.348 including future projections (lines) and 95% credible intervals (grey polygons) at 3 African Penguin colonies in
: 349 South Africa 2003 and 2033. Data from 2024 to 2033 inclusive are projections based on the posterior median
, 350 of the annual rate of change over the last lG (10 years) of observed data (2014 to 2023). _The examples show
; 351 colonies that have been relatively stable over the last 20 years (Simonstown), declined fairly consistently over
0 352 the last 20 years (Robben Island), and increased strongly over about a decade and then declined over the last 10
1353 years (Stony Point). The median annual percentage change over the last lG were-2.1 % (-6.6-2.8%) at Robben
2354 Island, -1.0% (-5.8-3.9%) at Simonstown, and-3.9% (-8.4-1.0%) at Stony Point. The vertical dashed lines
3355 mark 2023 in black (final observed data point), 2013 in blue (lG in the past), 2003 in green (2G in the past) and
4356 2033 in red (lG in the future).
5357
0
6
8 Robben.Island
-
0 Simonstof1
0
7 0
I or,
I~
8
9
'.0
'.1
·a...
<I)
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0
0
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0
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1
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oo,
I
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0
0
0
or,
! I
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0 Oo
'.4 N
00°00 0 oo!
'.5 0 0
'.6 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 2028 2033 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 2028 2033
'.7 Year Year
'.8358 0
'.9 0
or,
M
:o Stony.Point
1
:1 0
0
:2 or, 00
N
:3 ...
"' 60
;4 ·a 0 o, o 0 o0 I
;5
:6
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-
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Year
•1359
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-3
4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
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;1
;2
;3
;4
;s
;6
;7
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Case No:- - - -

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



EXPERT AFFIDAVIT
I, the undersigned,
ELEANOR ASHLEY WEIDEMAN
1. I am an adult female marine ecologist and conservation biologist and the Coastal
Seabird Project Manager at Birdlife South Africa (BLSA), the first applicant.
172
2. The facts contained in this affidavit are within my personal knowledge and belief,
unless otherwise stated or as appears from the context, and are to the best of my
belief both true and correct.
3. My qualifications are set out in my curriculum vitae, attached marked "EW1". In
brief, my qualifications and expertise are as follows:
3.1. I hold a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Applied Biology and Ecology & Evolution,
a BSc Honours in Biology and a Master of Science degree in Biology, all from
the University of Cape Town.
3.2. I have subsequently held positions as a field assistant working on seabirds at
Nelson Mandela University and currently hold the position of Coastal Seabird
Project Manager at BLSA.
3.3. Since 2023, I have advised the South African Government as a member of the
Seabird Technical Team of the Top Predator Working Group (currently
convened by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment,
Branch: Oceans and Coasts).
3.4. I have published 19 academic papers in peer-reviewed journals and have over
580 citations. In addition, I have been co-author of four South African
government reports and a consultation report for the Nairobi Convention of the
United Nations Environment Programme.

173
4. My role at BLSA entails working as part of the penguin-specialist team. As such, I
have been a co-author of BLSA's submissions to the Panel as well as the
Assessment (both as defined in the founding affidavit). I have worked as part of
the team applying the trade-off mechanism recommended by the Panel, which I
have done using the R statistical software, and which has identified the results of
such application as the delineations produced in "EW2".
5. Accordingly, I am well-placed to explain what is entailed by the "marine Important
Bird and Biodiversity Area - Area Restricted Search" (mlBA-ARS) method in the
context of delineating island closures which was recommended by the Panel as the
best scientific basis for delineating the preferred foraging habitats of African
Penguins during breeding 1 and how this method has been used to indicate the
preferred foraging areas around the six breeding colonies using existing tracking
data collected between 2008 and 2022. I am also able to explain the application
and results of the Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism. I do so with
reference to the maps and graphs attached as "EW3".
The m/BA-ARS Method endorsed by the Panel
The development of Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (mlBAs)
6. Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (mlBA) are globally significant sites
identified for the conservation of seabird species. They are a recognised means of
determining such sites for the purposes of informing conservation management
decisions.

174
7. Methods to delineate mlBAs have evolved since the introduction of tracking
technology and the resulting telemetry data. Current best scientific practice
developed by Birdlife International has advanced the methods used for
"translating" tracking data into "mlBAs".
8. These latest methods have been used to identify significant sites for Chinstrap,
Adelie and Gentoo penguin conservation in the Antarctic Peninsula and the
Southwest Atlantic Ocean. We have drawn from the relevant studies in our own
delineation of mlBAs for African Penguins.
9. Key improvements to this method include (1) identifying important areas that are
more robust, accounting for the variation in movements between individual seabirds
from the same colony; and (2) determining the representation of the spatial extent
of their core (or preferred) usage areas within the marine environment at the colony
population level. This means that the ml BA method used in our assessment is
more accurate than older methods which used "combined kernel density" estimates
and which did not necessarily assess whether a sample of tracking data around a
particular colony was adequate to draw conclusions about the use of marine space
by that colony population as a whole.
Measuring mlBAs for African Penguins based on tracking data
1O. In South Africa, there are protocols for ongoing monitoring of African Penguins
using GPS tracking devices. This data is collected by scientists focusing on specific
colonies (including those at Dassen, Robben, Dyer, St Croix, and Bird islands and
/\
Stony Point i.e. "the breeding colonies"). Approximately on an annual basis, this ~~
~ v''
4 V'-'v-,
175
data is collected by penguin scientists from BLSA, Nelson Mandela University
(NMU), the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (the DFFE),
Cape Nature and the University of Exeter. BLSA is largely responsible for
processing the tracking data using the R statistical computing software. Following
this process, BLSA generates mlBAs to inform marine spatial prioritisation in South
Africa's exclusive economic zone. I pause to note that BLSA focuses on threatened
seabird species in the Benguela Upwelling System of which the African Penguin is
one key example.
11 . We determine two important areas for the purpose of discussing delineations.
11.1. First, we determine the African Penguins' full foraging range for a particular
colony (which we refer to as "UD90" and represent as a light green line in the
maps enclosed as "EW3"). We determine the full foraging range using well-
recognised methods published in the peer-reviewed studies authored by Dias et
al. (2018), Lascelles et al. (2016), Beal et al. (2021) and Borger et al. (2006). 2
11.2. Second, we determine the "core" or "preferred" foraging area (which we refer to
as mlBA-ARS and as represented in dark green in the attached maps). "ARS"
stands for "area restricted search" i.e. the area where animals (in this case ,
African Penguins) are concentrating their searching / foraging effort. This
2 Martin Beal et al (2021) "track2KBA: An R package for identifying important sites for biodiversity from tracking
data", Methods Ecol. Eva/, 12(12), 2372-2378, available on line <https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-21 0X.13713>
(accessed 11 March 2024); Luca Borger et al (2006) "Effects of sampling regime on the mean and variance of home
range size estimates", Journal of Animal Ecology, 75(6) , 1393-1405, available online <
https://doi.org/10.1111/i.1365-2656.2006.01164.x> (accessed 11 March 2024); Maria Dias et al (2018) "Identification
of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South Shetland Islands and South Orkney
Islands", Ecology and Evolution, 8(21) , 10520-10529, available online < https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4519>
(accessed 11 March 2024); BG Lascelles et al (2016) "Applying global criteria to tracking data to define important
areas for marine conservation", Diversity an Distributions, 22(4 ), 422-431, available on line <
https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12411 > (accessed 11 March 2024).
176
method, based on the work of Lascelles et al. (2016), Beal et al. (2021), Van der
Waal and Rogers (2012) and Fauchald and Tveraa (2003) 3 was recommended
by the Panel as the best scientific basis for delineating the preferred foraging
habitats based on available data. 4 Accordingly, we have used this method to
delineate those areas around each colony of most value to African Penguins.
The Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism
12. The Panel recommended a clear mechanism for identifying optimal no-take zone
delineations which maximise benefits to African Penguins while minimising costs to
the purse-seine small-pelagic fisheries industry (the trade-off mechanism). This
is described in paragraph 4.4 of the Panel's report dated July 2023. Further,
"colony-specific considerations" are set out at paragraph 4.5.
13.1 explain here how we have applied the considerations set out in paragraph 4.4. in
order to identify the specific delineation which is most appropriate based on existing
available data. This data includes:
13.1. Telemetry data obtained from BLSA, DFFE, NMU, UCT, Cape Nature and
University of Exeter; and
3 Beal et al supra; Lascelles et al supra; Per Fauchald and Torkild Tveraa (2003) "Using first-passage time in the
analysis of area-restricted search and habitat selection", Ecology 84(2), 282-288, available online <
https://doi.org/10 .1890/0012-9658(2003)084(0282:UFPTITI2.0.CO;2> (accessed 11 March 2024); E Vander Wal
and AR Rodgers (2012) "An individual-based quantitative approach for delineating core areas of animal space use", al\,
Ecological Modelling, 224(1), 48-53, available online < https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.10.006> p. 4
(accessed 11 March 2024).
4 Panel Report, p 34.
177
13.2. Fisheries catch loss data generated by the "opportunity based model" (OBM
model) which uses the locations of fishing catches recorded by purse-seine
fishing vessels and submitted as part of their permit requirements to DFFE to
assess catches "lost" due to closures. This data was provided to us by the Panel
in August 2023.
The parameters of the trade-off mechanism
14. The Panel established a set of parameters which define the relevant trade-off
mechanism. These are:
14.1. A trade-off mechanism is ideal if it "minimizes societal costs and maximizes
benefit to penguins; however, an optimal solution (or acceptable 'balance')
between competing objectives is not simply obtained by closing 50 percent of
any given area". 5
14.2. It is possible to identify the trade-off between "expected benefits to penguins and
impacts on fishing" using trade-off curves which plot closure options as points
on a graph measuring the relationship between a particular closure area /
delineation and (1) benefits to penguins, on the one hand, and (2) costs to
fisheries on the other. 6 I explain how we used these trade-off curves in
paragraphs 21 to 41 below.

178
14.3. If curves can be created that compare the relative costs and benefits for different
delineation options, it is possible to find the point at which the change in benefits
to penguins (i.e. through changing closure extents) matches the "change in
costs to society". 7 We refer to this as the "balance point" below_(and have
represented it as a yellow dot on the graphs represented in EW3).
14.4. This comparison should be done on an island-by-island basis as trade-offs will
differ among islands and sectors of the small-pelagic fishery. It is for this reason,
that we have employed the trade-off mechanism on a colony-by-colony / island-
by-island basis and for each potential small-pelagic catch (to the extent we have
such catch data). We note that while we have accounted for directed sardine,
anchovy, sardine bycatch and red-eye, our understanding is that current
allocations have been made only for sardine and anchovy and it is thus these
catches that are of primary concern.
14.5. The likely overestimates of lost catch resulting from the OBM analysis means
that, for the purposes of the trade-off-mechanism at this point in time, lost
catches should be considered "in a relative sense ... for ranking closure options" .
We have thus used OBM data to rank closure options as further detailed at
paragraph 21.2 below.
14.6. Closure areas should be selected based on how effective a closure is in terms
of alleviating resource competition between small-pelagic purse-seine fisheries
and African Penguins (i.e. a closure will only be suitable if it covers an area

179
where there is in fact resource competition between African Penguins and
fisheries). 8
14.7. Closures reflecting valuable African Penguin foraging areas will have greater
benefits than those that close less valuable foraging areas. 9
Representing benefits to African Penguins and costs to fisheries on a trade-off curve
15. Central to the trade-off mechanism was the ability to represent the benefits to
African Penguins and costs to the fishing industry on a graph for each colony; for
each catch type (of anchovy, sardine, bycatch sardine and redeye) and for each
delineation option considered by the Panel, namely:
15.1. UD90 (described above as the "foraging range" of a particular colony) ;
15.2. mlBA-ARS (described above as the "preferred foraging area" of a particular
colony);
15.3. the 20 km no-take zones that had been employed during the Island Closure
Experiment (20 km closure);
15.4. no-take zones proposed by the DFFE in 2021 (DFFE 2021);
15.5. no-take zones proposed by the GAF (CAF); and
8
9
180
15.6. no-take zones proposed by Industry during the panel proceedings in 2023
(Industry).
16. Due to the origin of the closures actually imposed as temporary measures in
September 2022 (the "Interim Closures"), we added closures proposed by
industry during the ETT (ETT Industry) and those proposed by industry during the
CAF (CAF Industry).
17. I refer to all those closures considered by the Panel together with the ETT and CAF
Industry closures as "the closure options".
18.Accordingly, we prepared graphs or "trade-off curves" which compare the penguin
benefits (measured on the x-axis) with the costs to the purse-seine small-pelagic
fishing industry (measured on the y-axis) in respect of each catch-type for each
closure option. We did so on a colony-by-colony basis using different colours and
shapes on the graphs to represent the different closure options. The resulting
graphs are shown in EW3 with the key as follows:
UD90 Lioht oreen souare ■
mlBAa.ARS Dark oreen circle •

20 km Turouoise upside-down trianole T
DFFE 2021 Dark blue diamond ♦
CAF Pink trianole A
Industry Grev star
*
19. In the case of each colony, the balance point is determined by having regard to all
these closure options and their positions once plotted on the graphs.
181
20. Below I explain the process of developing and analysing these trade-off curves with
reference to Stony Point.
Application of the trade-off mechanism to Stony Point
Placing penguin benefits and fishing costs on a graph
21. Our graphs plotted penguin benefits using a "penguin utility index" on the x-axis
and fishery costs on the y-axis.
21.1. The Penguin utility index ("UR"} is a measure of the estimated number of
individual penguins that regularly forage in a particular cell on a grid which we
overlay onto penguin foraging tracks. One cell measures 0.5 km 2 in extent and
the grid system allows us to more accurately identify the use of space by African
Penguins around a particular colony.
21.2. Fishery costs used were derived from the OBM developed by fisheries scientists
contracted to the fishing industry. This information was made available to BLSA
by the Panel during August 2023. The OBM data was expressed as the
percentage of regional catch loss due to closures.
21.2.1. Because the OBM data had several estimates of catch loss associated
with closures, we used the model outputs used by the Panel to indicate
the average (median) assessed costs associated with predicted lost
. catch to industry.
182
21.2.2. As indicated at paragraph 14.5 above, the Panel indicated that OBM
outputs could be used to rank different closure options. Accordingly,
we used this data, on the y-axis to show whether, for example, a
delineation based on mlBA-ARS would incur greater or lesser industry
costs than a delineation based on "DFFE 2021" proposals.
22. The trade-off mechanism required that we use a common scale for each axis which
allowed us to compare "penguin benefits" with "industry costs" by finding the
optimal point (or "balance point") at which there was a balance between costs and
benefits (see paragraph 14.3 above regarding the "balance point"). Accordingly,
we used a scale of O to 1 on each axis of our graph where:
22.1. "O" on the x-axis represented no benefits to African Penguins at all and "1"
represented the maximum benefit; and
22.2. "O" on the y-axis represented no catch-loss (and therefore no costs) to the fishing
industry at all, while "1" represented maximum costs attributed to the closures
assessed.
23. I explain this scale using the example representing anchovy catches around Stony
Point produced in Figure 1 below:

183
Figure 1
Anchovy
1.00
Ill
i
I
Ill
0
:;; o.75
£
B
~
)
~Ill 0.50
ii::
11
(IJ
E 0.25
:i::i
Ill
w
0.00 'I T
0.00
~
0.25
-...
0.50 0.75 1.00
Penguin utility score (UR}
23.1. First, with reference to the x-axis reflecting "penguin utility scores":
23.1.1. If the closure option provides a good representation of African
Penguins' preferred usage area around a particular colony, the closure
option will be plotted along the x-axis closest to "1 ". In the case of Stony
Point, this means that mlBA-ARS, the 20 km closure and the full
foraging range of UD90 are all beneficial to African Penguins.
23.1.2. Those closures which lie closest to "0", however, would be of minimal
benefit. Using the same graph, DFFE 2021 and CAF thus show little
benefit to African Penguins at Stony Point- while the Industry proposal
of "no closure" indicates no benefit to African Penguins at all.
23.2. Second, with reference to the y-axis, reflecting "estimated fishery catch loss":
184
23.2.1. In the case of anchovy catches for Stony Point, this meant that the
closure option with the highest cost to industry (closest to "1" on they-
axis) was the UD90 foraging range represented by the light green
square.
23.2.2. The closure option with the least cost to industry (closest to "O" on the
y-axis) was the DFFE 2021 closure option (represented by the dark blue
triangle). (Naturally, "no closure" would entail no cost to industry -
represented by the grey star).
Fitting a trade-off curve and identifying the "balance point"
24. The next step was to fit a trade-off curve to the different closure option points to
identify the point on the curve where the rate of increase in penguin benefits equals
the rate of increase in costs to fisheries i.e. the "balance point". Such a point
represents a "balanced" compromise between maximising benefits to penguins and
minimising costs to fisheries. As indicated in Figure 1 above, the trade-off curve is
convex in shape (i.e. shaped like the right half of the letter "U"). This is the case
for all trade-off curves. Consequently, the shape of this curve is such that there can
only be one such balance point on the trade-off curve.
25.Again using Stony Point as an example and with reference to Figure 1:
25.1. The Stony Point trade-off curve for anchovy indicates a balance point coinciding
with the green dot representing the mlBA-ARS closure option.

185
25.2. Reading from left to right along the curve (and from 0 to 1 along the x-axis or
"least to most benefit" to African Penguins), the incline of the curve from the grey
star (no closure), dark-blue diamond (DFFE 2021) and pink triangle (CAF)
increases only slightly towards the green dot (representing mlBA-ARS).
Because the green dot is closer to "1" on the x-axis it is a closure option which
provides greater benefit to African Penguins than the closure options
represented by the dark blue diamond and pink triangle. This means that for a
relatively small increase in cost to the fishing industry, the mlBA-ARS closure is
likely to provide significantly greater benefits to African Penguins than the DFFE
2021 and CAF closures.
25.3. Following this curve further: the closures represented by the upside-down
turquoise triangle (20 km closure) and light-green square (UD90) are more
beneficial to African Penguins than mlBA-ARS as they lie closer to "1" on the x-
axis of the graph. However, the trade-off curve shows a dramatically increased
incline when accounting for these points on the graph. This means that these
two closure options result in increased costs to industry (in the case of UD90 -
significantly so). The result is that the "balance point" or optimal balance point
lies with the mlBA-ARS closure. This is shown on the graph by using a yellow
dot.
25.4. In the case of Stony Point, trade-off curves for directed sardine, redeye and
sardine bycatch all reflect the same outcome i.e. the "balance point" coincides
with the plot point representing the mlBA-ARS closure. This is shown in Figure
2 below.
186
Figure 2
Directed sardine
1.00
j
.c: 0 75
£
~
~
,2l
fl>
0.50
I;::
j
QJ
E 0.25
~
w
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

Penguin utility score (UR)
Redeye Bycatch sardine

1.00 1.00
~
0
~
0
r-
:i:: 0.75 ~ 0.75
~
g
~
1
~
I
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.c
~
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,.:
io.2s
:.:=
lo.25
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0.00 ,lil;';--.-------,A-- - - 0.00 ~,_....-~♦

---.1A.__ _ __ ......,
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Penguin utility score (UR) Penguin utility score (UR)
25.5. When looking at all four trade-off curves (i.e. that for anchovy shown in Figure 1
above and those for directed sardine, redeye and bycatch sardine shown in
Figure 2 above), the trade-off mechanism indicates that, for Stony Point, the
mlBA-ARS closure is the optimal trade-off for all potential catch-types based on
existing available data.

187
25.6. We are then able to represent this on a map showing the spatial impacts of the
preferred closure relative to the other closure options (as shown in Figure 3
below). We are also able to identify a single closure option as the most
appropriate closure delineation for purposes of inclusion in small-scale pelagic
purse-seine fishing permit conditions (as shown in Figure 4 below and
summarised for all colonies in EW2).
Figure 3 Figure 4
3"0'S
3" 1•s
.. - 34.0°5 0 10 20km
34.1°5
34.2°5
~ 34.3°5
i
...J
34.4'$ 34.4°5
34.5°S
34.6°5
19.0"£ 19.Z"E 19.4'E

18.S"E 18.8°E 19.0°E 19.2°E 19.4°E
L~ Longitude
r Q lndUSl!y CAF
8 Fm,glng range (mfBA-l.1090)
Core lonlgs,g-. (mlBA-ARS)
I lntenm
0 OFFE (2021) ._. CAF
20 Ion dolur'e
MPA
26. I explain the results of the application of the trade-off mechanism for the remaining
islands below.
188
The results of applying the trade-off mechanism
.Dassen Island: mlBA-ARS
26.1. We were able to use OBM model outputs for anchovy, directed sardine and
redeye. In the case of this colony, however, the OBM model outputs for sardine
bycatch equalled "zero" for all delineations and could not be used. It is for this
reason that only three graphs appear in Figure 5 below.
Figµre 5
Anchovy Directed sardine

1.00 1.00
~ .2"'
-5 0.75 -5 0.75
B ~
~
~0.50
... ~
10.50
q:: "'
q::
I 0.25
• "O
2
~0.25
:n
:;:I
Jl
0.00 - - - -- - --- 0.00 ~
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Redeye By catch sardine
1.00
OBM model outputs for by catch
j
.i:::. 0.75 r sardine equal zero for all delineations
~
~
~ 0.50
c;:::
j
....
~ 0.25
~
w
0.00 ~:;:;------- -
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
■ ForagifllQ range (m18A-UD90) OFFE (2021) y 20 km clOsure
• ~ foraging area (mlBA-ARS) CAI' ~, Industry
0 Change point of trade-off CUIV8
189
27. In all three graphs, the various closure options are clustered towards "1" on the x-
axis. This meant that all closure options had relatively high utility scores and would
be beneficial to African Penguins. However, in all cases, the trade-off curve
indicated that the point beyond which costs to industry increased was closest to the
point on the graph represented by the blue diamond - i.e. the DFFE 2021 option.
28. In this case, however, it is necessary to have regard to the purpose of the closures
in having real life impacts on reducing competition between African Penguins and
industry - and ensuring that African Penguins have adequate access to small-
pelagic resources. When matching the various closure options to their location on
the map around Dassen Island, it soon becomes clear that DFFE 2021 will not in
fact meet these purposes. This is because 8% of the northern portion of the
preferred foraging area (mlBA-ARS) is omitted from the DFFE 2021 closure.
29. This is shown in Figure 6 below. The preferred foraging area is shown in dark
green while the DFFE 2021 closure (and Interim Closure) is shown using a dark-
blue and orange dashed line. The important northern portion of the mlBA-ARS
appears north of the area delineated by the dark-blue and orange dashed line and
within the area bounded by the dark-green line. The density of the grey foraging
tracks reflects the importance of this area for African Penguins, relative to the areas
covered by DFFE 2021 where the grey lines appear "thinner" or less dense (and
which lie to the west and south of the dark-green bounded area and within the area
bounded by the orange and dark-blue dashed line).

190
Figure 6
32.6°5
32.a•5
33.0"5
133.2°5
j
33.4°$
33.6°5
33.8' 5
17.4•E 17.S'E 18.2'E 18.6' E

Longitude
Foraging range (m1BA-U090) Interim

Core foreglng eree (m18A-AR5) _ I OFFE (2021)
8
CAF
201<m closure
30. There is a clear ecological explanation for the importance of the northern area of
the mlBA-ARS for African Penguins. Anchovy recruits migrate southward during
the autumn/winter months and become available to African Penguins who are
engaged in breeding during this time. African Penguins will thus be inclined to
forage where fish is abundant in areas closest to the colony. Continued fishing in
these northern areas is likely to result in fisheries-African Penguin competition over
important anchovy biomass and will have downstream effects of prey availability in
the preferred foraging areas of African Penguins south of this area.
31. Given the above importance of the northern region of the mlBA-ARS and given that
the mlBA-ARS had relatively high penguin utility scores and relatively low costs to [
~ tt'l
20 ~ ~L,,
ii,
191
industry, this is the preferred closure delineation for this colony. The preferred
closure reflected in Figure A of EW2 thus corresponds with the mlBA-ARS
delineation.
Robben Island: mlBA-ARS
31.1. Again, we were able to use OBM model outputs for anchovy, directed sardine
and redeye only. We could not use bycatch sardine figures from the OBM model
as these were erroneous (sometimes eliciting negative results).
31.2. The plots for anchovy, directed sardine and redeye all reflected the mlBA-ARS
closure as the most appropriate delineation as shown in the graphs in Figure 7
below:
Figure 7
1.00 1.00
j
ti 0.75
1§
~
1. 0.50
.!!
j
~ 0.25
~ /
0.00 r -_ __ _... o.oo--- -·
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

1.00
sardine are erroneous
1ti 0.75
1§
~
lo.so
.!!l
lo.25
iii
UJ
0,00-ll\----.....-
o.oo 0.2s o.so • 0.1s •• T.oo
■ Foraging range (mlBA-U090) ■ Com foraging ama (mlBA-ARS) ♦ OFFE (2021)/CAf

'f' 20 k m - ln<mirv O ~ polnloltraOe-<llf ar,e
192
32. In the case of anchovy, the "balance point" (indicated by the yellow dot) marked a
sharp increase in costs for the 20km closure and UD90 (turquoise and light green
respectively). Meanwhile, the additional cost to industry as between the DFFE
2021 closure and a delineation based on mlBA-ARS indicated increase in costs
that was relatively small when measured against the significant increase in African
Penguin benefits. The balance point for sardine was, similarly, aligned with ml BA-
ARS while it lay in the space between DFFE 2021 and mlBA-ARS in the case of
redeye.
33. When taking account of the relatively low losses in real terms for redeye catches
around this island, it became important to focus on the trade-off curves for anchovy
and directed sardine. As these both indicated that mlBA-ARS was most closely
aligned with the "balance point"/ "change point", this is the most appropriate closure
delineation based on currently available data.
34. The map below demonstrates the consequence of the mlBA-ARS option as a
delineation (in dark green), relative to other closure options. This reflects the
preferred closure option indicated in Figure B of EW2.

193
Figure 8
-
32.s•s
"
32.s•s
33.o•s
33.2°S
~
5
.5 33.4°S
33.s•s
33.8°S
34.o•s
17.S'E 18.00E 1s.s•e 19.0'E

Long~ude
■ MPA
B Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) 0 Interim r- I CAF
Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) : • : DFFE (2021) Q 20 km closure
Dyer Island: DFFE 2021
35.As indicated in the graphs in Figure 9 below, the balance point for anchovy, directed
sardine and sardine bycatch is closest to the point reflecting the DFFE 2021 closure
option (indicated by the dark blue diamond). While the balance point for redeye did
not align precisely with a particular closure, it was most closely aligned with the
DFFE 2021 option. This option had a relatively high African Penguin utility score
of 0.78 and relatively low overall costs to industry when compared to the 20 km,
mlBA-ARS and UD90 closure options.

194
Figure 9

1.00 1.00
i
-5 0.75
i§
~
~0.50
"'
II=
j
Ill
E 0.25
:.a
"'
W I
0.00 ~_ _!---4---~ 0.00

0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Redeye Bycatch sardine
1.00 1.00
:g
.2
.c 0.75
£
l3
~
20.50
"'
u::
i
~ 0.25
iw
0.00 ➔,.f---· 0.00

0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75
■ Foraging range (mfBA-U090) DFFE (2021) Y 20 km clogure
• Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) GAF ·.: Industry
0 Change point of trade-Off CUIV9
- - - Indication of penguin utility score (UR ) in the absence of catch lo1!S
data for the Interim closure/industry CAF
36. I note that the DFFE 2021 option shown to be the optimal closure in line with the
Panel's trade-off mechanism, is not the closure imposed as an "interim closure" in
September 2022 (and currently in place around Dyer Island). As indicated in the
map in Figure 10 below, the "interim closure" reflects a split zone which has only
its outer boundary aligned with the DFFE 2021 closure delineation.
195
36.1 . The local small-pelagic purse-seine industry with boats of 26 min length or less
are permitted to fish between the outer boundary of the DFFE 2021 closure and
its "inner'' boundary reflected by the dotted purple and orange line on the map.
36.2. It is only in the near-shore area bounded by this purple and orange line that a
total small-pelagic no-take zone is currently in place.
Figure 10
34.2"S
34.4•s
34 .8-S
1s.a•e 19.o•e 19.2°1: 19.4•e 19.6°E 19.a•e

Longitude
Foraging range (m1BA-U090) Interim P, CAf O 20 km closure

Core foraging area {mlBA-AAS) _ I OFFE (2021} _ I tndustJy CAF
37. Because no OBM data was available to assess the current blend of continued
fishing and no-take zones, this "split" approach could not be assessed. In the
circumstances, and based on the available data, we assessed the original DFFE
(2021) closure and it is thus, the full DFFE (2021) closure option imposing an
196
exclusion zone on all purse-seine small-pelagic fishing regardless of vessel size
represents the optimal trade-off and which is reflected in Figure D of EW2
St Croix Island: DFFE 2021
38. The only OBM data relevant for this island was that relating to directed sardine (the
only major stock caught around this island). The relevant graph (in Figure 11
below) indicated that the 20 km closure, DFFE 2021, mlBA-ARS and UD90 closure
options all had relatively high utilisation scores (and thus would be relatively
beneficial to penguins). The balance point, however, indicated that the closure
achieving the best balance between benefits to penguins and costs to industry was
the DFFE (2021) closure option.
Figure 11
Directed sardine
1.00
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

Penguin utility soore (UR)
■ Fon,glng ~ (mlBA-UOIIO) ♦ OFFE (2021) 'f' 20 km c:1o1ure

• C:O... foragillg- lmlSA-ARS) A CM ·, Industry
0 Change pOinl of tradHII CUM
- - Indication of penguin utility score (U,,) In Ille 811Sence
of calctl loss data for tilt Interim dOsurtAnduslry ETT
39. The resulting closure is that shown using the dark-blue boundary on the map below.
This corresponds with the closure option shown in Figure E of EW2.

197
Figure 12
33.6°S
,. -
33.7'$
33.8'5
; 33.9"S
34.o•s
34.1°5
34.2"5
25.4•E 25.8'E 2s.s•e

Longnude
Foraging range (ml6A-U090)

Core loraging area (mlBA-ARS)
lnlenm . P. CAF
DFFE (2021) _ I Industry CAF
20 km closure ': I lndusuy ETT
MPA
Bird Island: 20 km closure
40.1 flag that there is very little fishing around Bird Island and the only fishing in
evidence relates to directed sardine. Accordingly, we plotted the closure options
for this stock, illustrating relatively high utilisation scores for mlBA-ARS, GAF, 20
km and UD90 closures. Consonant with application of the trade-off mechanism,
however, the balance point aligned with the 20km closure (the delineation with one
of the lowest costs to fisheries and the greatest benefit to penguins after the full
foraging range). This appears on the graph in Figure 13 below.

198
Figure 13
Directed sardine
1.00 [ii
ti)
~
.1:::. 0.75
£(1)
0
c:'
lo.so
ti)
IC
-,:,
JI!
(1)
. ...
E 0.25
♦
ts
w
0.00 . ~~'
: ,i.'--- ----
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
■ Foraging range (ml8A-UD90) DFFE (2021) y 20 km closure
• Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) CAF 'f Industry
0 Change point of trade-off curve
41. The resulting closure is represented by the turquoise line on the map in Figure 14
below. This corresponds with the preferred delineation reflected in Figure F of
EW2.
Figure 14
,.
33.6"S
34 0' S
3-4.2'S
25.8' E 26.2"E 26.8'E
f oreg,ng range tmlBA-UD90J lntenm ,. I htdusHy CAF 20 km closure

0 Core foril{llng aree (ml8A-ARS) 0 DFFE (2021 ) ~ CAF MPA
199
42. A summary of the six closures resulting from application of the trade-off mechanism
is attached as "EW2".
43. Given my qualifications and experience, I am duly qualified to express an expert
opinion on the methods used to delineate MIBAs and the trade-off mechanism.
44. I confirm the content of the mlBA method and trade-off mechanism and the expert
opinion expressed therein. I further confirm that the methods and data relied upon
are robust, credible and based on methods recognised by Birdlife International and
consonant with the trade-off mechanism recommended by the Panel.
ELEANOR ASHLEY WEIDEMAN
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at Cf//E 7oU)rJ on this the
JC.... day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
~ =----
Full Names:
Capacity:
Designation : NAME : M , /( e., '-14 " ~ J4
PRACTISING ATTORNEY. RSA
Address: 1st FLOOR. BIRKDALE 2. RIVER PARK..
·1 RIVER LANE . LIESBEEK PARKWAY.
MOWBRAY 7700
CAPE TOWN
29
1.00
Eleanor Ashley Weideman "EW1 "
• curriculum vitae •
WORK EXPERIENCE
2023-present Coastal seabird project manager (Birdlife South Africa)
Deployment of GPS/camera/accelerometer devices on African Penguins, Cape
Cormorants, Cape Gannets; analysing and publishing geospatial data to inform
marine spatial planning initiatives and to promote an ecosystem approach to
fisheries; building and maintaining Automated Penguin Monitoring Systems to
monitor the health status of African Penguin breeding colonies; sitting on two
government working groups: the Seabird Technical Task Team and the African
Penguin Working Group
2022 Research assistant (MAPRU, NMU)
PERSONAL DATA Processing and analysing camera and accelerometer data collected from
Born: 18 July 1994 Chinstrap Penguins; assistance with camera, hydrophone, GPS and
ID:9407180058081 accelerometer/depth recorder deployments on African Penguins with Birdlife
Citizenship: South African South Africa
2021-2022 Over-wintering field assistant on Marion Island (MAPRU, NMU)
Driving license: Code B (South African)
Deployment of GPS and GLS devices on Brown Skuas; retrieval of GLS devices
from Wandering Albatrosses, Blue Petrels and Great-winged Petrels; population
counts, breeding success monitoring and ringing of Northern Giant Petrels,
CONTACT DETAILS
Wandering Albatrosses, Grey-headed Albatrosses, Kelp Gulls, Brown Skuas and
Email: [email protected]
Skype: el.weideman Black-faced Sheathbills; deployment and maintenance of acoustic monitoring
ResearchGate profile: devices; collation and analysis of data; report writing; training of new field
https://www .researchgate.net/profile/Elean personnel
or-Weideman 2020-2021 Consultant to WIOMSA
Writing of reports and peer-reviewed scientific articles on marine litter in the
Western Indian Ocean and conducting extensive stakeholder consultations
2020 Research assistant (MAPRU, NMU)
Programming and deploying GPS and camera devices on Cape Gannets, African
English (written and spoken) Penguins and Cape Cormorants with Birdlife South Africa; processing seabird
•••••
Conversational Afrikaans
2020
diet samples; co-ordinating second-year Population Ecology course
Volunteer at SANCCOB
Handling and rehabilitating African Penguins and ringing Cape Cormorants and
•••
Data management and analysis
2018
Cape Gannets
Ship-based scientist, team leader (UCT)
Plastics at Sea research team, SCALE Spring cruise
••••
Ability to work long hours In the field
2018
2018
Ship-based scientist, field assistant
Plastics at Sea research team, SEAmester and SCALE Winter cruises
Lecturer
•••••
Organisation
Plastics, plastics everywhere lecture series, UCT Summer School
2016, 2019 Research assistant to Prof. Peter Ryan (UCT)
Seabird dissections, long-term monitoring of marine litter and microplastics
••••
Teamwork 2022
TERTIARY EDUCATION
Udemy online coursework - (1) Core Spatial Data Analysis: Introductory GIS
•••• 2018-2020
with Rand QGIS; (2) Intermediate Spatial Data Analysis with R, QGIS & More
Skills learnt: Analysing vector, raster and point data; interpolation; mapping;
creation of heat maps; estimating space-use using kernel density estimations
MSc Biological Sciences (FIAO, UCT, awarded with distinction)
Thesis: Quantifying land-based sources of plastic pollution in South Africa
ACADEMIC REFERENCES
Skills learnt: Knowledge of Rand QGIS; collection and processing of quality field
Prof. Pierre Pistorius (previous
data; writing and publishing peer-reviewed articles
employer) 2017 BSc Honours Biological Sciences (FIAO, UCT, 1st class pass)
Email : [email protected] Thesis: Land cover change homogenizes functional and phylogenetic diversity
within and among African savanna bird assemblages
Dr Maelle Con nan (previous employer) Skills learnt: Calculation and analysis of species diversity indices in R
Email : [email protected] 2014-2016 BSc Applied Biology and Ecology & Evolution (UCT)- 1st class pass
Prof. Peter Ryan (MSc supervisor and AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

previous employer) 2018-2019 DST- NRF Innovation Master's Scholarship
Email: [email protected] 2017 DST- NRF Innovation Honours Scholarship
2017 Hyman Liberman Scholarship
2015 Class medal (BI020120F second-year ecology)
2014-2016 Dean's Merit List, Science Faculty Scholarship
PUBLICATION RECORD 201
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Perold V, Cannan M, Suaria G, Weideman EA. Dilley BJ, Ryan PG (under review) Skua pellets containing the
remains of South Atlantic seabirds can be used as biomonitors of small buoyant plastics at sea. Marine
Pollution Bulletin.
Shihlomule YD, Weideman EA. van der Vyver JSF, Conry OS, Jordaan RK, de Bruyn PJN (2024) First record of
ocular albinism in sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups on Marion Island. Polar Biology.
https://doi.org/10.1007/ s00300-023-03217-6
Weideman EA. Perold V, Donnarumma V, Suaria G, Ryan PG (2023) Proximity to coast and major rivers affects
the density of floating microplastics and other litter in east African coastal waters. Marine Pollution Bulletin
188: 114644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114644
Honorato-Zimmer D, Weideman EA, Ryan PG, Thiel M (2023) Amounts, sources, fates and ecological impacts of
marine litter and microplastics in the Western Indian Ocean region: A review and recommendations for
actions. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 60: 535-592.
https ://doi .org/10.1201/9781003288602-11
Honorato-Zimmer D, Weideman EA. Ryan PG, Thiel M (2022) Marine litter and microplastics in the Western
Indian Ocean: current knowledge and recommendations. W/0 Science- Policy Platform Series 1: 71-82.
Bates AE, Primack RB, Biggar BS ... Weideman EA ... Duarte CM (2021) Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights
humans as both threats and custodians of the environment. Biological Conservation 263: 109175.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175
Ryan PG, Weideman EA, Perold V, Hofmeyr G, Con nan M (2021) Message in a bottle: Assessing the sources and
origins of beach litter to tackle marine pollution. Environmental Pollution 288: 117729.
https://doi .org/10.1016/j .envpol .2021.117729
Maclean K, Weideman EA, Perold V, Ryan PG (2021) Buoyancy affects stranding rate and dispersal of floating
litter entering the sea from river mouths. Marine Pollution Bulletin 173: 113028.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113028
Weideman EA. Slingsby JA, Thomson RL, Coetzee BWT (2020) Land cover change homogenizes functional and
phylogenetic diversity within and among African savanna bird assemblages. landscape Ecology 35: 145-
157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00939-z
Weideman EA. Perold V, Ryan PG (2020) Limited long-distance transport of plastic pollution by the Orange-Vaal
River system, South Africa. Science of the Total Environment 727: 138653.
https://doi .org/10.1016/j .scitotenv.2020.138653
Weideman EA. Perold V, Arnold G, Ryan PG (2020) Quantifying changes in litter loads in urban stormwater run-
off from Cape Town, South Africa, over the last two decades. Science of the Total Environment 724: 138310.
https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv .2020.138310
Weideman EA. Munro C, Perold V, Omardien A, Ryan PG (2020) Ingestion of plastic litter by the sandy anemone
Bunodactis reynaudi. Environmental Pollution 267: 115543.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115543
Weideman EA. Perold V, Omardien A, Smyth LK, Ryan PG (2020) Quantifying temporal trends in anthropogenic
litter in a rocky intertidal habitat. Marine Pollution Bulletin 160: 111543.
https ://doi .org/10.1016/j. marpolbul.2020.111543
Ryan PG, Weideman EA. Perold V, Moloney CL (2020) Toward balancing the budget: Surface macro-plastics
dominate the mass of particulate pollution stranded on beaches. Frontiers in Marine Science 7: 575395.
https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fmars.2020.575395
Ryan PG, Weideman EA, Perold V, Durholtz D, Fairweather TP (2020) A trawl survey of seafloor macrolitter on
the South African continental shelf. Marine Pollution Bulletin 150: 110741.
https://doi .org/10.1016/j. ma rpolbu 1.2019 .110741
Ryan PG, Maclean K, Weideman EA (2020) The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on urban street litter in South
Africa. Environmental Processes 7: 1303-1312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-020-00472-1
Weideman EA. Perold V, Ryan PG (2019) Little evidence that dams in the Orange-Vaal River system trap floating
microplastics or microfibres. Marine Pollution Bulletin 149: 110664.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110664
Naude VN, Smyth LK, Weideman EA. Krochuk BA, Amar A (2019) Using web-sourced photography to explore the
diet of a declining African raptor, the Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus). The Condor 121: 1-9.
http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/condor/duy0lS
Van Mazjik R, Smyth LK, Weideman EA. West AG (2018) Isotopic tracing of stormwater in the urban Liesbeek
River. Water SA 44: 674-679. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/wsa.v44i4.16
Technical reports submitted to governmental working groups
Mcinnes A, Weideman EA. Waller L, Pichegru L, Sherley R, Smith C, Ludynia K, Carpenter-Kling T, Hagen C,
Barham P, Stander N, Shannon L (2023) The potential for interim purse-seine fisheries restrictions to
alleviate resource competition around African penguin colonies: assessment based on International
Review panel Report recommendations.
Mcinnes A, Weideman EA. Waller L, Sherley R, Pichegru L, Ludynia K, Hagen C, Smith C, Barham P, Kock A,
Carpenter-Kling T (2023) Purse-seine fisheries closure configurations for African Penguin conservation:
methods and considerations for optimal closure designs: Report to Expert Review Panel on African
Penguins and Island Closures.
Mcinnes A, Carpenter-Kling T, Sherley RB, Christian M, Hagen C, Weideman EA, Carneiro A, Clark B, Lang S,
Waller L, Glencross J, L4dynia K, Smith C, Barham P (2023) Using Global Fishing Watch data to quantify
comparative purse-seine fishing effort during open and closed periods to fishing around African Penguin
colonies on South Africa's west coast.
Mcinnes A, Weideman EA. Waller L, Sherley R, Pichegru L, Ludynia K, Hagen C, Smith C, Barham P, Carpenter-
Kling T (2023) Preferred closure options for African Penguins around six colonies.
Consultation reports
UNEP-Nairobi Convention/WIOMSA (2021) A review of the current status of marine litter and microplastics
knowledge in the Western Indian Ocean region: amounts, sources, fate and resultant ecological impacts
on the coastal and marine environment and on human health. WIOMSA, Zanzibar, WIOMSA Series
(Online).
Conference posters
Con nan M, Weideman EA. Ryan PG (2023) Seasonal attendance patterns and habitat use of three avian
scavengers at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. 6th South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP)
Research Symposium, South Africa.
Weideman EA. Slingsby JA, Thomson RL, Coetzee BWT (2017) The effect of land use change on the phylogenetic
diversity of bird communities in Phalaborwa, Kruger National Park. 8th Oppenheimer De Beers Group
Research Conference, South Africa.
204
,---C
- lo_s_u-re_s_r_e_s-ul-t-in_g_f-ro_m_a_p_p_lic_a_t-io_n_o_f_P_a_n_e_l'-s -re_c_o_m_m
_ e_n_d_ed- tr_a_d_e--o-ff_m
_ e_c-ha_n_i_s _m_----.1
"EW2"
A) Dassen Island B) Robben Island
~
32.6°S
0 1530km
32.8°S 32.8°5
33.0°5
(],)
'O
i 33.2°s
~ 33.2°s
::J
,.... \
.,.,.. . . __~ ·-- ... '~
", • -.. -~. ~ 33.4°S
..J ..J
33.4°S -~
·, '
( 33.6°5
~.,., ,: •
·..::..::-·_
33.6°5 33.8°S
34.0°5 ,-l:.~-
33.8°5 ' - , - - - ~ - - - - - _ . __ __
17.4°E 17.8°E 18.2°E 18.6°E 17.5°E 18.0°E 18.5°E 19.0°E
Longitude Longitude
C) Stony Point D) Dyer Island

34.0°S o 10 Sm 0 15 30km
34.1°5
34.4°S
34.2°s
.-.
(],) Q)
-g 34.3°s "O
~ 34.6°5
Cll
..J 34.4°5 ..J
}---
34.5°5 34.8°S
Z-:::.::.:,J {/~'.f '.' ~i {~ .'"( . ·-- ·- ·-
34.6°S
35.0°S ~ - - , - - - - - , - - - - - , - - - r - - - - . - ~
18.6°E 18.8°E 19.Q E 19.2°E 19.4°E 0 18.8°E19.0°E19.2°E19.4°E 19.6°E 19.8°E
Longitude Longitude
E) St Croix Island F) Bird Island

33.6°5 0 10 20km 33.4°S , - - - - - - - - ~6~;,iS~§6--km7
33.7°5
33.6°5
33.8°5 ·,.
Q) . ' '\l Q)
"'O "O
~ 33.9°5 ~ 33.8°5
:.•Y·,:-..
·:':~~..).
:/~~~~-'):~·-
(lJ (ti
..J ..J
34.0°S
\ l"
34.0°S
34.1°s
Df;,~,,,Y~)>· i
34.2°5 ~ - - - - , - - -' - . - - - - - , - - - - . - - - 34.2°s ~ - - - ~ - - - - - . - - - - - - . - ~

25.8°E 26.2°E 26.6°E 27.0°E
25.4°E 25.6°E 25.8°E 26.0°E 26.2°E
Longitude
Longitude
Dassen Island "EW3"
I
1.00 1.00
32.6°S·
gi Ul
t/l
30km 0 ..Q
{5 0.75 .r: 0.75
.B
1§ l1j
32.a•s ~
_g 0.50
(/)
• ~
J! 0.50
~
(/)
i.:: i.::
33.0°s
j
(1J
E 0.25
• -0
$
(1J
E 0.25
~ ~
w w
o.ooi .:;1,'--- - - - - 0.00 77
I
.5
33.2°S 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75
1.00
C....--------
0.00 0.25 0.50
-0.75
- - -1.00
-
,-
I
1.00
33.4°S
Ul
t/l
sardine equal zero for all delineations
0
:C 0.75
~
33.6°s ~
J! 0.50
•
(/)
c.::
-0
$
.§ 0.25 ~
33.a•s .;
17.4°E 17.8°E 18.2°E 18.6°E

iii
w •...
I\.)
Longitude o.ooi ~ - - - - -- ---<.>
'l_;,
,T Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) P, Interim
Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) _ I DFFE (2021)
B
CAF
20 km closure
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75
1.00
0
0,
(9~
■ Foraging range (mlBA-UD90)
• Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
♦ DFFE (2021) •
A CAF * 20 km closure
Industry
~
~
--- r-
Robben Island

I
32.6°S· 1.00 1.00
15 311km
(/) (/)
(/) (/)
0 .Q
32.a•s ] ~ 0.75 .s::. 0.75
N
~
£
~
~
33.0°s J i
(/)
0.50 io.5o
(/)
~ ~
$ro j
33.2°s I E 0.25
~
w
ro
E0.25
~
w
~
s
_j 33.4°S -,
0.00
0.00
* ~
0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
0.00
.........- - ~ - - ~ - - ~ - ~ -
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
33.6°S ] Redeye By catch sardine

I
1.00
sardine are erroneous
33.a•s ~
~0.75
~
34.o·s ~
io.5o
(/)
~
17.5°E 18.0°E
Longitude
18.5°E 19.0°E IE 0.25
~
Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) 0 Interim r I CAF ■ MPA w
I\.)
Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) : . : DFFE (2021) CJ 20 km closure
0
0.00i! •--
CJ)
~ 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
'-r- Penguin utility score (UR)
~ ?;? ■ Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ DFFE (2021) /CAF
<L·" "'> Y 20 km closure * Industry O Change point of trade-off curve

Stony Point

I
1.00 1.00
34.0°5 ,
0 10 20km "'"'
.Q
lZ0
ti 0.75 ~ 0.75
iii
(.)
~
(.)
34.1°5 2" 2"

~ 0.50 ~0.50
~ "'
ii=
j j
34.2°5 l'0 l'0
E 0.25 E 0.25
ts
UJ ~
~ 34.3°5
::, 0.00 j '* • A - 0.00 1* e A -
sa, 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
..J
34.4°5 Redeye Bycatch sardine
I
1.00 1.00
34.5°5 "'"'0 "'"'0

~0.75 ~ 0.75
£Ill
~ (.)
34.6°5 2" 2"

~0.50 ~0.50
"'
I;: "'
i;::
18.6°E 18.8°E 19.0°E

Longitude
19.2°E 19.4°E
j
l'0
.5 0.25 ~ I
.5 0.25
iii iii
Q O 20 km closure UJ w
Core foraging area (mIBA-AR5)
t I Interim
L]
Industry CAF
DFFE (2021) . _, CAF ■ MPA
~
0.00 j % ♦ A - 0.00L!_ ♦ A O
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Penguin utility score (UR) Penguin utility score (UR) I\.)
~ -::p 0
-~ <=:::
>
C(..
...>
• Core foraging area (mlBA-AR5)
DFFE (2021)
CAF *Y 20 km closure
Industry -...J
<~~
0 Change point of trad~ff curve
Dyer Island

I
1.00 1.00
~
(/)
34.2°s 1
~
30km ~ 0.75 .r:. 0.75
B
~ ~
~ ~
10.50
(/)
10.50
34_4•s ·I <.:: ~
"O "O
~
(0
io.25 .§ 0.25
~
w J1
-8 0.001 ,f'
:eiii 34.s•s 1 I --. ~ 0.00j ~( .ar--
...J 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1·00 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Donn, tin t rtilih, crnro. fl I_\ Donni 1in 1 ,tilih, crru·o /I I_\
1.00 1.00
34.a•s ·
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0 :g
~0.75 ~ 0.75
~
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35.0°s
10.50
(/)
10.50
1/)
c;:: c;::
18.8°E 19.0°E 19.2°E 19.4°E 19.6°E 19.8°E
j
Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) :::!
Longitude
Interim P,
CAF
□ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) _ I DFFE (2021) _ I Industry CAF
O 20 km closure *
E 0.25
~
w
(0
_!;; 0.25
iii
w
y
0.00 l ':t
0.00 0.25
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0.50
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0.00
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DFFE (2021) y 20 km closure
' 1.00
I\.)
0
~?:"~
v -r:--
e Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
CAF Industry CX>
- - - Indication of penguin utility score (UR ) in the absence of catch loss
data for the Interim closure/industry CAF
~---r"
St Croix Island
33.s•s
0 10 20km
Directed sardine
1.00
33.7°S
(/)
(/)
0
~0.75
33.s•s 0
I3 33.9°S
-ro
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0
(1)
.c 0.50
(/)
•
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34.0°s
ro
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:;::.
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0.00
.........,_------~---~
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
25.4°E 25.6°E 25.8°E 26.00E 26.2°E
y
Foraging range (mlBA-UD90) Interim
Longitude
P. CAF O 20 km closure ': I Industry ETT

• Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) A CAF
O Change point of trade-off curve
♦ DFFE (2021)
* 20 km closure
Industry
Core foraging area (rnlBA-ARS) 0 DFFE (2021) _ I Industry CAF ■ MPA - - Indication of penguin utility score (UR) in the absence N
of catch loss data for the Interim closure/industry ETT 0
(0
~<-~
~
~~
c:---
Bird Island
Directed sardine
33.4°S
0 15 301,m
1.00
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~
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0.75
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34.0°s E 0.25
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34.2°s o.001 ~ -
2s.a•e 26.2°E 26.6°E 27.0°E 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
Longitude
I D 20 km closure
0
Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)0
_j Interim ,- I Industry CAF
DFFE (2021) ~ CAF ■ MPA ■ Foraging range (mlBA-UD90)
• Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
t *
DFFE (2021) y 20 km closure
CAF Industry
O Change point of trade-off curve I\.)
....Ji.
~
~
0
<t7-i""
~
211
"AMS"
Case No: _ _ __

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVIT
I, the undersigned,
MARK DAVID ANDERSON
1. I am an adult male with identity number 6404265054088 and am the Chief
Executive Officer of Birdlife South Africa, the First Applicant (BLSA), a
registered non-profit organisation (NPO Number:001-298) and public benefit
~ 0.i
212
organisation (PBO Number: 930 004 518). I am based at BLSA's head office at
lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West, Johannesburg.
2. The facts and circumstances set out in this Confirmatory Affidavit are within my
context - and are to the best of my belief both true and correct.
to me, my role as Chief Executive Officer and BLSA.
MARK DAVID ANDERSON
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at ~s.= -=·~"' "- on this the
\ c;,- day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R 1648 of 19 August
1977, ,.a mende , having been complied with.
I j/ '
(/)
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IJJ 2
w
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. V\l'-.,-1\.a,<-"'''--:-)""~ z
Full Names: \... ~,--z._:-z. ~
Capacity: '-.J M
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'~ /
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Designation: LJ---J \ 'D '\_'s"l.,\"') ,,1·
,--
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Address: ~®s. Q..'-:;? ~-l-~ S v,.lQ ,
.. i (.)
Case No: - - - -
SOUTH AFRICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE • Second Applicant

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



I, the undersigned,
LORIEN PICHEGRU .
1. I am an adult female with identity number 8002041304187 and am an Adjunct
Professor in the Institute of Coastal and Marine Research at Nelson Mandela
University, Gqeberha.
1
214
to me, my research output and role as a member of the conservation sector and
Conservation Sector Group (as defined in the Founding Affidavit).
LORIEN PICHEGRU
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on this the
_ _ _ day of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2024, the regulations contained in Government
Notice No. R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R1648
of 19August 1977, as amended, having been complied with .
Full Names:
Capacity:
Designation:
Address:
2
215
"AMS"
Case No: - - - - -

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



I, the undersigned,
CRAIG DEON SMITH
1. I am an adult male with identity number 7402275155084 and am the Senior
Manager: Marine Portfolio at the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa
(WWF-SA). WWF-SA is an environmental organisation that works with a range c.'S. ~

t '~
1
216
of partners to promote the wellbeing of the environment for the benefit of people
and nature .. I am based at VWVF-SA's offices located at 1st Floor, Bridge House,
Boundary Terraces, Mariendahl, Newlahds.
to me and my activities on behalf of WWF-SA.
CRAIG DEON SMITH
The deponent has acknowledged that he knows and un erstands the contents of this
a~vit, which was signed and sworn to before me at ~N Del u.X:'.fr on this the
J6_ day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
R1258 of 21 July 1972, as amended, and Government Notice No. R1648 of 19August
1 mended, having been complied with.
] \~€
2
Case No: - - - -

and

THE ENVIRONMENT



I, the undersigned,
LAUREN JANE WALLER
1. I am an adult female with identity number 7604200199083 and am the IUCN
SSC CPSG Southern and East Africa Regional Planning Coordinator at The
Endangered Wildlife Trust {EWT) which has its principal place of business at 27
1
218
and 28Austin Road , Glen Austin AH, Midrand , Gauteng . I am based at 34 Fourie
Street, Northcliff, Hermanus.
2. Until 31 December 2021 , I was the Leiden Conservation Fellow at the South
African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, the Second Applicant
(SANCCOB), the Second Applicant in these proceedings.
to me.
LAUREN JANE WALLER
affidavit, which was signed and sworn to before me at Htr ma (\ U ~ on this the
1o day of MARCH 2024, the regulations contained in Government Notice No.
197 I _.,..............,
Full Names: ~ .p....t._......\Po.....
~FRIKAANSE POLISIEDIENS
. Capacity: ~lee- OFF-KJ KLIENTE DIENS SENTRUM
HERMANUS
Designation: C"'-0......:::::s-r-
Address: i--:J'Cl:271 \s..__.. 1 ~ 4 2
2024-03-18
lil:iiMP,NUS
CLIENT SERVICE CENTRE
SOUTH AFRICAN rouce SERVICE
Bi~tife
S O I! T H \ F R I C A
GMng COIIHfVClflon Wings
CONSTITUTION
Bird life South Africa, previously known as the Southern African Ornithological Society, and tracing its history
back to the 1930s, is the South African partner of Bird Life International.
1. NAME
The name of the organisation shall be "Bird Life South Africa" {hereinafter referred to as "the organisation".)
2. DEFINITIONS
The Act: The Income Tax Act, No 58 of 1962 and any and all amendments thereto.
SARS: The South African Revenue Service or the Commissioner, South African Revenue Service, as the con-
text requires.
Republic: The Republic of South Africa.
The Board: The Board of Directors as defined in paragraph 8.
Secretary: The Secretary of the Boa rd of Di rectors.
3. LEGAL STATUS
The organisation shall have legal personality distinct from its members who shall have no right to its
assets. The liability of members shall be limited to the amount of unpaid subscriptions, if any.
4. OBJECTIVE
The objective of the organisation is to promote the conservation, study, understanding and enjoyment of
birds and their habitats.
5. PUBLIC BENEFIT ORGANISATION - SPECIAL CONDITIONS

The organisation shall comply with the following and any future relevant requirements of SARS:
5.1. The sole objective of the organisation is to carry on, in a non-profit making manner, one or more
public benefit activities as defined in Section 30(1) of the Act.
5.2. Such public benefit activities, or substantially the whole thereof, shall be carried on in the Republic.
5-3. At least three of the persons who accept fiduciary responsibility for the organisation shall not be
connected persons as defined in the Act. No single person may directly or indirectly control the
decision-making powers relating to the organisation .
5-4. No funds shall be distrib\,Jted to any person other than in the course of undertaking any public
benefit activity.
5.5. The funds of the organisation shall be used solely for the objects for which it was established, or
shall be invested with registered financial institutions as defined in Section 1 of the Financial Sec-
tor Regulation Act (No. 9 of 2017) or in securities listed on a Stock Exchange as defined in the Stock
Exchanges Control Act (No. 1 of 1985).
5.6. The organisation shall not carry on any business undertaking or trading activity unless specifically
permitted in terms of Section 30(3)(b)(iv) of the Act.
5.7. On dissolution, any remaining assets shall be transferred to:
5-7.1. Any similar public benefit organisation which has been approved in terms of Section 30 of
the Act,
5-7.2. Any institution, board or body which is exempt from the payment of income tax in terms of
Section 10(1)(cA}(i) of the Act, which has as its sole or principal object the carrying on of any
public benefit activity, or
5.7.3- Any department of state or administration in the national, provincial, or local sphere of gov-
ernment in the Republic as contemplated in Section 10(1)(a) or (b) of the Act.
5.8. No donation will be accepted which is revocable at the instance of the donor for reasons other than u'\_
a material failure to conform to the designated purposes and conditions of such donation, includ- fl- ..
ing misrepresentation with regard to the tax deductibility thereof in terms of Section 18A of the L
Act; provided that a donor may not impose any conditions which could enable such donor or any ,r)
Birdlife South Africa, lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West, Johannesburg 2196, Gauteng, South Africa
220
connected person in relation to such donor to derive some direct or indirect benefit from the ap-
plication of such donation.
5.9. A copy of all amendments to the constitution shall be submitted to SARS.
5.10. No remuneration will be paid to any employee, office bearer, member or other person which is ex-
cessive having regard to what is generally considered reasonable in the sector and in relation to the
service rendered.
s.11 . The organisation shall submit, as and when due, all required income tax returns together with sup-
porting documentation when requested .
5.12. In the event that the organisation provides funds to any association of persons contemplated in
the definition of "public benefit activity" in the Act. reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that
the funds are utilised for the purpose for which they had been provided.
5.13. The organisation shall, within such period as SARS shall determine, register in terms of Section 13(5)
of the Non-profit Organisations Act (No. 71 of 1997), and comply with any requirements imposed in
terms of that Act.
5.14. Where the organisation has been approved in terms of Section 18(A) of the Act, 50% of the funds
received by or accrued to the organisation by way of donations that qualify for a deduction in terms
of that section, will be distributed (or an obligation will be incurred to so distribute) within twelve
months from the financial year-end during which such donations were received .
6. POWERS
Subject to the special conditions contained in paragraph 5 above, the organisation may do all things
required to achieve its objectives and, without in any way limiting its general powers, may operate in the
Republic and elsewhere, in co-operation with like-minded organisations where appropriate, and may:
6.1 . Purchase, acquire, invest in, lease and let out. improve, pledge, mortgage and alienate movable or
immovable property.
6.2. Lend and borrow money, with or without security, and on such terms as considered appropriate.
6.3. Employ, pay and indemnify agents, trustees, and advisers and establish trusts, corporations and
associations.
6-4. Engage in legal proceedings and sue or be sued in its own name.
6.5. Open and operate accounts at banks and other financial institutions under the signatures of
not less than two persons authorised thereto by the Board (referred to more fully in paragraph 8
below).
6.6. Engage in educational activities relating to birds and the environment.
6.7- Co-operate with and assist other environmental, conservation, scientific and educational institu-
tions, both governmental and non-governmental.
6.8. Accept as members of the organisation both natural persons and legal persona, including bird
clubs. •
7. MEMBERS
7.1. The members of the organisation shall be:
7.1.1. Natural persons in good standing and who qualify to be a member and who are admitted
to membership by the Board, (which natural persons may or may not also be members of
affiliated clubs as referred to in paragraph 7-1-3 and 7-2 below).
7.1.2. Legal persona, excluding bird clubs, admitted to membership by the Board.
7.1.3. Bird clubs (which shall have their own separate legal status) which have signed an affilia-
tion agreement with the organisation and paid a nominal affiliation fee set by the Board .
7.1-4. Honorary members who shall be natural persons and number no more than 20 (twenty)
at any given time who, in the opinion of the Board, have made a significant contribution
towards the work of the organisation .
Those members referred to in paragraph 7.1 shall be referred to as "direct members". Individual
members of bird clubs that are affiliated to the organisation but who are themselves not direct
members shall be referred to as "affiliated members".
7.3. Applications for membership shall be submitted to the Secretary of the organisation.
221
7-4. Any person, legal persona or club (as referred to in paragraph 7.1 above) applying for membership
shall be bound by the Constitution of the organisation, a copy of which shall be available for inspec-
tion at the organisation's offices and/or shall be made available to such member.
7.5. A register of members reflecting their names, addresses and category of membership shall be
maintained by the organisation. The contents of the register shall be deemed to be correct and
members shall be responsible for ensuring that the information on the register is correct.
7.6. The Board shall determine the different membership categories and shall from time to time pre-
scribe the membership fees payable by such categories as well as the time and manner of payment,
and shall determine the different benefits accruing to the various membership categories.
7.7. Membership shall terminate when :
7-7.1. A member has not paid the annual subscription or affiliation fee within two (2) months of
due date, provided that the organisation shall have the right to reinstate membership on
such terms as it may impose.
7.7.2. A written notice of resignation is received from a member.
7.7-3. A member acts in a manner contrary to any of the objectives or interests of the organisa-
tion as determined by the Board and, after due and proper enquiry, is expel fed.
8. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
8.1. Function
The Board shall be the primary authority and decision-making body of the organisation and will
guide its business and operations subject to the powers and duties set out in paragraph 8.6 below,
and will assist the Chief Executive Officer, where appropriate, in the execution of his duties.
8.2. Composition
The Board shall comprise the following members:
8.2.1. The Chairman.
8.2.2. The Treasurer.
8.2-3. The Chief Executive Officer.
8.2-4. The Chief Financial Officer.
8.2.5. A maximum of four members of the organisation of at least two years standing, referred to
as Members'Directors.
8.2.6. A maximum of six co-opted members.
8.3. Nomination and election of Directors
8-3.1 . The Chairman and Treasurer shall be elected by members in General Meeting.
8.3.2. The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer shall be appointed as such by
the Board and act ex officio.
8.3.3. The Members' Directors referred to in paragraph 8.2.5 above shall be elected in accordance
with the provisions of Paragraph 8-4 below.
8.3-4. Co-opted members shall be appointed by the Board as and when required.
8-4. Nomination and election of Members' Directors specifically
8-4.1. The Secretary shall, at least sixty days before every Annual General Meeting, circulate to all
members a note:
8-4.1.1. Specifying the number and identities of the Members' Directors referred to in 8.2.5
above who have or will have retired by the date of the Annual General Meeting as
a result of their term of office having expired or for any other reason .
8-4.1.2. Calling for nominations for Members' Directors.
8-4.1-3. Requiring that all nominations be accompanied by a proposer and seconder, a
form of acceptance by the person nominated and a short curriculum vitae.
8-4.1-4. Specifying that all nominations should be lodged with the Secretary in the form
and manner prescribed by him/her no later than thirty days before the Annual
General Meeting.
8-4.2. All nominations shall be referred by the Secretary to the Chairman of the organisation's
Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee shall, following the comprehensive
procedure set out in its Term of Reference for the purpose of facilitating the election and
appointment of Board members, prepare a short list of nominees for Members' Directors.
8.4.3. The names of the short-listed nominees shall be circulated by the Secretary with the
agenda for the Annual General Meeting in a form and manner in his/her sole discretion. 11.A
8-4-4. The agenda for the meeting shall contain a provision for the election of Members' Di rec- ,r l
tors and the Secretary shall decide the method of voting and announce the outcome of the L,
election before the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting. \
~\
Birdlife Sou th Africa, lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West, Johannesburg 2196, Gauteng, South Africa
222
8.5. Tenure of Members of the Board
8.5.1. The Chairman, Treasurer and Members' Directors shall all be elected for a period of four
years but if willing to continue in office shall be eligible for re-election for a further period
of four years only.
8.5.2. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer shall remain ex officio members of
the Board as long as they remain in office.
8.5.3- Co-opted members shall serve for a period of four years, and shall be permitted to serve
one further period of four years only if so invited and appointed by the Board .
8.5-4. Should a vacancy occur among that group comprising, the Chairman, the Treasurer and
Members' Directors, the remaining members of the Board shall have the right to co-opt a
replacement, to serve only until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
8.5.5. Should a vacancy occur amongst the group of co-opted members, the remaining members
of the Board shall have the right to co-opt a replacement to serve until the expiry of the
term of the outgoing director.
8.6. Meetings
8.6.1 . The Board shall meet on a bi-monthly basis or, should circumstances so require, on a more
or less frequent basis as its members in their sole discretion shall decide. It may also meet
on an ad hoc basis if required.
8.6.2. The quorum for any meeting shall be 60% {sixty percent) of the number of members of the
Board in office at that time.
8.6.3. Members of the Board not resident in Johannesburg at the time may join the meeting via
Skype or similar communication method and shall for all purposes be deemed to have at-
tended the meeting in person .
8.7. Powers and responsibilities
The Board shall, without derogating from the generality of its powers in executing its duty to man-
age the affairs of the organisation in all its aspects, have the following specific powers, namely to:
8.7.1. Agree and articulate overall strategy.
8.7.2. Appoint members to the Board in terms of paragraph 8.2.6 above.
8.7-3- Approve the organisational structure and the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer.
8-7.4. Approve the annual budget.
8.7.5. Assume responsibility for the review and approval of the annual financial statements.
8.7.6. Manage the investments of the organization.
8.7.7. Approve marketing and communication, and fund raising strategies.
8.7.8. Review bi-monthly reports submitted by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial
Officer.
8.7-9. Decide and approve membership categories and subscription levels.
8.7-10. Review and approve the recommendations of the Chief Executive Officer and any Remu-
neration Committee regarding annual and periodic (other than minor) salary adjustments.
8.7,11. Appoint committees and determine their terms of reference and composition and the con-
ditions under which they shall operate.
8.7.12. Draft and confirm a Board Charter to regulate the operation of the Board and the conduct
and contribution of its members.
8.7.13- Make all such further regulations and guidelines as are necessary for the due and proper
functioning of the Board.
8.7.14. Commission a review and submit to members a report as more fully described in para-
graph 10 hereunder.
9. AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE

9.1. Function
The Audit and Risk Committee shall fulfil the function traditionally allocated to an Audit Commit-
tee and shall, in addition, act on behalf of members by ensuring that the election of office bear-
ers is carried out in accordance with the Constitution and that an opinion is expressed annually
regarding the effectiveness and performance of both the Board and the organisation as a whole.
9.2. Composition
9.2.1. The Committee shall comprise a maximum of five (5) members appointed by the Board in
terms of its powers as specified in Paragraph 8.7.11. above.
9.2.2. A maximum of two (2) members may be members of the Board, but shall not be the Chair- ~
man of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or any other executive of the organisation.
9.2.3- The members of the committee shall elect from their number a Chairman from among \C
those members who are not members of the Board. f<'
Birdlife Sout i1 Africa, lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West, Johannesburg 2196, Gauteng , South Africa
223
9.2-4. The tenure of all members of the Committee shall be three (3) years but they shall be eligi-
ble for further periods of three (3) years if they are so willing.
9.2.5 . Should a vacancy occur among the members referred to in 9.2.2 above, the Board shall have
the right to appoint a replacement to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.
9 .3- Meetings
The Audit and Risk Committee shall meet twice in each calendar year or, at the sole discretion of
its Chairman, more frequently if required, and the dates of all meetings shall be decided by the
Chairman.
9.4. Powers and responsibilities
The powers and responsibilities of the Audit and Risk Committee, in both its audit and general
oversight role, shall include but not be limited to the following:
9-4.1. Liaise with the organisation's external auditors in the planning and execution of the an-
nual audit.
9.4.2. Act on any and all recommendations arising out of the audit.
9-4.3- Report to the Board on the completion of the audit.
9-4-4. Review and evaluate adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, including financial
controls.
9-4.5. Regularly assess risks that the organisation does or may face and make recommendations
to the Board in regard thereto.
9.4.6. Supervise and approve the organisation's insurance programme and other risk control
measures.
9.4-7- Approve annually a schedule of competencies for the Board and the Chief Executive Officer.
9.4.8. Review the Annual Financial Statements and recommend approval by the Board.
9-4.9. Recommend to the Board the appointment or reappointment of the organisation's external
auditor.
10. GOVERNANCE
The Board shall commission an annual review, at each year end, of the performance of the organisation as
a whole as well as of the Board itself; which review shall result in a report prepared by the Chairman of the
Board, reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee for its members' comment and input, and finally includ-
ed in the organisation's annual report presented to members at the Annual General Meeting.
11. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND HONORARY PRESIDENT

11.1. The Board shall appoint a Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, who shall be an ex officio
member of the Board, for such period and on such terms as it shall determine.
11.2. The Chief Executive Officer shall have those powers and responsibilities normally associated with
such office and shall report to the Board at its regular meetings on the business and the affairs of
the organisation .
11-3. Between regular meetings of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer shall be also responsible to, and
report to, the Chairman of the Board.
11.4. An Honorary President of the organisation shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting for a
period of four (4) years
12. GENERAL MEETINGS OF MEMBERS

12.1. The Board shall each year convene an Annual General Meeting within six months of the organisa-
tion's financial year-end. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall include:
12.1 .1. Confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting and any general meetings.
12.1.2. Consideration and adoption of the annual report of the Chief Executive Officer.
12.1.3. Consideration and adoption of the annual report of the Chairman of the Board, including
the annual review referred to in paragraph 10 above.
12.1-4. Consideration and adoption of the report of the Treasurer.
12.1.5. Consideration and adoption of the audited annual financial statements.
12.1.6. When necessary, the election of Board members, the Treasurer and the Honorary President.
12.1.7- Appointment of the external auditor.
12.1.8. Consideration of resolutions submitted by members, notice of which shall have been sub-
mitted to the Secretary not less than 2 months before the date of the meeting.
12.1.9. Any other business allowed by the Chairman of the Board. 1\9'\
12.2. The financial year of the organisation shall be the twelve-month period preceding the 31 December l--
each year. ~-______,- r·'
224
12.3- The Secretary of the organisation shall, at the request of the Board or on receipt of a requisition
signed by one hundred (100) direct members, or 10% (ten percent) of the direct membership,
whichever is the lesser, convene a Special General Meeting. A meeting convened in such manner
shall be subject to the provisions of this constitution, mutatis mutandis, relating to Annual General
Meetings.
12-4. Notice of any General Meeting of members shall be sent to members by post, facsimile or electron-
ic mail not less than four (4) weeks before the meeting and shall be deemed to have been received
if sent to the postal address, facsimile number or electronic mail address of the member as record-
ed in the register.
12.5. The quorum for a meeting shall be thirty (30) members present and entitled to vote.
12.6. If insufficient members are present to constitute a quorum, a meeting convened in terms of para-
graph 11-4 may be adjourned for not more than sixty (60) days and notice of the adjourned meeting
shall be despatched to all members within fourteen (14) days of the original meeting.
12.7- If within thirty (30) minutes of the time fixed for the adjourned meeting insufficient members
are present to constitute a quorum, the adjourned meeting shall be deemed to form the requisite
quorum .
12.8. Proxy forms and nomination forms for the posts of the elected officials referred to in paragraphs 8,
9 and 10 above shall be included with the notice of the Annual General Meeting.
13. VOTING
13.1 . Unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, the vote of the majority of those direct members
present and entitled to vote at any meeting shall prevail. Voting shall be by show of hands unless
a ballot is demanded by a majority of those direct members present in person or by proxy who are
entitled to vote.
13-2. All direct members shall have a single vote each.
13.3. The Chairman presiding at the meeting shall have a deliberative and a casting vote.
13.4. A direct member entitled to vote may appoint another person for one (1) meeting as his proxy to
represent him and to vote. This proxy shall be delivered in writing to the Secretary before a meet-
ing. The proxy form shall be signed by the direct member and shall specify the date of the meeting
and the name of the proxy.
14. REGIONAL FORUMS

14.1. Those bird clubs that have become members of the organisation and signed an affiliation agree-
ment, as provided in paragraph 7-1.3 above shall be encouraged to form a minimum of three (3)
Regional Forums representing the geographical areas in which the said clubs are located.
14.2. The purpose of the Regional Forums shall be to co-ordinate the affairs of the clubs in their specific
regions, to promote and where possible further the aims and ethos of the organisation, and to act
as a link between the clubs and their members and the organisation.
14.3. Each affiliated club will be admitted to the Regional Forum of its choice. Each club so admitted shall
have at least one (1) vote in the affairs of the Regional Forum.
14.4. Each Regional Forum will elect a chairperson who will be responsible for preparing a report, in the
prescribed manner, after every meeting of the Regional Forum . Such report, which will contain
details of the activities of the Regional Forum and its associated bird clubs as well as any recom-
mendations for the organisation, will be submitted within 30 days of such meeting to the Secretary
who shall table the report at the next Board meeting.
15. AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION AND DISSOLUTION

The Constitution may be amended or the organisation may be dissolved by a resolution passed by two-
thirds of the direct members present in person and entitled to vote or by proxy at a General Meeting of
direct members, provided that the notice of the meeting shall have set out the proposed amendments
and the reasons therefore or the proposed dissolution and the reasons therefore as the case may be. The
provisions of paragraph 5.7 shall apply in the case of dissolution .
10 March 2022
"AMfi~•
Republic of South Africa
Companies Act, 2008
MEMORANDUM OF INCORPORATION FOR A NON-PROFIT COMPANY
Name of Company: SANCCOB NPC
Registration No.: 2001/026273/08
This Memorandum of Incorporation was adopted by Special Resolution passed on

11 A p ri I 2013 in substitution for the existing Memorandum of
Incorporation of the Company.
226
TABLE OF CONTENT$
\
1. INTERPRETATION· .. .. ........................................................ ................................................ 1
2. CALCULATIO~ OF BUSINESS DAYS ............................................. ................................ ,.. 7
3. NON-PROFIT COMPANY .......................... ...... .. .............. ......... ..... ........ .... .. ....................... 7
4. OBJECTS OF THE COMPANY .. ............................................................................... ... ...... 8
5. CONDITIONS ...................................; ......................................................................... .........9
6.. MEMBERSHIP ..................................................................................................................10
7. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES .......................................................................................... 11
8. MEMBERSHIP FEES .........................................•.............................................................. 12.
9. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATtON OF MEMBERSHIP .................................................. 13
10. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP ............................................................ 15
11. REPRESENTATIVE MEMBERS ... ...... .... ......................................................................... 15
12. NON-TRANSFERABILITY OF MEMBERSHIP ....................................... ~ ........... :............. 16
13. POWERS AND CAPACITY OF THE COMPANY.............................................................. 16
14. AMENDMENTS TO THE MOI .................. ........................................................................ 16
15. THE MAKING OF.RULES .......................... ,..................................................................... 17
16. MEMBERS REGISTER .... .. ...... ................................ ,....................................................... 17
17. APPLICATION OF OPTIONAL PROVISIONS OF THE ACT ............................................ 18
18. ACCOUNTING RECORDS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .......................................... 18
19. AUDITOR .......................................................... ............................ ...... ...... ...... :................ 20
20. MEMBERS MEETINGS AND ROUND ROBIN RESOLUTIONS ....................................... 22

227
21. RECORD DATE ...................... ...... :.......................................:.......................................... 33
22. ELECTION/APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS AND FILLING OF CASUAL VACANCIES 33

'
23: ALTERNATE DIRECTORS.. ....... ...................................... : .............................................. :37
24. INELIGIBILITY/DISQUALIFICATION OF A DIRECTOR ................................................... 38
25. CESSATION OF OFFICE AS DIRECTOR ..................................... ................................... 39
26. REMUNERATION OR REIMBURSEMENT ................................... ............ ,...................... 41
27. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DIRECTORS AND PRESCRIBED OFFICERS AND

THEIR RELATED AND INTER RELATEDPARTIES ....................... .............. ................... 41
28. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS......................................................42
29. BOARD COMMITTEES ...................................................................... :..............................43
30. PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTERESTS QF DIRECTORS ..................................................44
31 . PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS ...................................................................................46
32. PRESCRIBED OFFICERS .........................................................................................:.....48
33. APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY ...................................................................................49
34. LOSS OF DOCUMENTS .................................................... ,............................................. 51
35. NOTICES ......................: ...................,..... ....................................................................... .. 51
36. INDEMNITY ..................................................................... .................................................. 53
37.' FUNDAMENTAL TRANSACTIONS AND CONVERSION .........................,........ .. ............. 54
38. WINDING UP OR DISSOLUTION .......................................-.: ................. :.......................... 55

228
1. INTERPRETATION
In this MO!, unless the context otherwise requires -
1. 1.1. "Accounting Records" means information in written or electronic

form concerning the financial affairs of 1he Company as requir~d
in terms. of the Companies Act including, but not limited to,
purchase and sales record~. general and subsidiary ledgers and
other documents and boo~s used in the preparation of Financial
Statements;
1.1.2. "Address" shat! include Electronic Address, business, residential

or postal or any other address;
1.1.3. KAnnual General Meeting" means the meeting required to be held

in terms of clause 20. 1;
1.1.4. "Auditing Profession Act" mean·s the Auditing Profession Act, No.
26 of 2005, as amended or any legislation which replaces it;
1.1.5. "Auditor" has the meaning set out in ·the Auditing Profession Act;
1.1.6. "Board" means the Board of Directors of the Company;
1.1.7. "CEO" means the Executive Director of the Company appointed

by the Board, and a member of the Board;
1.1.8. "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board elected to act

as such in terms of clause 31. 7;
1.1.9. "Commission" means the Companies and Intellectual Property

· Commission established by section 185;
1.1 .10. ."Companies Act" means the Companies Act, No 71 of 2008, as

amended or any legislation which replaces it;
229
1.1.11. "Company" means SANCCOB NPC, registration number

2001/026273/08, or by whatever other name it may be known
from time to time;
1.1.12. "Deliver'' means deliver in the manner in which the Company is ·

- entitled to give riotice or deliver documents in accordance with
this MOI and the Companies Act;
1.1.13. "Director" means a member of the Board of the Company and the
alternate thereof;
11
1.1.14. Effective Date" means the general effective date of the
Companies Act, namely 1 May 2011; .
1.1.15. "Electror,ic Address" means in regard to Electronic

Communication, any email Address furnished to the Company by
a Member or Director of the Company;
1.1.16. "Financial Statements" includes -
1.1.16.1. annual financial statements and provisional annual

financial statements;
1.1.16.2. interim or preliminary reports;
1.1 .16.3. group and consolidated financial statements in the

ca~e of a group of companies; and
1.1.16.4. financial information in a circular that an actual or

prospective creditor, or the Commission, Panel or
other regulatory authority, may reasonably be
expected to rely on;
1.1 .17. "Income Tax Act" means the Income Tax Act, ·No 58 of 1962, as
amended or any legislation which replaces it;
230
1.1.18. "Ineligible or Disqualified" means ineligible or disqualified as

contemplated in the Companies Act or as contemplated in this
Memorandum of Incorporation;
1.1.19. "Knowing", "knowingly" or "knows", ·when used with respect to a

person, and in relation to a particular matter, means that the
person either had actual knowledge of the matter, or was in a
position· in which the person reasonably ought to have had actual
knowledge, or investigated the matter to an extent that would
ha·ve provided the person with actual knowledge or taken other
measures which, if taken, could reasonably be expected to have
provided the person with actual knowledge of the matter;
1.1.20. "LRA" means the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, as amended,

or any legislation which replaces it;
1.1.21. "Material\ when used as an adjective, means significant in the

circumstances of a particular matter, to a degree that is -
1.1.21.1. of consequence in detennining the matter; or
1.1.21.2. might •reasonably affect a person's judgement or

decision-making in the matter;
1.1-.22. "Member" means a Person who holds membership in, and

specified rights in respect of the Company:
1.1.23. "Members Register" means the register of Members required to

be kept in terms of section 24(4);
1.1.24. "MOI" means this Memorandum of Incorporation;
1.1.25. "Ordinary Resolution" means a resolution adopted with the

support of more than 50% {fifty percent) of the Voting Rights
exercised on . the resolution, or a higher percentage as
contemplated in section 65(8);
231
1.1.26. "Paid-up Members" means Members who have paid their annual
subscription for the current financial year;
1.1.27. · "Paner means the Takeover Regulation Panel, established by

section 196;
1.1.28. "Per~on" includes a juristic person;
1.1.29. "Personal Financial Interest" means when used with respect to

. any person:
1.1.29.1. means a direct Material interest of that person, of a

financial, monetary or economic nature, or to which a
monetary value may be attributed; but
, 1.1.29.2. does not include any interest held by a person in a

unit trust or collective investment scheme in terms of
the Collective Investment Schemes Act, No 45 of
2002), unless that person has direct control over the
investment decisions of that fund or investment;
1.1 .30. "Prescribe~ Offi~( means a person who, within a company,

performs any function that has beer:,_designated by the Minister in
terms of section 66{1 O);
1.1.31. "Record Date" means the date established under section 59 on

which the Compa(ly determines the identity of its Me~bers;
1.1.32. "Registered Office" means the office of the Company that is

registered as required by section 23;
1.1.33. "Regulations" means regulations published pursuant to the

Companies Act;
232
1.1.34. "Related", when used in respect of two persons, means persons

who are connected to one another in any manner contempiated "; •
in the Companies Act;
1.1.35. "Representative Member" means any person recognised as such

in terms of clause 11 hereof;
1.1.36. "Republic" means the Republic of South Africa;
1. 1.37. "Round Robin Resolution" means a resolution passed other than

at a-
1.1.37.1. Members meeting, which -
1.1.37.1.1. was submitted for consideration to the

Persons entitled to exercise Voting Rights
in relation to the resolution; and
1.1.37.1.2. was voted on by the requisite percentage

of the Persons entitled to vote
contemplated in clause 20. 30 by signing a
resolution . in counterparts within 20
(twenty) business days after the resolution
was submitted to them;
1.1.37.2. meeti~g of Directors, in respect of which, subject to

clause 31.13, a majority of the Directors who may at
the time be present in South Africa being not less
than a quorum of Directors, voted in favour by signing
in Writing a resolution in counterparts, within 20
(twenty) business days after the resolution was
submitted to them;
1.1.38. "Scrutineer" means an . employee of th~ Compa·ny's Auditor

appointed by the Board and mandated to declare the result of a
poll;
233
1.1.39. "Special Resolution" means a resolution adopted with the support

of at least 75% (seventy five percent) of the Voting Rights
_exercised on the resolution, or a different percentage as
contemplated in section 65(10);
• 1.1.40. "Treasurer" means the Treasu.rer as referred to in clause 18.7;
1.1.41. "Voting Rights" me·ans the rights of a Member to vote in

connection with a matter;
1.1.42. 'Writing" includes El~ctronic Communication;
1.2. re(erences to Members represented by _

proxy shall ~nclude Members entitled
• to vote represented by an agent appointed under a general or special power .
of attorney;
1.3. references to Members entitled to vote present at a meeting or acting ·in

person shall include Juristic Persons· represented by duly authorised
representatives or acting in the manner prescribed in the Companies Act;
1.4. all references to "section/s" in this MOI refer to the sections of the
Companies Act unles_s the context indic~tes otherwise;
1.5. all references to "clause/sn in this MOI refer to a corresponding ·provision of

this MOI;
1.6. the headings are for reference purposes· only and shall not affect the
interpretation of this MOI;
1. 7. words in the singular number shall include the plural, and words in the plural
number shall include the _singular., words importing the masculine gender
shall include the female gender, .and words importing persons shall include
created entities (corporate or not):-
1.8. if any term is defined within the context of any particular clause in the MOI,
the term so defined, unless it is clear from the clause in question that the
234
term so defined has limited application to the relevant clause, shall bear the
1I
meaning ascribed to it for all purposes in terms of this MOI, notwithstanding
that that term has not been defined in this interpretation provision;
1.9. the rule of construction that a contract shall be interpreted against the party
responsible for the drafting or preparation of the contract, shall not apply to
this MOI.
2. CAL,CULATION OF BUSINESS DAYS
When a particular number of business days is provided for between the happening of
one event and another, the number of days must be calculated· by -
2.1. excluding the day on which the first such event occurs;
2.2. including the day on or by which the second event is to occur; and
2.3: excluding any pµblic holiday, Saturday or Sunday that falls on or between the
days contemplated in clauses 2.1 and 2.2 respectively.
3. NON-PROFIT COMPANY
3.1.· The Company was incorporated on 1 November 2001 and is therefore a pre-
existing company as defined in the Companies Act and, as such, continues
to exist as if it had been incorporated and registered as a non-profit.company
in terms of the Companies Act, as contemplated in item 2 of the Schedule 5
of .the Companies Act.
3.2. The Company is a Non-Profit Company as it is: _
3.2.1. incorporated for a public benefit or other object as required by

item 1(1) of Schedule 1 to the Companies Act; •
3.2.2. consistent with the principles set out in items 1(2) to 1(9) of
Schedule 1 to the Companies Act;
235
3.2.3. a public benefit organisation as contemplated in section 30 of the

Income Tax Aci; and
3.2.4. is prohibited from directly ~r indirectly distributing any of its funds

to any Person (otherwise) than in the course of carrying out its
stated. objects and is required to solely utilise its funds for the
purpose that it has been established.
4. ()BJECTS OF THE COMPANY
4.1. The primary object of the Company is to conserve seabirds, the penguin
being the ~agship species of focus, and, ·upon identification thereof, other
complementary marine species·. This includes -
4.f1. oiled wildlife preparedness, planning and response;
4.1.2. rehabilitation, chick-rearing and breeding programmes;
4.1.3. original and col!aborative research which contributes towards

achieving the Company's conservation goals;
4.1.4. tra.ining people to handle and care for seabirds and other 'marine
species, oil spill response procedures, safety and other relevant
skills that.will benefit conservation;
4.1.5. education and public awareness which informs and encourages

people to dev~lop positive habits which contribute towards a
healthy ocean and to the animals which depend on it:
4.1.6. fundraising, . revenue-generating· activities and project

•administration which support the objects of the company;
4.1.7. informing and influencing local and global consciousness and

actlon, promoting responsible governance of marine eco-systems
and the conservation of marine animals that depend on it, and
236
working towards harmonious coexistence between humans and

•marine life. .
5. CONDITIONS
5.1. The Company :
. 5.1.1. must apply all of its assets and income, however derived, to
advance its stated objects, as set out in this MOI; and
9..1.2. subject to clause 5.1.1, may -
5.1.2.1. acquire and hold securities issued by a profit

c9mpany; or
s.1.2:2. directly or indirectly, alone or with any other Person,

carry • on any business, trade or undertaking
consistent with or ancillary to its stated objects.
5.2. The Company shall not accept a donation that is revocable at the instance of
the donor, other than a material failure to conform to the designated purpose
and conditions of such donation, including any misrepresentation regarding
the tax deductibility thereof; provided that a donor, may not impose
conditions which . could enable such •donor or a_ny Connected Person in
relation to such donor to derive some direct or indirect benefit from the
application of such donation.
5.3. The Company must not, directly or indirectly, pay any portion of its income or
transfer any of its assets, regardless how ~he income or asset was derivt!d, to
any Person who is or was an incorporator of the Company, or who is a
Director, or Person appointing a Director, of the Company, except -
5.3.1. as reasonable-
5.3.1.1. remuneration for goods delivered or services

rendered to, or at the direction of, the Company; or
237
5.3.1.2. payment of, or reimbursement for, expenses incurred

to advance a stated object of the Company;
5.3.2. as a payment of an amount due and payable by the Company in

terms of a bona fide agreement between the Company and that
Person or another; or
,..
5.3.3. as a payment in respect of any rights of that Person,· to the extent

that s~ch rights are administered by the Company in order to
advance a stated object of the Company; or
5.3.4. in respect of any legal obligation binding on the Company,
_· subject always to the requirement that any such distribution must not directly
. or indirectly promote the economic self-interest of any fiduciary or employee .
of the Company.
6. MEMBERSHIP
6. 1. Application for membership of the Company shall be submitted on the

application form prescribed, from time to time, by the Board, or any person to
whom .the receipt of applications on behalf of.the Board is delegated by the
Board.
6.2. Any Person who makes a written application, in terms of this clause 6, to
become a Member of the Company and whose application is accepted by the
Board shall be and become a Member of the Company, subject to clause 6.3.
6.3. Despite anything to the contrary in this MOI, the Company's rules, if any, or
any agreement between the Company and a pros·pective Meniber, or
between t;my Members and a prospective Member, no Member shall be
admitted unless he aQrees to be bound by this MOI and any agreement in
force between the Company and its Members and/or between the Members
governing their relationship as Members in the Company.
238
6.4. Admission to membership of the Company shall be in the sole discretion of

the Board or its delegate, which may either admit or refuse to admit any 1
applicant, and in the event of its refusing to admit any applicant, it shall not
be obliged to furnish reasons for its refusai. On the admission of a Person to
membership, he shall be issued with a certificate of membership in. the form
prescribed by the Board which certificate shall bear his full name and be
signed by the Chairperson of the Board, provided that for administrative ease
and for purposes of implementing the provisions of this MOI, all certificates of
membership issued by the Company to any Person becoming a Member
shaU at all times be retained and kept in safekeeping by th~ Company..
6.5. The Board shall be entitled to impose-the payment of an entrance fee up·on
any Person applying for membership, which amount shall be determined by
the Board.
6.6. The Board shall fix the annual subscriptions, l~vies or other charges, if any,
·payable.to the Company by the Members. ·
6.7. The Company shall not restrict or regulate, or provide for any restriction or
regulation of membership in any manner that amounts to unfair discrimination
in terms of section 9 of the Constitution. of the Republic.
7. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
7.1. • The membership categories of the Company are as follows -
7.1.1. Life Members are those persons who have made a contribution of
not less than the amount determined by the Board in tenns of
clause 8.1;
7.1.2. Corporate Members are those organisations paying an annual

subscription of not less than the amount determined by the Board
in terms of clause 8.1;
7.1.3. Ordinary Members are those persons paying an annual

subscription of not less than the amount determined by the Board
239
in terms of clause 8.1 or, in the case of pensioners, not less than
\
i a lower amount as determined by the· Board in terms of clause
8.1;
7.1A. Junior ·Members are those persons •·under the age of 18

(eighteen) years paying an annual subscription of not less than
the amount determined by the Board in terms of clau~e 8.1;
7. 1.5. Student Members are those persons over the ·age of 18

. (ei'ghteer'I} years who are bona. (ide students at. any duly
constituted educational facility, whether a state institution . or
private institution, and paying an annual subscription of not less
than the amount deterf!lined by the Board in terms of clause 8.1;
7.1.6. Honorary Members and Honorary Life Members are those

organisations or persons who _have rendered exceptional.service
I •
to the Company, who have been appointed as· such by the Board
and who are not liable for annual subscriptions.
7.2. All such Members, excluding Junior Members, shall have full voting rights at
annual and all other Members meetings.
7 .3. The Board shall ensure that, at all times, there are a minimum of 5 (five}
Members of the Company.. Should the number of Members fall below the
stipulated minimum, the Board shall fill the necessary vacancy/ies within a
period Of 60 (sixty) calendar days of such vacancy/ies having occurred.
8. MEMBERSHIP FEES
8.1. The Board shall, prior to the end of each financial year, determine the ·
membership fees payable by each category of Members as set forth in
clause 7, in respect of the next financial year.
8.2. Not less than 1 (one} month prior to the end of each financial year,
membership . renewal notices shall be sent out to all Paid-up Members,
except those falling into the categories of Members referred to in clauses
240
7.1.1 and 7.1.6. The renewal notices shall specify tlie fee due in respect of
·,
the following financial year as determined by the Board in terms of clause i
• 8,1.
8.3. Membership shall run fro_m the date of acceptanc~ of an application. for
membership until renewal of a specific financial year, from the beginning of
'
that financial year to the end of that financial year..
8.4. .. A Person who applies for membership shall be ·deemed to be a Member as

from the date of which a letter of acceptance of the application is dispatched
by the Company, whic~ letter shall be dispatched within 30 (thi_rty) Business
Days after receipt by_ .the Con,pany of such Persons application for
membership, provided that such a Person shall only acquire voting rights 3
(three) months after acceptance.
9. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
9.1. In the event that the annual membership fee of an existing Member for a
specific year is not paid within 3 (three) months of the end of the previous
financial year, the Member's membership shall be suspended. A Member
sh!;ill have his or its voting rights suspended un~il such time as he or i~ has
paid the full subscription for tt1e current financial year.
9.2. The Board, shall in writing and ori fair and reasonable grounds, be entitled to
suspend the membership of any Member after having given such Member a
. reasonable opportunity of addressing the Board in relation thereto.
9.3. A suspended Member shall take no part in any activities of the Company and
shall not be permitted to enter the Company's premises.
9.4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, membership of

. .
the Company may be terminated by the Board by res·o1ution adopted with the
support of at least 75% {seventy five percent) of the Board, at its sole
discretion, should it deem this to be in the best interests of the Company.
241
9.5. Membership of the Company may be terminated by the Board should a

Member fail to comply with any conditions· and obligations of membership or
fail to observe the provisions of this MOI, upon the expiration of a period of 3
(three) months reckoneQ from the date of Written notice by the Company to
the Member concerned; save that the Board is entitled to extend the period of
grace allowed to a particular Member to such extent and for such reasons as
it may in its sole discretion deem appropriate.
9.6. A Member shall, subject _to the provisions of clauses 9.4 and 9.5, ipso facto
cease to be a Member of the Col'.Tlpany -
9.6.1. in the case of a natural person, if such:-
9.6.1.1. Member dies; or
'
9.6.1 .2. Member tenders 1 (one) month's Written notice of his
resignation as a Member to the_Board; or·
• 9.6.1.3. Member becomes a lunatic or of unsound mind; or
9.6.1.4. Member's estate is surrendered or sequestrated,

wheth~r voluntarily or compulsorily; or
9.6.1.5., Member commits any act of insolvency;
9.6.2. in the case of a Member which is not a natural person, ·if such
Member:-
9.6.2.1. -tenders 1 (one) month's Written notice of resignation

as a Member to the Board; or
9.6.2.2. is liquidated, wound up or placed under judicial

management, whether provisionally or finally and
whether compulsorily or voluntarily.
242
10. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
10.1. In addition to the rights of membership conferred by the Companies Act,

Members may -
10.1.1. • appoint the members of the Board;
10.1.2. receive copies of the annual Financial Statements of the

Company from time to time;
10.1.3. receive notice of, attend, speak and vote at, . all Members
meetings of the Company in accordance with the provisions of
this MOI.
10.2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the termination of

membership shall not release a Member from any obligation undertaken by
him prior to the termination of such membership.
11. REPRESENTATIVE MEMBERS
11.1. The Board is entitled (but not obliged) to recognise any Person as a Member,
by reason of his appointment as -
11.1.1. an executive office holder or duly authorised representative of a

particular organisation, statutory body or company;
11.1.2. an executor, administrator, trustee, curator or guardian of the

estate of a deceased or sequestrated Member, or of a Member
who is otherwise under disability;
11.1.3. the liquidator of any Member which is a _body corporate in the

course of being wound up.
11.2. Should the Board recognise a Representative Member, from the date of such
recognition and submission of any proof required by the Board, he shall be
deemed to be a Member of the Company i,n the relevant capacity or of the
same class as the Member concerned.
243
12. NON-TRANSFERABILITY OF MEMBERSHIP
M~mb~rship may not be assigned or transferred unless the Board determines

otherwise, and in that event, subject to such cond!tions as the Board may, in its sole
discretion, deem appropriate.
13. POWERS AND CAPACITY OF THE COMPANY
The Company has the powers and capacity of an Individual save to the extent set out in
the Companies
. Act and Regulations, a~ well as the limitations . in clause 5.
Notwithstanding the omission from this MOI of any provision to that effect, the Company
may do anything which the Companies Act empowers a Non-Profit Company to do if so
authorised by its MOI.
14. AMENDMENTS TO THE MOI
14.1. Save for correcting errors substantiated as such ·from objective evidence or
which are self-evident errors •(including, but without limitation eiusdem
generis, spelling, punctuation, reference, grammar or similar defects) in the
MOI, which the Board is empowered to do, all other amendments of the MOI
shall, subject to section 16, be made at any time if a Special Resolution to
amend the MOI -
14.1.1. is pro posed by -
14.1.1.1. the Board; or
14.1.1.2. Members entitled to exercise at least 10% (ten)

percent of the Voting Rights that may be exercised on
such a resolution; and
. 14.1.2. is adopted at a Members meeting, or in accordance with clause

1.1.37.1 .
14.2. Notwithstanding the provisions of clause 14.1.2, if the Company has non-
Voting Members -
244
14.2.1. the Board may amend this MOI in the manner contemplated in
I'
clause 14.1.1.1; and
14.2.2. the requirements of clause 14.1.2 shail not apply to the

Company.
14.3. A c_opy of any amendment to the MOI must be submitted to the

Commissioner of the South African Revenue Services.
15. THE MAKING OF RULES
15.1. The authority of the Board to ma~e rules for the Company, as contemplated
ln section 15(3) to (5), is not limited or restricted in any manner by this MOI.
15.2. The Board must -
15.2.1. publish any rules made in terms of section 15(3) to (5) by

delivering a copy of those rules to the Electronic Address of each
Member or by ordinary mail; and
15.2.2. file a copy of those rules.
• 15.3. The Board must-
15.3.1. publish a notice of any alteration of the MOI or the ~ules, made in
terms of section 17(1), by delivering a copy of those rules to the
Electronic Address of each Member or by ordinary mail; and
15.3.2. file a copy of those alterations.
16. MEMBERS REGISTER
16.1. The Company must maintain a Members Register, in accordance with the
provisions of section 24(4).
16.2. The Company shall cause the Members Register to reflect..,...

245
16.2.1. the names and identity numbers or passport numbers or

registration numbers of the Members;
16.2.2. the Member's business, residential or postal Address;
16,2.3. the Member's Electronic Addresses who have furnished them;
16.2.4. the date 01:1 which the Person became a Member of the Company
and if applicable, the date on ~hich such Member ceased to be a
Member of the Company;· and
16.2.5. any other ·information prescribed in terms of the Companies Act

from time to time.
16.3. The Company shall not be bound to enter any Person in the Members
Register until that Person gives the Company an Address for entry on the
•Members Register.
17. APPLICATION OF OPTIONAL PROVISIONS OF THE ACT
17.1. The Company elects, in tenns of section 30(2)(b)(ii)(aa), that the annual
Financial Statements of the Company ~ audited voluntarily.
17.2. The Company elects, in terms of section_ 34(2), to comply voluntarily with the
extended accountability •provisions set out in Chapter 3 of the Act to the
extent required by clause 17.1.
18. ACCOUNTING RECORDS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
18.1. The Company shall maintain the necessary Accounting Records which shall
. be accessible from its Registered Office, and ~hall at all times be open to
inspection by the Directors.
18.2. The Company must maintain adequate records of all revenue received from
donations, grants and Member's fees (if any), or in terms of any funding
contracts or arrangements with any party or Person for a period of at least 5
(five} years after receipt of same.
246
18.3. The Company shall prepare its Financial Statements in accordance with the
applicable Regulations to the Companies Act which shall be presented to the
Annual General Meeting after the statements have been approved by the
Board.
18.4. The Board shall from time to time determine at what times and places (save
in the case of. Accounting Records which shall be accessible from the
Registered Office) and. under what conditions, subject to the requirements of
the Regulations, the documents which· the Members are entitled to inspect
• • • • I
and take copies of {being the MOI, amendments to the MOI, records in
respect of Directors, Accounting Records required to be maintained by the
Company, reports to Annual General Meetings, annual Financial Statements,
notices .and minutes of Members meetings, -~mmunications generally to
Members and the Members Register), shall be open to inspection by
Members not being Directors. In addition the Members have rights to
information regarding Directors declarations of interests.
18.5. Apart from the Members, no other Person shall be entitled to im~pect any of
the documents of the Company (other than the Members Register) unless
expressly authorised by the Board or by Ordinary Resolution.
I
18.6. The Company shall notify the Members of the publication of any annual
Financial Statements of the.Company, setting out .the steps reql.!ired to obtain
a copy of those Financial Statements. If a Member demands a copy of the
annual Financial Statements, the Company shall make same available to
such Member free of charge.
18.7. At each Members meeting, a Treasurer shall be appointed from the Board to
oversee the finances of the Company and to keE;ip proper records thereof and
shall arrange for all funds to be deposited into bank accounts in the name of
.the Company.
247
19. AUDITOR
19.1. The Company shall appoint an Auditor annually at its Annual General
Meeting provided that if an Annuaf General Meeting does not appoint or
·reappoint an Auditor, the Board must fill the vacancy in the office in terms of
the procedure contemplated in section 91 within 40 (forty). business days
after the date of the Annual General Meeting. A retiring Auditor may ·be
automatically re-appointed at an Annual General Meeting after the year-end
. .
without any resolution being pa·ssed, unless -
19.1.1. • the retiring Auditor is -
19.1.1.1. . no longer.qualified for appointment;
19.1: 1.2. no longer willing to accept the appointment, and· has

so notified the Company; or
19.1.1 .3. required to cease serving as Auditor, in terms of

section 92;
19.1.2. the Company has notice of an intended resolution to appoint

some other Person or persons in place of the retiring Auditor.
19.2. Any firm of Auditors appointed by the Company as the Auditor shall ensure
that the Individual responsible for ·performing the Audit must comply with the
requirements of section 90(2), provided that -
19.2.1. the same Individual may not serve as the Auditor or designated
Auditor for m·ore t~an 5 (five) consecutive financial years;
19.2.2. if an Individual has served as the Auditor or designated Auditor

for 2 (two) or more consecutive financial years and then ceases
. . .
to be the Auditor or designated Auditor, the Individual may not be

appointed again as the Auditor or designated Auditor until after
the expiry of at least 2 (two) further financial years.
248
19.3. The Auditor -

\
19.3.1. has the right of access at all times to the Ac_counting Records and
all books and documentis of the Company, _and is entitled to
require from the-Board or Prescribed Officers any information and
explanations necessary for the_ performance of the Auditor's
duties;
19.3.2. is entitled to -
19.3.2.1. attend~any Members meeting;
19.3.2.2. receive all notices of and other communications

relating to any Members_meeti~g; and
19.3.2.3. be heard at any Members meeting on any part of the

business of the meeting that concerns the Auditor's
duties or functions -
19.3.3. may not perform any services for the Company that would place
the Auditor in a conflict of interest as prescribed or determined by
the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors in terms of section
44(6) of the Auditing Profession Act.
19.4. If a vacancy·arises in the office of Auditor, the Board -
19.4.1. must appoint a new Auditor within 40 (forty) business days, if

there was only 1 (one) incumbent Auditor; and
19.4.2. may appoint a new Auditor at any time, if there was more than 1
(one) incumbent, but while any such vacancy continues, the
surviving or continuing Auditor may act as Auditor of the
Company.
19.5. If, by comparison with the membership of a firm at the time of its latest
appointment, less than ½ (one half) of the Members remain after a change in
249
the composition of the Members, that change constitutes the resignation of

\
the firm as Auditor of the Comp~ny, giving rise to a vacancy. ·.
19.6. The Auditor may resign from office by giving the Company 1 .(one) month's
Written notice or less than that with the prior Written approval of the Board.
19.7. If the Auditor is removed from office by the Board, the Auditor may, by giving
Written notice to that effect to~ the Company by not tater than the end of the
financial year in which the removal took place, require the Company to
. .
include a statement in i~s annual Financial Statements relating to that
financial year, not exceeding a re~sonable length, setting out the Auditor's
contention as to the ·circumstances .that resulted in the removal. The
Company must include this statement in the Director's report in its annual
Financial Statements.
20. MEMBERS MEETINGS AND ROUND ROBIN RESOLUTIONS
20.1. The Company shall convene an Annual .General Meeting once in every
calendar year, but no more than 15 (fifteen) months after the date of the
previous Annual General Meeting, or within an extended time allowed by the
-Companies Tribunal, on good cause shown, which must, at a minimum,
provide for the following business to be transacted -
presentation of -
20.1.1.1. the Directors' report;
20.1.1.2. audited Financial Statements for the immediately

preceding financial year;
20.1.2. election and/or removal of Directors, to the extent required by the

Companies Act or the MOI;
20.1.3. appointment of an Auditor for the ensuing year;

250
20.1.4. any matter/s raised by Members, with or without advance notice

to the Company..
20.2. . The Company shall, as determined by the Board, either -
20.2.1. hold a Members meeting in order to consider one or more

res·olutionsi or
20.2.2. as regards such resolution/s that could be voted on at a Members

meeting, instead require them to be dealt with by Round Robin
Resolution contemplated in clause 1.1.37.1.
•20.3. . Within 1O (ten) business days after a Round Robin Resolution is· adopted, the
Company must deliver a statement describing the results of the vote, consent •
process, or appointment to every Member who was entitled to vote on or
consent to the Round Robin Resolution.
20.4. The Company must hold a Members meeting or put the proposed resolution
by way of a Round Robin.Resolution contemplated in clause 1.1.37.1 -
20.4.1. at any time that the Board is required by the Companies Act or
the MOI to refer a matter to Members entitled to vote for decision;
20.4.2. whenever required to fill a vacancy on the Board.
20.5. Each resolution shall be expressed with sufficient clarity and specificity and
accompanied by sufficient information / explanatory material to enable a
Person who is entitled to vote on the resolution to determine whether to
participate in the Members meeting, if applicable, and to seek to influence the
outcome of the ·vote on the resolution. Once a resolution has been approved,
it m~y not be challenged or impugned on the ground that it did not comply
with the aforegoing.
20.6. The Board, CEO or Members holding not less than 10% (ten percent) of the
Voting Rights may, whenever they/he think/s fit, convene a Members meeting
or put the proposed resolution by way of a Round Robin Resolution
251
contemplated in clause 1.1. 37 .1. A Members meeting must be convened or

the 1;3oard must put the proposed resolution by way of a Round Robin
Resolution contemplated in clause 1.1.37.1. if one or more Written and
signed demands for such ~- Members m·eeting or Round Robin Resolution
is/a·re delivered to the Company, and~
20.6.1. • each such demand describes the specific purpose for which the
Members meeting is proposed; and
20.6.2. in aggregate; demands for substantially the same purpose are

made and signed by the Members at the earliest time specified in
any of those demands, •of at least 10% (ten per cent) of the
Voting Rights entitled to be exercised in relation to the matter
proposed to be considered at the Members meeting.
20. 7. Round Robin Resolutions contemplated in clause 1.1.37.1 will be passed if

signed by Persons entitled to exercise sufficient Voting Rights for it to have
been adopted as an Ordinary or Special Resolution, as the case may be, at a
properly constituted Members meeting.
20.8. Every Members meeting shall be held where the Board determines from time
to tinie: The •authority of the Company. to co~duct a Members meeting •
entirely by Electronic Communication, or to provide for participation in a
Members meeting by Electronic Communication so ·long as the Electronic
Communication employed ordinarily enables all Persons participating in that
Members meeting _to communicat~ concurrently with each_ other without an
intermediary, arid to • participate reasonably effectively in the Members
meeting, as set out in section 63(2), is not limited or restricted.
20.9. An Annual General Meeting and a meeting called for the passing of a Special .
Resolution shall be called by at least 31 (thirty one) business days' notice
and any other meeting shall be called by at least 15 (fifteen) business days'
notice Delivered by the Company (and for this purpose clause 35.3 shall not
apply) to all Members entitled to vote or otherwise entitled to receive notice.
252
20.10. The Company may call aMembers· meeting with less notice than required by
clause 20.9, but .such a Members meeting may proc_eed only if every Person
who is entitled to exercise V~ting Rights in respect of any item on the
meeting agenda -
. 20.10.1. is Present at the Members meeting; and
20.10.2. votes to waive the required minimum notice of the Members

meeting.
20.11. A Member entitled to vote, who is Present at a Members meeting -
20.11.1. is regarded as having received or waived notice of the Members

meeting if at least the required minimum notice was given;
20.11.2. has a right to -
20.11.2.1. alJege a Material defect in the form of notice for a

particular item on the agenda for the Members
meeting; and
20.11.2.2. participate in the determination whether to waive the

requirements for notice, if at least the required
minimum ·notice was given, or to ratify a defective
• notice; and
20.11.3. except to the extent set out in clause 20.11.2.1 is regarded to

have waived any right .based o~ an actual or alleged Material
• defect in the notice of the Members meeting.
20.12. A notice of a Members meeting must be in Writing, in plain language and

must include -
20.12.1. the date, time and place for the meeting, and the Record Date for
the meeting;
2_53
-
20.12.2. the general purpose of the meeting, and any specific purpose
contemplated in clause 20.1, if applicable;
20. 12.3. in the case. of _

an Annual General Meeting a summarised form of
the Financial Statements to be presented and directions for
obtaining a copy of the complete annual Financial Statements for
the_ preceding financial year;
20.12.4. a copy of any proposed resolution of which the Company has

received notice, and_which is to be considered at _the meeting,
and a notice of the percentage of Voting Rights that" will. be
required for that resolution to be adopted;
20.12.5. •. a reasonably prominent statement that~
20.12.5.1. a Member entitled to attend and vote at the Members

. meeting shall be entitled to appoint a proxy ·to attend,
participate in, speak and vote at the Members
meeting in the place of the Member entitled to vote or
give or withhold written consent on behalf of the
Member entitled to vote to a decision by-Round Robin
Resolution contemplated in clause 1.1.37.1;
20.12.5.2. a proxy need not be a Member; .
20.12.5.3. a Member entitled to vote may appoint more than

1 (one) proxy to exercise Voting Rights held by that
Member entitled to vote in respect of any Members
meeting;
20.12.5.4. the proxy may not delegate the authority granted to

him as proxy;
20.12.5.5. participants in a Members meeting are required to

furnish satisfactory identification in terms of
254
section 63(1} in order to reasonably satisfy the Person

\
presiding at the Members meeting;
20.12.5.6. where applicable,· if participation in the Members

meeting by Electronic Communication is available,
and provide any necessary information to enable
Members entitled to vote or their proxies to access
the available medium or means of Electronic
Communication and advise that access· to· the
medium or means of Electronic Communication is at
the expense of the Member entitled to vote or proxy,
except to the extent that the .Company determines
otherwise.
20.13. A Members meeting may proceed notwithstanding a Material defect in the

giving of the notice, subject to clause 20.14, only if every Person who is
entitled to exercise Voting Rights in respect of each item on the agenda of
the Members meeting is present at. the Members meeting and votes to
approve the ratification of the defective notice.
20.14. If a Material defect in the form or manner of giving notice of a Members

meeting rel~tes only to one or more particular matters on the agenda for the
Members meeting -
20.14.1. any such matter may be severed from the agenda, and the notice
remains valid with respect to any remaining matters on the
agenda; and
20.14.2. _the Members meeting may proceed to consider a severed matter,

if the defective notice in respect of that matter has been ratified.
20.15. An immaterial defect in the form or manner of Delivering notice of a Members

meeting, or an accidental or inadvertent failure in the Delivery of the notice to
any particular Member to whom it was addressed if the Company elects to do
so, does not invalidate any action taken at the Members meeting.
255
20.16. No business may commence to be transacted at any Members meetinc

-unless a quorum is present.
20.17. The quorum shall be sufficient Persons present at the Members meeting to
exercise, in aggregate, at least 10% (ten percent) of all of the Voting Rights
that are entitled to be exercised in respect of at least one matter to be
decided
. at the Members meeting but if the Company has .
more than• 2 (two)
Persons entitled to vote, the Members meeting may not begin unless at least
3_ (three) Persons en~itled to vote are Present.
20.18. A matter to be decided at the Meni_

bers • meeting may not begin to qe
considered unless sufficient Persons are present at the Members meeting to
exercise, in aggregate,· at least 10% (ten percent) of all of the Voting Rights
that are entitled to be exercised on that matter at the time the matter is called
ori the agenda for the Mem~ers meeting but if the Company has more than
• 2·(two} Persons entitled to vote, a matter may not begin to be debc1ted,
unless at least 3 (three) Persons entitled to vote, are Present.
20.19. If within 45 (forty-five} minutes from the_ time appointed ~or the Members
meeting to commence, a quorum is not pres·ent, the Members meeting shall
. be postponed,
.
without motion, vote or further notice, suj)ject to clause
.. ·.
20.23, .
for 2 (two) weeks to the same day after two weeks or, if that day be a public
holiday, to the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday, and if at
such adjourned Members meeting a quorum is not present within 30 (thirty)
minutes from the time appointed for the Members meeting then, the Person/s
entitled to vote Present shall be deemed to be the requisite quorum.
20.20. A Members meeting, or the consideration of any matter being debated

' . at the
'
Members meeting, rnay be adjourned from time to time without further notice
on a motion supported by Persons entitled to exercise, in aggregate, a
majority of the Voting Rights -
20.20. 1. held by all of the Persons who are present at the Members
meeting at the time; and
256
20.20.2. that are entitled to be exercised on at least one matter remaining

on the agenda of the Members meeting, or on the rnatter under
debate, as the case may be.
20.21. Such adjournment may be either ,o a fixed time and place .or until further
notice (in which latter case a further notice shall be Delivered to Members),
as agreed at the Members meeting.
20.22. A Members meeting may not be adjourned beyond the earlier of-
20.22.1. the date that is 120 (one hundred and twenty)" business days after
the Record Date; or
20.22.2. the date that is 60 (sixty) business days after the date on which
the adjournment occurred.
20.23. No further notice is required to be Delivered by the Company of a Members

meeting that is postponed or adjourned as contemplated in clause 20.19,
unless the location for the Members meeting is different from -
20.23.1. the location of the postponed or adjourned Members meeting; or
20.23.2. a location announced at the time of adjournment, in the case of

an adjo_umed Members meeting.
20.24. After a quorum has been established for a Members meeting, or for a matter
to be considered. at a Members meeting, the Members meeting may
continue, or the matter may be considered, so long as at least 3 (three)
Persons with Voting Rights entitled to be exercised at the Members meeting,
or on that matter, are Present at the Members meeting.
20.25. The Chairperson, if any., of the Board shall preside as Chairperson at every
Members meeting. If there is no such Chairperson, or if at any Members
meeting he is not present within 30 (thirty) minutes after the time appointed
for holding the Members meeting or is unwilling to act as Chairperson, the
vice-Chairperson shall act as ·chairperson in his place, .and if he is not
257
present or willing to act ·as Chairperson, the Persons entitled to vote which
\
a.re Present shaU select a Dire~or present at the Members meeting, or if no
Director be pre.sent at the Member$ meeting, or if all the Directors present
decline to take the chair, the· Persons entitled to vote shall select one of their
number which is Present to be the Chairperson of the Members meeting.
20.26. At any Members meeting a resolution put to the vote shall be decided on a
show of hands, unless before or on the declaration of the result of the show
of hands a poll shalr be demanded by-
20.26.1. not less than 2 (two) Persons having the right to vote on that
matter; or.
20.26.2: a Person/s entitled to exercise not less than 1110th {one tenth) of
the total Voting Rights entitled to vote on that matter,
and, unless a poll is so demanded, a declaration by the Chairperson that a

resolution has, on a show of hands been carried, or carried unanimously, or
by a particular majority, or !ost, and an entry to that effe.ct in the minute book
of the Company, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact, without proof of the
number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of, or against, such
s
resolution. No objection shall be raised as to the admissibility of any vote
except at the Members meeting or adjourned Me.mt;>ers meeting at which the
vote objected to is or may be given or tendered and every vote not
disallowed at such Members meeting shall be valid for all purposes. Any
such objection shall be referred to the Chairperson of the Members meeting,
whose decision shall be final and conclusive.
20.27. If a poll is duly demanded it shall be taken in such manner as the

Chairperson directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the
resolution of the- Members meeting at which the poll was demanded_.
Scrutineers may be appointed by·the Chairperson to declare the result of the
poll, and if appointed their decision, which shall be given by the Chairperson
258
of the Members meeting, . shall be deemed to be the resolution of the

Members meeting at which the poll is demanded. -
20.28. In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll,

the Chairperson of the Members meeting at which the show of hands takes·
place, or at which the poll is demanded, shall not be entitled to a second or
casting vote.
20.29. A poll shall be taken forthwith. The demand for a poll shall not prevent the
continuatio~ of a Members meeting for the transaction of any business other
than the question upon which the poll has been demanded. The demand for
a poll may be withdrawn.
· 20.30. Every resolution of Members is either an Ordinary Resolution or a Special

Resolution. An Ordinary Resolution, save to the extent expressly provided in
respect of an particular matter contemplated in this MOI, shall require to be
adopted with the support of more than. 50% (fifty per cent) of the •Voting
Rights exercised on the resolution. A Special Resolution, save to the extent
expressly provided in respect of an particular matter contemplated in this
MOI, shall require to be adopted with the support of at least 75% (seventy
. five per cent) of the. Voting Rights exercised on the resolution.
20.31. On a show of hands and on a poll a Persch entitled to vote Present at the
meeting shall have only 1 (one) vot~. A _proxy shall irrespective of the
number of Members entitled to vote he represents have only 1 (one) vote on
~ show of hands.
20.32. No form appointing a proxy shall be valid after the expiration of 1 (one) year
from the date when it was signed unless the proxy itself provides for a longer
or shorter duration. The appointment is revocable at any time unless the
proxy appointment expressly states otherwise, and may be revoked by
cancelling it in Writing, or making a later inconsistent appointment of a proxy,
and delivering a copy of the revocation instrument to the proxy, and to the
Company. The revocation of a proxy appointment constitutes a complete
259
and final cancellation of the proxy's authority to act on behalf of the Member
\
as of the later of either-the date stated on the revocation, if any, or the date
on which the .revocation instrument was delivered to the Company. The
appointment is suspended at any time and to the extent that the Member
entitled to vote chooses to act directly and in person in the exercise of any
rights as a Member entitled to vote.
20.33. The form appointing a proxy and the power of attorney or other authority, if
any, .under which it is signed or a notarially certified copy of such power _or
authority shall be· delivered to the Company 48 (forty-eight) hours prior to the
Members meeting; before the proxy exercises any rights of the Member
. entitled to vote at ~ Members meeting. .
..
20.34. A vote given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy shall be
valid notwithstanding the death or mental disorder of the principal or
revocation of the proxy or of the authority under which the proxy was
executed, provided that no intimation in Writing of such death, insanity or
revocation as aforesaid shall have been received by the Company at its
Registered Office before the. commencement of the Members. meeting or
adjourned Members meeting at which the proxy is used.
20.35. Subject_to the provisions of the Companies Act, a form appointing a proxy
may be in any usual or·co·mmon form. The Company shall supply a generally
standard form of proxy upon request by a Member entitled to vote.
20.36. If a proxy is received duly signed but with no indication as to how the person
named therein should vote on any issue, the proxy may vote or abstain from
voting as he sees fit unless the proxy indicates otherwise.
20.37. A Member entitled to vote may appoint more than 1 (one) proxy to exercise
Voting Rights held by that Member in respect of any Members meeting.
20.38. A proxy may not delegate the authority granted to him.

260
. ..
21. RECORD DATE
21.1. If the Board determines the Record Date, it may not be earlier than the date
on which the Record Date is determined or more than 10 {ten) business days
before the date on which the event or action, for which the Record Date is
being set, is scheduled to occur.
21.2. If, at any time, the Board fails to determine a Record Date, the Record Date
for the relevant matter is -
21.2.1. in the case of a Members meeting, the latest date by which the
Company is required to Deliver to Members entitled to vote,
• notice of that Members meeting; or •
21.2.2. the date of the action or event, in any other case.
21.3. The Company must publish a notice of a Record Date for any matter by-
21.3.1. Delivering a copy to each Member (and clause 35.3 shall not
apply); and
21.3.2. postin~ a conspicuous copy of the notice -
21.3.2.1. at its principal office; and
21.3.2.2. on its web-site, if it has one.
22. ELECTION/APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS AND FILLING OF CASUAL

VACANCIES
22.1. Unless otherwise determined by the Company in a Members meeting, there

shall be not less than 5 (five) Directors and not more than 10 (ten) Directors
of _
the Company, provided that the CEO shall aJways be an ex officio Director
of the Company.
22.2. A Director shall not be required to be a Member in order to be elected or

appointed a Director of the Company.
261
22.3. The Directors mus~ not be connected persons in relation to each other. At
least 2 (two} members of the Board (excluding_ the CEO} shall be ·persons
from businesses or professions broadly forming part of the conservation field.
22.4. The continuing Directors may act, notwithstanding any vacancy in their
number, but if and. for so long as their number _is reduced below the minimum
number of_ Directors required to· act as such for the time being, the continuing
Director(s} may act only for the purpose of increasing the number of Qi rectors
to the required minimum or of convening a Members meeting but fc>r no other
purpose.
22.5. The.CEO shall, not fewer than 30 (thirty) days prior to the date of the meeting
at which Directors are to b~ elected, cause a nomination paper to be sent to
each Member.
22.e: Each Member or Director shall be entitled to nominate a maximum of 2 (two)

persons as candidates for election to the Board.
22.7. A nomination shall only be valid if-
22.7.1. the nomination paper is signed by both the proposer and the
candidate; and
22.7.2. the nom_ination paper is returned to the Company by no later than

the date stipulated thereon.
22.8. The 89ard shall verify-
22.8.1; 1. that each nomination paper has been correctly

completed;
22.8.1.2. that the candidate is eligible for election; and
22.8.1.3. that the proposer is a Member or Director who is

entitled to nominate a candidate.
262
•22.9. The CEO shall prepare a ballot paper- on which the names of all the duly
nominated candidates shall appear. These ballot papers and curricula vitae
of the candidates sh~II be annexed to the nomination papers and posted to
all voting Members at least 31 (thirty one) days before the Members meeting
at which the election is to be held.
22.10. Voting Members shall be entitled to submit completed ballot papers by-
22. 10.1. posting to the Company's postal address; or
22.10.2. delivering the papers by hand to the Company's Registered

Office;
22.10.3. scanning the papers and attaching them to emails.
22.11. The ballot papers shall be sealed and shall remain sealed and under the
control of the Chairperson, who shall declare the election closed at the time
determined by the ballot notice.
22.12. The Board shall appoint 1(one) or more Scrutineer(s) to count the ballot
papers and then provide the Chairperson with a certificate of the result.
22.13. The Scrutineer(s) shall _endeavour to provide the Chairperson with the result
certificate at the meeting at which voting takes place, but in. any event not
more than 5 (five) -Business Days after the close of voting. .
22.14. The Chairperson shall provide the Members with written notification of the
results of the election wi!hin 14 (fourteen) Business Days of receipt of the
result certificate frome the Scrutineers.
22.15. Subject to clauses 22.16 and 22.17, each of the Qirectors shall be elected to
serve as Director of the Company for an indefinite term.
22.16. At each Annual General Meeting in every year one third of the Directors for
the time being, or if their number is not 3 (three) or a multiple of 3 (three), the
number nearest to one third, shall retire from office.
263
. .
22.17. T~e Directors to retire in every year shall be those who have been longest in
i ' office since their last election,· but as between persons who become Directors
on the same day, those to retire shall, unless they otherwise agree amongst
themselves, be determined by lot.
22.18. A Director shall be eligible for re-election at the expiry of his term of office.
22.19. The Company, at t~e Annual General Meeting at which a Director retires in
the manner aforesaid or at any Members meeting, may fill the vacancy by
el~cting a person thereto in terms of this clause 22.
22.20. lf at any meeting at which an election of Directors ought to take place the
o~ces of the retiring Director(s) • is/are not filled, unless it is expressly
resolved not to.fill such vacancies, the meeting shall stand adjourned a_nd the
provisions of clauses 20.19 and 40.20 shall apply mutatis ·mutandis to such
adjournment, and if at such adjourned meeting the vacancies are not filled,
the retiring Director(s) or such of them as h~ve not had their offices filled
shall be deemed to be re-elected at such adjourned meeting unless a
resolution for the re-election of any such Director shall have been put to the
meeting and negated.
2?.21. There are no general qualifications prescribed by the Company.for a person

to serve as a Director in addition to the requirements of the Companies Act.
22.22. . No person shall be elected as a Director, if he is Ineligible or Disqualified and

any such election shall be a nullity. A person who is Ineligible or Disqualified
must not consent to be elected as a Director nor act as a Director. A person
placed under probation by a court must not serve as a Director unless the
order of court so pennits.
22.23. No election of a Director shall take effect until he has delivered to the
Company a Written consent to serve.
264
22.24. A Board meeting shall have the power, from time to time, to appoint anyone
as 3 Director, either to fill a vacancy in the Board or as an additional Director,
provided that -
22.24.1. the total number of Directors shall not at any time exceed the
maximum number fixed in terms of clause 22.1; and
.22.24.2. the appointment of the Direc;tor is ratified by the Members at the

next Members meeting.
. 22.25. If there is no Director able and willing to act, then any Member entitled to
exercise Voting Rights in the election of a Director may convene a Members
meeting for the purpose of electing Directors.
23. ALTERNATE DIRECTORS
23.1. Each Director shall have the power to nominate any other Member of the
Company to act as Alternate Director in his absence or inability to· aci as
such, provided that the appointment of any person who is not a Member or
Director shall require the approval of the Board, whose consent may not be
unreasonably withheld. Upon such appointment being made, the Alternate
Director ·shall, in all respects, be subject to the terms, qualifications and
conditions existing with reference to the other Directors of the Company. A
• person may be appointed as alternate to more than one Director. If a person
is alternate to more than one Director or where an Alternate Director is a
Director, he or she shall have a separate vote on behalf of each Director he
is representing in addition to his own vote, if any.
23.2. Any Alternate Director, whilst acting in the stead of the Director who
appointed him, sahll exercise and discharge all the powers, duties and
functions of the Director he represents. The appointment of an Alternat~
Director shall be revoked, and the Alternate Director shall cease to hold
office, when the Director who appointed him ceased to be a Director, or
should such Director or the Alternate Director himself, give notice to the
265
• Company Secretary that such Alternate Director has ceased to represent the
Director concerned.
24. INELIGIBILITY/DISQUALIFICATION OF A DIRECTOR
24.1. A person is Ineligible to be a Director if the person -
24.1.1. is a Juristic Person;
24.1.2. is an unemancipa~ed minor, or is under·a similar legal disability;

or
24.1.3. does not satisfy any qualification set out in this MOI;
24.2. A person is Disqualified to be a Director if-
24.2.1. a court has prohibited that person to be a Director, or declared

the person to be delinquent in terms of the Companies Act as
amended from time to time or the Close Corporations Act, No 69
of 1984, as amended from time to time; or
24.2.2. the person-
24.2.2.1. • is an unrehabilitated insolvent;
24.2.2.2. is prohibited in terms of any public regulation to be a

Director;
24.2.2.3. has been removed from an office of trust, on the

grounds of misconduct involving dishonesty; or
24.2.2.4. has been convicted, in the Republic or elsewhere,

and imprisoned without the option of a fine, or fined
more than R1 000,00 (one thousand rand), for theft,
fraud, forgery, perjury or an offence-
266
24.2.2.4.1. invo_lving fraud, misrepresentation or

dishonesty;
24.2.2.4:2. in connection with the promotion,

formation or management of~ co_mpany,
or in connection with any act as
contemplated in the Companies Act as
amended from time to time; or
24.2.2.4.3. •under the Companies· Act, the Insolvency

Act, No 24 of 1936, the Close
Corporations Act, No 69 of 19~4. the
Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998, the
Financial Intelligence Centre Act, No 38 of
2001, the Securities Services Act, No 36
of 2004, or Chapter 2 of the Prevention
and Combating of Corruption Activities
Act, No 12 of 2004.
25. CESSATION OF OFFICE AS DIRECTOR
25.1. ADirector shall cease to hold office as such -
25.1.1. immediately he becomes Ineligible or Disqualified or the Board

resolves to remove him on such basis, and in the latter case the
Director has not within the permitted period filed an application for
review or has filed such an application but the court has not yet
confirmed the removal (during which period he shall be
suspended);
25.1.2. when his term of office contemplated in clause 22 expires;
25.1.3. when he dies;
25.1.4. when he resigns by Written notice to the Company;

267
25.1.5. if there are mo.re than 3 (three) Directors in office and if the Board
determines that he has become incapacitated to the extent that
the person is unable to perform the functions of a Director, and is
• unlikely to regain that capacity within a re~sonable time, and the
Director has not within the permitted period filed an application for
review or has filed su.ch an application but the court has not yet
. - '
confirmed the removal (during which period he •shall be .

suspended);
25.1.6. if he· is declared _·delinquent py a court, or placed on probation

under conditions that are inconsistent with continuing to be a
Director of the Company;
25.1.7. In the case of a Director elected onto the Board by Members, if

he is removed by Ordinary Resolut!on of the Persons entitled to
exercise Voting Rights in an election of that Director;
25.1.8. In the case of a Director appointed onto the Board by Persons

named in, or determined in terms of this MOI, if he is removed by
Written notice to the Company by .the Person{s) who appointed
such Director;
25.1.9. if there are more than 3 {three) Directors in office and if he is

removed by resolution of the Board for being negligent or derelict
in performing the functions of a Director, and the Director has not
within the permitted period filed an application for review or has
filed such an application but the court has not yet confirmed the
removal (during which period she/he shall be suspended);
25.1 .10. if he files a petition for· the surrender of his estate or an

application for an administration order, or if he commits an act of
insolvency as defined in the insolvency law for the time being in
force, or if he makes any arrangement or composition with his
creditors generally; or
268
25.1.11. if he is otherwise removed in accordance with any provision of

this MOI.
26. REMUNERATION OR REIMBURSEMENT
26.1. Apart from the CEO, the Directors of the Company shall not receive any
remuneration for their services to the Company.
26.2. The Directors may however be paid all travelling, hotel and other expenses
properly incurred by them in or about the performance of their duties as
Directors including those of attending and travelling to arid from meetings of
the Directors or any committee of the Directors or at any meeting of Members
-of tile Company.
27. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DIRECTORS AND PRESCRIBED OFFICERS AND

THEIR RELATED AND INTER RELATED PARTIES
.Ttie Company may not provide a loa11 to, secure a debt or obligation of, or otherwise
provide direct or indirect financial assistance to, a Director of the Company or of a
related or inter-related company; or to a Person related to any such Director, other than
a transaction if it -
27.1. is in the ordinary course of the Company's business and for fair value;
·21.2. , constitutes an accountable advance to meet-
27.2.1. legal expenses in relation to a matter concerning the Company;

or
27.2.2. anticipated expenses to be incurred by the Person on behalf of

the Company;
27.3. is to defray the Person's expenses for removal at the Company's request; or
27.4. is in terms of an employee benefit scheme generally available to all

employees or a specific class of employees.
269
28. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF DlRECTORS
28.1. .The business and affairs of the Company shall be managed by or un.der the
direction of the Board, which has the authority to exercise all of the powers
and perform any of the functions of the Company, exc.ept to the extent that
the Companies Act or this MOI provides otherwise.
28.2. . . The Directors may-
28.2.1. establish and maintain any non-contributory or contributory

pension, superannuation, provident and benefit funds for the
benefit of; and
28.2.2. give pensions, gratuities and allowances to and make payments

for or towards the insurance of, •
any persons who are employees or ex-employees (including Directors or ex-

Directors) of the Company and the wives, widows, families and dependants
of such persons.
28.3. The Board may from time to time appoint one or more of the Directors to the
office _of managing Director or CEO for such period and at such remuneration
and generally on.such term$ they may think fit, and it may be made a term of
his -appointment that he be paid a pension, gratuity or other benefit on his
retirement from office.
28.4. The Board may from time to time entrust to and confer upon a managing
Director or CEO for the time being S'i.Jch of the powers vested in the Directors
as they maf think fit, and may confer such powers for such. time and to be
exercised for such objects and upon such terms and with such restrictions as .
they may think expedient; and they may confer such powers either
collaterally or to the. exclusion of, and in substitution for, all or any of the
powers of the Directors, and may from time to time revoke or vary all or any
of such powers. A managing Director or CEO appointed pursuant to the
provisions hereof shall not be regarded as an agent or delegate of the
270
Directors and after ·powers have been conferred upon him by the Board in
\
I
. terms •hereof he shall -be deemed to derive such powers directly from this
clause.
28.5. The Board shall have the power on behalf of the Company to -
28.5.1. appoint managers, including the CEO, from time to. time in order
to carry out certain functions of the Company in the pursuance of
the Con:ipany's objectives.
28.5.2. discipline and dismiss the CEO and other managers both in terms
of the lRA and in terms of any specific conditions contained in
this MOI;
28.5.3. appoint a panel of advisors of up to 5 (five) Members who shall

report to and assist the CEO from time to time;
28.5.4. appoint a membership panel to review and make

recommendations regarding the application, acceptance,
appointment, discip!ine and dismissal of all or any of the
Members or proposed Members of the Company from time to
time;
28.5.5. delegate powers to the CEO;
28.5.6. upon the CEO's request, consider and decide on the appointment
of such staff and their remuneration (if any) and other conditions
of.service as it may deem necessary from time to time.
29. BOARD COMMITTEES
29.1. The Directors may appoint any number of Board committees and delegate to
such committees any authority of the Board. The members of such
committees may include persons who are not Directors.
271
29.2. No person shall be appointed as a member of a Board committee, if he is

Ineligible or Disqualified and any such appointment shall be a nullity. A
person who is Ineligible or Disqualified must not consent to be appointed as a
member of a Board committee nor act as such a member. A person placed
under probation by a cou·rt must not serve as a member of a Board
committee unless the order of court so permits.
- 29.3. • There are no general qualifications prescri,bed by the Company for a person
to serve as a member of a_ Board committee in addition to the requirements
of the· Companies Act.
29.4. A member of a Board committee shall cease -to hold office as such
immediately when he becomes Ineligible or Disqualified in terms of the
Companies Act.
29.5. Committees of the Board may consult with or receive advice from any
person.
29.6. Meetings and other proceedings of a committee of the Board consisting of

more than 1 (one} member shall be governed by the provisions of this MOI
regulating the meetings and proceedings of Directors.
30. PERSONAL.FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF DIRECTORS
30.1. For the purposes of this clause 30 (Personal Financial Interests of Directors),
"Director" includes a Prescribed Officer, and a person who is a member.of a
C<?mmittee of the Board, irrespective of whether or not the person is also a
member of the Board.
30.2. At any time, a Director may disclose any Personal Financial Interest in
advance, by delivering to the Board a notice in Writing setting out the nature
and extent of that Personal Financial Interest, to be used generally by the
Company until changed or withdrawn by further Written notice from that
Director.
272
30.3. If a Director has a Personal Financial_ Interest in respect of a matter to be

considered at a meeting of the Board, or Knows that a Related Person has a
Personal Financial Interest in the matter, the Director -
30.3.1. must_ disclose the Personal Financial Interest and its general
nature before the_ matter is considered at the meeting;
30.3.2. must disclose to the meeting any Material information relating to

the matter, and Known to the Director;
30.3.3. may disclose any observations or pertinent insights relating to the

matter if requested to do so by the other Directors;
30.3.4. if present at the meeting, must leave the meeting immediately

after making any disclosure contemplated in clauses 30.3.2 or
30.3.3;
30.3.5. mt:Jst not take part in the consideration of the matter, except to
the extent contemplated in clauses 30.3.2 or-30.3.3;
30.3.6. while absent from the ·meeting in terms of this clause 30.3.3:
30.3.6.1. is to be regarded as being present at the meeting for .

the purpose of determining whether sufficient
Directors are present to constitute a quorum; and
30.3.6.2. is not to be regarded as being present at the meeting

for the purpose of determining whether a resolution
has sufficient support to be adopted; and
30.3.i must not execute any document on behalf of the Company in

relation to the matter unless specifically requested or directed to
do so by the Board.
30.4. If a Director acquires a Personal Financial Interest in an agreement or other

matter in which the Company has a Material interest, or Knows "that a
273
R~lated Person has acquired a Personal Financial Interest in the matter, after
the agreement or other matter has been approved by the Company, the
Director must promptly disclose to the Board, the nature and extent of that
Personal Financial Interest, and the material circumstances relating to the
Director or Related Person's acquisition of that Personal Financial Interest.
.30.5. A decision by the Board, or a transaction or agreement approved by the

Board, is valid despite any Personal Financial Interest of a Director or Person
Related to the Director, only if -
30.5.1, it was approved following the disclosure of the Personal Financial

Interest in the manner contemplated in this clause 30 (Personal
Financial Interests of Directors); or•
30.5.2. despite having been approved without disclosure of that Personal

Financial ·interest, it has been ratified by an Ordinary Resolution
following disclosure of that Personal Financial Interest or so
declared by a court.
31. PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS
31.1. A Director authorised by the Board -
31.1.1. may, at any time, summon a meeting of the Directors; and
31.1.2. must call a meeting of the Directors if required to do so by at least

2 (two) Directors.
31.2. The Directors may determine what period of notice shall be given of meetings
of Directors and may determine the means of giving such notice which may
include ,telephone, telefax or Electronic Communication. It shall be
necessary to give notice of a meeting of Directors to all Directors even those
for the time being absent from South Africa.
31.3. If all of the Directors -

274
31.3.1. acknowledge actual receipt of the notice;
31.3.2. are present at a me~ting of the Directors; or
31.3.3. waiye notice of the meeting,
the meeting may proceed even if the Company failed to give the required
notice of that meeting, or there was a defect in the giving of the notice.
31.4. The Directors !118Y meet to_gether for the despatch of business, adjourn and
otherwise regulate their meetings as they think fit.
31.5. Unless otherwise resolved by the Directors, all their meetings shall be held in
. the city or town where the Company's Registered Office is for the time being
situated. A· meeting of Directors may be conducted by Electronic
Communication and/or one or more Directors may participate in a meeting of
Directors by Electronic Communication so long as the Electronic
Communication facility employed ordinarily enables all persons participating
in that meeting to communicate concurrently with each other without an
intermediary, and to participate effectively in the meeting.
31.6. The quorum for a Directo~s• meeting shall be -
31 :6.1. 2 (two) Directors if the total number of Directors is not more than
3 (three), or
31.6.2. 4 (four) Directors in any other case.
31.7. The Directors may elect a Chairperson and a vice-Chairperson of the Board
and determine the period for which each of them is to hold office; but if no
such Chairperson is elected, or if at any meeting the Chairperson is not
present within 15 (fifteen) minutes after the time appointed for holding it, the
Directors present may choose one of their number to be Ch~irperson of the
meeting, provided that if a vice-Chairperson has been elected he shall be the
Chairperson of the meeting.
275
31.8. Each Director has 1 (one) vote on a matter before the Board and a majority
of the votes cast on a resolution is sufficient to approve that resolution.
31.9, In the case of a tied vote the Chairperson may not cast a deciding vote even
if the Chairperson did initially have or cast a vote.
31.10. The ~ompany must keep minutes of the meetings_ of the Board, and any of
its committees, and include in the minutes -
31.10.1. •any declaration given by notice or made by a Director as required

by clause 30 (Personal Financial Interests of Directors);
31.10.2. every resoiution adopted by the Board.
31.11. Resolutions adopted by the Board -
31.11.1. must be dated and sequentially numbered; and
31.11.2. are effective as of the date of the resolution, unless the resolution
states otherwise.
31.12. Any minutes of a meeting, or a resolution, signed by the Chairperson of the

meeting, or by the Chairperson of the next meeting of the B~ard, are/is
evidence of the proceedings of that meeting, or adoption of that resolution, as
the case may be.
31.13. A Round Robin Resolution of Directors,. consented to by a majority of the

• Directors (given in person or by electronic communication}, shall be as valid
and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Directors duly
called and constituted, provided that each Director in South Africa who is
able to receive notice, has received notice of the matter to be decided upon.
32. PRESCRIBED OFFICERS
32.1. No person shall hold office as a Prescribed Officer, if he is Ineligible or

Disqualified. A person who is Ineligible or Disqualified must not consent to
be appointed to an office or undertake any functions which would result in
_276
him being a Prescribed Officer nor act in such office nor undertake any such
functions. A person placed under probation by ;a court must not consent to
be appointed to an office or undertake any functions which would result in
him being a Prescribed Officer nor act in such office nor undertake any such
functions unless the order of court so permits.
32.2. A Prescribed Officer shall cease to hold office as such immediately when he
becomes Ineligible or Disqualified in terms of the Companies Act.
33. APPOINTMENT OF SECRETARY
33. 1. The Directors may appoint a company secretary from time to time, who -
33.1.1. shall be a permanent resident of South Africa and remain so

while serving as secretary; and
33.1.2. shall have the requisite knowledge of, or experience in, relevant
laws; and
33.1.3. may be a Juristic Person subject to the following -
33.1.3.1. every employee of that Juristic Person who provides

. company secretary services, or partner and employee
of that partnership, as the case may be; is not
Ineligible or Disqualified;
33.1.3.2. at least 1 (one) employee of that Juristic Person, or

one partner or employee of that partnership, as the
case may be, satisfies the requirements in clauses
33.1.1 and 33.1.2.
33.2. Within 60 (sixty) business days after a vacaricy arises in the office of
company secretary, the Board must fill the vacancy by appointing a Person
whom the Directors consider to have the requisite knowledge and
experience. A change in the membership of a Juristic Person -or partnership
that holds office as company secretary does not constitute a casual vacancy
.277
in the office of company secretary, if the Juristic Person or partnership

continues to satisfy the requirements of clause 33.1.3.
33.3. If at any time a Juristic Person or partnership holds office as company

secretary of the Company -
33.3.1 . the Juristic Person or partnership must immediately notify the

Directors if the Juristic Person or partnership no longer satisfies
the requirements of clause 33.1.3, and is regarded to have
resigned as company secretary upon giving that notice to the
_Company;
33.3.2. the Company is entitled to assume that the Juristic Person or

partners~ip satisfies the requirements of clause 33.1.3, until t11e
Company has received a notice c~ntemplated in clause 33.1.3;
and
33.3.3. any action taken by the Juristic Person or partnership in

performance of its functions as company secretary is not
invalidated merely because the Juristic Person or _partnership had
ceased to satisfy the requirements of clause 33.1.3 at the time of
that action.
33.4. The company secretary may resign from office by giving the_ Company 1
(one) month's Written notice or less than that with the prior Written approval
of the Board.
33.5. If the company secretary is removed from office by the Board, the company
secretary may, by giving Written notice to that effect·to the Company by not
later than the end of the financial year in which the removal took place,
require the Company to include a statement in . its annual Financial
Statements relating to that financial year, not exceeding a reasonable length,
setting out t~e company secretary's contention as to the circumstances that
resulted in the removal. The Company must include this statement in the
Directors' report in its annual Fina·ncial Statements.
278
33.6. Wtienever a company secretary has been appointed as contemplated in

clause 33.1, the Company must maintain a record including -
33.6.1. the name, including any former name of each such person; and
33.6.2. the date of every such appointment; and
33.6.3. any changes in the particulars referred to in clause 33.6. ~ and

33.6.2, as they occur, with the date and nature of each such
change.
34. LOSS OF DOCUMENTS
The Company shall -not be responsible for the loss in transmission of any document
sent through the post either to the registered Address of any Member or to any other
Address requested by the Member.
35. NOTICES
35.1. The Company may give notices, documents, records or notices of availability
of the aforegoing by personal Delivery to the Member or by sending them
prepaid through the post or by transmitting them by email, telegram, telex or
fax.
35.2. Any Member who/which has furnished -an Electronic Address to the
Company, by doing so -
35.2.1. authorises the Company to use Electronic Communication to give

notices, documents, records or statements or notices of
availability of the aforegoing to him; and
35.2.2. confirms that same can conveniently be printed by the Member

within a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost.
35.3. Any notice required to be given by the Company to the Members and not
expressly prohibiting the provisions of this clause from applying, shall be
sufficiently given (subject to giving a notice of availability in accordance with
279
clause 35.1 or 35.2), if given by posting it on the Company's web site, if any,
until at least the date when the event to.which the notice refers occurs.
35.4. Any notice, document, record or statement or notice of availability of the

aforegoing sent by the Company shall be deemed to have been Delivered on
the date and time determined in accordance with the provisions of the
Companies Act.
35.5. A Member shall be bound by every notice. The Company shall not be bound
to enter any Person in the Members Register until that Person gives the
Company an Address for entry on the Members Register.
35.6. The Company_ shall not be bound to use any method of giving notice,
document~, records or statements or notices of availability of the aforegoing,
contemplated in the Regulations· in respect of which provision is made for
deemed Delivery, but if the Company does use such a method, the notice,
document, record or statement or notice of availability of the aforegoing shall
be deemed to be Delivered on the day determined in accordance with the
Regulations. ln any other case, when a given number of days' notice or
notice extending over any period is required to be given (which are not
business days which shall be calculated in accordance with clause 2), the
provisions pf clause 2 shall also be applied.
35.7. As regards the signature of an Electronic Communication by a Member, it

shall be in such form as the Directors may specify to demonstrate that the
Electronic Communication is genuine, or failing any such specification by the
Directors, it shall be constituted by the Member indicating in the Electronic
Communication that it .is the Member's intention to use the Electronic
Communication as the medium to indicate the Member's approval of the
information in, or the Member's signature of the document in or attached to,
the Electronic Communication which contains the name of the Member
sending ~ in ttie body of the Electronic Communication.
280
36. INDEMNITY
36.1. For the purposes of this clause 36 (Indemnity), "Director" includes a former
Director, a Prescribed Officer, a person who is a member of a committee of
the Board, irrespective of whether or not the person is also a member of the
Board.
36.2. The Company may -
36.2.1 . not directly or indirectly pay any fine that may be imposed .on a
Director, or on a Director of a related company, as a
consequence of that Director having been convicted of ari offence
in terms of any national legislation;
36.2.2. advance expenses to a Director to defend litigation in any

proceedings arising out of the Director's service to the Company;
and
36.2.3. directly or indirectly indemnify a Director for -
362.3.1. any liability, other than in respect of -
36.2.3.1.1. any liability arising in terms of sections

77(3)(a), (b) or (c) or from wilful
misconduct or wilful breach of trust on the
part of the Director; or
36.2.3.1.2. any fine contemplated in clause 36.2.1;
36.2.3.2. any expenses contemplated in clause 36.2.2,

irrespective of whether •it has advanced those
expenses, if the proceedings -
36.2.3.2.1. are abandoned or excu!pate the Director;

or
.281
36.2.3.2.2. arise in respect of any other liability for

which the Company may indemnify the
Director in terms of clause 36.2.3.1.
36.3. The Company may purchase insurance to protect -
36.3.1. a Director against any liability or expenses contemplated iri

clause 36.2.2 or 36.2.3; or
36.3.2. the Company against qny contingency including but not limited to
36.3.2.1. any expenses:
36.3.2.1.1. that the Company is permitted to advance

in_accordance with clause 36.2.2;or.
36.3.2.1.2. for which the Company is permitted to

indemnify a Director in accordance with
clause 36.2.3;or
36.3.2.2. . any liability for which the Company is permitted to

indemnify a Director in accordance with clause
36.2.3.1.
36.4. The Company is entitled to claim restitution from a Director or <>fa related
company for any money paid directly or indirectly by the Company to or on
behalf of that Director in ·any manner inconsistent with section 75.
37. FUNDAMENTAL TRANSACTIONS AND CONVERSION
37.1. The Company may not -
37.1 .1. amalgamate or merge with, or convert to, a profit company; or .
37.1.2. dispose of any part of its assets, undertaking or business to a

profit company, other than for fair·value, except to the extent that
282
such a disposition of an asset occurs in the ordinary course of the

activities of the Company.
37.2. If the Company has Voting Members, any proposal to -·
37.2.1. dispose of all or the greater part of its assets or undertaking; or
37.2.2. amalgamate or merge with another non-profit company,
must be submitted to the Members for approval, in a manner comparable to

that required of profit companies in accordance with sections 112 and 113,
respectively.
37.3. Sections 115 and 116, read with the changes required by the context, apply
with respect to the approval of a proposal contemplated in clause 37.
38. WINDING UP OR DISSOLUTION
Despite any provision in any law or agreement to the contrary, upon the winding-up or
dissolution of the Company, after making provision for the costs of dissolving the
Company, the net value of the Company shall be distributed to any similar public benefit
organisation which has been approved by the Commission~r: South African Revenue .
Service in terms·of section 30 of the Income Tax Act or any institution, board or body
which is exempt from tax under the provisions of section 10(1)(cA)(i) of the
aforementioned Act, which has. as its sole object the carrying on of any public benefit
activity and which has similar objects to those of the Company.
283
ANNEXURE 1
\
J
REGISTERED OFFICE OF SANCCOB NPC
A. PHYSICAL- Seabird Centre, Pentz Drive, T_

able View, 7141
B. POSTAL- PO Box 11116, Bloubergrand, 7443

•••
••
"AM1 2"
The /UCN Red List of Th2i4d Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2020: T22697810A157423361
Scope(s): Global
RED© Language: English
• LIST
Spheniscus demersus1 African Penguin
Assessment by: Birdlife International
CRITICALLY EXTINCT
ENDANGERED IN THE WILD
CR EW EX
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: Bird life International. 2020. Spheniscus demersus. The /UCN Red List of Threatened ·
Species 2020: e.T22697810A157423361. https:// dx.doi.org/10.2305/ IUCN.UK.2020-
3.RLTS.T22697810A157423361.en
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285
- Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Chordata Aves Sphenisciformes Spheniscidae
Scientific Name: Spheniscus demersus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Name(s):
• English: African Penguin, Black-footed Penguin, Jackass Penguin

• French: Manchot du Cap
• Spanish; Castilian: Pinguino del Cabo
Taxonomic Source(s):
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and Birdlife
International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions
BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Identification Information:
60-70 cm. Medium-sized, black-and-white penguin. Adult black above, white below with variable
amount of black spotting on breast and belly. Broad, black breast-band and black-and-white facial
pattern diagnostic. Whitish bare skin over the eyes becomes bright pinkish-red in very hot conditions.
Male has deeper, more robust bill. Juvenile initially dark slaty-blue above, turning browner and, in
second and third year, shows varying amount of adult facial pattern. Similar spp. Very rarely, some
individuals show a double black breast-band - indicative of Magellanic Penguin 5. magellanicus, which
has never been positively recorded in Africa.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered A2ace+3bce+4ace ver 3.1
Year Published: 2020
Date Assessed: September 9, 2019
Justification:
This species is classified as Endangered because it is undergoing a very rapid population decline,
probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. This trend currently shows no
sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required to prevent further declines. Recent
count data for the number of breeding pairs suggests that the rate of decline may actually have
increased in recent years. If the estimated rate of population decline is confirmed to have accelerated,
the species may require uplisting.
Previously Published Red List Assessments

2018 - Endangered (EN)
https://dx.doi .org/10.2305/1 UCN. UK.2018-2. RLTS.T22697810A132604504.en
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286
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697810A93641269.en

https://dx.doi .org/10.2305/I UCN. UK.2015. RLTS.T22697810A84636189 .en

2008 - Vulnerable (VU)
2004 -Vulnerable (VU)
1994 - Unknown (LR/NT)
1988 - Threatened (T)
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Spheniscus demersus is endemic to southern Africa, where it breeds at 28 localities in Namibia and
South Africa (Kemper et al. 2007b, Crawford et al. 2013, Kemper 2015). It has been recorded as far
north as Gabon and Mozambique (Crawford et al. 2013).
In Namibia, Neglectus Islet and Penguin Island were recolonised in 2001 and 2006 respectively (Kemper
et al. 2007a). In the 1980s, the species colonised Stony Point and Boulders Beach on the South African
mainland and recolonised Robben Island, all in the southwest of the country (Underhill et al. 2006). A
colony formed on the southern mainland at De Hoop in 2003, but disappeared after 2007. The
northernmost colony at Lambert's Bay became extinct in 2006 (Underhill et al. 2006, Crawford et al.
2011).
In 2015, the population for Namibia was estimated at 5,700 to 5,800 pairs (MFMR unpubl. data), the
uncertainty in the estimate arising from a few islands that had not been counted for several years (J.
Kemper pers. comm.). The most important colonies were Mercury Island: 2,646 pairs, lchaboe Island:
488 pairs, Halifax Island: 1,092 pairs and Possession Island: 1,205 pairs (MFMR unpubl. data).
In 2019, c.13,300 pairs bred in South Africa: St Croix Island: 3,638 pairs, Bird Island (Algoa Bay): 2,378
pairs, Dassen Island: 1,912 pairs, Stony Point: 1,705 pairs , Robben Island: 1,190 pairs, Dyer Island:
1,071 pairs, Simonstown: 932 pairs (Department of Environmental Affairs, SANParks and CapeNature
© The /UCN Red List of Threatened Species: Spheniscus demersus - published in 2020.
A"' / 2
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287
unpubl. data). Just seven colonies now support 97% of the South African population. Recent declines at
South African colonies are coincident with changes in the abundance and availability of forage fish and
an eastward movement of spawning forage fish (Crawford et al. 2011, Waller 2011, Sherley et al.
2014a).
Country Occurrence:
Native, Extant (resident): Namibia; South Africa
Native, Extant (non-breeding): Angola; Mozambique
Extant & Vagrant (non-breeding): Congo; Gabon
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:

Native: Atlantic - southeast
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Spheniscus demersus - published in 2020. 3
288
Distribution Map
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do not impfy any offi~ endoffflnenc, ac<:eptance or opinion by IUCN.
289
Population
In 2015, the overall number of pairs was about 20,850 pairs, or 41,700 mature individuals (Sherley et al.
2019a). This roughly equates to about 66,720 individuals in adult plumage based on the conversion
factor of 3.2 for pairs to individuals (Crawford and Boonstra 1994).
Trend Justification
The population in Namibia declined from 12,162 pairs in 1978 to an estimated 5,800 pairs in 2015. The
South African population declined from c. 70,000 pairs in 1978/1979 (Shelton et al. 1984) to 19,300 pairs
in 2015. Decreases in both countries amount to> 50% in three generations (Kemper 2015, Hagen 2016).
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

Behaviour Adults are largely resident, but some movements occur in response to prey movements
(Hockey et al. 2005). Adults generally remain within 400 km of their breeding locality, although they
have been recorded up to 900 km away (Hockey et al. 2005, Roberts 2015). They breed and moult on
land before taking to the sea, where they can remain for up to four months (Crawford et al. 2013,
Roberts 2015). On gaining independence, juveniles disperse up to 2,000 km from their natal colonies,
with those from the east heading west, and those from the west and south moving north (Sherley et al.
2013a, Sherley et al. 2017). Most birds later return to their natal colony to moult and breed (Randall et
al. 1987, Sherley et al. 2014a), although the growth of some colonies has been attributed to the
immigration of first-time breeders tracking food availability (Crawford 1998, Crawford et al. 2013).
Adults nest colonially, but may also nest in isolation. At sea they forage singly, in pairs or sometimes co-
operatively in small groups of up to 150 individuals (Wilson et al. 1986, Kemper et al. 2007b, Ryan et al.
2012, Mcinnes et al. 2019). African Penguins forage more successfully in groups when feeding on
schooling fish (Mcinnes et al. 2017). The species breeds year round with peak months varying locally
(Crawford et al. 2013). In the north-western part of the range, peak laying occurs during the months of
November to January; in the south-west it occurs between May and July, and in the east between April
and June (Crawford et al. 2013) . The average age at first breeding is thought to be 4-6 years
(Whittington et al. 2005).
Habitat This species is marine and usually found within 40 km of the coast (Wilson et al. 1988, Petersen
et al. 2006, Pichegru et al. 2009, 2012), coming ashore on islands or at non-contiguous areas of the
mainland coast to breed, moult and rest (Hockey et cil. 2005). Breeding: Breeding habitats range from
flat, sandy islands with varying degrees of vegetation cover, to steep rocky islands with little vegetation
(Hockey et al. 2005). African Penguins are sometimes found close to the summit of islands and may
move over a kilometre inland in search of breeding sites (Hockey 2001). They usually feed within 20 km
of the colony when breeding, although at some colonies the distance is greater (Pichegru et al. 2009,
Waller 2011, Ludynia et al. 2012, Pichegru et al. 2012) . Non-breeding: At sea, their distribution is mainly
restricted to the greater Benguela Current region (Williams 1995). Juveniles have been observed to
.J\ ),f
~•q ~
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travel ~Goo km from their natal colonies (Sherley et al. 2017), while immatures up to 700 km with an
average of ~370 km from the colony (Grigg and Sherley 2019). Pre- and post moulting adults have been
observed up to 550 km from their colonies (de Blocq et al. 2019).
Diet Adults feed predominantly on pelagic schooling fish of 50-120 mm length, with important prey
including sardine Sardinops sagax, anchovy Engraulis capensis, bearded goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus
and round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi (Crawford et al. 1985, Ludynia et al. 2010, Crawford et al. 2011).
In some localities, cephalopods represent an important food source (Crawford et al. 1985, Connan et al.
2016). Juveniles are thought to prey on fish larvae (Wilson 1985).
Breeding site In the past, nests were usually built in burrows dug in guano or sand (Frost et al. 1976a,
Shelton et al. 1984). Today, with the lack of guano at most colonies, nesting in open areas has become
increasingly common (Ke~per et al. 2007b, Sherley et al. 2012, Pichegru 2013). At some sites, artificial
nest-burrows made from pipes and boxes sunken into the ground, and shelters shaped from dry
vegetation have been regularly used by the species (Kemper et al. 2007a, Sherley et al. 2012, Pichegru
2013).
Systems: Terrestrial, Marine
Use and Trade

Previously egg-collecting and guano harvesting were carried out at a significant scale, but both have
now ceased and are prohibited or illegal. One incident of egg poaching was recorded in South Africa in
2016.
The predominant use of the species now is as a tourist attraction, with visits to colonies a major draw
for national and international wildlife tourism. Colonies are also desirable subjects for the film industry,
generating significant revenue.
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
Population declines have been attributed to food shortages resulting from shifts in the distributions of
prey species, competition with commercial purse-seine fisheries and environmental fluctuations (e.g.
Crawford et al. 2011). A decrease in foraging effort at St Croix Island (Pichegru et al. 2010, 2012, Sherley
et al. 2019b) and an increase in chick survival and chick condition at Robben Island (Sherley et al. 2015,
2018, 2019b) following the establishment of 20 km no-take zones provides some support for this theory.
In the early 2000s, there was an eastward shift in sardine and anchovy stocks, with the mature biomass
of these species decreasing near the breeding islands north of Cape Town (Crawford et al. 2011). The
abundance of these prey species is known to influence foraging success (Campbell et al. 2019, Mcinnes
et al. 2019), breeding success (Crawford et al. 2006, Sherley et al. 2013b), adult survival (Sherley et al.
2014a, Robinson et al. 2015), and juvenile survival (Weller et al. 2016; Sherley et al. 2017), all of which
may often be too low off South Africa's west coast to maintain population equilibrium (Weller et al.
2014, 2016). Western Cape populations declined by 69% between 2001-2009, considered at least partly
due to this climate-induced shift in fish stocks. African penguin fledglings travelled to areas of low sea
surface temperatures and high chlorophyll-a which were historically reliable cues for fish availability.
Climate change and industrial fishing have depleted forage fish in these areas, resulting in an ecological f
~ t
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291
trap for the species and associated low juvenile survival (Sherley et al. 2017). In Namibia, where sardine
and anchovy are virtually absent from the foraging ranges of breeding penguins, breeding birds feed
principally on the energy-poor Bearded Goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus (Ludynia et al. 2010). Limited
penguin mortality in fishing nets may increase if gill-nets are set near colonies (Ellis et al. 1998, Crawford
et al. 2017).
Human disturbance and egg-collecting were important factors in the decline of t_he species in the early
20th century (Frost et al. 1976b, Ellis et al. 1998, Shannon and Crawford 1999). While egg collection is
now illegal. an incident of egg poaching was recorded in South Africa in 2016 (Brophy 2016). Guano
collection was historically a major cause of disturbance at many colonies and the removal of guano
deprived penguins of nest-burrowing sites, causing birds to nest on open ground wh.ere they are more
vulnerable to heat stress resulting in the abandonment of nests, flooding of nests by rain, and increased
predation (Frost et al. 1976b, Shannon and Crawford 1999, Pichegru 2013, Kemper 2015). Guano
harvesting is no longer practiced in South Africa, and, according to the Namibian Island's Marine
Protected Area Regulations, guano scraping is not permitted following the expiry of existing guano rights
for lchaboe Island in 2016 (MRA 27 of 2000).
Both chronic oil pollution and individual large oil spills appear to have long-term significant impacts on
colonies. Past mortality from oil spills has been serious (Wolfaardt et al. 2009) and may increase if
proposed development of harbours close to colonies proceeds. Most of the population is confined to
areas that are near existing or planned major shipping ports (Nel and Whittington 2003, J. Kemper pers.
comm.). There has been a dramatic increase in the number of birds oiled since 1990: two individual oil
spills (in 1994 and 2000) killed 30,000 individuals, despite successful rehabilitation programmes (Nel and
Whittington 2003, Wolfaardt et al. 2008, 2009). Ship to ship bunkering activities off the south east coast
in Algoa Bay in 2016 and 2019, resulted in 200 African penguins and 125 seabirds oiled respectively
(SANCCOB unpubl. data). Breeding success on Robben Island fell to 0.23 chicks per pair in 2000,
compared with an average of 0.62 ±0.19 over the other 15 years from 1989 to 2004 (Crawford et al.
2006). Rehabilitation does not necessarily prevent problems in the years after a spill. During 2001-2005,
pairs involving at least one bird rehabilitated from the oil spill in 2000 achieved lower fledging success
(43%) compared to unaffected pairs (61%) and those involving at least one bird affected by a previous oil
spill (71%), mostly owing to higher mortality in older chicks (Barham et al. 2007). This may indicate
physiological or behavioural problems that reduce the parents ability to meet the food requirements of
older chicks, perhaps owing to the toxicity of the heavy oil in the 2000 spill; the effects of prolonged
captivity; or the time between oiling and washing (Barham et al. 2007).
The Cape Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus competes with penguins for food, displaces them from
breeding sites and imposes significant mortality at some colonies (Crawford et al. 1989, Makhado et al.
2013, Weller et al. 2016, MFMR unpubl. data). Modelling of the interaction of multiple pressures on the
colonies at Robben and Dyer Islands indicate that predation by Cape Fur Seals is a key driver in current
population declines at Dyer Island (Weller et al. 2016). However, this was found to be in addition to
immature emigration, suggesting there may be additional bottom-up pressures impacting the viability of
colonies.
The potential effects of individual storms on breeding colonies at certain sites has been highlighted (de
Villiers 2002) and, as such, the increased frequency and severity of storms may cause localised losses.
Sharks take some birds at sea and Kelp Gulls Larus dominicanus, dogs Canis familiaris and feral cats Fe/is
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292
catus prey on eggs and chicks at colonies (Underhill et al. 2006, Pichegru 2013, Weller et al. 2014, 2016).
In some mainland colonies, predation by mongooses Herpestes spp., leopards Panthera pardus and
caracals Caracal caracal, or illegal egg collection may have notable impacts (e.g. Underhill et al. 2006),
with the Simonstown colony experiencing considerable mortality due to caracal (SANParks and City of
Cape Town, unpubl. data, Vanstreels et al. 2019).
While a number of diseases have been documented in African penguins, few records of mass mortality
through disease have been observed in the wild, up until 2018 and 2019, when a high pathogenic avian
influenza (HPAI) strain killed approximately 100 penguins in South Africa and up to 600 in Namibia
respectively (Khomenko et al. 2018, Molini et al. 2020)
Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)
Conservation Actions Underway

CITES Appendix II. CMS Appendix II. US Endangered Species Act. Continuous monitoring of population
trends is carried out at all colonies annually in South Africa but less regularly in Namibia. In South Africa,
most breeding localities are national parks or nature reserves. The colonies at Simonstown and Stony
Point are in the process of receiving formal protection status. Collection of guano and eggs is prohibited
within penguin colonies (Harrison et al. 1997, Currie et al. 2009).
The Namibian Islands' Marine Protected Area (NIMPA), proclaimed in 2009, protects almost 10,000 km 2
of ocean in southern Namibia, including all penguin breeding localities and key foraging habitats (Currie
et al. 2009, Ludynia et al. 2012).
Oiled birds are rehabilitated with success (Barham et al. 2007, Wolfaardt et al. 2008). More than 80% of
birds admitted for rehabilitation are returned successfully to the wild (Nel and Whittington 2003).
Lost nesting habitat has been augmented using artificial nests at a number of colonies. Some designs
have proved successful, increasing breeding success (Kemper et al. 2007a, Sherley et al. 2012). At other
locations, the same designs have not been as successful (Pichegru 2013, Lei et al. 2014). The optimal
design of artificial nests is currently being researched. Maintenance of natural breeding habitat takes
place where possible.
Research into foraging behaviour using biologging technology (GPS and satellite-transmitters) is ongoing
(Ludynia 2007, Pichegru et al. 2010, Waller 2011, Ludynia et al. 2012, Pichegru et al. 2012, Waller 2011,
Sherley et al. 2013a, Campbell et al. 2019, Bird Life South Africa unpubl. data). In South Africa, a research
project into the potential positive impacts of small marine no-take zones surrounding breeding colonies
is underway. Results suggest a decrease in adult foraging effort and increases in chick survival and
condition, but not uniformly across the colonies involved (Pichegru et al. 2010, 2012; Sherley et al. 2015,
2018, 2019b). South Africa declared new Marine Protected Areas in 2019, including around some of the
seabird colonies, but they are largely ineffective in protecting penguin foraging habitat.
Population reinforcement through hand rearing of abandoned chicks, or chicks removed from nests in
compromised areas where survival was unlikely, added over 7000 fledglings to the population between
2001 and 2019. These hand-reared fledglings survive and recruit in to breeding populations at similar
rates to their wild counterparts (Sherley et al. 2014b). Attempts are made to decrease predation of eggs,
chicks and grown birds (e.g. Makhado et al. 2013, Pichegru 2013). A national (South African) capture-
mark-recapture programme using Passive Integrated Transponders has been implemented to monitor
survival, recruitment and movements amongst colonies.
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293
Conservation Actions Proposed

In South Africa, the African penguin Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP), gazetted in 2013, guided the
conservation actions to be implemented with the aim to halt the decline of the species. This 5-year BMP
included the above actions and identified additional ones, such as: ensuring adequate prey for penguins
during the breeding and non-breeding seasons; spatial management of the pelagic fishery; investigating
conservation translocations in this species; improving the disaster response to oiling, disease and fire;
establish minimum standards for rehabilitation and rehabilitation facilities; improving penguin numbers
through targeted interventions at existing but declining breeding localities where the reasons for the
decline can be addressed.
This plan did not achieve its aims, and a revised plan has been prepared for the next 5 years and is
expected to be approved for implementation in 2020. Threats such as predation and disaster prevention
and mitigation are addressed in this plan as well as conservation translocations, habitat improvement
and ongoing essential population monitoring and disease surveillance. Critically, actions dealing with the
food availability threat with protecting at sea habitat and the management of resources that are critical
for the penguin's survival at all phases in its life-cycle are included.
Credits
Assessor(s): Birdlife International
Reviewer(s): Clark, J.
Contributor(s): Barham, P., de Blocq, A., Crawford, R.J.M., Garcfa Borboroglu, P., Hagen, C.,
Kemper, J., Ludynia, K., Makhado, A., Mcinnes, A., Morris, T., Pichegru, L.,
Sherley, R.B., Simmons, R.E., Steinfurth, A., Underhill, L., Waller, L., Wanless,
R. & van der Spuy, S.
Facilitator(s) and Everest, J., Martin, R., Moreno, R., Pearmain, L., Shutes, S., Symes, A., Taylor,
, Compiler(s): J. & Waller, L.
Partner(s) and Bird life International & IUCN SSC Penguin Specialist Group
lnstitution(s}:
Authority/Authorities: IUCN SSC Bird Red List Authority (Bird life International)
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294
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Citation
Bird life International. 2020. Spheniscus demersus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020:
e.T22697810A157423361. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/ IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697810A157423361.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Supplementary Material. and for Images and External Links to Additional Information. please see the
Red List website.
https://dx. doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS. T22697810A157423361. en
299
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?
3. Shrubland -> 3.4. Shrubland - Temperate Breeding Suitable Yes

season
9. Marine Neritic -> 9.1. Marine Neritic - Pelagic Breeding Suitable Yes
season
10. Marine Oceanic -> 10.1. Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m) Breeding Suitable Yes
season
12. Marine Intertidal -> 12.1. Marine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline Breeding Suitable Yes
season
12. Marine Intertidal -> 12.3. Marine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Breeding Suitable Yes
season
Shoreline and/or Beaches
13. Marine Coastal/Supratidal -> 13.1. Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Sea Breeding Suitable Yes
season
Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands
Use and Trade

End Use Local National International
Pets/display animals, horticulture No Yes Yes
Threats
Threat Timing Scope Severity Impact Score
3. Energy production & mining-> 3.1. Oil & gas Future Minority {50%) Negligible declines No/negligible
impact: 2
drilling
Stresses: 2. Species Stresses -> 2.2. Species disturbance
3. Energy production & mining-> 3.2. Mining & Future Minority (50%) Negligible declines No/negligible
impact: 2
quarrying
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses-> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
5. Biological resource use-> 5.1. Hunting & trapping Ongoing Minority {50%) No decline Low impact: 4
terrestrial animals-> 5.1.1. Intentional use (species is
the target)
Stresses: 2. Species Stresses-> 2.3. Indirect species effects
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting Ongoing Majority {50- Rapid declines Medium
90%) impact: 7
aquatic resources-> 5.4.4. Unintentional effects:
(large scale) [harvest]
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses-> 1.3. Indirect ecosystem effects
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300
2. Species Stresses-> 2.1. Species mortality
6. Human intrusions & disturbance-> 6.3. Work & Past, Minority (SO%} Slow, significant Past impact
unlikely to declines
other activities
return
Stresses: 2. Species Stresses-> 2.2. Species disturbance
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes & Ongoing Minority (50%) Negligible declines Low impact: 4
diseases-> 8.1. Invasive non-native/alien

species/diseases-> 8.1.2. Named species (Felis catus)
--
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes & Ongoing Minority (50%} Slow, significant Low impact: S
declines
diseases-> 8.2. Problematic native species/diseases
-> 8.2.1. Unspecified species
Stresses: 2. Species Stresses-> 2.1. Species mortality
2. Species Stresses-> 2.2. Species disturbance
2. Species Stresses-> 2.3. Indirect species effects
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes & Ongoing Majority (50- Negligible declines Low impact: 5
90%}
-> 8.2.2. Named species (Larus dominicanus)
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes & Ongoing Majority (SO- Slow, significant Medium
90%} declines impact: 6
-> 8.2.2. Named species (Arctocephalus pusillus)
Stresses: 2. Species Stresses-> 2.1. Species mortality
2. Species Stresses-> 2.2. Species disturbance
9. Pollution -> 9.2. Industrial & military effluents -> Ongoing Majority (SO· Slow, significant Medium
90%} declines . impact: 6
9.2.1. Oil spills
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
2. Species Stresses-> 2.1. Species mortality
11. Climate change & severe weather-> 11.1. Habitat Ongoing Majority (50- Rapid declines Medium
90%} impact: 7
shifting & alteration
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.3. Indirect ecosystem effects
11. Climate change & severe weather-> 11.4. Storms Ongoing Minority (50%) Negligible declines Low impact: 4
& flooding
Stresses: 1. Ecosystem stresses-> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
Conservation Actions in Place

Conservation Action in Place
In-place research and monitoring
Action Recovery Plan : Yes
Systematic monitoring scheme: No
© The /UCN Red list of Threatened Species: Spheniscus demersus - published in 2020. 16
https://dx.doi. org/10.2305/IUCN. UK.2020-3. RLTS. T22697810A15 7423361. en
301
Conservation Action in Place

In-place land/water protection
Conservation sites identified: Yes, over entire range
Occurs in at least one protected area: Yes
Invasive species control or prevention: Yes
In-place species management
Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly: No
Subject to ex-situ conservation: Yes
In-place education
Subject to recent education and awareness programmes: Yes
Included in international legislation: Yes
Subject to any international management/ trade controls: Yes
Conservation Actions Needed

Conservation Action Needed

1. Land/water protection-> 1.1. Site/area protection
1. Land/water protection-> 1.2. Resource & habitat protection
2. Land/water management-> 2.1. Site/area management
2. Land/water management-> 2.2. Invasive/problematic species control
3. Species management-> 3.2. Species recovery
3. Species management-> 3.3. Species re-introduction-> 3.3.1. Reintroduction
4. Education & awareness-> 4.3. Awareness & communications
5. Law & policy-> 5.1. Legislation-> 5.1.2. National level
5. Law & policy-> 5.4. Compliance and enforcement-> 5.4.1. International level
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classifjcation-schemes)
Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.5. Threats
2. Conservation Planning -> 2.3. Harvest & Trade Management Plan
3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends
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302
Additional Data Fields

Distribution
Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO): Unknown
Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): No
Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km 2): 3920000
Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO): Unknown
Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO): No
Continuing decline in number of locations: Unknown
Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations: No
Lower elevation limit (m): 0
Upper elevation limit (m): 50
Lower depth limit (m) : 130
Upper depth limit {m): 0
Population
Number of mature individuals: 41,700
Continuing decline of mature individuals: Yes
Extreme fluctuations: No
Population severely fragmented: No
No. of subpopulations: 1
Continuing decline in subpopulations: Unknown
Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations: No
All individuals in one subpopulation: Yes
Habitats and Ecology
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Yes
Generation Length (years): 12
Movement patterns: Not a Migrant
Congregatory: Congregatory (and dispersive)
303
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305
STAATSKOERANT, 28 OKTOBER 2022 No. 47373 47
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
NO. 2684 28 October 2022
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT, 1998

(ACT NO. 107 OF 1998)
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS- PROPOSED ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL OF EXPERTS TO ADVISE ON

THE PROPOSED FISHING-AREA CLOSURES ADJACENT TO SOUTH AFRICA'S AFRICAN PENGUIN
BREEDING COLONIES AND THE DECLINE IN THE PENGUIN POPULATION
I, Barbara Dallas Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, hereby give notice of my intention
to establish a panel of experts including international experts in terms of section 3A of the National Environmental
Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA), to advise on the proposed closure of fishing areas adjacent
to South Africa's African Penguin breeding colonies and the decline in the penguin population (the Panel).
The Panel's Terms of Reference and expected scope of work are set out in the schedule to this notice. Panel -
members will be remunerated in accordance with the Republic's Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No.1.
of 1999) and the associated Treasury Regulations, in consultation with the Minister of Finance for this panel's
proposed work.
Members of the public are invited to nominate individual persons, to be considered for appointment as members
of the Panel, who are suited to serve by virtue of qualifications, expertise and experience including being
appropriately academically qualified and/or who hold an appropriate level of practical expertise on the subject -
matter and the work set out in the Terms of Reference. The selection criteria will include the following:
• advanced post-graduate degrees in fisheries and/or ecosystem mathematical models or marine ecology.
• demonstrated expert scientific or policy contributions through peer-reviewed publications for at.least a
period of 10 years and experience in making science-based policy recommendations in environmental
management, preferably in marine conservation; and
• prior experience in serving on a review panel would be an added advantage.
Nominations must comprise a brief covering motivational letter together with a comprehensive curriculum vitae of
the nominee, their current employment status and contact details (including telephone number and email). All
nominations must be in writing and must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the publication of this notice in
the Gazette, to the following addresses:
By post to: Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

Attention: Dr Ashley Naidoo
Private Bag X4390
CAPETOWN
THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
8002
By hand at: Foretrust Building, Martin Hammerschlag Way, Foreshore, Cape Town, South Africa, 8001
By email: [email protected] .za
This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonnne.co.za

306
48 No.47373 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 28 OCTOBER 2022
Any enquiries in connection with the notice.can be directed to Ms Millicent Makoala by telephone
(+27) 66 0821010 or email: [email protected].
The Minister reserves the right to appoint members to the Panel that were not nominated as a result of this call
for nominations ..
BARBARA DALLAS CREECY

MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za

307
fo~. fisheries
& the environment
Department:
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL REGARDING

FISHING CLOSURES ADJACENT TO SOUTH AFRICA'S AFRICAN PENGUIN BREEDING
COLONIES AND DECLINES IN THE PENGUIN POPULATION {INCLUDING REVIEWING
THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GOVERNANCE FORUM AND THE MARINE LIVING
RESOURCES CONSUL TAT/VE ADVISORY FORUMl
CONTENTS
1. Background
2. Objective
3. Panel Process and Procedures
4. Tasks
5. Outcomes & Recommendations
6. Documents and Workplan
7. Duration
8. Additional reading
1. BACKGROUND
In the mid-2000s, a substantial decrease in the numbers of adult African Penguins was observed off western South
Africa. In response to this observed decrease from 2006 and the potential impact of food competition between penguins
and fishers in the vicinity of breeding islands, a study to assess the effects of closure to purse-seine fishing around
penguin breeding colonies was initiated in 2008. Since the study required income sacrifice from the industry, this study,
the Island Closure Experiment (ICE), comprised two parts: (i) a feasibility study (2008- 2014) during which purse-seine
fishing was prohibited in an alternating pattern around two pairs of nearby colonies and data on penguins (as well as
on small pelagic fish from the routine pelagic fish management process) were collected to determine whether an
experiment would have adequate statistical power to detect a significant effect of closure if such existed; and (ii) an
experimental phase (2015-2019) where these alternating island closures were continued with the associated
continuation of the monitoring during the feasibility study. The results, however, led to a lengthy debate with

308
dichotomous views. The plans for and results of the ICE were regularly reviewed by DFFE's Small Pelagic Scientific
Working Group, informed by the advice provided from an annual review, i.e., a DFFE review meeting of world-leading
quantitative marine resource scientists on ten occasions since 2006. Most recently, the scientific results have been
debated in the peer-reviewed literature (Sydeman et al. 2021, Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie 2022, Sydeman et al.
2022).
A Governance Forum (GF), comprising researchers and managers from the Branches: Oceans and Coasts and
Fisheries Management as well as SANParks (South African National Parks), was established in 2021. The aim was to
prepare a comprehensive Synthesis Report on the current state of knowledge relating to African Penguins, island
closures, fisheries management relevant to African Penguins and the socioeconomics of island closures and penguin-
related tourism. The Governance Forum compiled a report titled "A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating
to the Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures" (DFFE 2021) which
collated science over the last decade on penguins, small pelagic fisheries and their interactions including the Island
Closure Experiments. The Synthesis Report was further scrutinized by two independent reviewers who provided
extensive comments; the Governance Forum's Extended Task Team (which added fishing industry and conservation
NGO representation to the Governance Forum) and then the Minister's Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living
Resources (CAFMLR). Comments on that Synthesis Report and recommendations produced by these groups remain
contested.
The Department now seeks to establish an international Panel of Experts to-
(i) Review the interpretation of the ICE
(ii) explore the value of island closures in providing meaningful benefits to penguins
(iii) review the processes and outcomes completed through the GF and the CAFMLR process
(iv) make recommendations on the implementation of island closures, including spatial delineation, time frames
and
(v) advise on further science and monitoring methods.
2. OBJECTIVES
The International Review Panel will--

a) Review the quantnative scientific analyses of the Island Closure Experiment (ICE) and subsequent publications to
evaluate whether the scientific evidence from ICE indicates that limiting small pelagic fishing around colonies
provides a meaningful improvement to penguin parameters that have a known scientific link to population
demography in the context of the present rate of population decline. Assess the cost-benefit trade-off of 1) costs
to fisheries, versus 2) the proportion of penguin foraging range protected during the breeding season, for different
fisheries exclusion scenarios. The losses to the fishery should be fleshed out using available economic information,
such as was used in the GF and CAF processes. The panel may also comment on the limitations of available
information and methods {data collection) to improve the assessment of positive penguin outcomes as well as
fishery impact. Costs to fisheries must include an assessment of replacement costs accrued during periods closed
to fishing during the ICE.
This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonllne.co.za

309
b) Within the context of an urgent need to implement timeous conservation actions for the African Penguin and
considering the information and rationale of the various scientific reviews and associated documents of the Island
Closure Experiment evaluate the evidence supporting the benefits of fishery restrictions around African Penguin
colonies to adopt precautionary measures by implementing long-term fishery restrictions.
c) If closures or fishing limitations are viewed to contribute positively to the support of the African Penguin population,
recommend a trade-off mechanism as a basis for setting fishing limitations and mapping . This mechanism must
consider a potential positive return to penguins and the impact on fisheries. (As a basis for discussion the
Governance Forum Approach and the CAF approach can be considered.) Consideration must also be given to the
current state of observations, data and analyses (Penguin, Environmental and Fisheries Economic data).
Recommendations on these can be included under future science considerations.
a. Delineation of fishery no-take areas around six African Penguin colonies (Dassen Island, Robben Island,
Dyer Island, Stony Point, St Croix Island and Bird Island) and the duration of the closures, considering
life history traits, e.g., age when most birds start breeding, and associated duration required to signal
potential population benefits.
d) Recommendations on the scientific work that is required to evaluate the effectiveness of such no-take areas.
e) Recommendations about what scientific work is appropriate in the short term to determine the dominant causes of
the rapid and concerning rate of decline of the penguin population, including recommendations about the use of
ecosystem model approaches such as MICE (models of intermediate complexity for ecosystem assessments).
3. PANEL PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

a. The panel should attempt to reach a consensus but if not achieved, names supporting each of the alternative views
should be noted. There should be no voting.
b. Virtual and physical meetings are not prescribed at this stage. One option is to have one or two brief virtual meetings
to familiarise the panel with the key issues, followed by a week-long physical meeting in Cape Town to wrap n up.
Travel expenses will be covered by DFFE. [Panel members may opt to join the weekly session virtually if travelling is
not preferred.]
c. Members of the Panel of Experts will be remunerated in accordance with the Republic's Public Finance Management
Act, 1999 (Act No.1 of 1999) and the associated Treasury Regulations, and in particular, according to the remunerative
structure for non-official members of Commissions and Committees of Inquiry in consultation with the Minister of
Finance for this panel's proposed work.
d. Meetings may include closed meetings, meetings with protagonists separately and together.
e. DFFE will appoint the Chair of the Panel and the Chair will report directly to the Minister.
f. DFFE will provide secretarial services.
4. TASKS
The following tasks are required from the panel (administrative and secretarial functions will be supported by DFFE):

310
a. Panel Members must agree to being available and accepting these Terms of Reference and constitute themselves as
a Panel with the Chair.
b. Notification of stakeholders about deadlines for their submissions.
c. Drawing up of a list of attendees at plenary meetings where submissions are heard, indicating who are key participants
and who are observers (Sectors will be asked to submit names of observers to be invited).
d. The appointed Panel Members to meet with DFFE Senior Managers to clarify their tasks and outputs.
e. Review documents and information pertaining to proposed island closures for penguin population recovery support.
While these will initially be composed of an agreed selection (by local scientists and stakeholders) from the extensive
number of documents produced over the last 1.5 years, panel members may request any additional documents such
as scientific working group documents. Documents to be categorised into (a) those relevant to the interpretation of the
ICE results, (b) documents that propose island closures including stakeholder reports submitted during the ETT and
CAFMLR processes and (c) other related documents. This is required to facilitate the panel dividing its focus between
(i) an initial assessment of whether the analysis of ICE supports the view that island closures will benefit penguins, and
(ii) if (i) suggests that island closures will benefit penguins, what closures should be implemented, or what are the trade-
offs involved for such closures.
f. Meet with conservation and fisheries sector scientists and where each will be allowed to present their
arguments/interpretation of information. (At panel discretion, other scientists, and experts may be invited to make
presentations.)
g. Respond to objectives (a) to (e) above.
h. Prepare report on outcomes.
5. OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

a) Recommend whether, based on the results from ICE and other evidence-based information, island closures are
likely to benefit penguins.
b) Describe the scientific and evidence-based rationale for recommending implementing/not implementing fishing
limitations around penguin colonies
c) Make recommendations about whether a percentage (%) of penguin foraging range and other biological criteria
(such as regional representation, population recovery potential, monitoring and evaluation potential) provide a
basis for determining benefits from closures for penguins and assess the merits of different proposed methods to
delineate important penguin foraging habitat.
d) Make specific recommendations on trade-off mechanisms for island closures in the event that the panel finds that
the results of ICE and other evidence demonstrate that island closures are likely to benefit penguins, including
specific areas and durations. In addition to recommendations on trade-off mechanisms, the panel must preferably
advise on biologically meaningful penguin habitat extents for fishery limitations per island, recommendations must
be spatially and temporally explicit, and provided on a map. [DFFE will provide mapping capacity.]
e) Provide advice and recommendations on best estimates and uncertainties of the ratio between penguins gained
and losses sustained by the industry as a result of island closures for future suggested closure options.

311
f) Provide advice on a well-structured analyses framework to monitor the impact of island closures, including what
penguin and fish data needs to be collected; how benefrts to penguins are to be determined; and how these will
be analysed.
g) To recommend scientific analyses, including but not limited to MICE, to determine the reasons for the decline in
the penguin population.
6. DOCUMENTS
The Department will provide the Panel Members wtth all the required documents. Sector representatives and panel
members may request additional documents to be included. These will include:
1. Key documents detailing the ICE and the recent relevant analyses of the results of the ICE.
2. Key scientific peer-reviewed publications on the results of the ICE
3. DFFE Scientific Summary Report - Coetzee et al 2021. "A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the
Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures". To include all comments
requested and provided on this document by stakeholders including seabird conservationists, SAPFIA and other
fishing industry representatives.
4. Governance Forum Recommendations (and including Maps from Extended Task Team-these were not finalised as
formal recommendations but did move the discussion from the GF which used percentage forage areas to the
percentage of Marine Important Bird Areas) and stakeholder reports.
5. CAFMLR Draft Report and recommendations and stakeholder reports.
7. DURATION AND WORK PLAN

The schedule of work will be determined around the earliest availability of the panel. It is however envisaged that
the work of the panel should be commenced and completed as soon as possible.
(Assuming a 1-week working session in Cape Town without virtual working meetings except for one or two online
introductory pre-meetings which may allow some timesaving for the in-person week schedule.)
Document Distribution as early as possible before the meeting but not less than 2 weeks before the meeting.
Sector representatives will be informed as early as possible on the meeting schedule with the panel, including timelines
for submission of any documentation (such as presentations) that may need distribution to the panel. Ideally, documents
should also be submitted to the Panel at least two weeks before the meeting.
DFFE (including SANParks) staff (Seabird scientists, Fisheries Scientists, and GIS expert practitioners will be on
standby during Panel Deliberations.)
Invited attendees' lists will be finalised a week before the meeting.
Tentative Schedule
DAY1
1. 1 Opening and a brief description

312
1.2 Clarify ToRs and expected outcomes

1.3 Presentation by Conservation Sector
1.4 Presentation by Fishing Sector
1.5 [Other expert presentations, as may be requested by the panel. The panel may determine if some questions from
observers may be heard.]
(Sector presentations will cover perceptions and interpretation of fishing limitations and penguin population success;
ICE; GF; GAF and Future Science. Sector representations can include comments on existing/published interpretations.)
DAY2
2.1 Panel Deliberations: fishing limitations and penguin population success

2.2 Panel Deliberations: ICE
DAY3
3.1 Panel Deliberations: GF and GAF
DAY4
(Possible time a/location for further engagement with Conservation/Fishing Sector reps)
DAY5
5.1 Formulate Recommendations & Report Compilation (Contents of the report must include Items in Section 6 above
• OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDA T/ONS, Report Drafting can occur throughout the week.)
8. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL
I. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021a. A revised summary of results for the island closure
experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report FISHERIES/2021IJUN/SWG-
PEU41 . 5pp.
II. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021 b. A response to some queries concerning the revised summary
of results for the island closure experiment provided in FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEU41. Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report FISHERIES/2021/SEP/SWG-PEU59. 6pp.
Ill. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2022. Comment on "South Africa's experimental fisheries closures
and recovery of the endangered_ African penguin" by Sydeman et al. (2021 ). ICES Journal of Marine Science.
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsac113. Supplementary material to this publication to be included.
IV. Makhado AB, Mcinnes AM, Hagen C, Ludynia K, Masotla M, Pichegru L et al. 2020a. Motivation for urgent
need to implement closures to purse-seine fishing around South Africa's six largest African Penguin colonies.
Report No. FISHERIES/2020/DEC/SWG-PEU126. Cape Town, South Africa: Department of Environment,
Forestry and Fisheries.

313
V. Makhado A, Mcinnes A, Hagen C, Sherley R, Waller L, Pichegru Let al. 2020b. Recommendations for island
closures around African Penguin colonies. Report No. FISHERIES/2020/OCT/SWGPEU 105REV. Cape
Town, South Africa: Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
VI. Ross-Gillespie, A and Butterworth, D. S. 2021. Updated analysis of results from data arising from the Island
Closure Experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report
FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEU39rev.
• VII. SAPFIA, 2021. Letter to Deputy Director-General: Oceans and Coasts Ms J Beaumont dated 5 November
2021, "Re: Review of The Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to The Decline in The African
Penguin Population, The Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures, by Philip N. Trathan". 2pp.
VIII. Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J. M., Grigg, J., Horswill, C.,
Mcinnes, A, Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A, Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C. 2018. Bayesian
inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures on marine predator
demographics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285: 20172443.
IX. Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J. M., Grigg, J., Horswill, C.,
Mcinnes, A, Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A., Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C. 2021. Correction
to Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures on marine predator
X. Sydeman, W. J., Hunt, G. L., Pikitch, E. K., Parrish, J. K., Piatt, J. F., Boersma, P. D., Kaufman, L., Anderson,
D.W., Thompson, S.A. and Sherley, R.B. 2021. South Africa's experimental fisheries closures and recovery
of the endangered African penguin. ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab231.
Supplementary information to made available
XI. Sydeman, W. J., Hunt, G. L., Pikitch, E. K., Parrish, J. K., Piatt, J. F., Boersma, P. D., Kaufman, L., Anderson,
D.W., Thompson, S.A. and Sherley, R.B. 2022. African Penguins and Localized Fisheries Management:
Response to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2022, 0, 1-7. DOI:
10.1093/icesjms/fsac116. Supplementary information to be made available.
XII. Trathan, P.N. 2021.Review of the Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the
African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures. 20 September 2021, 12 pp.
XIII. Punt, A.E. 2021.Review of the Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African
Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures. September 2021.
XIV. Comments by SAPFIA on "Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African
Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures"
XV. Extended Task Team: African Penguin Island Closures. Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 2
November 2021
XVI. Carpenter-Kling, T., de Blocq, A., Hagen, C. et al. Important marine areas for endangered African penguins
before and after the crucial stage of moulting. Sci Rep 12, 9489 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-
12969-w

314
56 No. 47373 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 28 OCTOBER 2022
XVII. National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004) Draft African Penguin
Biodiversity Management Plan [Government Notice 2302 in Government Gazette No. 47061 dated 22 July
2022]
XVIII. Sectors will be allowed to add to documents list.

315
Printed by and obtainable from the Government Printer, Bosman Street, Private Bag X85, Pretoria, 0001 ~
Contact Centre Tel: 012-748 )6200. eMail: [email protected] 11.\:'\
Publications: Tel: (012 748 6053, 748 6061, 748 6065 't'.

forestry, fisheries
& the environment
Department:
317
318
REPORT
OF THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL
REGARDING FISHING CLOSURES ADJACENT TO
SOUTH AFRICA'S AFRICAN PENGUIN BREEDING COLONIES
AND
DECLINES IN THE PENGUIN POPULATION
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES

AND THE ENVIRONMENT (DFFE)
July 2023
319
320
Panel Members
- Prof. Andre E Punt (Chair) - Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
at the University Washington, Seattle, USA.
- Prof. Robert W. Furness - Principal Ornithologist at MacArthur Green, Glasgow, UK.
- Dr. Ana M. Parma - Principal Scientist with the National Scientific and Technological
Research Council of Argentina (CONICET), based in Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
- Dr. Eva Plaganyi-Lloyd - Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO based in

Brisbane, Australia.
- Prof. James N. Sanchirico - Professor of natural resource economics and policy in

the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California
at Davis, USA.
- Prof. Philip Trathan - Visiting Professor at Ocean and Earth Science, National
Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK.
322
CONTENTS
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................. 8
1. Background................................................................................................................................................................. 9
2. Benefits of Island closures to penguins .................................................................................................. 17
3. Basis for evaluating fishing impacts of closures .............................................................................. 27
4. Criteria and approaches for evaluating trade-offs between ..................................................... 33

benefits to penguins and costs to fishery
5. Future monitoring to evaluate effectiveness ....................................................................................... 39
6. Future research other than monitoring .................................................................................................... 42
7. Summary and conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................ 44
8. References ................................................................................................................................................................... 48
9. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................... 56
10. Appendix A- Panel Biographies ................................................................................................................ 57
11. Appendix B - Panel terms of reference extracts .......................................................................... 59
12. Appendix C - Nest boxes ............................................................................................................................... 61
13. Appendix D - Technical specifications of models used to....................................................... 62

analyze the ICE data
14. Appendix E-Additional details on the OBM and why its ........................................................ 65
results are likely overestimates
15. Appendix F - Outline of MICE and their use to assess ............................................................. 68

drivers of the decline of African Penguins
ISBN: 978-0-621-51331-8
How to cite this document: Punt AE (Chair), Furness RW, Parma AM, Plaganyi-Lloyd E, Sanchirico JN,
Trathan P. 2023. Report of the international review panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
African penguin breeding colonies and declines in the penguin population. Prepared for the Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) . Pretoria, South Africa: DFFE.
323
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• The population of African penguins breeding in South Africa has been declining rapidly (approximately 8% per annum since 2005) and is
consequently at a high risk of extinction in the wild in the coming decades. It is essential to understand and mitigate the primary factors
leading to this decline.
• Considerable effort has been made by the fishing and conservation sectors in collaboration with government to understand the causes of
the decline and how they might be mitigated. The Panel commends South Africa on its world-leading efforts to underpin challenging
utilisation-conservation policy decisions with sound science.
• Implementation of closures managed within the Island Closure Experiment (ICE) aimed to understand whether reducing fishing around
islands with penguin breeding colonies would help to reduce the current rate of decline. This internationally-recognised experiment involved
implementing an alternating pattern of closures around four island breeding colonies on the South African west and south coasts. It is now
complete and, notwithstanding the difficulties implementing the experiment, has been successful in demonstrating for the west colonies
of Dassen and Robben islands (those more intensively studied within the ICE), that excluding fishing around island breeding colonies is
likely to reduce the rafe of decline in the population to a small extent, mediated through improvements in reproductive success. Excluding
purse-seine fishing around island breeding colonies is also likely to have other positive benefits for penguin conservation, such as facilitating
higher adult survival, but the ICE was not designed to estimate such effects.
• The Panel recognises that closure of purse-seine fisheries around penguin colonies will provide only a part of the measures required to
slow or reverse the population decline of African penguins.
• There is a trade-off amongst maximising benefits to penguins, minimising the costs to the fishing industry, and having a reliable basis to
quantify the effects of closures (including no closures) on the penguin recovery rate. The trade-off among closure options is a policy decision
related to conservation, economic and social goals and objectives for South Africa. This report outlines some aspects that could form part
of a decision-making framework to identify the closure options that will provide the best outcomes for penguins given some level of cost to
the fishing industry.
• The effects of alternative fishery closure designs differ amongst the island breeding colonies, in terms of reducing the rate of decline, costs
to the fishing industry, and social impacts. Hence, advice related to the effects of possible closure options is presented by island breed-
ing colony, and not simply at the regional or national level; decisions on closures should also be made by colony, taking account of the
unique aspects of the fishery and threats at each colony.
• The impacts to the fishing industry can be evaluated using an "opportunity-based model" (OBM) that predicts the proportion of the catch
of pelagic fish in closure areas that cannot be "replaced' by fishing outside these areas, together with a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM)
model that converts "lost catch" into economic impacts {loss of GDP and jobs) on the fishery, suppliers of goods and services to the.fishing
industry, and the broader economy. The OBM and SAM model can be used to rank closure options in terms of economic effects but the OBM
likely overestimates the potential lost opportunities outside the closed area on a given day. The Panel remains concerned about: (i) the lack
of information on how the closures impact fishing costs and fishing behaviour; (ii) the ability of the SAM model to adequately attribute
impacts at the scale of fishing communities; and (iii) that there are social impacts that are not estimated using the SAM, but are important to
consider in any trade-off analysis.
• Evidence suggests that catches from within closure areas will be more difficult to replace around Dyer Island and St Croix Island than
around the other remaining five colonies with important breeding populations. Evidence also suggests that levels of lost catch can be
reduced, if closures around penguin preferred habitats are well designed.
• The Panel identified (in this report) recommendations related to future monitoring of penguin colonies and research to understand the
effects of closures on the change in penguin numbers and costs to the fishing industry and local communities.
• Further attempts were made to identify consensus closure options among the fishing and conservation sectors during the Panel meeting
and ongoing efforts to identify such options are encouraged, particularly as closures may need to be adjusted given the results of
future monitoring.
• The Panel strongly encouraged continued communication, and collaboration, with transparency of research data and analyses, as a
means to build trust and strengthen these discussions. Working collaboratively will further enhance the effectiveness and social
acceptability of management measures and decisions aimed at mitigating the decline of the African penguin.
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
8 African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population
324
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Historical decline of African penguins
The African penguin, Spheniscus demersus, breeds only in that stemming the population decline at the larger remain-
Namibia and South Africa, where it is restricted to coastal ing colonies therefore represents the best means of main-
waters, except over the Agulhas Bank where its preferred taining the species in the wild, and that if current popula-
prey may occur further offshore. Their usual non-breeding tion trajectories continue, the species could be functionally
habitat is also highly coastal, spanning ~3 200 km of coast- extinct by 2035.
al Namibia and South Africa, but with the occasional indi- The latest population surveys in 2022 reported that
vidual recorded as far north as Gabon, in the west, and seven colonies collectively held more than 95% of the re-
Mozambique, in the east (Crawford et al., 2013). maining population in South Africa (Masotla et al., 2023):
In the 1920s, the African penguin may have had an Dassen Island (2 513 pairs [25.1%]), Robben Island (991
estimated breeding population as large as between ~500 [9.9%]), Boulders Beach (891 [8.9%]), Stony Point (1 565
000 and ~1 000 000 pairs. The population subsequently [15.6%]), Dyer Island (1 026 [10.25]), St Croix Island (1 262
decreased so that almost a century later less than ~20 000 [12.6%]) and Bird Island (1 437 [14.4%]).
pairs remained, of which ~25% were in Namibia and ~75% Against this background, it is important to recognise that
in South Africa (Coetzee et al., 2021a). As a consequence a decline in the numbers of African penguins is not inevi-
of the marked population declines across both these range table. Between 1987 and 2004, the number of adult Afri-
states, the species was classified in 201 0 as Endangered can penguins at west coast sites in South Africa increased
on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation from 7 500 to 33 000 (Sherley et al., 2020; Figure 1.2). It
of Nature (IUCN, 2018). The IUCN has not made regional is evident that numbers can increase during periods when
assessments, but these would almost certainly show the conditions are favourable, but that this has rarely been the
species to be of even greater conservation concern in case in recent decades.
some parts of its range.
As recently as 2004, ~52 000 pairs of African penguins 1.2 Summary of basic penguin population and feeding
could be found at 19 breeding localities in South Africa, but ecology
by 2019 the population had fallen to ~13 200 pairs, with
five colonies becoming extinct (Coetzee et al., 2021a; see African penguins generally commence breeding aged
Figure 1.1 for a map of the breeding colonies referred to in around 5 to 6, but unsuccessful breeding attempts at ear-
this report). The latest counts from 2022 show the decline lier ages are also known. They can continue breeding past
continuing, with an estimated breeding population of ~10 age 20, although this is probably uncommon (Crawford et
000 pairs (Masotla et al., 2023). Further, the small size of al., 2013). Adult survival, breeding propensity and repro-
the remaining colonies means that all now face a substan- ductive output are all highly variable, with reported links to
tial probability of extinction; indeed, it is anticipated that a food availability (Crawford et al., 2013). Juvenile survival,
further seven colonies will become extinct in the near future as with many seabirds, is lower in the first year after fledg-
(Coetzee et al., 2021a). Coetzee et al. (2021a) also note ing (Crawford et al., 2013).
Ml>As/rH'II ctl!d 1118"
1e 19
ftr\.
Figure 1.1: Map (courtesy of J Coetzee) of southern Africa showing the location of the breeding colonies for African penguins off
~~AA~ ~
Report of the lnternat1ona/ Review Panel regarding fish mg closures adJacent to South Africa's
African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population 9
325
They are visual hunters but may use other cues to locate
35000
~ prey. Most dives are shallower than 30 m deep, although
~
u
30000 some may reach 85 m, lasting up to 2.5 minutes (Crawford
~ 25000
et al., 2013). Almost all dives occur during daylight with vir-
C
0 tually none at night. Adults provisioning young chicks gen-
~ 20000
·;;; erally forage within 40 km of their colony, but may travel
a.
C 15000 up to 120 km, swimming at speeds of just under 2 m s- 1, or
·5
bl) up to 5 m s-1 in short bursts (Crawford et al., 2013). Local
~ 10000
forage fish abundance based on hydro-acoustic surveys
C
~ 5000 has been shown to explain around 60% of the variation in
~ 0 •
time spent diving for penguins foraging within two days of
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 the survey (Campbell et al., 2019). Penguin foraging ef-
Year fort (time spent diving, number of wiggles per trip, num-
ber of foraging dives and the maximum distance travelled)
Figure 1.2: Total number of pairs of African penguins at all known
increased as forage fish abundance declined; in addition,
west coast sites between 1984 and 2019 (data from Sherley et
quantile regression revealed that variation in foraging effort
al. , 2020)
increased as prey abundance around the colony declined
(Campbell et al., 2019).
Access to energy-dense prey (small pelagic fish) is criti- Locating prey at sea is complex. Physical ocean fea-
cal to African penguins at multiple different times of year. tures, such as thermoclines, are often used as foraging
Two periods are particularly demanding : moult and breed- cues by marine predators, as these concentrate and hence
ing. Adult penguins must build up their body reserves prior increase the likelihood of locating prey. This is also true for
to moult, as they cannot enter the water to obtain prey with- African penguins, which have been shown to forage at and
in this 21-day fasting period, during which time they replace below the thermocline even though its depth and gradient
their entire plumage (Crawford et al., 2013). Moult tends to may shift over time; indeed, penguins dive deeper in search
be synchronized at most individual localities, although the of prey when there is no thermocline (van Eeden et al.,
timing varies among localities. At Dassen Island, the peak 2016). Such physical cues are therefore important. How-
moult is August-November; at Robben Island and Boul- ever, olfactory cues have also been shown to be important.
ders Beach, most birds moult from November; at Dyer and Dimethyl sulphide (DMS), an organo-sulphur compound
St. Croix islands, peak moult is October-December; while released when phytoplankton are grazed, is known to at-
a large proportion of birds at Bird Island start moult in Sep- tract seabirds (Nevitt et al., 2004), including African pen-
tember (Crawford et al., 2013). At all localities, most imma- guins (Wright et al., 2011). OMS-scented oil slicks attracted
ture birds moult in October-March (Crawford et al., 2013). 2-3 times more penguins than control slicks, whereas pen-
Adequate prey i~ also important prior to and during guins showed no response to slicks containing cod liver
breeding. Females must accumulate the resources neces- oil. The number of penguins attracted to DMS increased
sary for egg production, whilst both parents must accumu- for at least 30 min, suggesting penguins could travel up to
late sufficient reserves to ensure they can repeatedly stay 2 km to reach scent cues. Such results also support the
ashore whilst incubating, brooding or guarding their off- hypothesis that African penguins use DMS as an olfactory
spring. Incubation lasts 38--41 days and is shared equally cue to locate prey patches at sea from a distance, which is
by both sexes; chicks are brooded by adults until about particularly important given their slow commuting speed,
1O days after hatching; from 26-30 days, chicks are often relative to that of flying seabirds (Wright et al., 2011).
left unguarded and may form creches of up to 25 chicks; African penguins are known to hunt either independent-
chicks fledge when between 55-130 days old (Crawford ly or cooperatively, pursuing both solitary as well as school-
et al., 2013). During breeding, adults can sacrifice their ing pelagic fish (Mcinnes et al., 2017). The most profitable
own body condition to a certain extent, but generally not to foraging involves herding of fish , compressing schools up-
the point beyond which their own survival is compromised wards during the ascent phase of a dive where most prey
(c.f. Southwell et al., 2015). Therefore, during breeding,
and immediately post breeding, adequate resources are
necessary to ensure adult maintenance, chick growth, and
eventually to ensure independent chicks can forage suc-
cessfully whilst still na'ive, and adults can recover lost con-
dition. African penguin breeding can occur throughout the
year, with a second clutch possible, or with adults relaying
if their first clutch is lost (Crawford et al., 2013). At Dassen
Island, eggs are mostly laid in December-June, with most
chicks during January-August; at Robben Island, eggs
are laid in January-August, with chicks abundant in April-
September; and at St. Croix Island, egg laying peaks in
January (Crawford et al., 2013). Thus, as with moult, peak
breeding time differs between sites.
When foraging, African penguins feed alone or in small
groups and sometimes in conjunction with other seabirds. Pelagic fish (photo credit Carl van der Lingen)
326
captures then constitute isolated fish, separated from the

main school (Mcinnes et al., 2017). Catch-per-unit-effort for
penguins is significantly improved when targeting schools
rather than solitary fish, especially when penguins forage
in groups. It appears that African penguins have evolved
specialist hunting strategies closely linked to their primary
reliance on schooling pelagic fish (Mcinnes et al., 2017).
As penguins drive prey to the surface, it is also likely to
enhance the foraging efficiency of flying seabird species
(Mcinnes and Pistorius, 2019). As such, penguins may be
integral to important processes that influence the structure
and integrity of marine communities. Importantly, if group
foraging confers an advantage to African penguins, then
dwindling populations may suffer from an Allee effect as
colonies become too small to support sufficient densities of
birds for foraging groups to form (Ryan et al., 2012).
Predicting how populations respond to their environ-
ment requires detailed knowledge of demographic traits,
such as survival and reproduction. However, translating
foraging efficiency into demographic responses remains
challenging for most marine predators, including African
penguins. However, for macaroni penguins, Horswill et al.
(2017) have shown that when prey availability is low, forag-
ing trips are significantly longer and extend overnight; birds
forage farther from the colony, potentially to reach more-
distant foraging grounds, and allow for increased search
times. These extended foraging trips are also linked to a
marked decrease in fledgling weight, most likely associat-
ed with reduced rates of provisioning (Horswill et al., 2017).
Further, work on the same macaroni penguin population Photo credit SAPFIA- South African Pelagic Fishing Industry
suggests that lowered first-year survival rates are, at least Association
partially, associated with lower fledgling masses (Horswill needs in both space and time (see Trathan et al., 2022).
et al., 2014). Nevertheless, it remains axiomatic that fisheries have the
Declines in African penguin numbers might be caused potential to disrupt seabird population processes. The pri-
by low survival rates of penguins or by low breeding suc- mary impacts on predators can be characterized as either
cess, or a combination of these. Survival rates of adult Afri- negative (e.g., bycatch, resource competition), or positive
can penguins can be estimated by analysis of re-sightings (e.g., discard provisioning), whilst converse impacts of sea-
(either visual or electronic) of individually-marked birds. birds on fisheries also exist (e.g., bait stealing); see Mon-
Survival of adult African penguins has in many recent years tevecchi (2002) for a more detailed summary. However,
been considerably lower than is typical for seabird species, in terms of purse seiners targeting small pelagic fish and
suggesting that factors reducing adult survival are likely interactions with African penguins, the most important in-
to contribute to the observed population decline. Although teractions are likely to be related to bycatch and resource
monitored survival rates do not appear to indicate any corre- competition, or possibly to disturbance of group foraging
lation with anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, stock biomass, by penguins. African penguins have not been recorded
a strong correlation between adult survival and sardine, as bycatch in South Africa, which may be due to a com-
Sardinops sagax, stock biomass has been reported by bination of spatio-temporal separation of foraging (during
Robinson et al. (2015) and by Crawford et al. (2022). Both the day) and fishing (mostly at night) and net avoidance
studies found little relationship between adult survival and behaviour. In contrast, resource competition is perceived
sardine stock biomass in years when stock biomass was to be a major cause of African penguin decline by some
average, or above average, but found very low adult surviv- authors (e.g., Sydeman et al., 2021, and cited references
al in most years of particularly low sardine stock biomass. therein), although this is contested (Butterworth and Ross-
Gillespie, 2022, and cited references therein). Disturbance
1.3 Hypotheses related to how fisheries can impact of group foraging, unrelated to any prey depletion effects,
penguin populations could possibly occur if groups of penguins were disturbed
or displaced by fishing vessels, or if their group coordina-
1.3.1 Fishery related hypotheses tion and communication while hunting was affected be-
cause of noise.
There is a considerable literature related to the effects of Resource competition plausibly could happen through
marine capture fisheries on seabird population processes reductions in local prey biomass, or disruption of the prey
(e.g., Montevecchi, 2002; Cury et al., 2011; Sydeman et al., field so that preferred foraging opportunities are dimin-
2017). However, for some processes relatively few stud- ished. For example, removal of parts or even whole shoals
ies have access to data appropriately matched to predator of schooling fish would diminish local prey biomass and
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fis_hing _closures adjacent to S~uth Africa's
Afr,can Penguin Breeding colonies and dee/mes m the Penguin populat,on 11
327
specifically the prey aggregation states thought to be most 1400000

attractive to penguins. However, key to the realized impact
~ 120000C
on penguins will be the rates by which local prey are re- C:
placed via regional advection or directional movement of ~ 1000000
~
prey and diurnal prey migrations. This means that a key as- "'~ 800000
pect of management must be to consider the relative rates ~
C:
''
',;
of various ecological processes related to prey availability. ~
600000
'
Information documenting advection or directional move- «:moor.
ment of small pelagic fish is sparse. However, along the i
~ 200000
coast of South Africa, headlands and embayments interact
with the oceanographic flow of the coastal countercurrent 0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
and shelf-edge jet currents, leading to areas of retention Year
(Hutchings et al., 2002; Kirkman et al., 2016). Such com-
plexities are key to understanding the local movements Figure 1.4: Estimated total stock biomass (TSB) of western sar-
of fish as they come within the foraging ambit of a given dine from 1984 to 2019 (data from de Moor, 2021 and Coetzee et
al., 2022) .
penguin colony, replenishing the prey field depleted by
penguins, other predators, or fisheries. Moreover, the
African penguin, in common with other penguins, under- (Figure 1.4) showed no change in penguin mortality when
goes periods of positive and negative energy balance as sardine biomass exceeded about 25 to 30% of the maxi-
they accumulate, or lose, body weight during reproduction mum biomass (penguin annual mortality varied among
(e.g., Southwell et al., 2015). Consequently, depletion of years around a mean of about 15% per annum but with no
prey, whether due to natural predation or through resource trend in relation to sardine abundance). However, penguin
interactions with fisheries, is likely to have variable con- mortality increased rapidly as sardine biomass fell below
sequences depending upon the exact timing in relation to 25 to 30% of maximum biomass. Penguin annual mortal-
breeding, or seasonal prey movement. ity was estimated by Robinson et al. (2015) to be about
Thus, identification of how fisheries impact African 27% at a sardine biomass index of 20%, and about 55%
penguin populations, particularly foraging, is complex, re- at a sardine biomass index of 10% (Figure 1.3). Observed
sulting from interactions between the timing and stage of (and predicted) mortality exceeding 50% in years with sar-
moult, or breeding, at a given colony (e.g., Crawford et al., dine biomass below 10% of maximum represents a very
2013; Southwell et al., 2015), the availability of prey locally unusual situation for any seabird species, as seabirds are
(e.g., Campbell et al., 2019), advection and transport (e.g., normally long-lived, with adult survival rates typically
Hutchings et al., 2002; Kirkman et al., 2016), as well as around 0.8 or more.
penguin foraging efficiency (e;g., Mcinnes et al., 2017). Crawford et al. (2022) found that penguin survival was
around 0.8 when sardine stock biomass was average or
1.3.2 Other hypotheses above average but declined strongly with sardine stand-
ardised stock biomasses below 40% of maximum biomass
1.3.2.1 Forage fish abundance results similar to those previously shown by Robinson et al'.
(2015) but based on more years of data and from two colo-
Butterworth et ai. (2015), based on counts of moulting nies (Dassen and Robben islands). Perhaps surprisingly,
penguins and re-sightings of tagged penguins at Robben there seems to be no clear correlation between African
Island (Robinson et al., 2015), found that the primary rea- penguin survival and anchovy stock biomass, suggesting
son for the post-2003 penguin decline was an increase in that sardine may be the key forage fish determining pen-
adult mortality, which they attributed to reduced abundance
of sardine off the South African west coast. Analysis of 6000
• •• •
African penguin annual mortality rate at Robben Island in
relation to 1+ sardine stock biomass scaled to the maxi-
mum November survey estimate of 1 343 000 t in 2003
4000
2000
0 .
ii
.., . .. .
~ - - ,~
.:
~-·········
__
•
..... ,.................... ,.._. ... ,.....
600000 800000 1000000
.
1200000 1400000
·2000 • ..·
-4000
• •
••
04 ·8000
10000 • ;• = 1955,71n(J<) • 24980

02 • R'= 0,2753
i 0.0
.• •
•
••
12000
Figure 1.5: Change in numbers of pairs of African penguins

00 0.2 04 06 08 to between successive years (y-axis) off the South African west coast
Satdt,_1•bt0m8St in relation to sardine total spawning biomass averaged over the
year and previous year (x-axis, tonnes of total stock biomass).
Figure 1.3: The estimated relationship between the 1+ sardine The dotted line is the best fit logarithmic regression. Penguin data
biomass index and penguin adult mortality (from Robinson et al., from Sherley et al. (2020), sardine data from de Moor (2021) and
2015). Coetzee et al (2022)
Report of the_ International Review Panel ~egarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
12 Afr,can Pengum Breedmg colonies and declines in the Penguin population
328
guin survival (possibly due to its higher energetic content; livered to chicks, reproductive success, and other vital
Balmelli and Wickens 1994}. rates, all depend upon another set of important ecological
The changes in numbers of African penguins (Figure interactions, including parental age and experience (e.g.,
1.2} show a close similarity to changes in western sardine Ainley, 2002}. In a declining population, such as for Afri-
total stock biomass (Figure 1.4}. can penguins, juvenile recruitment is vital; indeed, within
Figures 1.2 and 1.4 suggest that breeding numbers of a given year, penguins fledging with heavier body masses
African penguins may be strongly influenced by western are likely to show higher survival rates than birds fledging
sardine total spawning biomass, although this is correla- lighter (Horswill et al., 2014). Thus, the individual quality of
tional evidence so inferring a causal relationship is hazard- parents and juveniles becomes important, where individual
ous. Plotting the change in penguin numbers from one year quality is linked to different performance levels consistent
to the next in relation to western sardine spawning biomass throughout life (Lescroel et al., 2009}. Seabirds respond
averaged over the year and previous year (Figure 1.5} and to environmental changes by adjusting their breeding and
fitting a regression line to these data, indicates that breed- foraging strategies (Cohen et al., 2014}, and relationships
ing numbers of penguins increased in almost all years when exist between adult survival and quality, such that popula-
sardine spawning biomass averaged more than about tion demographic patterns affected by factors at the indi-
350 000 t but decreased in most years when spawning viduals' level (e.g., individual quality} may be obscured at
biomass was below about 350 000 t. As inferred by But- the population-scale level (Lescroel et al., 2009}. Also, for a
terworth et al. (2015}, these data also suggest that western given population, life-history trade-offs that connect differ-
sardine spawning biomass may have been one of the most ent aspects of a population's demography may be impor-
important drivers of change in west coast African penguin tant (Horswill et al., 2021).
numbers (but noting considerable noise in the data in Life-history theory suggests that long-lived animals
Figure 1.5). (which include seabird species} should buffer their adult
In relation to sardine stock dynamics, de Moor and But- survival by abandoning breeding efforts if conditions are
terworth (2015} concluded "Importantly, however, average likely to have an adverse effect on adult survival, but sev-
recruitment for the west stock declines for spawning stock eral studies show empirical evidence of adult survival as
biomasses below about 800 000 t". Similar strong relation- well as breeding success of seabirds being reduced by low
ships where recruitment reduces rapidly at low spawning abundance of their preferred prey (e.g., Oro and Furness,
stock biomass exist for other sardines (e.g., Japanese 2002; Frederiksen et al., 2004; Davis et al., 2005). In an
sardine, Bai et al. 2022; Pacific sardine, McClatchie et al., analogous manner, fisheries should respond to ecosystem
2010}. conditions, especially for small pelagic fishes such as an-
In order to ensure long-term sustainability of the western chovy and sardine, which are typified by 'boom and bust'
South African sardine stock, it is important to avoid deplet- population dynamics that arise from inherent variability
ing stock biomass below 800 000 t because recruitment in their recruitment strength and short life-spans. For ex-
from significantly smaller stock biomasses will be likely to ample, from the mid-1980s until the early-2020s, sardine
be greatly reduced, resulting in prolonged depletion of the biomass on both the west coast and south coast of South
stock with limited potential for recovery. In that context, it is Africa was at low historical levels, apart from during a short
noteworthy that, rather than reducing fishing mortality con- period from the late-1990s, until the early-2000s (Coetzee
tinuously as stock biomass falls to low levels, the harvest et al., 2021a}. Subsequently, fishery catches increased, as
control rule (HCR) for this stock allows increasing fishing did the exploitation rate (Coetzee et al., 2021a}.
mortality to be imposed as the stock biomass falls from
524 000 t to 300 000 t (Coetzee et al., 2022) . A conse- 1.3.2.2 Egg collecting and guano harvests
quence of this HCR is that the exploitation rate peaked at
>70% of estimated stock biomass in 2016 (de Moor, 2021} Egg collecting was a pressure but is no longer an issue.
despite stock biomass being below 200 000 t and there- Loss of nesting habitat as a result of guano harvesting
fore already at risk of depressed recruitment. This deple- has reduced the suitability of available nest sites over
tion by the fishery is likely to have reduced the prospects many decades of guano removal. Guano harvests ended
for stock recovery by reducing future recruitment (see, for decades ago, but the legacy is that African penguins now
example, Essington et al., 2015}. The implication of that breed in sites where they are more exposed to predators,
is not only that the available stock biomass for fishing has nest flooding or overheating.
had limited potential for recovery to allow greater Total
Allowable Catches (TACs} because of impaired recruit- 1.3.2.3 Predation
ment, but also that the reduced sardine stock biomass will
have impacted African penguin adult survival (Robinson Predation by avian predators (especially kelp gulls} and
et al., 2015}, contributing to the severe decline in breed- by introduced alien mammal predators (such as feral cats,
ing numbers of African penguins. Based on the available rats, dogs) occurs at some colonies, mainly affecting sur-
evidence (de Moor and Butterworth, 2015; Robinson et al., vival of eggs and chicks. Predation also occurs at sea, with
2015; de Moor, 2021} lower survival and low sardine bio- penguins in some areas vulnerable to predation by Cape
mass appears to have been likely to have been one of, and fur seals. Predation on adult penguins by Cape fur seals
possibly the single, most powerful driver of African penguin has been particularly frequent at Dyer Island. During 2004
population dynamics in recent years, at least at Robben and in 2006-2007 Cape fur seals were estimated to kill
Island. about 7% of adult African penguins, mostly when penguins
Further, prey capture, adult survival, the amount de- were returning to the colony in the evening to feed chicks (_,
t,,'\...~ ~
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fish mg closures ad1acent to South Africa's
African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines ,n the Penguin population 13
329
(Makhado et al., 2013) . Previous estimates of this mortal-

ity were 9% in 1994-1996 and 2 to 2.5% in 1999-2001
(Makhado et al., 2013). The predation is thought to be
mainly by a small number of immature male Cape fur seals.
It is considered to be a learned behaviour, and Makhado et
al. (2009) suggest that the removal of these 'problem' seals
may be an appropriate management response. That would
appear to have the potential to reduce adult mortality by a
significant amount at Dyer Island, but possibly would have
relatively little benefit at most other colonies.
1.3.2.4. Noise
African penguins are known to be sensitive to underwater

noise (Pichegru et al., 2017) and use acoustic communica-
tion to increase group feeding efficiency (Mcinnes et al.,
2020). This raises the possibility that African penguin for-
aging success may be influenced by levels of underwater
noise that could compromise group feeding efficiency and
consequently result in a form of habitat loss or degradation
for foraging penguins. Such impacts could arise from pres-
ence of fishing vessels in penguin foraging areas or from
the presence of vessel traffic such as tankers and cargo
vessels. It has been suggested that increased shipping
activity in Algoa Bay may have contributed to the decline
in African penguin numbers at St Croix Island, and that
increased shipping noise may represent an increas- African Penguin in a nest incubating an egg (photo BM Dyer)
ing threat to African penguins in South African waters in
nies and moulting sites. Climate change is widely consid-
general (Pichegru et al., 2022).
ered likely to be a main factor influencing abundance and
distribution of these key prey. Oil pollution has been a long-
1.3.2.5 Nest boxes
term pressure on African penguins and _continues to be a
pressure. Disturbance at colonies by people, and distur-
African penguins are adapted to nest where they are safe
bance at sea by ship traffic are ongoing concerns.
from mammalian predators, historically only on offshore is-
lands. On these islands they nest alongside large numbers 1.4 Background to the establishment of the Expert
of other seabirds. As cold-adapted birds they are vulner- Panel.
able to overheating on land. They dig burrows in guano in
which they nest so that they have a buffered microclimate An African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP-
with high relative humidity, protected from solar heating and AP; Shaw et al., 2011; Anon, 2010) was developed that
safe from avian predators (Frost et al., 1976). Harvesting of aimed to halt the decline of the African penguin population
guano resources from islands off southern Africa removed in South Africa within two years of its implementation and
most of this preferred nesting habitat decades ago, forcing after that achieve a population growth that would result in
most penguins to nest on the surface, which exposes them a down-listing of the species in terms of its IUCN Red List
to predators, rain, wind, and especially to solar heating. status. These objectives were not achieved but the plan did
Solar heating can result in temporary nest desertion by lead to: (i) improved cooperative management; (ii) popula-
adults forced to go into the sea to cool down, which leaves tion reinforcement; (iii) improved breeding-habitat manage-
eggs exposed to predation and overheating, reducing their ment; and (iv) improved management of the captive popu-
breeding success (Frost et al., 1976; Randall, 1995; Lei et lation (Table 1 of DFFE, 2021).
al., 2014; Welman and Pichegru, 2023). Similar effects also Modelling studies suggest that adult mortality is high-
occur in the closely-related Magellanic penguin in South er when sardine biomass is below a critical threshold
America (Yorio and Boersma, 1994). One solution to this (Figure 1.3; Robinson et al., 2015) and low adult survival is a
problem is to provide nest boxes that protect penguins from strong driver of the reduction in the population size of African
these pressures (see additional details in Appendix C). penguins since around 2003. However, projections based
on the-then Operational Management Procedure (OMP)
1.3.2.6 Other for sardine by Robinson et al. 2015; see Figure 1.4)
suggested that changing the OMP was unlikely to have
African penguins are vulnerable to impacts on their sur- a marked impact on penguin growth rate relative to clos-
vival , ability to achieve breeding condition, and breeding ing the fishery entirely (Figure 1.6). Thus, the focus for
success, of low abundance of their key forage fish (sardine, potential management actions in recent years has
anchovy), and changes in the geographical distribution of focused on fishing near breeding sites.
forage fish stocks relative to the locations of penguin colo- Penguins may be especially sensitive to changes in pe- Ai\
~i
330
(a) (b)
-·
,•
2000
.-~. -. . 000 ... .., -.

.., -......
0-+------------·-·...·-·-·-·..•..•..·----;...,
:ioo, 2010 201& 2030 2010 201 ~ 2030
Figure 1.6: Comparison of median projected penguin numbers under Interim OMP-13, and without fishing for future sardine distributions
similar to those observed in (a) 1984-1998 and (b} 1998-2012. The 80% probability intervals are indicated for the projections under In-
terim OMP-13. Projections commence in 2012
lagic fish abundance and distribution as a consequence of The most recent estimates of the effects of closures
their land-based breeding sites and their limited foraging on penguin reproductive parameters are documented in
range during breeding (e.g., Sherley et al. 2013; Crawford Sherley et al., (2018, 2021) and Butterworth and Ross-
et al. 2019). For this reason, a study to assess the effects Gillespie (2021a), although these were updated for this
of closure to purse-seine fishing around penguin breed- report using data up to 2019 and a series of models
ing colonies was initiated in 2008. This study comprised proposed by the Panel. Models were developed to
two parts: (i) a feasibility study (2008-2012) during which estimate the implications of changes to each reproduc-
purse-seine fishing was prohibited around some island tive parameter individually on population growth rate (But-
breeding colonies and data on penguins and small pelagic terworth and Ross-Gillespie, 2021b; Sherley et al., 2018,
fish were collected to determine whether an experiment 2021) and attempts were made to infer changes in popula-
would have adequate statistical power, within a reason- tion growth given the effects of island closures, accounting
able time-period, to detect a statistically significant effect of for the effects on each reproductive parameter (Butterworth
closure, if such existed; and (ii) an Island Closure and Ross-Gillespie, 2021 b; Sydeman et al., 2022).
Experiment (ICE; 2014+), during which data were to be col- Options for area closures more aligned with the feeding
lected to enable a scientific evaluation of whether closures behaviour of penguins or with the needs of the fishery were
within a distance of 20 km are beneficial to penguin breed- developed by a variety of stakeholder groups (e.g., Coet-
ing success. In order to maximise contrast for more precise zee et al. , 2021a; CAF, 2022). The benefits to penguins
estimation, the study involved a three-year alternation of were quantified by estimates in the change to the popula-
opening and closing to fishing around islands 1. tion growth rate and the difference in numbers of penguins
Two groups of scientists conducted analyses of the expected to be added to the population given the size of
data from the ICE. The analyses were subject to review by the closures (e.g., Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie, 2021b;
the International Fisheries Stock Assessment Workshops Sherley et al., 2018, 2021; Bergh, 2022) while costs to the
(IFSAWs), and over time the differences in terms of meth- fishery were quantified in terms of catches in areas pro-
ods, data used and results regarding the effects of island posed to be closed , the amount of that catch that would be
closures on penguin reproductive parameters between the "lost", and the resulting reduction in jobs in the fishing sec-
two groups declined . However, the two groups of scientists tor and the general economy (e.g . Coetzee et al., 2021b;
could not reach agreement on some aspects of the analy- Bergh, 2022). Butterworth (2021) outlines a decision table
ses and its implications for penguin conservation (see a approach to compare the costs and benefits of addressing
detailed summary in CAF [2022] and Section 2). This was potential drivers of the dynamics of African penguin. How-
despite the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environ- ever, there was no agreement amongst the stakeholders
ment tasking the Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) for on a closure option owing to differences regarding whether
Marine Living Resources to develop agreed recommen- the benefits to penguins were meaningful given the predict-
dations on the limiting of small pelagic fishing activities ed change in growth rate (including relative to other poten-
adjacent to penguin colonies. This group considered many tial causes for the decline in abundance), as well as costs
documents and held over 50 hours of virtual meetings and to the fishing industry, and all proposals for closures were
several one-on-one meetings in attempts to broker consen- rejected. However, the stakeholders agreed that an expert
sus, but this could not be reached and as a last resort they panel could help to resolve the technical issues regarding
recommended an average of 50% closed and 50% open of the interpretation of the ICE.
the marine Important Bird Areas (ml BA) (CAF, 2022).
'This time-period was not well-matched to the biology of African penguins, which usually do not breed until aged 4-6 years, so the experiment was designed AAA
not to provide information on changes in population size, only on changes in parameters related to reproduction. /f" \
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa ·s
331
1.5 Panel process 1.6 Current management arrangements

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environ-
A call was made on 28 October 2022 for nominations of ment (DFFE) implemented the following interim closures
qualified individuals to be members of an Expert Panel in September 2022 (Figure 1.7):
(henceforth "Panel"), and the Minister selected five sci- 1. An L-shaped closure around Dassen Island stretch-
entists with expertise in seabird and penguin ecology, ing about 12.5 nm offshore from Yzerfontein and
population ecology and ecosystem modeling, and applied 21.5 nm offshore of Bokpunt, with an extension
statistics (Prof. Robert Furness, Dr. Ana Parma, Dr. ~va southward in the offshore area so that the maximum
Plaganyi. Prof. Andre Punt [Chair], and Prof. Philip Trathan) North/South extent is about 20 nm.
in December 2022. Recognizing the need for expertise in 2. No additional closure around the Robben Island
economics considerations, Prof. James Sanchirico was ap- colony, with only the MPA purse-seine fishery con-
pointed to the Panel in March 2022. Appendix A lists short trol zone of the Robben Island MPA being closed
biographies for the expert Panel. The Terms of Reference to fishing.
for the Panel are summarized in Appendix B. 3. A small closure stretching eastward from Cape
The Panel was provided with a list of background docu- Hangklip on the eastern side of False Bay for about
ments after a meeting with the Minister of Forestry, Fisher- 9 miles along the coast and about 3 nm offshore.
ies and the Environment and departmental staff, which was This includes the small Betty's Bay MPA and the
supplemented by documents identified by the stakeholders. Stony Point penguin colony.
The Panel held an online meeting (March 21-23, 2023) at 4. A rectangular area around Dyer Island between
which stakeholders provided input to the Panel in the form Danger Point and Quoin Pt, extending offshore for
of oral presentations and written submissions, after which about 18 nm from Dyer Island and southwards for
the Panel met to discuss the implications of the material about 12 nm from the island. This rectangular area
presented and the necessary next steps. The meeting led is further divided into an inshore area that is closed
to a request for additional information on catches that were to all purse seiners and a larger offshore area where
reported to have occurred in the closed areas. only vessels with a total length of less than 26 m
A meeting of South African scientists and stakeholders may fish.
took place on 15 May 2023 during which updated results 5. A rectangular area about 20 nm south of St Croix
related to the ICE, the impact of closures on catches and Island in Algoa Bay, with a maximum alongshore
the fishery, as well as how penguin foraging areas could be extent of about 20 nm, but with fishing allowed
specified were discussed; one Panel member acted as an around the Riy Banks.
observer at the May meeting. 6. A square closure extending about 12 miles south
The material from the May and March meetings, along of the Addo MPA in the vicinity of Bird Island with
with brief comments by meeting participants, were made a maximum west/east extent of around 29 nm.
available to the Panel, which then met from 5-9 June 2023. Other restricted areas include the 16-mile beach MPA in-
The June meeting of the Panel involved a two-day "open" shore along the west coast, north of Dassen Island, the
session at which stakeholder groups were provided the entire False Bay, the inshore area in Walker Bay between
opportunity to make presentations to the Panel, followed Stony Point and Dyer Island and the Sardinia Bay MPA,
by a three-day "closed" session during which the Panel just west of Algoa Bay and the inshore parts of the Addo
reviewed the available evidence, debated conclusions and MPA between the interim closures of St Croix and Bird
identified advice and recommendations. islands.
Figure 1.7: Interim closures to fishing (red polygons) as currently implemen~ed. These closure~ have been implemented since September A.h""f
2022. Vessels <26 m in length are allowed to fish in the offshore area (outside the red dotted line) of Dyer Island. '{, fl v I
Report of the International Review Panel regard mg fishing closures adj~cent to S~uth Africa's
16 African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Pengwn population
332
2. BENEFITS OF ISLAND CLOSURES TO PENGUINS
2.1 Aims and design of the ICE, and reproductive The penguin parameters that were intended to be meas-
parameters monitored ured during the experiment were: chick condition, survival
and growth, fledgling success and as measures of foraging
The Island Closure Experiment (ICE) was established in behaviour: maximum distance, path length and trip dura-
2007 to provide a scientific basis to assess whether clo- tion (see Campbell et al. [2019] for detailed specifications
sures to pelagic fishing in the neighbourhood of penguin for how each of these variables are defined and calculated
breeding islands might provide a meaningful improvement based on monitoring data). Not all response variables could
to penguin reproductive success. The design of the ICE be measured in all colonies; the west colonies (Dassen and
therefore had a basic aim to detect differential reproductive Robben islands) were the most intensively monitored while
success under open and closed situations during periods only data on chick condition and foraging-related variables
when other conditions were unlikely to confound results were collected at St Croix and Bird islands (see Table 2.2
through having changed themselves. for details regarding data availability).
The ICE comprised two parts: (i) a feasibility study dur- Small-scale acoustic surveys using an inflatable vessel
ing which purse-seine fishing was prohibited around two were conducted to provide direct estimates of the biomass
pairs of penguin breeding islands: Dassen and Robben of small pelagic fish available to penguins around some of
islands on the West Coast and St Croix and Bird islands the islands. Those surveys were initially around Robben
in the Eastern Cape (Figure 1.1 ); and (ii) an experimental Island (six surveys were conducted in 2009) but in later
phase (2015-2021) where a series of three-year alternat- years the surveys were extended to around Dassen, St
ing island closures around the four breeding islands were Croix and Bird islands (Coetzee et al., 2016). Fine-scale
implemented (Table 2.1 ). Figure 2.1 summarises the time- surveys were also conducted by non-governmental re-
line of the ICE and the associated reviews of the analyses searchers around St Croix and Bird islands from 2014 to
conducted. 2018 (Mcinnes et al., 2017). The small-scale surveys were
The three-year alternation of opening and closing to subsequently abandoned at the end of 2018 given their
fishing around islands was selected to maximise contrast relatively low precision, staff shortages and lack of funding
for more precise estimation of closure effects (CAF, 2022). (DFFE, 2021).
The duration of three years was selected according to
DFFE (2021) to balance conflicting objectives of: (i) rapid 2.2 Methods used to estimate effects of closures
alternation to maximise contrast in the data to enable more (catches) on penguin population growth rate
precise estimation; (ii) a slower alternation to take account
of possible autocorrelation in the penguin indices being 2. 2. 1. Rationale for models
monitored; and (iii) the desirability to integrate the feasibil-
ity study into a possible future experiment to lead to earlier The impacts of fishing closures on the response variables
answers. monitored were quantified using generalised linear mixed-
The feasibility study was originally planned to last two effects models (GLMM). Various model variants were ap-
years (2008 and 2009), but that proved to be insufficient plied since the first analyses of the ICE data were conduct-
time to allow experimental power to be estimated for all ed during the initial feasibility period, including an analysis
the penguin parameters monitored, and analyses of the to evaluate the power to detect biologically meaningful
impacts of purse-seine fishing in the vicinities of breeding impacts caused by the fishery as data accumulated. The
islands failed to produce clear-cut results. It was therefore power analyses completed in 2016 indicated that meaning-
agreed that the feasibility study was to be extended for an ful results could be obtained within 20 years of the onset
additional four years (until the end of 2014). of the experiment (Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth, 2016a).
Table 2.1: Schedule of closures around the four penguin breeding colonies during the ICE. Crosses indicate years in which a 20 km radius
area around the island was closed to fishing.
Island 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Dassen X X X X X X x1
Island
Robben X X X X X X x 2
Island
St Croix X X X X X X X 3
Island
Bird X X X X X X
Island
1
Closed from 15th January to 31st March and from 1st October to 31 st December, and open from 1st April to 30th September. ,tt1
2
Closed from 15th January to 31 st December.
3
Closed from 1st April to 30th September, and open from 15th January to 31 st March as well as from 1st October to 31 st December.
333
Table 2.2: Reproductive parameters monitored at the four breed- tions between the time-series of catches taken within the
ing colonies that were part of the Island Closure Experiment. 20-km areas (when open) and regional survey estimates
of biomasses of anchovy in the west and sardines in the
Response variable Island Year range
east (Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth, 2023a). In the final
Chick condition Dassen 2004-2019 set of results presented in Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth
Robben 2004-2019 (2023a), catch-based models were also examined but they
Bird 2008-2019 were used only as sensitivity runs requested by the Panel
St Croix 2008-2019 to evaluate the impact of some non-negligible catches ap-
parently taken within the area closed around St Croix ls-
Chick Survival Dassen 2008-2019 land mainly in 2017 (see section 2.4).
Robben 2008-2019 In all cases, separate analyses were conducted for the
Bird - two pairs of colonies (Dassen and Robben islands on the
St Croix - west coast, and St Croix and Bird islands on the east),
assuming that nearby colonies experienced rather simi-
Fledging success Dassen 1995-2015 lar conditions affecting breeding success, except for the
Robben 1989-2015 experimental treatment. Separate island-specific effects
Bird - of the closure were however estimated considering that
St Croix - several factors not controlled by the experimental design
Chick growth Dassen 1989-2014 may lead to different responses to the closure between the
Robben 2004-2014 paired islands. The significance of those differences was
evaluated by Sherley (2023), .and the model with a com-
Bird -
mon effect was selected based on standard model-selec-
St Croix -
tion criteria by Sherley (2023). Concerns were expressed
Max distance Dassen 2008-2018 that the estimation of a common effect would tend to be bi-
Robben 2008-2018 ased towards the island with the higher sample size and/or
Bird 2008-2018 lower variance (Bergh, 2023) and that alternative weights
St Croix 2008-2018 (e.g., size of the colony) could be used to average island-
specific estimates. While this is a valid point, the differenc-
Path length Dassen 2003-2018 es between the results were not large and the integrated
Robben 2003-2018 estimate of a regional impact would not be largely affected.
Bird 2007-2018 An important difference between the approaches fa-
St Croix 2008-2018 voured by different analysts was a preference to analyse
the data aggregated as annual means (Ross-Gillespie and
Trip duration Dassen 2003-2018
Butterworth, 2023a) versus using individual-records-based
Robben 2003-2018
disaggregated data (Sherley et al., 2018; Sydeman et al.,
Bird 2007-2018
2021). The relative merits of aggregated and disaggregated
St Croix 2008-2018
data models were the subject of substantial debate (e.g.,
Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie, 2022; Sydeman et al.,
The main features that distinguish the various model vari- 2022). The individual-based approach has the advantage
ants utilised are summarised in this section .' Mathematical of analysing the data at the level they are collected, but
specifications and further details are provided in Appendix the model needs to appropriately capture the factors and
D and cited documents. sources of variability (observed or unobserved) impacting
Two main classes of models were considered. These the observations, other than closure alone (Haddon et al.,
differ in the choice of independent variable used to repre- 2020). If the model is incorrectly specified and there are
sent the effect of fishing. In one class, fishing is included unaccounted common random effects that affect all obser-
as a binary variable having a value of 1 when the island is vations from a given stratum (e.g., all observations from a
open to fishing and 0 when it is closed. Predictions from given month, year and colony), individual observations are
this class of models are referred to as "closure-based es- not independent. This so-called "pseudo-replication" may
timates" of the impact of fishing . In the alternative class of lead to underestimation of the standard errors of important
models, the effect of the actual catches taken within the model outputs. Aggregated models, on the other hand,
20-km areas around the colonies are evaluated as covari- have the advantage of not requiring assumptions about
ates. In this case, the predicted "catch-based estimates" within-stratum correlation, but are vulnerable to assigning
of the impact of fishing within a given closure is calculated inappropriate weights by stratum (Haddon et al., 2020). Be-
using the average catch taken from that closure when the cause the two approaches would be statistically equivalent
island was open to fishing during the ICE. A concern with provided that a correct model structure is assumed in the
the catch-based estimators is that the true impact of fish- estimation (Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie; 2022, Haddon
ing may be underestimated if catches tend to be higher et al., 2020), the debate centred on the choice of a hierar-
when fish biomass is higher due to the confounded effects chical random structure for the disaggregated models that
of fishing and food availability on penguin breeding suc- would be able to account for the pseudo-replication.
cess. The preference for using the closure-based models The choice of random model structure to be used in
as the base for inference regarding the impacts of island
closures was supported by the finding of positive correla-
each of the two approaches was discussed during an in- M
ternational review conducted in 2020 where a recommen-
Ll-
334
1,termhed ""e<l to re"'-<e

!r,.. ~Pa\P .,, Afr-..,. ..
pt"n.:uin n ortJ:hfy
(Let)flf\lJlt"Jdf--<.1•! ~
& ..... mortal11"; & ensur..-
r~producflon otf~t"'t\ mortJhty
tor,, 1t-rrr P'-.duStOfi lOt~S
..... SWG l'El R,-,pons"
,) Dt>velup Pf'riguo1• popul.t!lun model lo u>f' ... rt~ ,.,,di P<'kl£M. OMP
11) lrlilt1A1tt' f'qJefl"T1ent~I lio\ut~ to trrvf'\hl41l' "11t1Wtht•f fht'-:f'C IW411
,n r,opul.1t1011 4f0\1r.d ( ~ S re-comme-ndt1-d c...,,._,, •••JM<h Dt'f'«ur<1 rPprodu{!lve rat~ ~l(.o'1ve ►t
ti,,, s o&c
2008
• • •
2010
• •
2012 2013 2014
•
•
015
•
Experiment (-Tibia s tor Kh41dulel
Figure 2.1: limeline describing major events, decisions etc., during the feasibility study and experiment (Figure 9 ofDFFE, 2021). SWG-
PEL= small pelagic scientific working group; IRP = International Review Panel; B: O&C = Branch: Oceans and Coasts; AEWA = Agree- .A,I\
ment on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds; BCC = Benguela Current Commission; SAN Parks = South African ff'-' l
National Parks; TPSWG = Top Predator Scientific Working Group; OMP = operational management procedure; GLMM = generalised
linear mixed-effects model \ L,
'
Report of the lnternat,onal Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
Afr,can Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population 19
335
dation was made to use standard model selection criteria probability of dying) for chicks in the same nest, which was
combined with knowledge of the sampling design (Haddon estimated through the NestlD random effect in the data-dis-
et al., 2020). In both cases, a random Year effect, com- aggregated models while it was either ignored when gener-
mon to the paired islands, was incorporated to account for ating the annual aggregated survival times series (the A(B)
year-to-year changes in food availability and other unspeci- models in Sherley's Figure 4) or it was accounted for prior
fied factors affecting annual breeding success at a regional to evaluating the closure effects in a separate parametric
scale. Monthly differences in chick condition were found model (the A(S) models).
to be important and therefore aggregated data were first In conclusion, the Panel agreed that the debate about
standardised for the month effect as explained in Ross- the relative merits of analyses based on aggregated versus
Gillespie and Butterworth (2021a), while a random Month disaggregated data was essentially closed based on the
effect, nested within Year, was incorporated in the data-dis- final set of results presented at the June 2023 meeting. Al-
aggregated models (Sydeman et al., 2021). The remain- though differences in preferences between the analysts re-
ing question, therefore, was which further random effects, mained, the Panel agreed that the two approaches would
if any, would need to be nested within Year (or Year/Month) provide similar results (as expected) when appropriately
to account for possible correlation between the individual configured (especially to account for pseudo-replication),
observations in the disaggregated data models. Sydeman all other things related to data pre-processing being equal.
et al. (2021) found that accounting for the identity of the
penguin nest (NestlD) in the chick survival analysis was 2.2.2 Converting impacts on reproductive parameters to
significant given that the survival of chicks from the same changes in penguin population growth rate
nest are expected to be correlated. However, their pre-
ferred model with random effects Year + Year/NestlD did Fishing effects on reproductive parameters estimated
not include Island (nested within Year) and therefore could from the models need to be linked to impacts on penguin
still be affected by pseudo-replication, as discussed by But- population growth rates. A method based on a demo-
terworth and Ross-Gillespie (2022). The final set of analy- graphic model described in Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth
ses presented by Sherley (2023) used hierarchical model (2021 b) was used by all analysts as a basis to convert
structures suggested by the Panel in the light of previous changes in chick condition, fledging success and chick
results presented at its March 2023 meeting. The suggest- survival into absolute effects on annual population growth
ed model structures attempted to address the pseudo-rep- rate. In the case of chick condition, a relationship between
lication by including Island in the random effects in a way mass at fledging and first-year survival estimated for the
that differed depending on the response variable. For the macaroni penguin (Horswill et al., 2014) was used to
analysis of individual chick condition data, the hierarchical translate changes in chick condition to changes in popu-
random effects involved Year + Year/Month + Year/Month/ lation growth rate (Sherley et al., 2018). For the other
Island, i.e., it included the effect of Island nested within the response variables (chick growth, trip duration, maximum
Year x Month interaction. Likewise, the inclusion of Island distance and path length), whose impact on demography
was suggested for the analysis of chick survival data as are not straightforward, it was assumed that the estimat-
Year+ Year/Island+ Year/lsland/NestlD, which follows the ed relative change in the response variable due to fishing
natural nesting of the data collection program given that resulted in the same relative change in juvenile survival
different nests are monitored in different years. (Robinson et al., 2014; Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie,
The suggested random model structures were preferred 2021a, Table A1). This assumption is not supported by
based on model selection criteria (Sherley, 2023). In the evidence available for other species, which indicates that
analysis of chick condition data, the inclusion of the Island the relationship between, for example, foraging trip dura-
random effect nested within Year + Year/Month resulted tion or distance travelled with chick survival is nonlinear
in wider confidence intervals for the predicted impacts on and involves thresholds. Aside from these nonlinearities,
penguin population growth rate due to a higher standard er- the assumption that the relative impacts on, say, trip dura-
ror of the estimated fixed closure effects (compare models tion and chick survival have the same magnitude is highly
3 and 3.1 respectively with models 5 and 5.1 in Sherley's questionable. The Panel agreed to interpret the impacts
Figure 2), as anticipated if observations within year-month- of fishing in foraging-related parameters only qualitatively,
island strata were not independent. Furthermore, the clo- and to not integrate them into the overall impacts on pen-
sure effects estimated using these preferred models had guin population growth rates.
very similar precision to those produced using aggregated
data (model 8 in Sherley's Figure 2). A difficulty to partition 2.2.3. Integrating fishing impacts predicted from separate
the variance and to estimate the variance attributed to the analyses into overall fishing impacts on penguin growth
Year factor was observed so a simpler random structure rate
that excluded the Year factor was selected with no impact
on the closure-effect estimates. The results of the ICE provide estimates of how closing a
For the chick survival data, the inclusion of Island in the penguin breeding island will impact the value of a param-
nested random structure also decreased the precision of eter related to penguin reproductive success, and models
the estimated closure effects (compare models 4 versus 8 were developed that related the change in the value of one
and 5 versus 9 in Sherley's Figure 4). In this case, however, parameter to a change in population growth rate. Ultimately,
the standard errors estimated with the selected data-dis- it is necessary to 'integrate' the effects for each reproduc-
aggregated model were larger than those estimated using tive parameter to derive an 'overall' estimate of the change .A,..,A
aggregated data for models containing the equivalent fixed in population growth rate due to closing a breeding island. 14'" -
effects. This may be related to the shared frailty (i.e., linked This calculation is complicated because of several factors: \l--
Report of the lnternat1onaf Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa 's
20 African Penguin Breeding colonies and dee/mes in the Penguin population
336
• There are factors that will determine population changes in chick condition and chick survival, one in which
growth rate other than changes in reproductive rate the effects were averaged and a second in which the ef-
such as immigration/emigration and changes in fects were added. As explained in section 2.2.2, the rela-
survival for post-fledgling animals. Thus, reported tionship between chick condition and juvenile survival used
changes in population growth rate are those related to translate changes in chick condition to changes in popu-
only to changes in reproductive success, essentially lation growth rate corresponds to a relationship between
assuming that the survival rate for animals after the mass at fledging and first-year survival (estimated for the
first year of life is not impacted by closures to breed- macaroni penguin). Therefore, the Panel agreed that it is
ing islands and that immigration and emigration bal- more appropriate to treat those effects as additive when
ance out. calculating the overall impacts on population growth rates.
• Only a subset of the parameters were monitored on
all breeding islands and some parameters were not 2.3 Predicted effects of fishery closures (catches) on
monitored for all years (Table 2.2) . penguin population growth rate
• Some of the parameters (e.g., chick survival and
chick condition/growth) are not independent. 2.3.1 Summary of outcomes among analyses
• There is a need to infer the effect of closures for
breeding islands that were not part of the ICE. A broad summary of the results in terms of the impacts
• The estimates of changes in population growth rate of fishing around breeding colonies on penguin popula-
derived from the ICE results pertain to a status quo tion growth rates obtained for the west and east colo-
of no closure, so changes in population growth rate nies included in the ICE is given below. A negative value
of half those estimates are pertinent to the recent corresponds to a predicted positive effect of closing the
situation of closures half of the time. 20-km areas on population growth rate because the report-
ed values correspond to fishing impacts.
Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2021b) provide a "qualita- Results for three different closure-based estimators are
tive" scheme for conducting the integration based on the shown for the analyses of chick condition and chick sur-
following assumptions/algorithm : vival in Figures 2.2 and 2.3. The first two estimators involve
• The three foraging metrics were assumed not to models fitted to disaggregated data (D) and the third is
be independent nor were chick condition and chick based on the analysis of aggregated data (A). These es-
growth, and measures of uncertainty (standard er- timators correspond to the preferred choices made by the
rors for the estimates of population change by re- analysts, and use the random-effects hierarchical structure
productive parameter) were calculated based on that was recommended by the Panel for the case of models
dividing the 95% interval for the population growth fitted to disaggregated data.
rate by 4.
• Fledgling success, chick condition, and chick sur- 2.3.1.1 Dassen and Robben islands
vival are more 'reliable' as there is a demographic
model relating changes in these variables to chang- The two alternative estimates shown in Figure 2.2 obtained
es in population growth rate. Thus, for example, using disaggregated data differ with respect to whether
when information about chick condition and chick the effect of fishing was assumed to be the same on both
growth were integrated for Dassen Island, values islands (models W1 and W4) or was allowed to differ be-
of 0.06% and 1.74% were averaged qualitatively to tween them (models W2 and W5), while separate effects
get 0.5% and the standard deviation of this value for the two islands were estimated by models W3 and W6,
was set to that corresponding to the 0.06% estimate which were fitted to aggregated data. A slight preference
(i.e., 0.42%). for the models that assume the same effect size in both
• Of the foraging metrics, maximum distance •was islands was found when the models based on disaggre-
considered to be less reliable than path length and gated data were compared (Sherley, 2023). While some
trip duration, given there is more uncertainty associ- analysts argued that separate effects should be preferred
ated with a maximum than an integrated measure. independently of the results of the tests (Butterworth and
Thus, inferences regarding changes in foraging dis- Ross-Gillespie, 2023a), they acknowledged that the inte-
tance on population growth rate involved a "qualita- grated estimates for the western Cape colonies would not
tive average" of the effects of primarily path length be much affected.
and trip duration, with the standard error set to aver- The resulting estimates for the three selected alterna-
ages of the standard errors of the change percent- tive models are similar although confidence bounds were
ages by island. narrower when the effects were forced to be the same for
• No attempt was made to infer changes on chick both islands, as expected. The exceptions are the results
growth, chick survival and fledgling success for St for chick survival for Robben Island, which indicate a larger
Croix and Bird islands from the results for Dassen negative impact of fishing on population growth rate when
and Robben islands, but estimates of population the analysis is based on disaggregated data than when ag-
growth were determined from changes in chick con- gregated data are used. Part of the reason for this differ-
dition/growth and foraging alone. ence may be the way the individual data were aggregated
to construct the time-series of chick survival.
In their presentation to the Panel, Butterworth and Ross- Larger negative impacts of fishing, close to the -1%
Gillespie (2023) outlined two alternatives for combining the value used as a reference, were estimated for Dassen and
predicted changes in population growth rate derived from Robben islands based on chick survival data except for the
..
337
Dassen
(0
Chick condition Chick tul'\'ival F1edging GrO'tith Foraging
MO PL D
"Iii'
.! ('II
2!
.s::. 0
3
em r.-
C
0 "T
.:; I
.! W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11
::,
Q. Robben
0 U)
Q. Chick condition Chick suMV31 Growth Foraging
.5 MO PL TD
'd'
Cb
CJ)
C
N
ti
.s::.
0 0
~
0
":'
re re re
.
...,. K
D 0
I"(
A
I.C
0
l"C
D A A
PC
A
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11
Figure 2.2: Estimates of change in population growth rate for Dassen and Robben islands as a result of fishing (expressed as a percent-
age per annum) resulting from the analysis of various response variables measured at those colonies: chick condition, chick survival,
fledging success, chick growth, and three variables related to foraging behaviour: maximum foraging distance (MD), path length (PL) and
trip duration (TD). W1-W11 = model numbers. Model specifications are detailed in Appendix D.
smaller effect estimated for Robben Island using aggregat- fishing on the breeding success of penguins is therefore
ed data. Most estimated effects based on chick condition questionable, particularly given opposite signs of fishing
were negative but somewhat smaller, ranging from 0.04% impacts estimated for St Croix Island.
to-0.67%. Overall, the Panel did not consider the results for the
The results based on analyses of chick growth and east colonies to be reliable, given the very little fishing that
foraging-related parameters give little indication of a bio- took place around Bird Island when the area was open
logically meaningful impact of the closures. A reduction in except in the early years (Figure 2.4). Also, the first two
chick growth rate during years when an island was open to model results based on disaggregated data included data
fishing was expected but the opposite was estimated (mod- for the year 2017 when some sizeable catches were taken
el W8). Results are not consistent with the generally neg- from within the St Croix Island closure when the area was
ative fishing impacts estimated from chick condition and supposed to be closed. Some sensitivity runs conducted in
survival, the response variables that are more directly response to a request by the Panel using the aggregated
related to population trends. data (Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth, 2023b) indicate that
these catches did not impact the broad results from the ICE
2.3.1.2 St Croix and Bird islands for St Croix Island. In particular, the analyses still resulted
in positive estimates of fishing impacts for St Croix Island
The fishing impacts estimated for St Croix and Bird is- when year 2017 was excluded from the data. This result
lands based on chick condition data were positive except was not substantially altered in other sensitivity runs re-
that for Bird Island based on aggregated data (model E3), ported by Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2023a, results
which was negative and very small (-0.24%) (Figure 2.3) . A not shown here). The only run that resulted in a negative,
negative impact was estimated for some of the foraging albeit small, impact (-0.39 in units of% population growth)
variables in some of the island-method combinations, but was when data for 2008-201 O were excluded, Bird Island
the estimated impact was positive for other cases. The was treated as closed during all years, and St Croix Island
reliability of foraging metrics as indicators of the impact of was treated as open in 2017.
338
The alternative catch-based estimator, which uses ac- based on chick condition are available.
tual catches taken within the 20-km areas instead of the Overall, the Panel concluded that the results of the
open/closed treatment, led to negative but still very small ICE for Dassen and Robben islands indicate that fish-
fishing impacts (-0.28 in units of % population growth) at ing closures around the breeding colonies are likely to
St Croix Island for the chick condition data (Ross-Gillespie have a positive impact on population growth rates, but
and Butterworth, 2023a, results not shown). The results that the impacts may be small, in the range 0.71-1 .51%
based on foraging-related variables, on the other hand, (expressed in units of annual population growth rate) .
tended to show smaller negative impacts for St Croix Island These impacts are small relative to the estimated relative
than when the open/closed treatment was used. reductions in penguin abundance for these two colonies
The existence of other confounding factors not con- overthe period 2005-2022, which were estimated by the
trolled by the ICE add to the difficulties in interpreting the Panel at -13% for Dassen Island and -10% for Robben
results for the eastern colonies. In particular, the increased Island, using abundance data provided to the Panel.
number of bunkering operations in Algoa Bay since 2016 The ICE in its current form (to estimate the effects of
may have impacted the penguin population at St Croix fishing closures on reproductive success) is completed .
Island (Pichegru et al. , 2022). A sensitivity run that only Future closures of forage-fish fishing around penguin
included years up to 2015 (Model SS in Ross-Gillespie colonies would be likely to benefit penguin conservation,
and Butterworth, 2023a) failed to identify any impact of the but should be part of a larger package of conservation
closures on chick condition, and led to lower impacts based measures as such closures alone would be unlikely to
on foraging trip parameters. reverse the current decline in penguin population numbers.
In summary, the Panel concluded that the ICE results
for the east colonies were more uncertain and difficult to 2.4 Caveats associated with the ICE and the associated
interpret given that the paired islands did not provide the analyses
anticipated contrast, and given the few response variables
that could be monitored at those colonies. Notwithstanding The commitment by the South African government to im-
these limitations, the Panel concluded that the available plementing an experimental management scheme (the
results only provide indirect evidence of negative impacts ICE) to understand whether fishing near breeding colonies
of fishing around St Croix Island through increased for- negatively affects African penguin populations should be
aging distances of breeding penguins during years when recognised, notwithstanding the caveats in this section be-
the colony was open. However, these changes in foraging cause without the ICE, management decisions would have
behaviour were not reflected in estimated poorer chick to be based on analogy and expert opinion. The experi-
condition . ment aimed to collect data that could allow the effects of
fishing closures on the reproductive parameters of African
2. 3. 2. Integrated estimates of the overall impact of closures penguins to be estimated. It implemented several best
on penguin population growth rate practices, including paired controls and treatments, moni-
toring of key reproductive parameters, and an initial period
As discussed in Section 2.2.3, the Panel considered it more to assess how long it would take for there to be sufficient
appropriate to treat effects estimated from impacts on chick statistical power to detect a potentially meaningful effect of
condition and chick survival as additive when calculating fishing closures, if one existed. In addition, the data from
the predicted overall impact on population growth rates the experiment were analysed using multiple modelling ap-
(Table 2.3). Only the predictions for Dassen and Robben proaches and the analyses were regularly peer-reviewed
islands are shown given the concerns regarding the use within the domestic process as well as by the International
of foraging-related variables (see section 2.2.1) and that Fisheries Stock Assessment Review Workshops (e.g.,
fact that, for St Croix and Bird islands, only estimates Haddon et al. 2020), likely increasing the robustness of the
Table 2.3: Overall integrated fishing impacts on penguin population annual growth rates estimated from the data collected during the ICE
for the Dassen Island and Robben Island breeding colonies. Three estimates are provided for each island to illustrate the range of results
produced by the selection of model runs shown in Figure 2.2. Note that the values provided refer to the predicted effects of fishing around
the colonies, so a negative value implies a positive change in population growth rate if the areas were closed relative to if they were kept
open to fishing.
Dassen Island Chick condition Chick survival Added fishing Models Modelling of
impacts on population closure effect
growth rate
-0.43 -0.86 -1 .29 W1 &W4 l+C

-0.24 -0.86 -1.10 W2&W5 IX C
0.04 -1.04 -1 .00 W3&W6 IX C
Robben Island Chick condition Chick survival Added fishing Models Modelling of
impacts on population closure effect
growth rate
-0.43 -0.91 - 1.34 W1 &W4 l+C

-0.67 -0.84 -1.51 W2&W5 IX C
-0.59 -0.12 -0.71 W3&W6 IX C
Report of the lnternat,onal Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa 's
339
St Croix
(0
Chick condition Foraging
MO PL TD
~
.! N
!
.:C 0
3,e --------- ----

CJ)
C
<";I
,o "'!'
·..;:;
E1 E2
I
J!!
::,
EJ E9 E10 E11
Q. Bird
0 (0
Q. Chick condition Foragiog
·-
C
Q) -.:I'
,0 PL TD
0)
C
ta ~ -
.:C
0 0
';f.
~
C K re re re re
"!" 0 0 A A A A
E1 E2 El E9 10 E11
Figure 2.3: Estimates of change in population growth rate for St Croix and Bird islands as a result of fishing (expressed as a percentage
per annum) resulting from the analysis of chick condition and three variables related to forag ing behaviour measured in those colonies:
maximum foraging distance (MD), path length (PL) and trip duration (TD). E1-E11 = model numbers. Model specifications are detailed in
Appendix D.
results. The ICE was highlighted by Sydeman et al. (2017) closure would potentially involve a much longer
in their review of best practices for assessing forage fish experiment than that needed to detect changes
fisheries - seabird resource competition, noting that field in reproductive parameters. This was due, for ex-
experiments are the "holy grail" of seabird-fisheries com- ample, to the time that penguins take to recruit to
petition studies because of the potential to detect causal the adult population, and that the results in terms
effects. In fact, it is the only case where an experiment has of population size might be confounded by the
been designed with the aim of detecting fishing effects on effects of, for example, movement amongst breed-
reproductive parameters of seabirds. However, Sydeman ing colonies.
et al. (2017) note that field experiments can be difficult to • The experiment involved temporal blocks of 3 open
design and implement, and the ICE is no exception in this and 3 closed periods (Table 2.1 ). This design was
regard. a compromise between longer blocks, which might
Notwithstanding that the experiment was designed permit detection of changes in population size and
following best practices, there are several weaknesses of shorter blocks, given the focus on reproductive
the design and implementation that need to be recognised parameters. The design was implemented nearly
and their consequences accounted for when interpreting as anticipated - the exception was 2021 , the data
the results in section 2.3 of this report. for which are not used in the analyses.
• The experiment aimed to estimate the effects of • The closures pertained to 20 km around breeding
fishing closures on penguin reproductive param- colonies. However, analyses subsequent to the
eters, meaning that it was necessary to develop start of the experiment (e.g., Annexure 1 of CAF,
models to predict changes in the population growth 2022) show that penguin foraging can extend well
rate given expected changes in reproductive pa- beyond 20 km (especially for St Croix Island) so
rameters (see section 2.2.3). \Nhile it would have while the results of the experiment allow the effect
been ideal to relate fishing closures to changes in of 20 km closures to be quantified, potentially larger
population sizes directly, it was recognised when effects may have been observed with closures that
the experiment was proposed that the time to detect more closely reflected foraging areas. The ability tJ
changes in population size attributable to an island to infer changes in reproductive parameters (and f{u- '
340
hence population growth rates) for closures that dif- this variable could not be included in the analyses.
fer from 20 km around islands requires an extra step Another factor that may have impacted reproduc-
of interpretation that is necessarily primarily qualita- tion on St Croix Island is the effect of bunkering near
tive. Gqeberha since 2016 (Pichegru et al., 2022).
• The experiment relates to four of six major breed-
ing colonies. Closures have been proposed for Dyer 2.5 Potential but not studied benefits to adult and im-
Island and Stony Point. Inference of the effect of mature African penguins from the ICE
closures for these colonies requires extrapolation
of the effects of the closures for the islands in the The ICE measured variables that were considered to be
experiment, and are consequently more uncertain. direct measures or proxies for African penguin breeding
• The experiment manipulated the ability to fish with- success or post-fledging survival, but did not measure im-
in 20 km of the four islands. It did not specify that pacts of island closures on African penguin adult survival or
catches had to occur when an island was "open". immature survival. Evidence (outlined below) indicates that
One consequence of this is that catches might be increases in prey abundance/availability would be likely to
low during open years. This was the case for Bird result in some gains in adult survival and immature sur-
Island where catches were low irrespective of vival.
whether this island was open or closed to fishing Seabirds tend to have high adult survival and low fe-
due to operational issues. Moreover, analyses pro- cundity (breeding success). Life history theory predicts that
vided by Janet Coetzee (DFFE) showed that some seabird adult survival is likely to be more strongly buffered
catches had occurred inside the closure areas in than breeding success by behavioural responses because
years when they were supposed to be fully closed seabird population dynamics is driven more strongly by
to pelagic fishing (in particular, off St Croix Island in adult survival than by breeding success (Cairns, 1992).
2017; Coetzee, 2023; Figure 2.4). In addition, some The prediction is that long-lived birds will tend to protect
recorded catches occurred close to the 20 km clo- their survival by abandoning breeding when times are bad,
sure boundaries. Whether some of these catches so low breeding success is likely to be a more conspicuous
actually occurred within 20 km of the islands was consequence of low food availability around colonies than
not checked given the time available but some is low adult survival. Testing whether there is a relation-
of these catches may have occurred inside the ship between forage-fish stock biomass and adult survival
closures. of forage-fish dependent seabirds is made difficult because
• A primary aim of having two colonies in each region few studies have collected long-term data on adult survival
was to enable the effects of factors other than fish- rates of seabirds in locations where there are matching
ery closures on reproductive parameters to be ac- time-series of forage fish stock biomass data. Neverthe-
counted for in the analyses. Given that the ICE is a less, several studies have found that adult survival rates
natural experiment and even though the two islands are influenced by food availability. While none of the stud-
on each coast are relatively close, there were still ies listed below are directly comparable to the African pen-
differences in distribution of pelagic fish between is- guin situation, they provide an a priori basis to raise the
lands (Coetzee, 2023) that cannot be accounted for expectation that there are fishery-related impacts on adult
in the analyses based on results of the ICE. and immature survival.
• It was not possible to monitor all variables that • Black-legged kittiwake adult survival is correlated
could affect reproductive success owing to with prey density in the non-breeding area in winter
logistical constraints and the possibility that moni- (Reiertsen et al., 2014) as well as in the breeding
toring could have a negative effect on reproductive area in summer (Oro and Furness, 2002; SSERe-
success of an endangered seabird. Several key newables, 2022).
parameters, including chick survival and fledg- • Black-legged kittiwake adult survival and breeding
ing success, were not monitored at the eastern success at Shetland (north Scotland) were both
colonies, which reduced the potential to detect the strongly affected by Shetland sandeel stock bio-
effect of fishing near colonies on reproduction. The mass (Oro and Furness, 2002).
choice of parameters to monitor reflected monitor- • Black-legged kittiwake adult survival and breeding
ing that was ongoing at the time the experiment success at the Isle of May (east Scotland) were both
was designed. In retrospect (and subject to the reduced in years when sandeel fishing occurred on
constraints of available resources), monitoring of the ICES Sandeel Area 4 stock compared to years
additional variables would have been desirable when there was no sandeel fishery (Frederiksen et
(see section 5). al., 2004).
• The modelling accounts for the effects of factors • Return rates (a proxy for survival) of black-legged
other than island, closure, and month of sampling kittiwake, Atlantic puffin, common guillemot and ra-
using a year effect. In principle, a key determinant of zorbill at the Isle of May all show strong asymptotic
year-to-variation in reproductive success relates to relationships with ICES Sandee! Area 4 sandeel
the biomass of prey species. Acoustic surveys of lo- stock biomass (SSERenewables, 2022).
cal biomass were undertaken, but it was found that • Return rate of adult Arctic skuas (parasitic jaegers)
there is considerable variation over the breeding at Shetland as well as their breeding success was
season and high sampling error (DFFE, 2021) so increased by supplementary feeding of broods, im-
341
Oassen, a chovy Dassen, sardine

0
!1000
4 000
l 000
2000
1000
0 .:.:I - - ---- C C C O O O C
Robben, nc ovy Robben, s rdine

s (IOI)
4000
3 000
2000 O
1000 0 0
0 ■
St Croix, nc ovy St Croix, s rdi

150 8
Q
0
Bird, anchovy Bird, sardine

(l' 0
IOO
II·
300
l~ 0 C CC O ;I j C
Figure 2.4: Catches of sardine and anchovy taken inside the 20-km closures during the duration of the ICE. Letters above each bar denote
years when the areas were open (0) or closed (C). Figure credit to J Coetzee (DFFE, pers. comm.) .
plying that low sandeel abundance was likely re- lower than those of adults (Horswill and Robinson, 2015),
sponsible for low adult survival in that species as a presumably because immature animals are less experi-
result of the increased costs of breeding when food enced and therefore less competitive. That suggests that
was scarce (Davis et al., 2005). low food availability would be likely to impact immature
• Low food availability reduced adult little auk body animals more strongly than adults. Therefore, gains from
condition and reduced adult survival (Harding et al. , improved prey availability may benefit immature survival
2011). more than adult survival. Few studies report examples
• Increased parental effort by breeding common of change in immature survival rates, but immature survival
guillemots (common murres) when foraging con- of crested terns was strongly reduced when forage fish
ditions deteriorated resulted in reduced adult sur- prey biomass was depleted (Mcleay et al., 2008).
vival rate and only partly compensated for low prey Evidence from other studies therefore suggests that
availability so also resulted in reduced breeding the ICE is likely to have led to some unquantified improve-
success (Wanless et al., 2023). ment to adult and immature African penguins in addition
Measuring survival of immature seabirds is much more to the quantified gain seen in breeding success for the
difficult than measuring survival of adults. There is evi- western breeding colonies. It is impossible to determine the
dence that survival rates of immature seabirds tend to be magnitude of any unquantified gain, but it is likely to have ,4o-{
Report of the International Review Panel regarding f1shmg closures adJacent to South Africa's
26 African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines m the Penguin population
342
3. BASIS FOR EVALUATING FISHING IMPACTS OF CLOSURES
3.1 Background
The literature investigating the impacts of fishery area clo- While a RUM can take several forms, often researchers
sures on commercial fishing fleets and coastal communi- model the decision on whether to go fishing and where
ties highlights the importance of considering the short-run, to go fishing conditional on taking a trip (see Figure 3.1).
long-run, and heterogenous effects across communities Vessels/fishers choose to go on a trip when the economic
and fishers (e.g., large- vs small-scale). The short-run returns to taking a fishing trip are greater than the outside
impacts on the harvesting sector include the displacement opportunity cost of not fishing, and fishers choose to fish in
of the vessels from the closed areas that in turn could re- site i when their expected net returns from fishing in site i
sult in lower (or lost) catches, greater fishing costs, and are larger than the other sites.1 The expected net returns
lower revenues, everything else being equal. The short-run of a site ; consist of the vessel's expected catch and price,
changes to the harvesting sector can also result in changes travel distance to the site from their current location (port or
in throughput into processing facilities, which could lead another fishing site), fuel prices, and other variable costs.
to fewer shore-side jobs and less product. The long-run RUMs have been applied to a range of fisheries from
impacts include potential changes in shore-based infra- those for sedentary species (Smith, 2002; 2005; Marcoul
structure (e.g., processing capacity, fueling stations, bait
stores, and ice availability), and the number of vessels
A ChoostllOttt>flSh
operating in the fishery. if the flpected retums from
Both the magnitude and importance of the short- and Do not ~ nr»-ftshery ~ n i t ~
long-run impacts are unlikely to be uniformly distributed are lwJher tt"1ll'I the~~
across fishery participants and coastal communities. The from flShmg ill airy site
placement and size of a closure could, for example, raise Decislonof
the cost of fishing for smaller vessels by increasing their commercial Ash in site
steaming time to the open fishing grounds in a way that re- fishermen 1
sults in the exit of these vessels from the fishery over time. Choose toftsh
Vessel exit can have knock-on effects to the communities e in tile Site with
in terms of economic activity, shore-side infrastructure, em- greatest ·expected
:•
ployment, and social wellbeing . Implementing closures, in- unts
cluding those to protect ecological processes, in South Afri-
ca will impact the fishing industry and local communities to Fish wi site
some extent, but accurately quantifying this is challenging. J
Economic methods to measure the changes due to a
closure differ for the most part on according to whether the
8
focus is on predicting the impacts before the intervention is
implemented (ex-ante analysis) or measuring the impacts
after the intervention is in place (ex-post analysis).
Section 3 is organised as follows. Section 3.1 is divided
between a summary of the random utility class of model that
is generally used to predict the impacts of proposed fishery
closures and program evaluation methods that measure
the causal impact of a fishery closure on the harvesting
sector. Section 3.2 reviews the opportunity-based model
(OBM) and section 3.3 reviews the social accounting ma-
trix (SAM) modelling. Section 3.4 assesses the integration
of the results from OBM and SAM modelling by highlighting
how lost catches on the water are mapped back to coastal
communities and regional economies.
t ..:, !'A ' ~
• . :.-~:mll!I:~ -----~
•-= --~
3.1.1 Ex-ante analysis of the harvesting sector
Figure 3.1: Basis of random utility models: Panel A is a stylised
The literature on the ex-ante analysis of the impacts of pro- decision tree of a commercial fisher (vessel) in any given decision
posed fishery closures is dominated by random utility mod- period (Source: Smith et al., 2010). Panel Bis an example of the
els (RUMs}, which are statistical models of fleet behaviour spatial choice of sites available for fishers in the Bering Sea of
(RUMs are a class of discrete choice models (DCMs)). Alaska (Source: Abbott and Wilen, 2011)
' Extensions of the basic RUMs include variables such as variance of the expected net returns (Dupont, 1993; Mistiaen and Strand, 2000; Hutniczak and
Munch, 2018), preference heterogeneity (Smith, 2005), state dependence (your past experience affects future choice) (Holland and Sutinen, 2000; Smith,
2005), evolving information and information sharing (Curtis and McConnell, 2004; Abbott and Wilen, 2011), spatial correlation and learning (Marcoul and
Weninger, 2008; Hutniczak and Munch, 2018), bycatch avoidance (Haynie and Layton , 2010; Abbott and Wilen , 2011), and multiple fleets and fisheries /)M
(Depalle et al., 2020). t[v I
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa 's
343
and fleet information across different site definitions and

time windows (Depalle et al., 2021).
The estimated RUM can be applied removing from the
choice set the sites that are included in the closure area to
assess the short-run impact of a proposed closure (e.g.,
Smith and Wilen, 2003). Conditional on the closure, the
RUM predicts the number and timing of trips, the displi;ice-
ment of the fleet due to the closure (the model statistically
reallocates the trips to different sites based on the empiri-
cal model of fleet behaviour), increases in travel costs, and
changes in the catch composition (including different target
species).
3.1.2 Ex-post analysis on harvesting sector
While RUMs dominate the literature predicting the ex-

Photo credit SAPFIA - South African Pelagic Fishing Industry ante impacts of fishery closures, more recently research-
Association ers are utilising program evaluation methods that quantify
the ex-post impacts of closures by estimating the coun-
and Weninger, 2008) to those for pelagic species (Curtis terfactual (Ferraro et al., 2019). For example, Smith et al.
and Hicks, 2000; Mistiaen and Strand, 2000; Curtis and (2006) develop an empirical model to isolate the effects of
McConnell, 2004). For nearshore sedentary species, ofmarine reserves that accounts for multiple gear production
ten vessels fish single-day trips choosing a few fishing technologies, heterogeneity in vessel captain skill, spatial
grounds to visit (Eales and Wilen, 1986; Smith, 2005; heterogeneity of fish stocks, seasonal patterns in abun-
Marcoul and Weninger, 2008). For finfish species such as dance, the effects of coexisting management policies, and
groundfishes or tunas, vessels make multi-day trips (Cur- the possibility that the harvesting sector anticipates reserve
tis and Hicks, 2000; Curtis and McConnell, 2004; Hicks establishment.
and Schnier, 2008; Abbott and Wilen, 2011; Hutniczak and Reimer and Haynie (2018) quantified the short-run im-
Munch, 2018). When developing RUMs for multi-day trips pact of large-scale closures on the net revenue of the com-
(e.g., purse-seine tuna fisheries), it is common to treat the mercial Atka mackerel fishery in the North Pacific using
choice of the first location separately, and then conditional difference in difference (DiD), propensity score matching,
on that choice, model the subsequent site choices (Sun et and synthetic control methods. DiD measures the counter-
al., 2016). factual (what would have happened in the absence of the
Two interrelated challenges to RUMs are the spatial closure) using the trend over time in a control group (ves-
(definition of a site or fishir)g ground) and temporal unit sels that do not fish in the closure). The assumption is that
(e.g., daily, weekly), and the estimation of a vessel's ex- any differences between the treated group (vessels that
pected catch at the set of fishing sites when the vessel is fish in the closure area) and the control group are invariant
on a trip (Smith, 2000; Depalle et al., 2021). Studies have over time and by using their parallel trends before the inter-
employed various methods to calculate expected catches vention, these differences will net out leaving the impact of
that depend on the assumptions about the set of informa- the closure on the treated vessels. Favoretto et al. (2023)
tion available to the vessel at a particular time (Abbott and employed DiD methods to evaluate the impact of Mexico's
Wilen, 2009; Depalle et al., 2021), including the ephemeral Revillagigedo National Park on industrial fisheries.
nature of that information (e.g., fish stocks might only stay While DiD assumes that all the control vessels contrib-
in a particular location for a short period of time or the dis- ute equally to the comparison group, propensity score and
tribution of the fish stock in a particular location might be synthetic control methods develop a more refined measure
more stable from month to month and across years). For of the control unit for each treated unit. Propensity score
example, it is possible to use only vessel level information methods, for example, estimate for each vessel the prob-
(e.g., catches at a particular site within the last week/month ability of being in the treated group as a function of pre-
and/or the same week/month in the previous year). How- treatment observable characteristics, such as vessel size,
ever, it is also possible to assume that vessels share infor- gear technologies, home ports, boat fixed effects, net rev-
mation by including fleet level information (e.g., catches of enue, etc. Various criteria (e.g., five nearest neighbours)
similar vessels at a site within the last week/month and/or are then used to match treated and control units based on
fleet catches in the same window of time in the prior year). similar propensity scores, which are estimated predicted
If no vessels have visited a site in the relevant window of probabilities of fishing in the closed area. The assumption
time, then expected catches can be assumed to be zero. is that treatment and control vessels with similar propensity
The formation of expected catches will lack necessary scores are statistically identical except that the treated ves-
observations if the definition of a fishing site is so small sels were impacted by the closure.
that there are few past observations that fall within it or the Any method of evaluation will need to address the chal-
window of time is too short (Depalle et al., 2021). Given lenges associated with accounting for exogenous time-
that there is no theory on how fishers form expectations of varying factors, such as stock abundance trends, prices,
catches at different sites, most analyses carry out robust- costs, local and regional labour markets, global market
ness checks with different weighted combinations of own forces (exchange rates), and endogenous time-varying
1H
344
factors such as behavioural responses to the closures that OBM Analysis: lrreplacable Sets in mlBA (h=7) run
impact the ability to measure the counterfactual. An exam- Bycatch sardine
ple of the latter is when impacted vessels are displaced to
I I I.I ~ I ~
the fishing grounds occupied by the comparison set of ves-
sels resulting in congestion on the grounds and lower catch
rates for the control fleet than otherwise would have oc-
curred had the closure not happened. Ferraro et al. (2019)
discuss these challenges along with other biological and
market mechanisms that can lead to contamination or bi-
ased estimates of the counterfactual.
3.2 Opportunity-Based Model (OBM) estimates of lost

catch. 60%
B
70%
60%
The OBM was used to estimate the impact of closures on 50%
40%
catches by the South African pelagic fisheries targeting an-
I
30%
chovy and sardine. Because the number of vessels, shore- 20%
10%
side infrastructure, and behaviour of the fleet are held fixed 0%
over time, the impacts estimated are short-run even though

they are calculated over ten years to develop an average
loss. The OBM quantifies the impacts of closures under the
assumption that catches that occurred in the closed area
when it was open are a measure of the catches that would
have occurred if the closed area was not closed.
Unlike the early literature on the impacts of marine re- Figure 3.2: Percentage of Irreplaceable Sets in the mlBA
serves on catches, which assumed that all catches would (h = 7 km) run of the OBM model (Panel A) and in the mlBA ARS
run of the OBM model (Panel B) across a set of model sensitivities.
be lost when an area is closed, the OBM introduces a set of
In Panel B, a blank corresponds to scenarios that were not run for
rules to capture potential behavioural responses of the fleet
the mlBAARS case
to the closures. These rules were informed by interviews
with fishery operators and include how to replace catches for alternative fishing opportunities would be more effec-
taken within closures with alternative catch opportunities tive if the fleet shared the information about fishing loca-
observed across areas and species within a narrow win- tions, as was reported to happen during the June Panel
dow of time (generally same day and year) considering meeting. It also implicitly assumes the lack of seasonal-
estimated boat factors (vessel fixed effects from GLMM es- ity of fishable aggregations from one year to the next and
timation), boat caps, and potential spillover from other clo- full information decay of fishable aggregations in a loca-
sures. Opportunity catches are also adjusted up or down tion within a day. These assumptions combine to lead to
based on an auxiliary analysis used to evaluate possible a low of 40% (Reuse = infinity for sardine bycatch) and
biases in predicted aggregate catch in any given year de- a high of 90% (Reuse = 1 for direct sardine) of the sets
pending on the specific rules used by the OBM. within a closed area (when it is open) being classified as
Using these rules, the OBM develops a measure of the irreplaceable in the marine Important Bird Area (mlBA)
average irreplaceable catch stemming from the proposed (h = 7 km) run (Figure 3.2 Panel A). The fraction of irre-
closures using catches in the closed areas over ten years placeable sets is lower in the mlBAArea Restricted Search
and the average catch that could be replaced (opportunity (ARS) run but still ranges from a high over 60% to a low
catch) for each species at the island closure level (see Ap- around 20% depending on the scenario (Figure 3.2 Panel
pendix E for further details together with figures and sum- 8). More detailed calculation of catch losses for different
mary tables of the results). closure proposals and OBM assumptions, summarized in
The two key modelling assumptions of the OBM are: Appendix E (Figure E.3), indicate that the great majority
(a) the observed catches taken in a given day outside a of the estimated catch losses are due to the high fraction
proposed closure provide a complete set of potential al- of sets classified as irreplaceable under the OBM rules
ternative fishing opportunities for replacing the catches while only a very small fraction of the catch loss was due
taken that day within the proposed closure; and (b) there to lower average catch rates of replacement sets ("oppor-
is a maximum number of times each alternative fishing op- tunity losses"). In common with RUMs, if no vessels have
portunity could be used to replace those catches (referred fished at a site in a window of time, the expected catch of
to as "Reuse"). The former relates to the information set a vessel going to that site would be zero. In forming an
the fishers have at any point in time where the OBM im- expectation of catches for use in RUM, analysts consider
plicitly assumes all vessels fishing on the same day have a wider window of time (fishing within the last month, same
the same set of information and there were no additional month last year, etc.) while allowing for some weighted av-
potential opportunities where and when fishing did not erage of private information (catch rates of the vessel in the
take place. The latter is questionable considering that ad- sites) and fleet-wide information (perhaps due to sharing
ditional fishing opportunities, beyond those used when the of information at sea, observing landings, observing activ-
areas were opened, could be searched for and identified in ity at sea) to calculate the expected catches in any site
response to the implementation of a closure. The search i in period t. The Panel agreed that the current window of
Report of the /nternat,onal Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
345
same day (or same day plus one) is likely too constrain- els, which are the most expensive to develop but are the
ing and recommends further statistical analysis should be gold standard for quantifying community impacts, allow
undertaken to better understand the seasonal nature of for changes in relative prices, substitutions across inputs
anchovy and sardine sets/catches across the fishing sites, (labour, capital), and compute the welfare implications of
especially along the west coast. the economic shocks (e.g., welfare impacts of job losses
Whether to sample alternative opportunities with or with- rather than just quantifying the number of jobs lost) (Seung
out replacement is an important issue in the OBM analysis. and Waters, 2006). SAMs improve on simple 10 models by
The Panel agreed that the OBM would likely underesti- quantifying impacts on the distribution of income, but un-
mate the potential opportunities outside the closed area on like the CGE framework hold prices fixed and do not allow
a given day (conditional on all the other assumptions be- for substitutions (Seung and Waters, 2006). SAM results,
ing appropriate) if, for example, 100 catches (sets) within therefore, should be viewed as a very short-run measure
a closed area are matched to just a single catch (set). Cur- of the impact (snapshot) whereas a CGE model can cap-
rently, the results are presented for the case of allowing ture more dynamic short-run and medium-run responses of
only one replacement (Reuse = 1 corresponding to sam- the economy (Seung and Waters, 2006). Because SAMs
pling without replacement), only five times (sampling with are designed to analyse demand-driven impacts in the lo-
replacement but only five times), and an infinite number of cal economy (e.g., change in consumer spending), these
times (sampling with replacement). The Panel agreed that models tend to overestimate the impacts of supply-side
the random matching of catches is an improvement over shocks, such as a reduction of catch (Seung and Waters,
the percentile method but recommended that all results 2013; Seung, 2014).
should be presented for the Reuse = 1, 5, and infinity cas- UrbanEcon developed a SAM model that models a
es (see section 6 for additional suggestions on statistical shock to the regional economy from a reduction in catches
methods to match sets). due to the closures as calculated by the OBM (irreplace-
The OBM is not able to quantify important potential able catch). The SAM model traces the shock through
changes to the net revenue of the fleet due to closures. the economy by modelling a set of linear relationships
Net revenue is the total revenue (ex-vessel price*catch) that capture the direct, indirect, and induced changes
less the variable costs of fishing that include fuel costs (fuel (Figure 3.3). Characterising the value chain of the pelag-
price*fuel used), labour costs, supplies, etc. The fuel costs ic fishing industry is a way to decompose the direct and
capture steaming time to and from the grounds, searching indirect impacts of a change in the total catch of sardine,
• efforts, and fuel spent while fishing. Closures can increase anchovy, or redeye (Figure 3.4). Vessel owners, captains,
fuel costs due to greater travel distances and can also and crew experience direct income effects from a reduction
reduce the quality of the catch at the time of landing, lead- in the catch, where the crew are paid on a share system
ing to lower ex-vessel prices and total revenues (e.g., based on the fishmeal price and catches rather than a fixed
greater spoilage, lower quality)2. The impacts on net rev- hourly wage. The lower catch results in less throughput into
enues are likely not uniform, as smaller vessels might the shore-side processing facilities, which can be substi-
have less ability to travel further due to the riskiness of tuted in some situations with import quantities though of-
being out to sea for longer and a more limited fuel capacity. ten for higher prices (depending on exchange rates, and
The Panel agreed that understanding the impact of clo- transportation costs). The higher costs of processing fish
sures on the net revenue as well as changes in catches can result in a reduction in labour demanded by processing
is important for understanding both the short-run impacts
and the potential long-run impacts due to changes to the
fleet composition, shore-side infrastructure, and coastal
community dynamics.
3.3 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) analysis
Quantifying community economic impacts of fishery policy

-
changes requires understanding about how changes in
production on the water translate into changes in the pro-
duction of goods and services shore-side either directly
or indirectly. Economists use several methods to carry
out such analysis, such as input-output (10) models, so-
cial accounting matrix (SAM) models, and computable
-
-·
general equilibrium (CGE) models (Seung and Waters, Figure 3.3: Social Accounting Matrix Framework for mapping
2006)3 . Across the methods, the data requirements of the changes in regional aggregate catches (economic shock) to
models are extensive, including industrial output, employ- changes in employment, regional gross domestic product, and
ment, value-added, final demands, and imports. CGE mod- regional income. (Source: UrbanEcon June 2023c)
2
Bergh (2016) states that fuel costs will increase approximately 23% around Dassen and Robben islands when considering the location of the replaceable
sets, which depends on the priority ranking of substitute locations and the assumption regarding the feasible sets from which to search for a replacement.
3
While the use of 10, SAM, and CGE models dominate the literature in terms of quantifying the impacts of the fishing sector on local communities, a recent
paper by (Watson et al., 2021) takes an econometric approach to measuring the impacts using data from Alaska. They find "that a 10% increase in a commu-
nity's annual resident fishery earnings leads to a corresponding 0.7% increase in resident income. This translates to an increase of 1.54 dollars in total income
for each dollar increase in fisheries earnings" where fishery earnings are defined as total revenues of fishing for local permit owners.
Report of the International Review Panel regard mg fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
30 African Pengum Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population
346
may be the case for several of the affected local towns.

The Panel agreed that while the SAM is a useful tool for
------- A
_ _ _....;____,,
- I $.~•~··
~'"'---·-·-- ~ 1~t••&hllH]
- - - ~v
I~
{ T,a,uport co1:tJ] ~
creating snapshots of the impacts on regional economies
it recommended that further work needs to be done on
the long-run socioeconomic impacts to local communities
due to the prospective closures. Moreover, it notes that the
predicted effects of closures depend on the reliability of
the estimates of lost catch from the OBM, which the Panel
agreed is likely to provide overestimates given its restric-
tive assumptions related to the set of opportunities that
are available to replace catches in closures (Appendix E).
These overestimates are of uncertain magnitude but may
be large.
The heterogeneous impacts on fishing operations (e.g.,
small vs large vessels) .are another important factor in un-
Figure 3.4: Value chain of the pelagic fishing industry, highlighting derstanding the relative significance of the changes to re-
the pathways for loss in regional catches to the direct impacts in gional economies. In the preferred scenario, UrbanEcon
the SAM modelling (Source: UrbanEcon, 2023b). (2023a) shows "that smaller vessels (less than 20 metres)
will be the most highly impacted . . . the largest vessels
facilities and lower overall economic performance of the in- (above 25 metres) will be the least impacted ... meaning
dustries. Sales locally or exported might also be impacted that the viability of maintaining operations is variable de-
if the final output of fishmeal, canned, or bait products is pendent on boat size, and the larger the boat, the higher
lower due to the lower catches. Lost wages reduce income level of security it has in its operations." These impacts,
and purchasing power in the economy, lowering consumer however, are not evenly distributed across communities
expenditures. Lower expenditures, along with changes in and closures, as some ports will be more dominated by
sales, reduce economic output that can have further im- larger vessels (and vertically integrated companies) . The
pacts on employment levels in sectors not directly related Panel agreed that while the SAM model provides a meas-
to fishing (induced effects in Figure 3.3). ure of the distributional impacts across vessel size it recom-
An important impact of the proposed closures is the mends that further work should be done to understand the
potential job losses both directly on the fishing industry impacts on local communities more dependent on smaller
and the knock-on losses due to lower GDP and income. vessels, such as those operating in the St. Croix area.
UrbanEcon (2023a) predicts in the preferred scenario, for Given the complexity of the regional economy, any
example, "full-time employment is expected to decrease model (10, SAM, and CGE) will involve many parameters
substantially, with a reduction of 655 jobs" where the direct and relationships, some of which are supported empirically
impact to harvesters is a loss of 35 with indirect losses of and some of which must be assumed. The UrbanEcon
93, and in the processing sector, the direct losses are 181 SAM model is not unique in this respect, and the use of
out of a total of 527 losses. Using the regional distribution interviews with the fishing industry is a best practice to fill
of labour in Table 5.1 of UrbanEcon (2023b) and the direct in missing data. However, some important questions re-
job losses in Table 5.2 of UrbanEcon (2023b), the direct job main regarding the interpretation of the SAM results. Are
losses regionally to the harvesting sector are 11.5 west of the "losses" out of the SAM due to the proposed closures
Cape Point, 8 between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas, 7 in within the standard fluctuations of the local economy due
Mossel Bay, and 5.6 in the east. to other kinds of economic shocks, such as fuel prices,
How to interpret the significance of job losses on re- exchange rate fluctuations, etc.? Fuel price increases, for
gional economies and welfare depends on the quality of example, would be expected to result in less fishing due to
the local labour markets, whether the losses are seasonal higher travel costs, less processing due to higher import
workers, and whether the losses are permanent or tem- costs of products, lower sales, lower consumer expendi-
porary (Holland et al., 2012). If local labour markets are tures, etc. Are the short-run job losses from a fuel price
fluid with low unemployment, then a job loss in one sector 180
could be negated by an increase in another sector, which 2022 price
175
makes interpretation of the economic costs associated with
job losses more difficult. On the other hand, if losses oc-
cur in remote locales with incomplete labour markets with
>-
,...
3"'
C
170
165
~
high unemployment (as is the case for several of the towns ~ 160
where fishers and processors are based), then these loss- g
Cl) 155
es contribute directly to the economic costs due to closure Cl)
0
150
rather than being a transfer from one sector to another. ..J
In addition, if the job losses are from seasonal workers 145
or temporary layoffs, then the impacts are likely transient 140 L - o , ~ - -~ ~ - - < -- - - - - - - - -- -_J
and fleeting as opposed to the case where the job losses 1 257 1 284 1 311 1 339 1 366 1 393 1 415 1420 1447 1 475 1 502
INTERNATIONAL FISHMEAL PRICE (USO/TON)
are due to the closure of the shore-side processing facility
(Watson et al., 2021). The latter will have long-run impacts Figure 3.5: Sensitivity on the loss to the industry from the range of 1\ J
on the local fishing vessels, employment, and incomes, as fishmeal prices (UrbanEcon, 2023c) \6 ftv '-
\,\ • ~
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures ad1acent to South Africa ·s
347
increase greater than the predicted job losses from the cannot be addressed given the linearity and fixed prices
preferred scenario? How important for the loss estimates (output, input, and wages) assumptions embedded in the
are the assumptions regarding the relative wages of the SAM framework.
processing and harvesting sector, especially since most of
the job losses occur in the processing sector? How do the 3.4 Downscaling lost catches at sea to regional econo-
results change if the conversion of total employment FTEs mies
is based on a different rate of fishing days per year (cur-
The critical piece in quantifying the regional impacts of the
rently, 175 fishing days per annum is assumed)? The Panel
proposed closures is the mapping of irreplaceable catches
agreed that additional sensitivity analysis of the SAM re-
that occur at sea to the ports/local communities. Based on
sults should be carried out to have a better understanding
responses to a query of the Panel, there appears to be
of the range of possible regional outcomes from the pro-
a discrepancy between the regional catch loss totals pro-
spective closures.
vided by the OBM based on where the catch is caught,
• In response to queries by the Panel, UrbanEcon car-
the regional economic impact measurements determined
ried out additional sensitivity analysis on the range of ag-
by employment shares in the SAM modelling for 2022,
gregate outcomes by varying expected catch loss, and
and the breakdown of the lost catch based on shares of
fishmeal price. Variations in the global fishmeal price imply
regional processing (Table 3.1). The later breakdown is not
that a loss of catch in one year might not have the same
currently utilised in the SAM analysis and is imputed based
economic value as a loss in another year (Figure 3.5).
on the average lost catch between 2011 and 2019 for an-
Specifically, UrbanEcon found that "the fishmeal industry
chovy, bycatch sardine, directed sardine, and redeye con-
performs at its best when international prices are highest -
sidering differences in the location of industrial and sardine
and therefore the largest industry loss will be experienced
processing facilities and landings. While the share of catch
whereby the island closures negatively affect the level of
processed in any facility and port can change from one
raw input (anchovies, red-eye, and sardine off-cuts and
year to the next, which is the argument UrbanEcon em-
bycatch) and international prices are highesr (UrbanEcon,
ploys when justifying the use of employment shares (Letter
2023c). These results are not surprising, but also highlight
from UrbanEcon to Panel dated June 9th , 2023), Table 3.1
the limitations of the SAM modelling assumptions. With the
highlights the potential for different measures of regional
crew paid in proportion to the fishmeal price, as the fish-
impacts based on the method employed and/or the catch
meal prices increase, the income of the crew increases, but
years used in the analysis. The Panel agreed that given
because some crew also lose their job due to the catch re-
little empirical justification for one method, each allocation
ductions, there are then fewer crew members earning more
method should be used, and the results compared across
money in a year with higher fishmeal prices. How much
the different cases, to better inform discussions on which
the increase in wages to the remaining crew offsets the
communities are likely to be most impacted.
losses due to fewer workers is an empirical question that
Table 3.1 : Mapping lo~t catches to regional ~conomies. Column 1 shows the percentage of lost catch based on the current method for
how OLSPS allocates irreplaceable catches m closure areas to regions, Column 2 shows the percentages that UrbanEcon uses based
on employment In the fishing sector ~harvesting and processing), and Column 3 shows a new set of percentages that OLSPS calculated
based on the share of the catch that Is processed shore-side by region (Source: Data provided to the Panel by OLSPS on June g , 2023)
Region OLSPS lost catch Urban Econ

employment shares Regional processing
Western Cape 17% 33.0% 49.4%

Cape Point to Cape Agulhas 60% 27.1% 27.0%
Mossel Bay 0% 23.5% 12.3%
East 23% 16.5% 11.3%
Penguins at Boulders (photo BM Dyer)

348
4. CRITERIA AND APPROACHES FOR EVALUATING TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN

BENEFITS TO PENGUINS AND COSTS TO FISHERY
4.1 Introduction
There are various aspects involved in any decision regard- The Panel recommended that, if designated, closed
ing the locations and duration of island closures intended to areas to protect penguins during breeding, should be year-
conserve African penguins. These include the location and round , unless reasons demonstrate otherwise, primarily be-
size of the closures, their seasonal duration, and whether cause egg laying and chick provisioning occur year-round,
and when any closures will be reviewed. The technical re- and these areas may be important during critical pre- and
view of these aspects is given in sections 2 and 3. There post-moult periods. The Panel further recommended that,
are three primary trade-off axes to consider when selecting if designated, closed areas to protect penguins should be
closures (see Figure 4.1 for options considered during the reviewed at a time when results are available to investigate
Panel discussions): life-history processes such as juvenile recruitment, adult
• The benefit to penguins of the closure. survival and hence population growth rates. This may be
• The cost (economic and social) to the fishing indus- at a time between 6 and 10 years after designation. Other
try and the communities, especially where fishing reasons to review such closed areas might include major
and processing operations are based. socioeconomic changes in the fishery and processing,
• The ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the clo- or stock abundance, or similar consequences of prey re-
sures. source change.
The choice of the location and size of closures, and their
duration depends on the relative weights placed on the dif- 4.2 Evaluating effectiveness
ferent anticipated outcomes by the decision-makers. Guid-
ance on these weights may be informed by legislation, The "effectiveness" of a set of closures may be evaluated
existing policy frameworks and international agreements. using a closure program that involves opening and closing
Recommendation of a specific outcome lies outside the areas to fishing in an experimental manner to test hypoth-
scope of the Panel. eses and quantify changes in the demographic parameters
(a) Dassen Island

-32.6 ·JJ.8 j
-32.8
,33.0 •34.0
m
i -33. 2 -g
3·33.5 1-34.2 1
~
!-33.4
-34.0 I
-34.a l
1e.2 1a.4 i s.e 1s.a 1s.o 19,2 19.4
17.417.617.818.018.218.418.6 17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0 l.ongil.ude
Longitude Longitude
-34.4 ~
-
0 10-
-33.2 (e) St Croix Island
-33.4
·33..2 (f) Bird Island
J -33.6
!.J3.8
18 .6 19.0 19.2 19.4 Hl.6 UU 25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26 0 26.2 258 2U 2{! 2 26 • 26.tl 26.11 27.0
longitude; I.~ l ongj(ude
B FOfilging evea
75%UD
rnrBA(?')
50% UD
mlBA{ARS)
20 km closure
Figure 4.1: Comparison of alternative closure options including the 20-km ICE closures, the inclusive foraging areas defined as the 90%
utilisatio,n distribulion-UD, (green open polygons), the UD50 and UD75 aggregated kernel density distributions, as well as two mlBA
JI
core area versions calculated using a smoothing factor of 7 km (mlBA (h = 7 km)) or the ARS scale value calculated for each colony
(mlBA(ARS)) using tracking data of African penguins tagged at (a) Dassen Island, (b) Robben Island, (c) Stony Point, (d) Dyer Island,
(e) St Croix Island and (f) Bird Island. From Mcinnes et al. (2023)
349
of penguins, and hence their population growth rate. How- The at-sea habitat used by seabirds whilst foraging var-
ever, closure programs are not usually structured in this ies throughout the year. Although different seabird species
way, with most such programs involving long-term closures have very different characteristic scales of habitat use, all
and monitoring of the impacted populations. The Panel species show variability in relation to their life-history con-
strongly recommended that monitoring should take place straints. Seabirds are most constrained during breeding
irrespective of whether there is an experimental (alternat- when they need to return to land to provision their offspring.
ing open and closed) component to the closure program. In general, seabirds, including penguins, forage across
Section 5 identifies several ways in which monitoring can spatial scales that differ between incubation, early chick
be changed to more precisely capture changes in penguin rearing (the brood stage), late chick rearing (the creche
demographics and behaviour and hence the effects of any stage) and post breeding (e.g., Warwick-Evans et al.,
closures on the penguin population. Section 6 outlines im- 2018). For African penguins, due to their disturbance sen-
provements to data collection and analysis to facilitate an sitivities, most information about foraging is only available
evaluation of the effect of any closures on the fishery and during the early chick rearing phase when foraging scales
associated communities. are likely to be most constrained . During this period adults
The Panel does not consider it essential that there is an can only travel short distances given their need to return to
ongoing experimental approach (as opposed to monitoring their chick at short temporal intervals. Thus, resource avail-
for conservation purposes). However, the Panel provides ability during early chick-rearing is critical, given parents
the following recommendations should there be an experi- are less flexible. Consequently, all estimates of preferred
mental component to any future closure program: foraging habitat based on tracking data from early chick-
• The aim of the experimental structure should be to rearing are likely to be conservative.
not only estimate parameters related to reproduc- The marine habitat available to penguins varies spatially
tive success, but also additional parameters, in par- and temporally, with some areas being preferred, given the
ticular juvenile recruitment, adult survival and hence availability of prey. Determining such preferred areas is im-
population growth rate. This is because there is little portant, especially if resource competition with fisheries is •
value in conducting future experimental manipula- a concern. Estimating areas of preferred foraging habitat
tions if the aim is simply to estimate the effect of can be achieved through numerical spatial analysis of te-
closures on reproductive parameters given this is lemetry (tracking) data. Different analytical approaches are
already adequately informed by the ICE (see sec- available, but in recent years robust methods that identify
tion 2). marine Important Bird Areas (mlBA) have become widely
• There is little benefit in trying to use an experimen- accepted (Lascelles et al., 2016; Dias et al., 2018), includ-
tal framework in regions (e.g., the eastern Cape) ing for the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (e.g.,
where it is (currently) not possible to monitor impor- Handley et al., 2020).
tant parameters such as adult and chick survival. Kernel density analysis calculates the density of loca-
Based on the data already available, and the ability tions by fitting a bivariate normal function with a pr,e-defined
to undertake regular monitoring, the western and radius (smoothing parameter, h) around each location and
southern Cape regions should be the focus of any summing up the values to create a smooth density surface.
future experimental closure program. The kernel utilisation distribution (UD) is the isopleth that
• Given the necessary focus on adult survival and contains a certain percentage of the density distribution. To
population growth rate, it is desirable that a power obtain core usage areas for foraging seabirds the 50% UD
analysis be conducted to identify an appropriate has often been selected (Lascelles et al., 2016). To align
sequence of (possibly alternating open and closed) the smoothing parameter (h-value) to the scale at which
closures. The existing MPAs around some islands birds use their marine habitat, behavioural characteristics
impose some constraints on the experimental use evident within the telemetry data can be used. For exam-
of closures and this should be taken into account in ple, periods of Area Restricted Search (ARS) when birds
any power analysis. are actually feeding, can be identified through First Pas-
• Conservation planning software tools, such as sage Time (FPT; Fauchald and Tveraa, 2003). Such meth-
Marxan (e.g., Ball et al., 2009; Watts et al., 2017), ods are now commonly used (e.g., Trathan et al., 2008;
provide a way to select areas given constraints on Scheffer et al., 2010) in the analysis of penguin telemetry
either the desired amount of closure by island or the data.
cost to industry. The Panel recommended that analyses delineating
mlBAs using ARS methods represent the best scientific
4.3 Quantify at-sea habitat area basis for delineating the preferred foraging habitats during
breeding. In the future, additional analyses would further
The purpose of closing areas around penguin colonies is to improve understanding, especially with respect to how the
protect penguin foraging habitat. Relatively little was known spatial scale of any given mlBA might vary by year. The
about the foraging behaviour of African penguins, espe- Panel concluded that such between-year variation is likely
cially about their preferred foraging habitats at the start of to be important, as the years of the ICE, during which most
the ICE. The ICE had therefore been set up using a fixed telemetry data have been collected, have been years of
20 km radius as the open-closed management option relatively low prey resource abundance.
(Figure 1.1). With recently available telemetry data, clo- Further, evidence related to the prolonged African pen-
sures may be designed to achieve a more effective protec- guin breeding season (e.g., Crawford et al., 2013), also
tion of the penguins' foraging area. highlights the need to ensure adequate resource availabil-
34 African Pengu,n Breeding colonies and declines m the Penguin population
350
ity is maintained within a given mlBA around the year, as accumulation (Crossin et al., 2010).
the demand is not simply seasonal. For African penguins, such carryover effects almost cer-
The Panel recommended that further validation of tainly occur, requiring adults to accumulate resources prior
mlBAs should occur, in particular using dive data that pro- to breeding and prior to moult. This means that adequate
vide objective identification of foraging locations, rather prey resources are needed throughout different times of
than commuting (or travelling) locations (see also section the annual cycle , such that delineating where birds forage
5.9). Such analyses could be included in species distribu- and accumulate resources requires spatial information
tion models (e.g., Warwick-Evans et al., 2018) that could across the complete annual cycle. Outside the breeding
be used to identify areas of key importance. However, season, reductions in resource competition that potentially
important uncertainties remain , particularly if mlBAs are facilitate reductions in foraging effort may benefit penguins
determined (as they have been) using telemetry data pre- prior to moult and post-moult, especially as these periods
dominantly limited to early chick rearing when breeding are energetically demanding.
adults are most constrained; further, that mlBAs may differ Accumulating evidence shows that African penguins un-
in the future, should prey resource abundance increase. dergo predictable movements outside the breeding period
The life history processes of all species do not com- (Sherley et al., 2017; Carpenter-Kling et al., 2022), sug-
pletely compartmentalise into distinct time periods or gesting that preferred habitats are also important at other
physiological mechanisms. Life-history events are often times of the year. Importantly, it is now apparent that the
mediated through carryover effects, with events or activi- mlBAs delineated using telemetry data from early chick
ties occurring in one season, habitat, or life-history stage, rearing, are sometimes also important during pre- and
affecting important processes in subsequent life-history post-moult foraging trips (Figure 4.2), even though they
stages (Crossin et al., 2010). Thus, seabirds arriving at a may only represent a part of important habitat during these
colony to breed must have already initiated certain physi- other periods.
ological transitions, including with any associated resource
b)
30-S
Cape Point
•
0
j
c)
32.s•s
!~ PoftAlfred
Bird Island
[
0- ] D
g
·s t Cr°'1! l~land •
/
34 .S"S
24•E
•
2e•e
loogilude
...
-
2a•E
Figure 4.2: The distributional range (90% utilisation distribution-LID, open polygons) and core range (54% UD, shaded areas) of African
penguins tagged at (a) Dassen Island , (b) Stony Point, and (c) Bird Island during their pre- (green) and post-(blue) moult foraging trips to
the 200, 500 and 1 000 m isobaths (grey lines). Figure from Carpenter-Kling et al. (2022)
351
4.4 Trade-off space

- C!
One way to explore the trade-off between expected bene-

fits to penguins and impacts on fishing is via trade-off plots
..
·§
"'!
0
(see, Hilborn et al. (2021) and Halpern et al. (2013) for ex- g> co
0
8.
amples of trade-off analyses). A trade-off curve (e.g., Fig- s '<I:
ure 4 .3) could demonstrate, for example, that the benefits IC
0
to penguins (as quantified by the proportion of the foraging iZ

area that is protected) likely increases rapidly when small ::1
areas most used for foraging are closed, with the relative
benefits to penguins declining as an increasing proportion
0
0 .....,_
0
__ -,-- -,-
20 40
-,-
60 100
of the foraging area is closed to fishing . Because not all
closures of the same size are likely to have the same ben- Area clOsed
efit, points A and B in Figure 4.3 demonstrate how a given
(hypothetical) 40 km closure (point B) compares with the
outcomes of another (hypothetical) closure with the same
-
C!
«!
0
area but which more closely resembles areas of preferred .n U)
penguin foraging habitat (point A) . Based on the ICE ex- § 0
periment, it is not possible to assign quantitative estimates
of the change in population growth rate associated with
1
.!!
lo.
~
0
closed areas that differ from 20 km around colonies, but the "'0
qualitative changes in benefits to penguins with increasing
0
closure areas are likely robust (increasing at a decreasing 0 T
rate). Furthermore, for a given total closure area, closures 0 20 40 60 80 100
that more adequately reflect preferred foraging areas will
Area clo$ed
have greater benefits than those that simply close less
valuable foraging areas. We also expect that lost fishing Figure 4.3: Illustrative relationships between benefits to penguins
catches increase faster when the area closed increases in for optimally selected and simple closures given the amount of
size, because as demonstrated in the OBM analysis, larger area closed (upper panel) and between area closed and fishing
closures lead to more displaced fishing sets and a smaller costs (lower panel). See text for explanations of curves A and B.
area available for fishing (and hence fewer fishing oppor-
tunities). Based on the OBM results calculated for different among sectors within the fishery. Consequently, the
alternative closure areas, we developed Figures 4.4 and benefits to penguins and costs to industry should be
4.5, which provide a comparison of closure options across considered by island (or region) and not simply at
area closed and percent loss in regional catch. Figures 4.4 the national level (see below). In addition, given the
and 4.5 highlight how not all closures are equal in terms of heterogeneity within the industry, expressing costs
the predicted lost catch and show that there are potential and job losses by sector (e.g., for small scale opera-
opportunities to reduce the impact on the fleet while at the tors) would also seem appropriate.
same time increasing the amount of area closed (e.g., in • The economic analysis (e.g. Urban-Econ, 2023a,b,c)
Figure 4.4 compare the triangle and square on the blue line provides estimates of several types of economic im-
for Dyer Island and anchovy). pacts (to the fishery as a direct consequence of the
The Panel provides the following conclusions and rec- reduction in revenue [direct impacts], that occur due
ommendations regarding selecting closures given its re- to suppliers of goods and services to the industry
view of the work identifying foraging areas and lost catch . [indirect impacts], as well as due to shifts in spend-
• It is desirable to identify a solution that minimizes ing on goods and services due to directly and indi-
societal costs and maximizes benefits to penguins; rectly impacted parties [induced impacts]), as well
however, an optimal solution (or acceptable "bal- as lost jobs. However, the estimates of economic
ance") between competing objectives is not simply effects to the fishing industry may be more robust
obtained by closing 50 percent of any given area. than estimates for the rest of the economy and for
• Conservation actions should be spread through- jobs (see section 3.3).
out the range of the species given each region is • Given that the OBM analysis likely provides an
subject to different biophysical and anthropocentric overestimate of uncertain magnitude of the loss in
threats. catch (see section 3.2) and these losses are then
• One approach (if curves such as those in Figure used in the SAM analysis, the results on economic
4.6 can be created) is to find the point at which the costs (lower GDP, jobs) and lost catches should be
change in penguin benefits (by increasing closures) considered in a relative sense and hence used for
matches the change in costs to society. ranking closure options within a region. The relative
• The trade-offs between costs to the fishery and ben- ranking of the closure may, however, be sensitive
efits to penguins in terms of the proportion of the to how catches are allocated to local communities
foraging area closed will differ among islands and (see section 3.4. for additional details). The eco-
36 African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines ,n the Penguin population
352
Anchovy Bycatch sardine

itl i: o-n
:2
Robben tl
a lj,l -
1· --
Robben
Oassen
'iii Oyer Island 'iii Oyer Island
lij 0
~
·t «>
~,Y,!oint
Mtu<01>1cn•1701 !
~cfo:oint
M.. Cllcn=ekt
0 0 0 0
c ~
~.., I
.,, I
l!"' 0
N ~
...
I
.c
aGI
0 0 I - J
r.
J
a
0
0
I
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 500 1000 1500 2000
Area Area
Directed sardine Redeye

2 0 :2
a
.
£ «)
Dassen Oassen
ti Robben ~ g Robben ••
C
i
Oyer Island
~
Oyer island
Stony Point
.. ,-•"
.2
e
Stony Point
St Croix
Miacalell•34~t
.2
~~
Stcroix
Moltoatch•341ct
-··
0 0
0 ~
~ c
_/
0
.....
j 0
N !
.c .... .,
i a
0"' <'j
0 0
0 500 1000 2000 0 500 1000 1500 2000

Area Area
Figure 4.4: Area closed versus loss in catch for five of the six island breeding colonies. Catch losses are expressed relative to the average
regional caches during 2011-2020 (west of Cape Point for Dassen and Robben islands; Cape Point to Agulhas for Dyer Island and Stoney
Point; east of 24°E for St Croix). The dashed lines indicate results for island breeding colonies with very low catches relative to those
for the other island breeding colonies. The different spatial closures considered for each colony are ranked by size on the x-axis: UD90
(closed circle), mlBA (ARS) (closed squares), 20 km (triangle), DFFE (cross), CAF (star), and industry (diamond). The vertical dashed
lines cover the range of catch losses computed from the OBM when an alternative set can only be used once or used an infinite number
of times. The symbol corresponds to using alternative sets up to five times. The length of the horizontal bars in the legend is proportional
to the regional catch
Ancllovy Bycatch sardine
Dassen
Rollben
Dassen
Robben
.
)
Oyer Island Oyer Island
StonyPoint I ~rJ;oint I
St Croix
-c:41,a>174kt --=itct
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Area Area
--a Directed sardine Redeye
-
r
tl
iii
!= ~.=
1 Oyer Island
Classen
Robben
!:j u,
,.. Stony Point Oyerl&land
Stony Point ■
2' StCroix St Croix
'- o , M.x~•34kt
0 - 7
~ l
i.,,
.c
I
.c
~ 0 T
a
<'j 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Area Area
Figure 4.5: As for Figure 4.4, but restricted to Dassen and Robben islands and Stony Point.
353
~ • Important penguin breeding population.

• Relatively more susceptible because African pen-
IIO
f! 0 guins are already affected by an overall reduction in

·:;
01 co r_e~ional_ sardine abundance that, if persistent, may
~ 0
3
,la
Q)
..
0
•
hmIt their capacity to reverse the declining trend.
Eradication of feral cats should be part of a local
conservation management plan.
i8 "!
0 • Major hub for ecotourism.
0
0 Dyer Island
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 • Regionally important for anchovy fishers, sardine
Fishing costs
fishers and redeye fishers.
• Important penguin breeding population.
Fl~ure 4.6: ll~ustrative relationship between the benefit to pen-
• Relatively important fur seal interactions (predation
guins and fishing costs based on Figure 4.3 and/or resource competition) with penguins.
• Figure 4.4 indicates that anchovy catches from
within a closure are difficult to replace.
nomic analyses are only able to quantify the social
effects of closures in terms of job losses. Future
Stony Point
work should consider broader social consequences
• Regionally important for anchovy fishers, sardine
of reduced catches and job losses on community
fishers and redeye fishers.
well-being.
• Important mainland penguin breeding population
• It is necessary to map catch losses back into re-
with logistical access to enhance conservation
gional communities to evaluate how vulnerable
management.
these communities are because the SAM could be
• Population has increased by 15% pa since 2005.
obscuring important local socioeconomic effects.
• Major hub for ecotourism.
• The competition among the fishery and penguins
would be expected to be greater in years of low
St Croix Island
prey abundance. An adaptive closure framework
• Fishers rely on sardine due to virtual absence of
that changes closures among years in response to
redeye and anchovy.
prey abundance could reduce cost to the fishery in
• Important penguin breeding population.
years of high prey abundance, as closures in such
• Largest rate of decline since 2016 among the extant
years would have little or no benefit to penguins.
penguin colonies .
• Evidence that noise disturbance from bunkering
4.5 Colony-specific considerations
facility is disturbing penguin foraging.
• Figure 4.4 indicates that sardine catches from
Based on the information provided to the Panel and the
within a closure are difficult to replace.
results from Figures 4.4 and 4.5, the Panel highlighted the
different dimensions of the trade-offs in summary bullets.
Bird Island
Across all _of the regions, the various penguin foraging
• Very little small pelagic fishing .
areas are important for the small pelagic purse seine fish-
• Important penguin breeding population but limited
ery.
scope for major increases.
Dassen Island
Boulders Beach
• Regionally important for anchovy fishers and red-
• Fully protected from commercial fishing.
eye fishers. .
• Important mainland penguin breeding population
• Historically important penguin breeding habitat
with logistical access to enhance conservation
with sufficient habitat for growth; largest remaining
management.
breeding population.
• Population is healthy and stable (891 breeding pairs
• Re_latively more susceptible because African pen-
in 2022).
guins are already affected by an overall reduction in
• Major hub for ecotourism.
~e~ional_ sardine abundance that, if persistent, may
hm1t their capacity to reverse the declining trend.
Robben Island
• Regionally important for anchovy fishers and red-
eye fishers.
Report of the_International Revi~w Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
38 Afr,can Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population
354
5. FUTURE MONITORING TO EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS
The Panel makes the following recommendations in

relation to potential scientific research questions related
to the African penguin population decline, including associ-
ated monitoring techniques:
1. Continue to conduct counts of breeding numbers of
African penguins at as many colonies as possible in
as many years as possible.
2. Monitor adult survival of African penguins using
techniques such as passive integrated transpond-
er (PIT) tags and readers at colonies where this is
practical to minimise disturbance to colonies. A com-
parison of time-series of adult survival at different
colonies would help resolve which drivers are hav-
Penguins nesting (photo BM Dyer)
ing the strongest influence on population change.
Use of linear ground antennae is feasible when ible in the open. Not all pairs breed at the same time, so
extensive areas of beach need to be monitored for synoptic counts on any particular date underestimate total
PIT tags; elsewhere antennae can be incorporated breeding numbers. For large colonies, counts have gener-
into weighbridges where these are in use. ally been undertaken by teams of people walking through
3. Continue monitoring of breeding success where the colony counting occupied nest sites, mostly between
it can be done without disturbance; however, the February and September, but counts at other times of year
Panel considers that metrics such as chick weight/ are used when they are the only data available (Crawford
body condition/growth rate represent weak proxies et al., 2011; Sherley et al., 2020). Because breeding is not
of breeding success and may not be cost-effective. fully synchronous, potential sites (apparently not active but
4. Use automatic weighbridges to monitor weights of showing signs of use) may be included in counts, whilst
adult penguins at the start and end of breeding, as numbers of unguarded chicks in groups (creches) are di-
this should provide a direct measure of the costs of vided by two to estimate the (minimum) number of nest
breeding in terms of the impact on penguin body sites those birds represent (Sherley et al., 2020). These
condition. counts provide relatively low accuracy population esti-
5. Use automatic weighbridges to monitor weights of mates but are adequate to demonstrate large changes in
PIT-tagged adult penguins; departure body mass population size over time.
prior to foraging and return body mass subsequent Some birds choose not to breed, and so numbers of
to foraging should provide quantification of foraging nests counted at colonies may underestimate the total
efficiency, and potentially meal mass for offspring. population, by missing nonbreeding adults, especially
Such work will be valuable in itself, but would be es- when seabirds are under severe pressure (e.g., resource
pecially valuable if complemented by GPS tracking constraints, adverse weather conditions, disturbance). In
of some individuals. addition, seabirds tend to become more vulnerable to im-
6. Assess behavioural responses of foraging adult pacts of human disturbance when already under stress
penguins using GPS tracking studies; these will from adverse environmental conditions (Diaz et al., 2021).
likely remain limited to the period when adults have African penguins are particularly susceptible to human dis-
relatively small . chicks. However, deployment of turbance (Hockey and Hallinan, 1981 ). Seabirds that would
time-depth-recorder tags on these adults (together tolerate human activity at a colony when conditions are
with GPS units) will provide much improved data good may abandon their breeding attempt as a result of a
on the foraging locations along the path of tracked similar level of human disturbance when they are stressed.
birds. It is therefore highly desirable to avoid human disturbance
7. Conduct foraging studies using telemetry methods, at penguin colonies, but especially at those that are in de-
to further determine the impacts of vessel noise (incline and subject to adverse environmental pressures. Use
cluding from bunkering) on foraging behaviour. of a drone (unoccupied aerial vehicle; UAV) to overfly a
colony and record digital video (or frequent static images
5.1 Population counts that can be mosaiced together) of the breeding sites may
allow counts without associated human disturbance, as
African penguins are not easy to count. Breeding birds breeding seabirds show little or no response to an over-
may be in burrows underground, or in nest boxes, or flying drone providing it is well above the colony1. Using
under bushes, although at most colonies many are vis- drones to count breeding penguins of various species
' Rummler et al. (2021) found no behavioural reactions of penguin adults or chicks to drones flown more than 70 m above the colony. Recognising that moni-
toring numbers and breeding success of Sandwich terns Stema sandvicensis by visiting colonies tends to cause excessive disturbance, Spaans et al. (2018)
tested the use of a drone, flown 15-20 m above nesting Sandwich terns at appropriate dates through the breeding season at colonies In the Netherlands,
to count breeding numbers and breeding success from photographs. They found that the drone caused "hardly any visible disturbance to the birds" but g?ve
highly accurate data on breeding numbers and breeding success, so was considered much better than usmg human observations at Sandwich tern colonies.
The same conclusion was reached by Valle and Scarton (2021) in Italy. Geldart et al. (2022) showed that drones flymg over nesting eider ducks Somatena
mollissima did not lead to any increase in heart rate of the incubating birds •
Report of the lnternatio~a/ Revi~w Panel ~egarding fis_hing closures adJ~cent to S?uth Africa's
.
African Penguin Breeding colonies and dee/mes ,n the Penguin population 39
355
has been shown to be highly effective, for some penguin which may be feasible to use with African penguins (Tra-
species and in some cases more accurate than human than and Emmerson, 2014). Experimentation with different
counts, as well as reducing human disturbance (Hayes approaches will help determine approaches appropriate to
et al., 2021; Krause et al., 2021; Mattern et al., 2021; African penguins.
Qian et al., 2023).
Because some African penguins nest in locations where 5.4 Weigh bridge and PIT tags
they cannot easily be seen or detected from above ground,
It has been possible to set up a narrow "entrance" to the
a complementary approach to census African penguins
nesting area at some penguin colonies so that when adults
may be to use drone counts of creched chicks, or moulting
approach nests it is possible to monitor each individual's
penguin numbers. These are easier to count than breed-
arrival and departure. This can be achieved with (PIT) tags
ing birds, as they tend to moult relatively synchronously
and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag readers at
and in the open, although sometimes these may include
the entrance to colonies (Kerry et al., 1993; Denhard et
small numbers of birds breeding elsewhere. For African
al. , 2013). Tag deployments can potentially be combined
penguins, preliminary studies could help determine the
with a weigh bridges used to weigh birds as they arrive and
efficacy of such techniques.
depart (Lescroel et al., 2021) providing data on changes
5.2 Breeding success in the weight of known individuals before and after each
foraging trip. However, there can be problems associated
Breeding success is an important metric to monitor be- with such automatic monitoring ·stations, where, for exam-
cause it is likely to have a clear influence on population ple, individual penguins use different routes to enter and
trend and is hence usually a high priority in any seabird exit the colony. In such cases, care will be needed to en-
monitoring programme. However, this is less straightfor- sure sample sizes are adequate to address key research
ward with seabirds that prefer to nest in burrows but may objectives. Further. there remains the possibility that con-
also use open nest sites on the surface. There are likely to strained access to the nesting area could have impacts on
be differences in breeding success between nests of differ- the breeding birds, but careful design should be able to
ent types in different habitats, and this needs to be consid- avoid such problems.
ered when setting up a monitoring programme. It would be
ideal to monitor samples of nests of each type so that an- 5.5 Arrival weights of adults
nual breeding success can be representative of the colony
Weights of individual penguins departing from and return-
rather than of just one nest type. Breeding success can be
ing to the colony passing over a weigh bridge can provide
monitored remotely using equipment such as nest cameras
data giving evidence on foraging efficiency during individu-
or acoustic monitoring, which has the potential to minimise
al foraging trips (Lescroel et al., 2021) that could be related
disturbance impacts from people having to visit nests to
to food abundance/availability and other factors (such as
monitor breeding. Examples of time time-lapse photogra-
noise, vessel traffic, weather conditions, fishing activity).
phy are now increasingly common in penguin behavioural
Monitoring of foraging efficiency could be highly informa-
studies (e.g., Jones et al., 2018).
tive if such sites can be established.
5.3 Adult survival
5.6 Pre-moult weights
There is evidence that survival of adult African penguins
Penguins are unusual among birds in having an intense
is strongly affected by sardine stock biomass (Robinson
pre-moult fattening period to store resources (energy, pro-
et al., 2015; Crawford et al., 2022; Leith et al., 2022),
tein and perhaps especially sulphur amino acids) to support
but apparently not to anchovy stock biomass, at least for
the process of moult. Unlike most birds that moult slowly
Robben Island. There is therefore a strong case for
while continuing normal daily activities, penguins remain
increased monitoring of African penguin adult survival, as
on land through a short period of starvation while a com-
this is likely to be a major factor determining population
plete moult occurs. During this process they are unable
trend. Marking of some penguins species with external
tags (e.g., flipper bands) has been shown to have adverse
effects, so future monitoring of penguin survival should fo-
cus on the use of PIT tags and deployment of tag read-
ers at colonies to allow monitoring of adult survival with
minimal human disturbance and with tags that do not affect
penguin fitness. PIT tag deployments have already been
made for African penguins at Robben Island and at Stony
Point (Leith et al., 2022). The presence of tagged birds
at nests can be determined using a hand-held tag reader
carried from nest to nest, but this risks impacts from hu-
man disturbance. An alternative is to deploy tag readers
at strategic locations within the colony to identify birds as
they pass within range of the reader. Both approaches risk
missing tagged individuals if readers are not close to par-
ticular birds, so provide incomplete assessments of adult
survival. In addition, mobile robotic tag readers have also
been developed, as well as linear beach antennae, both of Moulting penguin chick (photo BM Dyer)
356
likely to disproportionately affect immature birds. Studies of

recruitment of PIT-tagged individual juvenile penguins may
therefore help to shed light on population processes driving
population growth or decline.
5.9 Studies with TDRs
Time-depth-recorders (TDRs) can provide data on the for-

aging activity of diving seabirds. For example, deployment
of TD Rs in combination with PIT tags on penguins that then
cross a weigh bridge as they leave the colony and again as
they return from a foraging trip can give information on the
amount of food obtained in relation to the number of dives
made while foraging (Lescroel et al., 2021). This allows
Penguin creche (photo BM Dyer) foraging efficiency and effort to be related to local environ-
mental variables. The Panel identifies this as a high priority
to return to sea because their waterproofing is compro- for future research, including for further validation of any
mised by the moult process until it has been completed. ml BA closures designated.
These birds therefore need a minimum stored amount
of resource to successfully complete moult. Weights of 5.10 GPS tracking of breeding adults and video-cam
penguins at the start of moult may indicate whether en- studies
vironmental conditions have allowed birds to achieve that
GPS tracking of seabirds is normally limited to short pe-
minimum. Increased adult mortality may in part reflect
riods during breeding, as GPS tag attachment is usually
an inability to achieve the key body reserves needed for
temporary and devices are removed from the tagged bird
moult.
after a few days or weeks. Depending on tag design (and
5.7 Chick growth, chick body condition, and chick therefore cost and battery life) GPS tags can either be de-
fledging weights signed to store data for download from the tag on recapture
of the same bird, or can transmit data to a base station
Chick metrics may provide some indication of how good or to the cellphone network or to a satellite. GPS tracking
environmental conditions are for penguin breeding, but can provide important data on where individuals choose to
they are much less useful than data on breeding success. search for food in relation to local environmental conditions
Chick fledging weights in some seabird species are cor- (Sutton et al., 2020). There is also the potential to deploy
related with post-fledging survival, but that is not the case video-cameras on adult penguins to record foraging behav-
in all seabirds or in all populations, so fledging weight may iour and interactions with forage fish. Such deployments
not always link to demography. Seabird chicks can show could provide useful understanding of penguin group forag-
catch-up growth where undernourished chicks end up at ing behaviour. In general, the weight and induced drag of
a similar fledgling weight because they put on weight at a devices (especially if more than one device is deployed on
later developmental stage where other chicks have a bird) must be considered, as they could potentially affect
reached a plateau weight. Chick condition indices may also the behaviour that is being studied.
show rather little correlation with demography, and may be
affected by selective mortality of starving chicks at some 5.11 Tracking of nonbreeding season movements of
colonies and during some years. However, these indices adults
may show little relationship with demography if the main
It is possible to use GPS tags to track African penguins
determinant of chick survival is predation rather than star-
before and after the moult period (Carpenter-Kling et al.,
vation. Further, even poor quality adults may fledge chicks
2022). Tags remain on the birds for a matter of days or
in years with good environmental conditions, whereas only
weeks during the breeding season limiting the duration
high quality parents may succeed in poor environmental
of such studies. Tags would need to be attached more
conditions. The potential therefore exists for inverse rela-
permanently to birds to track movements throughout the
tionships where more poor quality chicks fledge in years of
nonbreeding period. That is sometimes possible by using
abundant resources.
a harness, but harnesses are not suitable for most highly
5.8 Recruitment of juveniles marine seabirds, especially those that dive to chase prey.
Permanent attachment can be achieved by implanting tags
Use of PIT tags in penguin chicks and deployment of tag within the bird's body cavity, but such surgical procedures
readers at breeding or moulting sites may provide data risk injury and increased mortality, so may be better avoid-
on immature survival and seasonal movements of im- ed. Long-term overwinter studies on penguins have been
matures. Relatively little is known about the ecology of undertaken using light-sensing geolocators (e.g., Ballard
immature seabirds as they are much more difficult to study et al., 2010; Dunn et al., 2011; Thiebot et al., 2011), but
than breeding adults. However, because immatures are care needs to be taken in deployment, not to constrict legs
less experienced they tend to have lower foraging effi- (which engorge with blood) during moult. The Panel recog-
ciency than breeding adults and so periods of increased nises that such research would be useful, but also that the
competition (such as during periods of food shortage) are concerns about potential tag effects on birds would need to
\L
Afncan Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population 41
357
6. FUTURE RESEARCH OTHER THAN MONITORING

6.1 Refining the estimation of effects of closures on
catches, GDP, and jobs
• Further statistical analysis should be undertaken to short-run measure of impacts, a Computable Gen-
better understand the seasonal nature of anchovy eral Equilibrium model (Seung and Waters, 2006)
and sardine sets/catches across the fishing sites, should be developed to capture more dynamic
especially along the west coast. short-run and medium-run responses of the econ-
• OBM results for the random case should be pre- omy.
sented for the 1, 5, and infinity cases.
• The impact of closures on net revenue as well as 6.2 Supporting evaluation of trade-offs, including
changes in catches should be explored because it refining estimates of foraging areas
is important for understanding both the short-run
• Further validation of mlBAs should occur, in particu-
impacts and the potential long-run impacts due to
lar using dive data that provide objective identifica-
changes to the fleet composition, shore-side infra-
tion of foraging locations, rather than commuting (or
structure, and coastal community dynamics.
travelling) locations.
• Further work needs to be done on the long-run
• Between-year variation in mlBA should be explored.
socioeconomic impacts to local communities due
to the prospective closures. A key part of this re- 6.3 Understanding and mitigating reasons for the
search would be data collection at the scale of local decline in African penguins due to factors other than
communities to better understand how the fishing fishing near breeding colonies
sector (onshore and offshore) and penguin tourism
contribute to the local economy, jobs, and well-be- There is broad agreement that the recent observed decline
ing. Examples of community profiles and analysis in African penguin numbers both locally and regionally may
that could be used as a guide for such an effort are be due to a number of factors. The ICE was designed to
Colburn et al. (2016), Himes-Cornell et al (2013), quantify the impact of sardine and anchovy fishing in the
and Pollnac et al. (2006). vicinity of penguin breeding islands, and the body of evi-
• Some important questions remain regarding the dence presented to the Panel suggests that this is a con-
interpretation of the SAM results: tributing factor, but the magnitude of the impacts appears
♦ Are the estimated "losses" due to the small and could only explain a small part of the recent de-
proposed closures within the standard clines in penguin numbers. Plausible drivers impacting the
fluctuations of the local economy due tooth~ penguin populations are likely to vary across islands and
er kinds of economic shocks, such as fuel spatial scales, plus there are variable data available to in-
prices, exchange rate fluctuations, fluctua- form on different impacts, as well as the likely cumulative
tions in total stock biomass etc.? impacts of different drivers. Future research is needed to
♦ Are the short-run job losses from a hypo- address each of the possible drivers. The effects of sev-
thetical fuel price increase (best to consider eral drivers could be explored by developing an integrated
a range of increases from 5 to 25%) greater ecosystem model, such as a MICE (Model of Intermediate
than the predicted job losses from the pre- Complexity for Ecosystem assessments) (Plaganyi et al.,
ferred scenario? 2014; Collie et al., 2016), or so-called MRMs (Minimum Re-
♦ How important for the loss estimates are the alistic Models- Punt and Butterworth, 1995) 1.
assumptions regarding the relative wages of
the processing and harvesting sector, espe- 6.3. 1 Forage fish abundance
cially since most of the job losses occur in
Section 1.3.2.1 summarises information related to the po-
the processing sector?
tential for changes in the biomass of prey species to affect
♦ How do the results change if the conversion
population parameters, in particular the effect of sardine
of total full-time equivalent employment is
biomass on penguin adult survival. Further evaluation of
based on a different rate of fishing days per
such relationships could involve (a) the development of a
year (currently, 175 fishing days per annum
new MICE that addresses all of the major penguin colonies
is assumed)? Additional sensitivity analysis
off South Africa, and (b) exploration of the consequences of
of the SAM results should be carried out to
using the current OMP to set catch limits for anchovy, sar-
have a better understanding of the range of
dine and round herring. The latter exploration may lead to
possible regional outcomes from the pro-
different results than those found by Robinson et al. (2015),
spective closures.
given the current (more depleted) status of the sardine pop-
• Given little empirical justification for one method, al-
ulation and an OMP that leads to constant catch limits over
ternative methods for allocating catches to regions
ranges of low sardine biomass, and spatial constraints.
should be used, and the results compared across
The Panel notes that the current OMP should be tested to
the different cases, to better inform discussions on
evaluate whether it is adequately precautionary in relation
which communities are likely to be most impacted.
to protecting future recruitment prospects of sardine, as it
• Given that SAM results should be viewed as a very
currently allows high exploitation rates when sardine stock A01,
'See Appendix F for details tL-
358
falls to levels where future recruitment may be impaired. consideration. Currently, including such investigations in a
This suggests that further consideration should be given MICE would not be feasible.
to the role of fishing pressure on sardine stock dynamics.
6.3.6 Climate change
6.3.2 Guano harvests
Climate change is recognised as a factor impacting sea-
Past guano harvesting is recognised as an important pos- birds in South Africa (Crawford et al., 2015), including
sible contributory cause to the penguin decline because of penguins, both directly, such as impacts due to extreme
its impact on optimal breeding habitat (see section 1.3.2.2). events {Welman and Pichegru, 2022) and indirectly, given
The impact of reductions in guano as nesting habitat is potential influence on the recruitment patterns and spatial
confounded to some extent with other changes in the sys- distribution of anchovy and sardine in the vicinity of pen-
tem, but could be incorporated in a MICE, expanding on guin colonies (see van der Lingen, 2023 for details) . Sea
local efforts currently underway. surface temperature (SST) predictions of future increases
(or decreases in localised areas) will variably influence dif-
6.3.3. Resource competition with Cape fur seals ferent regions and hence penguin colonies. As such, the
Panel highlights the need for penguin management strat-
The decline of the penguin population may be related to
egies (and monitoring) that encompass multiple spatial
competition with predators that depend upon small pe-
regions to increase resilience to climate change and fish
lagic fish. For example, Cape fur seal populations have
distribution changes (Mcinnes et al. 2023).
increased substantially over the previous century and
Given recognition of the impact on African penguins of
have expanded into areas used by penguins (see section
a continued eastward shift (i.e., from the west to the south
1.3.2.3). This is an impact that could usefully be investi-
coast) in the distribution of anchovy and especially sardine
gated using a MICE both in terms of direct and indirect pre-
(van der Lingen, 2023), this is an important factor to in-
dation effects, but also to compare the responses of other
clude in a MICE. Although it may not be possible to pre-
predators in the system to changes in pelagic fish abun-
cisely model the exact rates of fish movement, available
dance. Though known to occur, the incidence of predation
fishery and survey data and/or stock assessment outputs
of penguins by Cape fur seals, is unlikely to have led to the
could be used to reasonably represent a restricted number
penguin population changes observed. Data on seal diet
of alternative scenarios to explore the impact on penguin
and changes in regional seal abundance would be particu-
colonies. In particular, attention needs to be paid to the
larly informative as inputs to models to quantify the relative
potentially highly influential relationship between adult sur-
contribution of seal predation (and possibly competition) to
vival and sardine availability (Robinson et al. , 2015; Leith et
penguin mortality. •
al., 2022). A MICE should ideally use and fit to all available
6.3.4 Noise in the marine environment penguin survival data. By explicitly representing the ages
of tagged penguins as well as other confounding sources
Disturbance of penguin group foraging, unrelated to any of mortality, such as due to oiling events and predation, an
prey depletion effects, could possibly occur if groups of integrated MICE could assist in separating the alternative
penguins are disturbed or displaced by fishing vessels, sources of mortality. This then provides an objective inte-
or noise associated with bunkering near St Croix Island grated framework for quantifying and correctly attributing
(Pichegru et al., 2022), especially if their group coordina- the relative role of different drivers .in causing the decline
tion and communication while hunting is affected by the of the penguins. Given an improved understanding - vali-
noise. Continued investigation of the effects of marine dated to the extent possible - of the relative contributions of
noise could involve, for example, using tracking and de- each driver to the penguin decline, a MICE is then a use-
ployment of TDR tags to understand the changes in for- ful tool for testing the efficacy of alternative management
aging behaviour and distribution in response to bunkering strategies through forward projecting the effect of future
noise. Currently, including such investigations in a MICE mitigation measures, either on their own or in combination.
would not be feasible. The available penguin and fishery data suggest that a
pragmatic starting point is to model regional changes in
6.3.5 Nest boxes penguin population dynamics due to changes in prey com-
Although there is evidence that African penguin breeding position and availability. The next step could be to add to
success can be increased by providing nest boxes (sec- the model available environmental and climate data (such
tion 1.3.2.5), the ideal design for such nest boxes has not as SST, frequency of extreme events), preferably aligned
been agreed by all those involved. Nevertheless, wide- with penguin monitoring data, to explore to what extent
spread gains in penguin productivity might be possible in spatio-temporal changes in the environment may be con-
some areas if a better design were to be found and nest tributing to the decline in penguins. Given differences in
boxes deployed in large numbers at the main colony sites. habitat and climate resilience across colonies, a spatial
If deployed at such scales, the cost (including annual main- model structure would be informative in trying to distinguish
tenance) of individual nest boxes would be an important a reliable signal from the data.
Report of the Jnternat,onal Review Panel regard mg fishing closures ad1acent to South Africa 's
Afr,can Penguin Breeding colonies and declines 1n the Penguin population 43
359
7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following sections summarise the key conclusions and

recommendations. Table 7.1 provides a prioritised sum-
mary of research and other tasks.
7.1 Design, implementation and interpretation of

the ICE
• The ICE has been identified as an example of a best

practice for assessing forage fish fisheries - seabird
resource competition, but the weaknesses of the
design and implementation need to be recognised
and their consequences accounted for when inter-
preting the results (section 2.4).
• The debate about the relative merits •of analyses
based on aggregated versus disaggregated data
was essentially closed based on the final set of re-
sults presented at the June 2023 meeting. Although
differences in preferences between the analysts
remain, the two approaches provide similar results Photo credit SAPFIA - South African Pelagic Fishing Industry
when appropriately configured (section 2.2.1 ). Association
• The response variables monitored as part of the ICE
were considered to be direct measures or proxies 7.2 Calculating the costs to the fishery associated with
for African penguin breeding success or post-fledg- closures
ing survival, but did not measure impacts of island
closures on African penguin adult survival or imma- •Implementing closures will impact the fishing indus-
ture survival. The Panel interpreted the estimated try and local communities to some extent, but ac-
impacts of fishing on foraging-related parameters curately quantifying this is challenging (section 3.1).
only qualitatively and did not integrate them into • The OBM and SAM are appropriate methods for es-
the inferences regarding overall impacts on pen- timating costs to the fishery but their results should
guin population growth rates (section 2.2.2). Only be considered primarily in a relative sense (section
the predictions for Dassen and Robben islands are 4.4) and as measures of short-run impacts.
discussed in detail given the concerns regarding the • The OBM quantifies the impacts of closures under
use of foraging-related variables (see section 2.2.1) the assumption that catches that occurred in the
and the fact that only estimates based on chick closed area when it was open are a measure of the
condition are available for St Croix and Bird islands catches that would have occurred if the closed area
(section 2.3.2). was not closed (section 3.2).
• Overall, the results of the ICE for Dassen and Rob- • The OBM likely overestimates the loss in catches
ben islands indicate that fishing closures around due to closures, to an unquantified extent, given its
the breeding colonies are likely to have a positive assumptions related to the set of opportunities that
impact on population growth rates, but that the im- are available to replace catches in closures, particu-
pacts may be small, in the range 0.71-1.51 % (ex- larly those considered "irreplaceable" because all of
pressed in units of annual population growth rate). the catch on a given day occurred inside a closure
These impacts are small relative to the estimated (section 3.2; Appendix E).
rates of reduction in penguin abundance for these • Understanding the impact of closures on the net
two colonies over recent years (section 2.3.2). revenue as well as changes in catches is important
• The change in population growth rate estimated in for understanding both the short-run impacts and
Section 2.3 did not include impacts of island clo- the potential long-run impacts due to changes to
sures on African penguin adult survival or immature the fleet composition, shore-side infrastructure, and
survival, which are likely to exist based on evidence coastal community dynamics (section 3.2).
for other situations, but cannot be quantified for • The predicted impacts of closures depend on the re-
African penguins (section 2.4). liability of the estimates of lost catch from the OBM,
• The ICE is completed. Future closures of forage- which the Panel agreed is likely to provide overesti-
fish fishing around penguin colonies would be likely mates (section 3.3).
to benefit penguin conservation , but will need to be • Because SAMs are designed to analyse demand-
part of a larger package of conservation measures driven impacts in the local economy (e.g., change in
as such closures alone would be unlikely to reverse
the current decline in penguin population numbers
consumer spending), these models tend to overes-
timate the impacts of supply-side shocks, such as a
reduction of catch (section 3.3).
A
rr
n
(section 2.3.2).
,L,
\;'}
Report of the_ International Review Panel regarding fis_hing _closures aclj~cent to South Africa's
44 African Pengu,n Breeding colonies and dee/mes ,n the Penguin population
Table 7.1: Prioritised summary of research and other tasks. Short-term tasks pertain to the next 1-2 years, medium-term tasks to the next 2-5 years and long-term tasks the next 6+ years. The
relative priorities and timings reflect an integrated outcome of the Panel, which assigned priorities and timings to each task.
Task Relative priority Timing
1. Refining the estimation of effects of closures on catches, GDP, and jobs

a. Explore the seasonal nature of anchovy and sardine sets/catches (West Coast) Medium Medium
b. Present OBM results for the 1, 5, infinity cases High Short
c. Investigate the impact of closures on net revenue Medium Medium
d. Analyse the long-run socioeconomic impacts Medium Medium
e. Conduct an in-depth interpretation of the SAM results High Short
f. Conduct SAM sensitivity analysis - regional outcomes High Short
g. Explore SAM sensitivity to allocation of catches to regions High Short
h. Develop a Computable General Equilibrium model Low Long
2. Supporting evaluation of trade-offs,including refining estimates of foraging areas

a. Validate the mlBAs given information on foraging locations High Medium
b. Summarise between-year variation in mlBAs Medium-High Short
3. Understanding and mitigating reasons for the decline in African penguins due to factors
other than fishing near breeding colonies
a. Develop a MICE/integrated ecosystem model High Medium
b. Test that the current OMP is adequately precautionary at low sardine biomass for penguin conservation High Medium
c. Collate and collect data on changes in seal diet and regional abundance Medium-Low Medium-Long
d. Conduct tracking and deployment of TDR tags to understand the changes in foraging behaviour and High Short
distribution in ,response to bunkering noise
e. Optimise nest box design and deployment Medium Medium
f. Conduct analyses related to climate change impacts and the variable role of SST on different regions/ Medium Medium-Long
penguin colonies
g. Further explore the relationship between adult survival and sardine availability (e.g., tagging data High Medium
preferably matched to estimates of regional sardine abundance)
4. Future monitoring to evaluate effectiveness

a. Continue counts of breeding numbers at as many colonies as possible High Short-Long
b. Monitor adult survival of penguins using low disturbance methods such as PIT tags and readers High Short-Long
c. Continue to monitor breeding success High Short-Long
d. Use automatic weighbridges to monitor weights of adult penguins Medium Medium
e. Use weighbridges to monitor weights of PIT tagged adults + GPS tracking High Medium
f. Deploy time-depth-recorder tags (together with GPS units, accelerometers, or video recorders) Medium Medium
g. Apply telemetry methods, to examine impacts of vessel noise (including from bunkering) High Short-Medium
h. Use drones for monitoring Low Medium
j. Use PIT-tagging of juvenile penguins to understand survival High Short-Long
k. Conduct video-cam studies of adult group foraging behaviour Low Medium
5. Improving communication and collaboration

a. Improve processes and platforms for sharing data High Short-Long w
CJ)
b. Conduct collaborative workshops to share information, jointly discuss compromises and seek solutions High Short-Long
0
361
• Conservation actions should be spread throughout

the range of the species given that each region is
subject to different biophysical and anthropocentric
threats (section 4.4) .
• The following considerations are relevant to de-
signing a framework to help decision makers select
closed areas (if any):
• An optimal solution (or acceptable "balance")
between competing objectives is not simply
obtained by closing 50 percent of any given
area.
♦ One approach is to find the point at which
the change in benefits to penguins (by in-
Photo credit SAPFIA - South African Pelagic Fishing Industry creasing closures) matches the change in
Association costs.
♦ The trade-offs between costs to the fishery
7.3 Issues pertinent to evaluating trade-offs and benefits to penguins in terms of the
size of an area closed will differ among is-
• There are three primary trade-off axes to consider lands and among sectors within the fishery.
when selecting closures: (a) the benefit to penguins Consequently, the benefits to penguins and
of the closure; (b) the cost (economic and social) costs to industry should be considered by
to the fishing industry and the communities where island (or region) and not simply at the na-
fishing and processing operations are based; and tional level (see section 4.5 for aspects of
(c) the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the each major breeding colony that are relevant
closures (section 4.1 ). for decision making). In addition, given the
• Closed areas to protect penguins during breeding heterogeneity within the industry, expressing
should be year-round, unless reasons demonstrate costs and job losses by sector (e.g., for small
otherwise (section 4.1 ). scale operators) would also seem appropri-
• If designated, closed areas to protect penguins ate.
should be reviewed at a time when results are avail- ♦ Care should be taken when interpreting the
able to investigate life-history processes such as estimated impacts to the fishing industry
juvenile recruitment, and adult survival, and hence given the OBM likely provides an overesti-
population growth rates. This may be at a time mate of uncertain magnitude of the loss in
between 6 and 10 years after designation. Other catch (see Section 3.2) so the results of the
reasons to review such closed areas might include OBM and hence the SAM model should be
major socioeconomic changes in the fishery and considered primarily in a relative sense·and
processing, or stock abundance, or similar conse- hence used for ranking closure options. The
quences of prey resource change (section 4.1). relative ranking of a closure may, however,
• Analyses needed to determine juvenile recruitment, be sensitive to how catches are allocated to
and survival, and adult survival, will require closures local communities.
of between 6 and 10 years after closure designa- ♦ The economic analyses are only able to
tion, if adequate responses are to be determined quantify the social effects of closures in
(section 4.1). terms of job losses, and future work should
• Monitoring should take place irrespective of wheth- consider broader social consequences of
er there is an experimental (alternating open and reduced catches, such as measures of com-
closed) component to the closure program (section munity well-being.
4.2). • The OBM indicates that the ability to replace catch-
• If an experimental component is to be part of any es currently taken in penguin foraging areas, and in
closure regime: (a) it should be focused on param- turn the impacts of closures on the fishing industry,
eters such as juvenile recruitment and survival, and differs among colonies (most difficult for Dyer Island
adult survival in addition to those related to breeding and St Croix Island) (Figures 4.4 and 4.5).
success monitored during the ICE; {b) the western • The likely effectiveness of closures for mitigating the
and southern Cape regions should be the focus of decline in penguin abundance also differs among
any future experimental closure program given data colonies given their variable rates of declines (larg-
availability and the ability to undertake regular mon- est declines in St Croix Island) and the presence
itoring; and (c) it is desirable that a power analysis of other factors unrelated to fishing contributing to
be conducted to identify an appropriate sequence those declines (e.g., bunkering close to St Croix
of (possibly alternating open and closed) closures Island) (section 4.5).
(section 4.2) . • It is possible to design closures within the overall
• Penguin foraging areas should be quantified for foraging area to minimise lost catch for any given ~
trade-off analyses delineating mlBAs using ARS choice of percentage of penguin foraging area to be
methods (section 4.3). protected (Figures 4.4 and 4.5). \[,
Report of the_ lnternatio~al Revi~w Panel regarding f,s_hing _closures adjacent to South Africa's
46 Afr,can Pengum Breeding colonies and dee/mes m the Pengwn population
362
7.4 Monitoring and research to determine causes for Assessment- MICE) that could assist in understanding the
the primary reasons for the decline effect of these aspects and how they can be mitigated.
Section 6.3.1 offers further information related to the po-
Section 5 provides details on potential scientific research tential for changes in the biomass of prey species to affect
questions related to the African penguin population decline, African penguin population parameters, in particular explo-
including associated monitoring techniques. Key tasks are: ration of the consequences of using the current OM P to set
1. Continue to conduct counts of breeding numbers of catch limits for anchovy, sardine and round herring. The
African penguins at as many colonies as possible in latter exploration may lead to different results than those
as many years as possible. found by Robinson et al. (2015), given the current (more
2. Monitor adult survival of African penguins. A com- depleted) status of the sardine population and an OMP that
parison of time-series of adult survival at different leads to constant catch limits over ranges of low sardine
colonies would help resolve which drivers are hav- biomass, and spatial constraints.
ing the strongest influence on population change.
In order to minimise disturbance to colonies; moni- 7.6. Other
toring should use techniques such as PIT tags and
readers at colonies where this is practical. Use of If designated, closed areas to protect penguins should be
linear ground antennae are feasible when exten- reviewed at a time when results are available to investi-
sive areas of beach need to be monitored for PIT gate life-history processes such as juvenile recruitment,
tags; elsewhere antennae can be incorporated into and adult survival, and hence population growth rates. This
weighbridges where these are in use. may be at a time between 6 and 1Oyears after designation.
3. Continue monitoring of breeding success where Other reasons to review such closed areas might include
it can be done without disturbance; however, the major socioeconomic changes in the fishery and process-
Panel considers that metrics such as chick weight/ ing, or stock abundance, or changes in estimates of core
body condition/growth rate represent weak proxies foraging areas, for example, due to mlBAs being based on
of breeding success and may not be cost-effective. where foraging occurs and not entire tracks, or similar con-
4. Use automatic weighbridges to monitor weights of sequences of prey resource change (section 4.1).
adult penguins at the start and end of breeding, as
this should provide a direct measure of the costs of 7.7 Communication and collaboration
breeding in terms of the impact on penguin body
condition. Continued communication, collaboration, and transparen-
5. Use automatic weighbridges to monitor weights of cy of research data and analyses, are strongly encouraged
PIT-tagged adult penguins; departure body mass to build trust and strengthen progress towards seeking
prior to foraging and return body mass subsequent acceptable solutions. Working collaboratively will further
to foraging should provide quantification of foraging enhance the effectiveness and social acceptability of man-
efficiency, and potentially meal mass for offspring. agement measures and decisions aimed at mitigating the
Such work will be valuable in itself, but would be es- decline of the African penguin.
pecially valuable if complemented by GPS tracking Clear, fair and objective communication around this
of some individuals. controversial issue is important to ensure the best possible
6. Assess behavioural responses of foraging adult outcomes for penguins whilst respecting that conservation
penguins using GPS tracking studies; these will decisions may impact to varying extents on livelihoods and
likely remain limited to the period when adults have community well-being.
relatively small chicks. However, deployment of
TOR tags on these adults (together with GPS units)
would provide much improved data on the foraging
locations along the path of tracked birds.
7. Conduct foraging studies using telemetry methods,
to further determine the impacts of vessel noise (in-
cluding from bunkering) on foraging behaviour.
7.5 Future research
Sections 1, 4 and 6 summarise hypotheses related to as-

pects other than fishing near island breeding colonies lead-
ing to resource competition, that could explain past and
ongoing declines in African penguin populations. Section 6
identifies data sources and analysis methods (including the
use of Models of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem Penguin colony, Bird Island, Algoa Bay (photo BM Dyer)
African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines m the Penguin population 47
363
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drone to determine the number of breeding pairs and Richardson, A.J. 2019. Future recovery of baleen
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ogation Case. Fisheries compensatory measures fishing industry: Socio-economic impact assessment.
evidence report. BERWICK BANK WIND FARM EIA Document FP/PANEL/WP/13 presented to the Panel
Documents {berwickbank-eia.com} in June 2023.
Sun, J., Hinton, M.G., and Webster, D.G. 2016. Modeling
Urban-Econ Development Economists. 2023b. Update of
the spatial dynamics of international tuna fleets. PloS
WP13_Pelagic Fishing Industry Impact Report. Docu-
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Sutherland, D.R., Dann, P., and Jessop, R.E. 2014. Evalu- ment FP/PANEL/WP/30 presented to the Panel in
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of a burrow-nesting seabird . Journal of Wildlife Man- Urban-Econ Development Economists. 2023c. Annexure
agement 78: 1415-1424. A. Sensitivity analysis. Document FP/PANEL/WP/21
Sutton, G., Pichegru, L., Botha, J.A., Kouzani, A.Z., Ad- presented to the Panel in June 2023.
ams, S., Bost, C.A., and Arnould, J.P.Y. 2020. Multi- Valle, R.G., and Scarton, F. 2021. Drone-conducted counts
predator assemblages, dive type, bathymetry and sex as a tool for the rapid assessment of productivity of
influence foraging success and efficiency in African Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis). Journal of
penguins. PeerJ 8: e9380. Ornithology 162: 621-628.
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van der Lingen, C.L., 2023. Latest understanding of climate
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change impacts on the spatial distribution of anchovy
D.W. , Thompson, S.A., and Sherley, R.B. 2021 . South
Africa's experimental fisheries closures and recovery and sardine off South Africa (in response to a request
of the endangered African penguin. ICES Journal of by the African Penguin International Review Panel).
Marine Science 78: 3538-3543. Document 5.1 presented to the Panel in March 2023.
Sydeman W.J., Hunt Jr. G.L., Pikitch E.K., Parrish J.K., Pi- van Eeden, R., Reid, T., Ryan, P.G., and Pichegru, L. 2016.
att J.F., Boersma P.O., Kaufman L., Anderson D.W., Fine-scale foraging cues for African penguins in a
Thompson S.A. , and Sherley R.B. 2022. African pen- highly variable marine environment. Marine Ecology
guins and localized fisheries management: Response Progress Series 543: 257-271.
to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie. ICES Journal of Wanless, S., Albon, S.D., Daunt, F., Sarzo, B., Newell,
Marine Science 79: 1972-1978. M.A., Gunn, C., Speakman, J.R, and Harris, M.P.
Sydeman, W.J. , Thompson, S.A., Anker-Nilssen, T. , Arimit-
2023. Increased parental effort fails to buffer the cas-
su, M. , Bennison, A., Bertrand, S., Boersch-Supan, P.,
cading effects of warmer seas on common guillemot
Boyd, C., Bransome, N.C., Crawford, R.J.M., Daunt,
F., Furness, R.W., Gianuca, D., Gladics, A., Koehn, L., demographic rates. Journal of Animal Ecology 00:
Lang, J.W., Logerwell, E., Morris, T.L., Phillips, E.M., 00-00.
Provencher, J., Punt, A.E ., Saraux, C., Shannon, L., Warwick-Evans, V. , Ratcliffe, N., Lowther, A.O., Manco, F.,
Sherley, R.B., Simeone, A., Wanless, R.M., Wanless, Ireland, L., Clewlow, H.L. , and Trathan, P.N. 2018. Us-
S., and Zador, S. 2017. Best practices for assessing ing habitat models for chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis
forage fish fisheries - seabird resource competition. antarctica to advise krill fisheries management during
Fisheries Research 194: 209-221. the penguin breeding season. Diversity and Distribu-
Thiebot J.-B., Cherel Y., Trathan P.N., and Bost C.-A. 2011. tions 24: 1756-1771.
Inter-population segregation in the wintering areas of Watson, B., Reimer, M.N. , Guettabi, M., and Haynie, A.
macaroni penguins. Marine Ecology Progress Series
2021. Commercial fisheries & local economies. Jour-
421: 279-290.
nal of Environmental Economics and Management
Trathan, P.N., and Emmerson, L. 2014. News and Views:
Animal identification with robot rovers. Nature 11 : 106: 102419.
1217-1218. Watts, M.E., Stewart, R.R., Martin, T.G ., Klein, C.J., Car-
Trathan, P.N., Bishop, C., Maclean, G., Brown P., Fleming, wardine, J., and Possingham, H.P. 2017. Systematic
A., and Collins, M.A. 2008. Linear tracks and restrict- conservation planning with Marxan. In: Gergel, S.,
370
Turner, M. (Eds) Learning landscape ecology. Spring- 8.2 Presentations to the Panel
er, New York, NY.
Welman S., and Pichegru L. 2023. Nest microclimate and Anon. 2021. Fishing closure options as discussed at the
heat stress in African penguins Spheniscus demersus Penguin Extended Task Team_ PETT_10b_Penguin_
breeding on Bird Island, South Africa. Bird Conserva- colony_closure proposals_20211130. Powerpoint file
provided to the Panel.
tion International 33: e34.
Butterworth, D.S., and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2023. Summary
Wilson, R.P., and Wilson, M-P.T. 1989. Substitute burrows
of results and proposals from island closure related
for penguins on guano-free islands. Le Gerfaut 79:
analyses. Powerpoint presentation to the June 2023
125-131.
Panel meeting.
Wright, K.L.B., Pichegru, L., and Ryan, P.G. 2011 . Pen-
Coetzee, J. 2023. Information provided in response to re-
guins are attracted to dimethyl sulphide at sea. The
quests from the Expert Panel to review the science
Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 2509-2511
around small pelagic fisheries and penguins - general
Yorio, P., and Boersma, P.O. 1994. Consequences of nest
issues. Powerpoint presentation to the March 2023
desertion and inattendance for Magellanic penguin
Panel meeting.
hatching success. Auk 111 : 215-218.
Adult Penguin and chick (photo credit Dr. Eva Plaganyi-Lloyd)
Report of the_ International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa ·s
371
9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Panel wishes to express its appreciation to those who prepared documents for the Panel, made presentations dur-
ing the workshop stages of the Panel process, and contributed to discussions during the March and June workshops and
between meetings of the Panel. Janet Coetzee (DFFE), Mike Bergh (Olsps), Matt Horton (Olsps), Alexandra Kempthorne
(Urban-Econ Development Economists), Alistair Mcinnes {Birdlife South Africa) , Andrea Ross-Gillespie (UCT), Doug But-
terworth (UCT), Lauren Waller (Endangered Wildlife Trust), Azwianewi Makhado {DFFE) and Richard Sherley (University
of Exeter) are thanked for responding to Panel requests for additional information and analyses. The Panel would like to
thank Ashley Naidoo and Millicent Makoala (DFFE) for their logistical support. Funding was provided by DFFE. We thank
SAPFIA for funding a workshop social function.
Penguins on the rocks, Boulders (photo BM Dyer)
372
APPENDIX A
PANEL BIOGRAPHIES
Robert W. Furness is Principal Ornithologist at MacArthur this field. Dr. Parma has always worked at the interface
Green, working mainly on impacts of offshore wind farms between science and management, being involved in sev-
on seabird populations and appropriate compensation eral scientific and policy advisory boards and review panels
measures. He was previously Professor of Seabird and at the national and international levels. She co-chaired a
Fishing Interactions at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. National Research Council (NRC) panel on evaluating the
His scientific publications have been important in influenc- effectiveness of fish stock rebuilding in the United States,
ing policy in marine conservation with over 33,800 citations was a member of four other NRC committees focused on
in Google Scholar and an H index of 100. As International diverse aspects of stock assessments, marine protected
Fish Meal and Oil Manufacturers' Association (IFOMA) Pro- areas and ecosystem-based fisheries management, and
fessor he developed plans for a sandeel closed box near was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
kittiwake colonies while allowing continued sandeel harvest Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
in offshore areas of the North Sea with no reduction in the Assessment Report on the Sustainable Use of Wild Spe-
total allowable catch. That closed box was implemented by cies. She chairs the modelling group of the Commission for
the European Commission in 2000 and is still functioning . the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, is a member
He was appointed by Scottish Government Ministers to the of the Steering Committee of the bluefin tuna program at
Board of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the statutory ad- the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlan-
viser to Scottish Government on wildlife conservation and tic Tunas, and until recently was a member of the Science
management, where he has played a role in developing Council and Global Board of The Nature Conservancy.
government policy in wildlife conservation and manage- She has been part of several of the international panels
ment. He chaired SNH's Scientific Advisory Committee, that regularly review South African stock assessments and
a panel of experts drawn from Universities and Research management strategy evaluations, including those that ad-
Institutes to assess the science underpinning conservation vised on the design and analyses of the penguin Island
policy. He has served as a member of the JNCC Marine Closure Experiment.
Subgroup, developing UK policy on marine protected ar-
eas. Professor Furness chaired the International Panel of Eva Plaganyi is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at
Experts in Marine Ecology (IAPEME) set up by the Danish CSIRO based in Brisbane, Australia since 2009, where she
Government to review the scientific programme monitor- is also Domain leader for Climate Impacts and Adaptation.
ing impacts of the world's first major offshore wind farms She has broad experience working on a range of natural
(Nysted and Horns Rev) . He has chaired several panels of ecosystems, mostly marine, from tropical through temper-
experts set up by the International Council for the Explora- ate to Antarctic systems, and focused on species ranging
tion of the Sea (ICES) to advise the European Union on from plankton, sea cucumbers, crustaceans, fish to whales,
fisheries management, including Benchmark Workshops with a strong focus also on climate change impacts. Her
on sandeel stock assessment and management, assess- specific skills relate to using mathematics and mathemati-
ment methods for short-lived fish stocks (e.g. sprat), and cal models to model the dynamics of natural populations to
the ICES Working Group on seabird ecology. He was a support sustainable management of natural resources and
member of the Marine Stewardship Council certification contribute to conservation outcomes. Her research focuses
panels for several important North Pacific fisheries, includ- on stock assessment modelling, ecosystem modelling and
ing Western Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska walleye pollock, management strategy evaluation (MSE) and she has col-
Canadian sablefish, Pacific halibut, and Alaskan sablefish. laborated widely internationally, plus is currently a scientific
member of three Australian Resource Assessment Groups:
Ana M. Parma is a Principal Scientist with the National Torres Strait tropical rock lobster, Torres Strait Hand Col-
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Argentina lectable Fishery and the Northern Prawn Fishery. She
(CONICET), working at the Center for the Study of Marine has pioneered the approach she coined MICE (Models
Systems, the National Patagonic Center in Puerto Madryn. of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem assessments)
Argentina. She earned her Ph.D. in Fisheries Science in which is being used to underpin natural resource decision-
1989 from the University of Washington, and worked as making in Australia and globally. Dr Plaganyi has a joint
an assessment scientist at the International Pacific Halibut mathematical-biological background and after completing
Commission until 2000, when she returned to Argentina, her a Masters degree in the Zoology Department of the Univer-
home country. Dr. Parma has worked on different aspects sity of Cape Town (focussed on anchovy-copepod interac-
of fisheries modelling, assessment and management of a tions), she completed a PhD in 2004 from the Department
diverse range of fisheries, from artisanal coastal fisheries of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Before relocat-
targeting benthic shellfish to large-scale international fishing, she was awarded a National Research Foundation
eries targeting tunas. The main focus of her research has (NRF) President's Award and was a senior lecturer in the
been on the evaluation and design of management strate- latter department, whereafter she has remained an Honor-
gies, attending to ecological and institutional dimensions, ary Research Associate of the University of Cape Town.
both in data-rich and in data- and capacity-limited contexts. She was a member of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task force
She was awarded a PEW Fellowship in Marine Conserva- (2009-2014) which focussed on global recommendations
tion and a Guggenheim Fellowship for her contributions in for forage fish management. She has published over 120 (> l\"'1
. ~~: rn
Report of the lnternat1onal Review Panel regarding fishing closures adJacent to South Africa 's
373
peer-reviewed papers, ca.400 technical reports, 50 popular Public Service Award in 2014, and the 2023 Publication
articles, and is on the editorial board of Ecological Applica- of Enduring Quality Award from the Association of Envi-
tions and Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. ronmental and Resource Economists. He is currently co-
Editor at the Journal of the Association of Environmental
Andre E. Punt is a professor in the School of Aquatic and and Resource Economists and the Journal of Environmen-
Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, tal and Resource Economics, member of the U.S. National
USA and a past Director of the School. He received his Academies of Science Ocean Studies Board, chair of the
8.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at the Uni- U.S. National Academies Standing Committee on Offshore
versity of Cape Town, South Africa. Before joining the Uni- Wind Energy and Fisheries, and principal investigator on
versity of Washington, Dr Punt was a Principal Research the NSF-funded Sustainable Oceans National Research
Scientist with the CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmos- Training program at UC Davis. Past professional service
pheric Research in Australia. Dr. Punt has been involved includes the Lenfest Fishery Ecosystem Task Force, a Na-
in stock assessment and fisheries management for over tional Research Council (NRC) committee evaluating the
35 years and has been recognized for his contributions in effectiveness of stock rebuilding plans of the 2006 Fishery
this area with awards from the CSIRO, the University of Conservation and Management Reauthorization, and six
Washington, the Australian Society for Fish Biology, and years on NOAA's Science Advisory Board.
the American Fisheries Society. The research undertaken
by Dr. Punt and the MPAM (Marine Population and Man- Philip Trathan has an extensive publication record on the
agement) group at the University of Washington relates biology, ecology and management of marine ecosystems
broadly to the development and application of fisheries in the Southern Ocean. He has wide experience and an
stock assessment techniques, bioeconomic modelling, and established track record of interdisciplinary research, com-
the evaluation of the performance of stock assessment missioned research and international collaboration. Before
methods and harvest control rules using the Management retiring from the British Antarctic Survey in 2022, Phil had
Strategy Evaluation approach. Currently, projects that authored 286 peer-reviewed publications, giving him an
Dr. Punt is undertaking with his research group include academic H-index of 56. Whilst at BAS, Phil was Head of
ecosystem modelling, assessment and management Conservation Biology, a diverse group of marine predator
methods for data-poor fisheries, and understanding the scientists that undertook ecological research on a wide vari-
impact of climate change and environmental variation on ety of Southern Ocean seabirds and ·marine mammals. Key
the performance of assessment and management meth- components of this research focused upon food-web inter-
ods. Dr. Punt has conducted stock assessments for a wide actions (e.g. foraging ecology, energetic requirements),
range of species, ranging from anchovies and sardines, critical constraints on life histories (e.g. environmental
to groundfish, tunas, and cetaceans. He has published impacts, breeding performance), circumpolar connections
over 420 papers in the peer-reviewed literature, along with (e.g. post-breeding dispersal) and anthropogenic impacts
over 400 technical reports. He was a member of a National (e.g. climate change, and resource competition with fisher-
Research Council panel on evaluating the effectiveness ies). The Conservation Biology group managed BAS long-
of fish stock rebuilding in the United States and has been term monitoring of key marine predators in the Antarctic
a member of the panel that reviews aspects of South Afri- and Sub-Antarctic. The group provided national capabil-
can stock assessments and management strategy evalua- ity and advocacy for science into Antarctic policy arenas,
tions since its establishment. Dr Punt is currently a mem- including for the Commission for the Conservation of Ant-
ber of the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the Pacific arctic Marine Living Resources, the International Whaling
Fishery Management Council, the advisory committee for Commission, and the Agreement for the Conservation of
the Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Albatrosses and Petrels. Phil was personally involved with
Methodology, the Standards and Petitions Committee CCAMLR for over 30 years, providing advice on the man-
for the International Union for the Conservation of Na- agement of the fishery for Antarctic krill, on the designation
ture, the Crab Plan Team of the North Pacific Fishery of Scientific Special Areas, on Marine Protected Areas, and
Management Council, and the Scientific Committee of the on climate change. Phil was the UK's senior ecological ad-
International Whaling Commission. visor to CCAMLR for more than 16 years. Phil participated
in 20 Antarctic field trips, having been involved in predator
James N. Sanchirico is a professor of n.atural resource studies (primarily penguin species, but also marine mam-
economics and policy in the Department of Environmental mals) for over 20 years. He is particularly interested in how
Science and Policy at the University of California at Davis. marine predators utilise their available habitat and how this
His main research interests are the economic analysis of relates to their reproductive output and performance. He
policy design, implementation, and evaluation for marine has strong links with Birdlife International and WWF (UK)
and terrestrial species conservation, and the development and is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commis-
of economic-ecological models for forecasting the effects sion Penguin Specialist Group. Phil was the founding Chair
of resource management policies. Before coming to UC of the Science Advisory Group, Antarctic Wildlife Research
Davis, he was a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Fu- Fund, a novel collaboration between the krill fishing indus-
ture (RFF) in Washington DC (non-profit think tank on entry, NGOs and scientists. Phil is now a Visiting Professor at
vironmental and natural resource policy) and is currently Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre,
a University Fellow of RFF. He received the Rosenstiel Southampton, he is a BAS Emeritus Fellow, and an Honor- A--('\
Award for Oceanographic Sciences in 2012 given to re- ary Fellow of Bangor University. Phil was honoured with an f' 1
searchers who have made outstanding contributions to OBE in 2018 for his contribution to Antarctic science and ~
Ocean Science, the UC Davis Distinguished Scholarly conservation . 't\·
SB Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
374
APPENDIX B
EXTRACTS FROM THE TERMS OF REFERENCE
1. BACKGROUND
In the mid-2000s, a substantial decrease in the numbers c) review the processes and outcomes completed
of adult African Penguins was observed off western South through the GF and the CAFMLR process
Africa. In response to this observed decrease from 2006 d) make recommendations on the implementation of
and the potential impact of food competition between island closures, including spatial delineation, time
penguins and fishers in the vicinity of breeding islands, a frames and
study to assess the effects of closure to purse-seine fishing e) advise on further science and monitoring methods.
around penguin breeding colonies was initiated in 2008.
2. OBJECTIVES
Since the study required income sacrifice from the indus-
try, this study, the Island Closure Experiment (ICE), com- The International Review Panel will--
prised two parts: (i) a feasibility study (2008- 2014) during a) Review the quantitative scientific analyses of the
which purse-seine fishing was prohibited in an alternating Island Closure Experiment (ICE) and subsequent
pattern around two pairs of nearby colonies and data on publications to evaluate whether the scientific evi-
penguins (as well as on small pelagic fish from the rou- dence from ICE indicates that limiting small pe-
tine pelagic fish management process) were collected to lagic fishing around colonies provides a meaning-
determine whether an experiment would have adequate ful .improvement to penguin parameters that have
statistical power to detect a significant effect of closure if a known scientific link to population demography in
such existed; and (ii) an experimental phase (2015-2019) the context of the present rate of population decline.
where these alternating island closures were continued Assess the cost-benefit trade-off of 1) costs to fish-
with the associated continuation of the monitoring during eries, versus 2) the proportion of penguin foraging
the feasibility study. The results, however, led to a lengthy range protected during the breeding season, for
debate with dichotomous views. The plans for and results different fisheries exclusion scenarios. The losses
of the ICE were regularly reviewed by DFFE's Small Pe- to the fishery should be fleshed out using available
lagic Scientific Working Group, informed by the advice pro- economic information, such as was used in the GF
vided from an annual review, i.e., a DFFE review meeting and CAF processes. The panel may also comment
of world-leading quantitative marine resource scientists on the limitations of available information and meth-
on ten occasions since 2006. Most recently, the scientific ods (data collection) to improve the assessment of
results have been debated in the peer-reviewed literature positive penguin outcomes as well as fishery im-
(Sydeman et al. 2021, Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie pact. Costs to fisheries must include an assessment
2022, Sydeman et al. 2022). of replacement costs accrued during periods closed
A Governance Forum (GF), comprising researchers and to fishing during the ICE.
managers from the Branches: Oceans and Coasts and b) Within the context of an urgent need to implement
Fisheries Management as well as SAN Parks (South African timeous conservation actions for the African Pen-
National Parks), was established in 2021. The aim was to guin and considering the information and rationale
prepare a comprehensive Synthesis Report on the current of the various scientific reviews and associated doc-
state of knowledge relating to African Penguins, island clo- uments of the Island Closure Experiment evaluate
sures, fisheries management relevant to African Penguins the evidence supporting the benefits of fishery re-
and the socioeconomics of island closures and penguin- strictions around African Penguin colonies to adopt
related tourism. The Governance Forum compiled a report precautionary measures by implementing long-term
titled "A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating fishery restrictions.
to the Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small c) If closures or fishing limitations are viewed to con-
Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures" (DFFE 2021) which tribute positively to the support of the African Pen-
collated science over the last decade on penguins, small guin population, recommend a trade-off mechanism
pelagic fisheries and their interactions including the Island as a basis for setting fishing limitations and map-
Closure Experiments. The Synthesis Report was further ping. This mechanism must consider a potential
scrutinized by two independent reviewers who provided positive return to penguins and the impact on fish-
extensive comments; the Governance Forum's Extended eries. (As a basis for discussion the Governance
Task Team (which added fishing industry and conservation Forum Approach and the CAF approach can be
NGO representation to the Governance Forum) and then considered.) Consideration must also be given to
the Minister's Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Liv- the current state of observations, data and analyses
ing Resources (CAFMLR). Comments on that Synthesis (Penguin, Environmental and Fisheries Economic
Report and recommendations produced by these groups data). Recommendations on these can be included
remain contested . under future science considerations.
The Department now seeks to establish an international a. Delineation of fishery no-take areas around six _A
PanelofExpertsto- African Penguin colonies (Dassen Island, Robben ff_,rr I
a) review the interpretation of the ICE Island, Dyer Island, Stony Point, St Croix Island J ./
b) explore the value of island closures in providing and Bird Island) and the duration of the closures, y
meaningful benefits to penguins considering life history traits, e.g., age when most tv\--1
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Afnca 's
375
birds start breeding, and associated duration re- such as scientific working group documents. Docu-
quired to signal potential population benefits. ments to be categorised into (a) those relevant to
d) Recommendations on the scientific work that is the interpretation of the ICE results, (b) documents
required to evaluate the effectiveness of such no- that propose island closures including stakeholder
take areas. reports submitted during the ETT and CAFMLR
e) Recommendations about what scientific work is ap- processes and (c) other related documents. This
propriate in the short term to determine the domi- is required to facilitate the panel dividing its focus
nant causes of the rapid and concerning rate of between
decline of the penguin population, including rec- i. an initial assessment of whether the
ommendations about the use of ecosystem model analysis of ICE supports the view that
approaches such as MICE (models of intermediate island closures will benefrt penguins, and
complexity for ecosystem assessments). ii. if (i) suggests that island closures will
benefit penguins, what closures should be
implemented, or what are the trade-offs
a) The panel should attempt to reach a consensus but involved for such closures.
if not achieved, names supporting each of the alter- f) Meet with conservation and fisheries sector scien-
native views should be noted. There should be no tists and where each will be allowed to present their
voting . arguments/interpretation of information. (At panel
b) Virtual and physical meetings are not prescribed at discretion, other scientists, and experts may be
this stage. One option is to have one or two· brief invited to make presentations.)
virtual meetings to familiarise the panel with the .key g) Respond to objectives (a) to (e) above.
issues, followed by a week-long physical meeting h) Prepare report on outcomes.
in Cape Town to wrap it up. Travel expenses will
be covered by DFFE. [Panel members may opt to
join the weekly session virtually if travelling is not a) Recommend whether, based on the results from
preferred.] ICE and other evidence-based information, island
c) Members of the Panel of Experts will be remunerat- closures are likely to benefit penguins.
ed in accordance with the Republic's Public Finance b) Describe the scientific and evidence-based ration-
Management Act, 1999 (Act No.1 of 1999) and the ale for recommending implementing/not implement-
associated Treasury Regulations, and in particular, ing fishing limitations around penguin colonies
according to the remunerative structure for non-of- c) Make recommendations about whether a percent-
ficial members of Commissions and Committees of age (%) of penguin foraging range and other biolog-
Inquiry in consultation with the Minister of Finance ical criteria (such as regional representation, popu-
for this panel's proposed work. lation recovery potential, monitoring and evaluation
d) Meetings may include closed meetings, meetings potential) provide a basis for determining benefits
with protagonists separately and together. from closures for penguins and assess the merits of
e) DFFE will appoint the Chair of the Panel and the different proposed methods to delineate important
Chair will report directly to the Minister. penguin foraging habitat.
f) DFFE will provide secretarial services. d) Make specific recommendations on trade-off mech-
anisms for island closures in the event that the pan-
4. TASKS
el finds that the results of ICE and other evidence
The following tasks are required from the panel (administra- demonstrate that island closures are likely to benefit
tive and secretarial functions will be supported by DFFE): penguins, including specific areas and durations. In
a) Panel Members must agree to being available and addition to recommendations on trade-off mecha-
accepting these Terms of Reference and constitute nisms, the panel must preferably advise on biologi-
themselves as a Panel with the Chair. cally meaningful penguin habitat extents for fishery
b) Notification of stakeholders about deadlines for limitations per island, recommendations must be
their submissions. . spatially and temporally explicit, and provided on a
c) Drawing up of a list of attendees at plenary meet- map. [DFFE will provide mapping capacity.]
ings where submissions are heard, indicating who e) Provide advice and recommendations on best esti-
are key participants and who are observers (Sec- mates and uncertainties of the ratio between pen-
tors will be asked to submit names of observers to guins gained and losses sustained by the industry
be invited). as a result of island closures for future suggested
d) The appointed Panel Members to meet with DFFE closure options.
Senior Managers to clarify their tasks and outputs. f) Provide advice on a well-structured analyses frame-
e) Review documents and information pertaining to work to monitor the impact of island closures, in-
proposed island closures for penguin population cluding what penguin and fish data needs to be
recovery support. While these will initially be com- collected; how benefits to penguins are to be deter-
posed of an agreed selection (by local scientists mined; and how these will be analysed. W
and stakeholders) from the extensive number of g) To recommend scientific analyses, including but not fl.,- 1
documents produced over the last 1.5 years, panel limited to MICE, to determine the reasons for the L
members may request any additional documents decline in the penguin population. \A) ·
GO Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
376
APPENDIXC
DEPLOYMENT OF NEST BOXES FOR AFRICAN PENGUINS
At Bird Island in the 2000s, only about 1% of African pen- nests, so the gain in breeding output from such nests is
guins bred in natural burrows in the remaining patches of uncertain.
guano, so the majority of nests appear to be in suboptimal At Stony Point, African penguin adults and chicks were
nesting habitat (Lei et al., 2014). In an effort to mitigate the on average heavier in artificial nest boxes than in open nests
impacts of guano removal, artificial nest sites (nest boxes) but for the sample nesting in nest boxes were less heavy
of a variety of designs and materials have been construct- in nest boxes with highest soil temperature (Espinaze et
ed for African penguins at a number of colonies, including al., 2020). There is evidence that ectoparasite abundance
Marcus Island (Saldanha Bay), Halifax Island (Namibia), can be higher in penguin nest boxes that are warmer and
Dyer Island, Boulders Beach, and Robben Island (Western drier than other penguin nests (Espinaze et al., 2020).
Cape), Stony Point (Betty's Bay), and Bird Island (Algoa Fibreglass and cement-fibre nest boxes established at
Bay) (Sherley et al., 2012; Espinaze et al., 2020). These Stony Point in the 2010s had higher soil temperatures and
were first developed in the 1980s by Wilson and Wilson lower relative humidity than did penguin nests under bush-
(1989) at Marcus Island and had some success in improves, and held larger numbers of ticks and fleas (Espinaze
ing African penguin breeding success. Penguin nest boxes et al. 2020) and so design of penguin nest boxes needs to
have also been used successfully to increase breeding suc- consider not only the breeding success achieved by pen-
cess of little penguins in New Zealand and Australia (Perri- guins in boxes compared to those in other nest types, but
man and Steen, 2000; Sutherland et al., 2014). Sutherland also how penguins might be affected by ectoparasites and
et al. (2014) concluded that 92% of nest boxes installed stress in boxes that tend to overheat and dry out. Espi-
for more than 6 years for little penguins at Phillip Island, naze et al. (2020) suggest that glassfibre, concrete, and
Australia, were occupied, and that nest boxes increased other non-porous material nest boxes for African penguins
survival of eggs to hatching by 8%, increased survival of should be re-evaluated and that it may be better to con-
chicks to fledging by 9%, and increased fledging weights struct nest boxes from much more porous material and with
of chicks (which is likely to increase post-fledging survival) better ventilation designed into the structure.
by 11%, leading to a significant local increase in breeding
numbers.
At Robben Island, penguin nest boxes were installed
(22 triangular plywood boxes in 2001 and a further 37 in
2005 and 10 in 2010, plus 70 fibreglass curved boxes in
2007) and the breeding success of penguins in nest boxes
and in other nest sites was monitored each year (Sherley
et al. 2012). There was no difference in hatching or fledg-
ing success between wooden and fibre-glass nest boxes.
Relative to pairs in nests Linder vegetation, birds nesting in
the open had significantly lower egg survival during incuba-
tion, but egg survival was no different between birds under
vegetation and birds in nest boxes. However, the chicks of
birds occupying nest boxes and nests in abandoned build-
ings had higher survival than chicks in nests under vegeta-
tion, with about 10% more chicks fledging per egg laid from
nests in nest boxes (Sherley et al., 2012). Chick survival Triangular nest boxes, Robben Island (photo BM Dyer)
was also higher in nest boxes than in surface nests and
nests under shrubs during the chick-guarding stage on Hal-
ifax Island (Sherley et al., 2012). Sherley et al. (2012) con-
cluded that "provision of artificial nests can improve breed-
ing productivity for penguins nesting in temperate climes
and could help stem the decline of the African penguin".
At Bird Island, some nest box designs provide protection
from predators but trap heat and have adverse effects on
penguin breeding success (Welman and Pichegru, 2023)
and in some cases have now been removed and replaced
with new designs intended to perform better. A double-lay-
ered ceramic nest chamber installed at Bird Island since
2018 appears to perform better than exposed surface
nests, cement nest boxes, or natural nests, by overheat-
ing less and by maintaining higher humidity (Welman and
Pichegru, 2023). However, penguin breeding success has
not yet been compared between ceramic nests and other Ceramic nest boxes, Boulders (photo BM Dyer)
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adJacent to South Africa ·s
377
APPENDIXD
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF MODELS USED TO ANALYSE THE ICE DATA
1. Mixed-effect models used to estimate fishing impacts on penguin reproductive success

Two main classes of mixed-effect models were used, referred to as closure-based and catch-based. Technical specifica-
tions are provided below:
1.1 Closure-based models:
The model equation for the closure-based estimator applied to the aggregated data was:
J(FY,l) =CX:o + cx:1 /.I + cx:2 Xt,y + cx:3 / IXl,Y + yy + E.1,y (1)
where FY,l. is the average response variable for year y and island i, possibly log-transformed depending on the data source,
i = 1,2 is the lsland,y = 2008, ... ,2019 is the Year, X1,y is a binary for the treatment (open= 0, closed= 1) applied at island
i during year y, I; is a binary for the colony (Dassen = 0, Robben = 1 or Bird = 0, St Croix = 1), CX: 0, cx: 1, oc2' CX: 3 are fixed ef-
fects (OC 1is an island effect, OC 2 is a fishing effect applied when the area around the colony is open, and OC 3 is the treatment
x Island interaction), Yy is a year random effect, and Ely is the residual error.
Details about how the various response variables were pre-processed are provided in Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth
(2021a) and Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2022).
Models applied to disaggregated data included the same fixed effects, but the random effects varied depending on the
response variable.
For chick condition, the random structure requested by the Panel included a Year effect plus Month nested within Year,
plus the Island nested within Month and Year.
Yt,y,k,l = P0+ p1x.l,Y + p2z1 + P3 X.l,Y z, + by +bk+

)',
b)',K.,.I +Ek.,
)', ,I,
where Y i,y,k,l is the condition of individual chick / in year y, island i and month k, i = 1,2 is the Island, y = 2008, ... , 2019
is the Year, k = 1, ... ,K is the Month, Xl,Y is a binary for the closure treatment (open= 0, closed= 1) applied at island i
during year y, z 1 is a binary for the colony (Dassen = 0, Robben = 1) chick/ belongs to, Pr1 P1.1 Pi1 p3 are fixed effects and
by ,bY,K.,bk.
y, ,I
are random effects, by ~Normal(0, cr 21), by, k~Normal(O, cr22), by, k.~Normal(0,
,I
cr32), and Ey, kt" 1~Normal(O, crp is
the residual error.
In R lmer syntax:
Condition ~ lsland/Closure+(1 IYear)+(11Year:Month) +(11 Year:Month:lsland)
The significance of the Island x Closure interaction was evaluated by comparing the full model with
one where p3 = 0 using maximum likelihood (Sherley, 2023).
For chick survival, equation 2 in Shirley (2023) gives the mean hazard function as:
. =PO+ p1X y + /32Z. + p3X;/Z. + (J)y + (J)Y,l. + (J)y,1,n.

Ay,1,n,l I 1
where n is nest ID, p0 , p 1, /32, p3 are fixed effect parameters, and (J)Y ~Normal(O, cri), (J)y,i ~Normal(O, cr~) and
<.uy,t,n ~Normal(O, cr~) are random effects for Year, Year x Island and Year x Island x NestlD, respectively.
1.2 Catch-based models:
The model equation for the catch-based estimator applied to the aggregated data was:
J(Fy,1) = Po+ Pi!.+

I
P2C1,y + P3 I.I C.1,y + Yy + E.l,Y (2)
where C.1,y is the catch (of anchovy and/or sardine) taken within the 20-km area around island i during year y and other
variables are as defined for equation (1). Parameters p0, p1, p2, p3 are fixed effects, the last corresponding to the Catch x
Island interaction. A simpler model with a common catch effect for the two paired islands (/33 = 0) was suggested for the east
colonies given the observed negligible catches around Bird Island except during the early years. For such a model, catches
need to be either in absolute values (as in equation (2)), or normalised using a common average catch for the island pair. ,lttr\.
Once the parameters ar~ estimated, the effect of fishing around colony ion the response variable (to be translated into
the effect of keeping island i open on the island's penguin population growth rate) is predicted using: \{/
\)\,'
62 African Penguin Breeding colonies and declines ,n the Penguin population
378
(3)
where E; is the average catch taken around island i during years when fishing around that island was allowed. Using as
predictor the average catch over open years would afford consistency with the closure-based estimator.
The formulation above differs from the catch-based estimators used in the past (e.g., Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth,
2016b) where catches used as covariates were normalised with respect to the average catch taken within each island
closure during the years when the island was open .
The effect predicted from equation (3) would be equivalent to the \ effect estimated in those previous catch-based
analyses that used normalised catches only when a catch x Island interaction is included (i.e., {33 * 0) .
2. Subset of models selected to provide final estimates of fishing impacts on penguin population growth rate
Figures 2.2 and 2.3 show results for a subset of the models presented by Sherley (2023) and Ross-Gillespie and Butter-
worth (2023b). Tables D.1 and D2 provide a summary of the characteristics of those selected models. Further details about
the data preprocessing and the estimation procedures are described in Sherley (2023) and Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth
(2023b).
Table D.1: Details of the models applied to the ICE data from Dassen and Robben islands whose results are reported in Figure 2.2.
Model Response Data Fixed effects Random effects Reference

variable aggregation
W1 Chick condition Disaggregated lsland+Closure Year + Year:Month + M6 in Sherley (2023)

Year:Month: Island
W2 Chick condition Disaggregated lsland><Closure Year + Year:Month M5.1 in Sherley (2023)

+ Year:Month:lsland
W3 Chick condition Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b)
W4 Chick survival Disaggregated lsland+Closure Year+ Year:lsland M9 in Sherley (2023)

+ Year:lsland:Nest
W5 Chick survival Disaggregated lsland><Closure Year+ Year:lsland MS in Sherley (2023)

+ Year:lsland:Nest
W6 Chick survival Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b}
W7 Fledging success Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b)
wa Chick growth Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b)
W9 Maximum Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

foraging Butterworth(2023b}
distance
W10 Path length Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth(2023b)
W11 Trip duration Aggregated lsland><Closure Year S 1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth(2023b}
Report of the International Review Panel regard mg fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's
379
Table D.2: Details of the models applied to the ICE data from St Croix and Bird islands whose results are reported in Figure 2.3.
Model Response Data Fixed effects Random effects Reference

variable aggregation
E1 Chick condition Disaggregated Closure Year + Year:Month M7E in Sherley (2023)

+ Year:Month :lsland
E2 Chick condition Disaggregated Island + Closure Year + Year:Month M6E in Sherley (2023)
+ Year:Month:lsland
E3 Chick condition Aggregated Island x Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth(2023b)
E9 Maximum Aggregated Island x Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

foraging Butterworth(2023b)
distance
E10 Path length Aggregated Island x Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b)
E11 Trip duration Aggregated Island x Closure Year S1 in Ross-Gillespie &

Butterworth (2023b)
Penguin nest, Dassen Island (photo BM Dyer)
380
APPENDIX E
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THE OBM AND WHY ITS RESULTS ARE LIKELY
OVERESTIMATES
The Panel concluded that the OBM likely overestimates The effects in Figures E.1 and E.2 would not be a con-
the effects of closures on lost catches given the algorithms cern if the proportion of the catch lost due to the set being
used to decide whether a catch in a proposed closure area irreplaceable (i.e., "irreplaceable catch") was small relative
can be replaced or not. The Panel was less concerned with to the catch lost due to catch rates being lower in the alter-
the method used to replace a catch when it is replaceable native sets (i.e., "opportunity loss"), but this is not the case,
(and endorsed the "random" approach). particularly when the closure area is large (e.g., closures
For each set made in a closure area when the area was based on mlBA (7 km)). Figure E.3 and Table E.1 illustrate
open the algorithm involves searching the areas within this for a selected set of OBM scenarios and closure pro-
which it can replace the "lost set". If there were no sets posals. Results correspond to estimated catch losses for
outside the closure area made on the same day (and in anchovy and for directed sardine, summed over the six
the area considered to be where a replacement set can islands included in the analysis. Several features of the re-
sults in Table E.1 are pertinent to note:
occur) the set is considered to be irreplaceable. An exam-
• The catch in the closure area ("inside catch") varies
ple of this case is given in Figure E.1. Note that the catches
substantially among the closure options (largest for
off Dassen Island in Figure E.1 might not be considered
mlBA (7 km) and least for "industry").
irreplaceable if a longer window of time was available (see, • The catch that is lost due to being unreplaceable
e.g. , the discussion on the development of expected catch- ranges from 8.7% to 91 .8% of the total lost catch
es in the RUM subsection in Section 3), and sensitivity is among OBM scenarios and the closure size, and
shown in some OBM analyses to a 2-day window rather is larger than 50% for some of the closure options
than only allowing sets on the same day to replace sets in (mlBA (7km), mlBA (ARS), and DFFE).
a closure area. A second cause of irreplaceable catches • There is considerable sensitivity of the unreplace-
arises when considering how to match the outside sets with able catch (particularly for the larger closure areas)
the inside sets (with or without replacement). Specifically, depending on whether a set can be reused as many
even when there are sets outside of the closed area that times as needed, 10 times. 5 times or only once.
could be matched with an inside set, it is possible that the • The irreplaceability percentage is lower when
inside set is irreplaceable because there is a limit (base catches on one day can be replaced by catches on
case 5) on how often a set outside a closure can replace a the next day (scenario "Plus1day" in Figure E.3),
set inside a closure area. An example of this case is given but the effect is smaller than the effect of the reuse
in Figure E.2. value.
Directed Anchovy Catches Directed Anchovy Catches
32.2S
32.2S
32.6S
32.6S
33.0S
33.0S
33.4 S
33.4S
33.BS
33.8S
34.2 S
34.2S
34,6S
34.6S
35.0S F g
35.0S 17.4 E 17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 19.4 E
17.4 E 17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 19.4 E .Figure E.2: A (hypothetical) example of catches off Dassen Island &.A
Figure E.1: A (hypothetical) example of catches off Dassen Island
on a given day, some of which would be "lost" owing to there being
sets outside the closure on that day, but the value of the "reuse"
/t.rL I
on a given day that would be "lost" owing to there being no sets parameter does not allow all of the catches in the closure area to ~
outside the closure on that day. be replaced . \;\.,
Report of the lnternallonal Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa ·s GS
Table E.1: Example results from the OBM. Results are shown for several closure options and several ways to apply the OBM. Blank cells indicate the results concerned are not available.
ANCHOVY I Inside Catch

Total catch MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry
(7 km) (ARS)
206 695 65 081.3 44 061.3 20444.6 12 941.0 2 312.7
Irreplaceable Catch Opportunity Loss lrreplaceability %
Model MIBA MIBA) DFFE CAF ndustry MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry
(7 km) (ARS) (7 km) (ARS) (7 km) (ARS)
BC(Random) 40 354.7 4 650.9 555.0 30.0 3427.7 378.9 576.2 200.2 67.3% 24.6% 8.7% 10.0%
BC(median) 40 694.9 14 330.4 4 703.9 3 820.6 4 427.9 1 723.3 68.4% 42.6% 31.4%
BC(median) 28 697.9 8 477.5 2 744.1 304.8 30.0 5 465.7 5 969.4 1 486.1 1 849.3 209.6 52.5% 32.8% 20.7% 16.6% 10.4%
Reuse= Inf
BC(median) 52 683.6 25 699.3 1 911.6 2 064.4 83.9% 63.0%
Reuse=1
BC(median) 36 349.9 3 648.2 3 889.8 1 900.0 61.8% 27.1%
Reuse= 10
BC(median) 37 081 .3 4 068.5 3 252.0 2 099.0 62.0% 30.2%
+ Next day
SARDINE Inside Catch
Total catch MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry
(7 km) (ARS)
61 985 33 413.5 17 554.1 7 539.0 2 058.7 436.5
Irreplaceable Catch Opportunity Loss lrreplaceability %
Model MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry MIBA MIBA DFFE CAF Industry
(7 km) (ARS) (7 km) (ARS) (7 km) (ARS)
BC(Random) 26 989.1 3 002.6 463.4 436.5 950.5 493.8 223.5 13.6 83.6% 46.4% 33.4% 41.9%
BC(median) 27013.1 6 837.6 3 085.4 1 234.9 1 074.1 733.0 84.5% 45.1% 50.6%
BC(median) 25122.8 5 832.4 2 645.7 463.4 436.5 1 730.0 1 462.2 808.7 319.1 42.1 80.4% 41 .6% 45.8% 38.0% 48.5%
Reuse= Inf
BC(median) 30 313.2 11 385.7 375.8 270.8 91.8% 66.4%
Reuse=1
BC(median) 25 796.6 2 824.6 1 583.7 810.7 81.9% 48.2%
Reuse= 10
BC(median) 25 796.6 2 343.4 1 529.4 942.1 81.9% 43.6% (.,.)
+ Next day 00
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Figure E.3: Catch losses for anchovy and directed sardine estimated by the OBM for four closure proposals (mlBA (h = 7 km), mlBA-ARS,
DFFE and CAF) using five model assumptions, four based on the median selection of alternative opportunities and one based on random
selection, for Reuse= 1, 5, 10 and Inf (sampling with replacement) specifying the maximum number of times each alternative opportunity
can be used as a replacement; the label "Plus1 day" refers to the OBM scenario where a 2-day window is used instead of the same day to
define the set of alternative fishing opportunities. The height of each stacked bar corresponds to the total annual catch taken inside each
closure proposal ("inside catch" in Table E.1 ), a fraction of which (blue) is estimated to be unreplaceable, a small fraction (light blue) is lost
due to lower average catch rates of the replacement sets, and the rest is replaceable (grey). Missing bars indicate the results concerned
are not available.
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adJacent to South Africa 's
383
APPENDIX F
OUTLINE OF MICE AND THEIR USE TO ASSESS DRIVERS OF THE DECLINE
OF AFRICAN PENGUINS
F.1. Introduction
MICE (Models of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem be clearly identified via hypotheses and/or conceptual
assessments) are recognised as an appropriate tool to ad- models of the system functioning. Using a structured, step-
dress complex science and management issues such as wise approach enables objective evaluation of the extent
assessing the status of both fisheries and other non-target- to which alternative hypotheses are consistent with , and
ed species, including those of high conservation concern, able to explain, the available data. The model should be
and evaluating the trade-offs among management plans fitted to all available data to allow for consistency in as-
aimed at addressing conflicting objectives (e.g., Tulloch sumptions whilst accounting for the uncertainty associat-
et al., 2019; Goethel et al., 2022). MICE draw on the ed with different data sources and propagating this to the
rigorous quantitative and statistical methodology of stock final outputs, as per accepted methods used in integrated
assessment approaches and extend this to representa- analysis (Maunder and Punt, 2013).
tion of multiple co-existing species and stressors in an In some cases, based on the overall system concep-
ecosystem. MICE have a tactical focus, are context- and tual model, it may be helpful to develop complementary
question-driven and limit complexity by restricting the focus mechanistic models for more in-depth exploration of sys-
to those components of the ecosystem needed to address tem functioning. The outputs of such a model can then be
the main effects of the management question under con- used to inform the functional relationships between differ-
sideration (Plaganyi et al., 2014). Stakeholder participation ent components in a MICE, with the latter being the inte-
and dialogue is an integral part of this process. MICE esti- grated framework used to evaluate the plausibility of the
mate parameters by fitting to data, use statistical diagnos- interaction. For example, a bioenergetic model could be
tic tools to evaluate model performance and account for a used to investigate how fishing around islands affects pen-
broad range of uncertainties. MICE aim to be based on the guin foraging behaviour (including cooperative foraging in
most appropriate balance between variance and complex- small groups), performance and travel distance (and hence
ity (Collie et al., 2014). These models therefore address net energetic budget) when compared with an equivalent
many of the impediments to greater use of ecosystem mod- no-fishing scenario, taking into account data such as forag-
els in strategic and particularly tactical decision-making for ing tracks, dive location, etc.
marine resource management and conservation.
Additional modelling suggestions:
F.2. A possible structure of an African penguin-centric • Ultimately any model will only be as good as the
MICE underlying assumptions and the data available to
inform them. The ICE has resulted in some very
The MICE should ideally include a regional sub-structure useful data, which needs to be integrated with data
(i.e., separate western, eastern and southern regions) and on penguin relative abundance as well as tagging
be designed based on the data availability and being cog- and other data sources to inform on survival. Ideally
nisant that a penguin-centric rather than fishery-centric a MICE should be constructed in an iterative fash-
approach is needed. If focused on a single region, based ion so that it is regularly updated with new data and
on data availability, the western region would be an ideal information as these become available.
starting point with explicit representation of Dassen and • A one-way interaction only between penguins and
Robben islands. Including paired islands would allow as- their prey needs to be assumed (i.e., penguin forag-
sumptions that some parameters are constant across ing will be assumed to have a negligible effect on
islands thereby reducing confounding estimation of island- their prey)
specific effects. Having smaller scale islands embedded • As demonstrated in a number of existing MICE
in a larger scale model may also be helpful in analysing (e.g., Plaganyi and Butterworth, 2012; Tulloch et al.,
regional versus local impacts of changes in penguin prey 2019), it is not always essential to explicitly model
availability, as well as the ability to explicitly model pen- the consumption of prey - rather the net effect of
guin inter-island movements. The key species that will relative changes in available prey biomass can be
need to be represented in the model include African pen- tested as influencing breeding success and/or sur-
guins (age-structure formulation is needed - see Robinson vival of different penguin stages.
et al. [2015] as an example), sardine, anchovy and Cape • The relative abundance and energetic content of
fur seals. Other species may be considered based on pre- sardines and anchovy during different times of the
agreed conceptual models describing plausible hypoth- year could be evaluated in relation to the peak tim-
eses as to their role as a competitor or predator. In general, ing of breeding and moulting of African penguins,
it is recommended that MICE and similar ecosystem mod- as well as when fishing takes place. An annual time
els be developed in a step-wise manner (Figure F.1) to time-step may not provide sufficient resolution and it
ensure they remain tractable and only incorporate as much will likely be necessary to use a seasonal or month-
complexity as is needed to explain the available data. ly time time-step in the model, together with the role
Key processes to be investigated should similarly first of environmental drivers, discussed below.
384
Step-wise contruction of a penguin-centric MICE
Identify question Identify key species &

& data availablHty/ Stakeholder key processes
contrast consultation 11111111.. [spp· penguins,
[penguin-centric, [build on recent, ~ anchovy,sardines,
collate data - ongoing] seals, past processes
spatially olHng guano)
disaggregated]
..... Quantify extent

to which fi hlng
Does adding key trophic .1 explains
lnteraclione better explain d obeerved
data? trend•
[first explore ability of anch [start with
sard changes in explaining r~glonal spp-
Jwenlle & adult popln dyn, d11aggregated 1
then try add seals alto] pelagic flah data, '

later can consider
Are results
consistent with Stakeholder
Env1Rinmental/cl1mate conaultallon
drivers better explain other model ?
[do other [diaculs
data? findings
(add other climate data available/comple-
~
such at extreme events mentary models
qualHatlvely at management
to test if Incorporation strategies to
improves ability to fit least support
model fmdlngsl] feet etc)
penguin data]
Use model as stand-alone andlor

2-way feedback with other available
modele/MSE
M
Figure F.1: Schematic summary of step-wise approach to building a MICE, modified from Plaganyi et al. (2022) with illustrative notes
shown in square brackets
• Depending on the MICE structure, it would be help- will be important when trying to partition sources of
ful to distinguish between total regional prey abun- mortality because these operate on different ages,
dance and local abundance (such as that which stages and time time-periods, and hence attribut-
would theoretically be available within a mlBA(ARS) ing declines to a particular factor needs to involve
area), to evaluate match-mismatches between pen- demonstrating that the data are consistent with the
guin foraging and prey availability, and how fishing proposed mechanism. Having two or more colonies
might influence this. If there are insufficient data to explicitly represented will further assist with sepa-
fully inform explicit spatial modelling, a proxy such rating confounded sources of mortality and growth.
as an availability term (parameterised based on • A variety of approaches could be used to incorpo-
what is known) could be used instead (e.g., Tulloch rate measures of foraging behaviour (maximum dis-
et al., 2019), or a higher variance of prey availability tance, path length and trip duration) and translate
could be used to model situations where foraging these into population growth in an integrated MICE,
is more restricted (see, for example, Koehn et al., although this will likely be a secondary effect that
2021) . is investigated/sequentially added after first incor-
• Using a fully integrated model and explicitly rep- porating more direct measures of prey abundance
resenting age and stage (e.g., breeding) structure influencing vital rates. There are few studies where
Report of the International Review Panel regard mg fishing closures adJacent to South Africa's
385
this has been done - for example, Sydeman et al. predators), diet data and other data to substantiate
(2017) note that Robinson et al. (2015) provides the intensity and types of competition posited.
one of the few models linking adult survival and prey • A variety of methods such as described in the lit-
availability. However, more recently, Koehn et al. erature (see, for example, Haltuch and Punt, 2011;
(2021) developed a structured seabird model to test Holsman et al., 2016; Adadi et al., 2017; Hollowed
the impact of fishing forage fish prey on seabirds et al., 2020) and used in previous MICE (e.g., Tull-
and they incorporated both seabird life history and och et al. , 2019; Plaganyi et al., 2021 ; Rogers and
seabird-forage-fish dynamics. Similar to Robinson Plaganyi, 2022), are available for investigating the
et al. (2015), they found seabird sensitivity to fishing role of environmental drivers such as temperature
was mainly dependent on the relationship between (and extreme events in particular) as well as climate
adult survival and prey availability, rather than be- change.
tween reproductive success and prey availability. • Once the MICE is adequately validated, it should
They used a simple equation with two alternative be a useful tool for testing and quantifying the rela-
parameter settings to model scenarios of wide vs. tive efficacy of alternative penguin conservation
limited foraging ranges during the breeding season. measures. Hence the suggested approach is to
A literature search may yield further helpful studies first develop and fit to data a MICE that includes
- for example, Houston et al. (1996) developed a trophic interactions and key environmental drivers.
model to show the relationship between foraging This will hopefully provide a rigorous framework for
distance and the maximum size of a chick, which quantifying the relative roles of (cumulative) factors
could translate into differences in chick survival; causing the decline. The fitted model could then be
Plaganyi et al. (2000) modelled how temporal and used to evaluate and compare the likely conserva-
spatial match/mismatches between anchovy and tion benefits of a range of mitigation measures such
their copepod prey could influence anchovy growth as rehabilitation of adults, predator control, extreme
rates - conceptually this is similar to how a more weather risk mitigation and so forth .
detailed penguin foraging model could be used to • The MICE could also be used as an operating mod-
quantify implications for adult and juvenile energetic el in a MSE framework (see also Siple et al., 2021),
budgets and hence growth and survival, with the fi- noting that, if coupled with the current small pelagic
nal relationships (i.e. not the entire sub-model) used Operational Management Procedure, consideration
as an input to a MICE. needs to be given to aligning in some way the spa-
• It may not be necessary to include a detailed repre- tial scales that are relevant for the fishery versus
sentation of Cape fur seal population dynamics to the smaller scales that are likely relevant for pen-
explore the potential role of Cape fur seal predation guins. Nonetheless, as a first step, the current OMP
and competition contributing to the past and current could usefully be coupled with a penguin population
decline in penguin numbers. Rather, it is important dynamics model to update previous analyses given
to include available data on trends in abundance, that sardine biomass is now at much lower levels
especially at the regional scale, relative rates of than was the case during previous testing.
growth of seal populations (and possibly other
Penguin in full song (photo BM Dyer)
70 Afr;can Penguin Breeding colonies and declines in the Penguin population
387
3/13/24, 7:02 AM
SCIENCE BASED MEASURES ARE NOW BEING

IMPLEMENTED TO PROTECT THE CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED AFRICAN PENGUINS, SAYS
MINISTER OF FORESTRY FISHERIES AND
ENVIRONMENT, MS BARBARA CREECY
MEDIA STATEMENT
4 AUGUST 2023
The African penguin is critically endangered. If this situation is not addressed, with current rates of population decline. science tells us these iconic creatures could be functionally extinct by
2035.
Competition for food is thought to be one among a set of pressures that are contributing to the decline of the African Penguin population. Other pressures include ship traffic together with
their associated noise and vibrations, pollution and degradation of suitable nesting habitats.
The species. which is endemic lo South Africa and Namibia, has decreased from more than a million breeding pairs to just about 10 000 pairs over the last century.
Today, following the report of the Export Review Panel I have taken a decision to implement fishing limitations in the waters around penguin colonies for a minimum of 1O years, with a
review after 6 years of implementation and data colleelion.
Fishing limitations are established for the following penguin colonies: Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, SI. Croix Island and Bird Island. The transition to implementing
fishing limitations will continue with the current interim closures, while both the fishing industry and the conservation sector study the Panel's Report.
If there Is agreement on fishing limitations over the next few weeks or months across these sectors, these will be implemented as they are agreed upon. If no alternate fishing limitation
proposals are concluded by the start of the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season (January 15"'· 2024) the current interim fishing limitations wiH continue until the end of the 2033 Fishing
Season, with a review in 2030 after six years of implementation from the start of the 2024 fishing season.
Today marks the end of the complex and lengthy process of stakeholder consultations in the quest to find science-based measures to protect the critically endangered African penguin from
extinction.
In December 2022, I appointed an Expert Review Panel, under Section 3A of the National Environmental Management Act, to assess the science related to managing the interactions
between the small pelagic (anchovy and sardines) fishery and the conservation of African penguins.
The Panel is Chaired by_ Professor Andre Punt (USA), with members Dr Ana Parma (Argentina), Dr Eva Plaganyi (Australia), Professor Philip Trathan (UK), Professor Robert Furness (UK)
and Professor James Sanchirico (USA). The Panel members all have several decades experience in science to policy matters in the marine ecosystems, with a combined science
publication list of several hundreds.
The establishment of the Panel aimed to assess the appropriateness and value of fishing limitations for penguin success. These are key discussions as the sardine stock in South African
waters continue to be at relatively low levels.
This included science outcomes and insights achieved during of the Island Closure Experiment undertaken by the Department over the preceding decade. This experiment aimed at
understanding what. if any, benefrts are derived from limiting fishing adjacent to penguin colonies.
The Terms of Reference for the science review and the panel members were established in consultation with the representatives from the fishing industry and bird conservation sectors.
VV!lile the Expert Review Panel undertook their work, the Department, in September 2022 declared some areas around the major penguin colonies closed to commercial fishing for anchovy
and sardine. Although not representative on a consensus agreement, these fishing restrictions were established after much collaboration and negotiation with the seabird conservation
groups and the small pelagic fishing industry representatives.
A stand-out feature of the process to achieve a decision on fishing limitations, over the last two years, has been the level of engagement from the conservation and fishing industry sectors.
I want to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in this process. I do know that some of you are already in discussions on reaching compromises and agreements and I ask that you
continue to find each other on this. The Department and myself will be keen to implement any consensus you may reach - as first prize .. The DDGs Fisheries and Oceans & Coasts will
assist if you require some planned meeting lime and space.
To continue the engagement, I have asked officials from the Fisheries and Oceans & Coasts Branches to report to you at least annually on the implementation of these closures, the
expanded science plan and also progress on other non-fishery interventions in the Penguin Management Plan. Fishing limitations alone will .not be sufficient to help the penguins recover.
In conclusion, I want to thank the Panel, Professors Punt, Furness, Trathan, Sanchirico and Drs Parma and Plaganyi. I appreciate that you reviewed more than 200 documents and that you
undertook new analyses as well.
I believe that the Report and my policy decisions here start a new cycle of refinement and assessment for both fisheries and penguin management. It is a material step in implementing our
ambition on an ecosystems approach to sustainable ocean management and dynamic marine spatial planning.
Link to the repl'rt: https://bit.ly/3KpduCk
For media enquiries, contact Peter Mbelengwa on 082 611 8197
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
https:/lwww.dffe.gov.za/node/2001 1/2
3/13/24, 7:02 AM Science based measures are now being implemented to protect the critically endangered African Penguins3~inister OF ...
Note to Editors:
Fishing limitations around breeding colonies only addresses one aspect to combat the high rate of penguin decline and it is no miracle intervention. It must be seen as contributing its share
to the other interventions in the penguin management plan such as better managing land predators, habitat conservation and mitigating disease and pollution.
The limitation of small pelagic fishing adjacent to penguin colonies will be used by the Department as an intervention in the conservation and management of the African Penguin. It is
acknowledged that small pelagic fishery limitations do have a benefit to penguins and that these benefits are small relative to the observed decreases in the penguin populations over recent
decades. It is our hope that this intervention will lend ns support to the other parallel Interventions to give the penguins a better chance.
Other measures in the Penguin Management Plan include control of predation (domestic animals, feral cats, Kelp Gulls and seals), rehabilitating oiled birds, population reinforcement
(removing abandoned eggs, chicks and emaciated adults for rehabilitation and retum), piloting artificial nests, habitat restoration and implementing biosecurity measures to limit the spread
of avian flu. Additionally, we are currently undertaking a risk assessment for oil bunkering activities in Algoa Bay. All these are undertaken by the DFFE and also with conservation partners.
https://www.dffe.gov.za/node/2001 2/2
Closures resulting from application of Panel's recommended trade-off mechanism
A) Dassen Island B) Robben Island

32.6°S .1· ·----
-=:II
0 1530km
s ·::e-_·
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~ 33.2°s
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33.4°S
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33.6°S 33.8°S
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17.4°E 17.8°E 18.2°E 18.6°E 17.5°E 18.0°E 18.5°E 19.0°E

Longitude Longitude
C) Stony Point D) Dyer Island

34.0°S 6 10 hm 34,20s f"<:--- - -- - - -.o-·1·s-30k•m7
34.1°s
34.4°S
34.2°s
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18.6°E 18.8°E 19.0°E 19.2°E 19.4°E 18.8°E19.0°E19.2°E19.4°E19.6°E 19.8°E,
Longitude Longitude
E) St Croix Island F) Bird Island

33.6°S , -- - - - - ----o-•1•0• 20•km
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34.2°s .......,_---,-----,-----,--------'
25.8°E 26.2°E 26.6°E 27.0°E
25.4°E 25.6°E 25.8°E 26.0°E 26.2°E
Longitude
Longitude
Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Biological Conservation
ELSEVIER journal homepage : www.elsevier . com/locate/biocon
Industrial fishing, no-take zones and endangered penguins

L. Pichegru a,* , P.G. Ryan a, R. van Eeden a, T. Reid a , D. Gremillet a.b, R. Wanless a,c
• Percy FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701 , South Africa
bCentre National de la Recherche Sdentifique, CEFE UMR 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34 293 Mimtpellier Cedex 5, France
c Seabird Division, Birdlife South Africa, PO Box 515, Randburg 2125, South Africa
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article history: Industrial fishing can profoundly alter marine environments, and no-take zones are an important tool to
Received 28 March 2011 achieve sustainable fishing and re-establish ecosystem integrity. However, the potential benefits for vagile
Received in revised form 29 November 2011 species such as top predators are stiil questioned. The numbers of endangered African penguins Spheniscus
Accepted 8 December 2011
demersus have halved since 2004. They depend on small pelagic fish, also targeted by a purse-seine indus-
Available online 31 December 2011
try in South Africa. We studied penguin foraging behaviour and breeding output at two colonies support-
ing 60% of the global population in relation to fishing activity by purse-seine vessels. In 2008, both sites
Keywords:
were open to fishing, but in 2009 and 2010 waters within 20 km of the world's largest colony were closed
Biotelemetry
Breeding success to fishing, while waters around the neighbouring colony, 50 km away, remained open. Birds' foraging
Chick growth effort increased with the size of catches around their colonies and decreased with the implementation
Marine reserve of a reserve. Total fishing catches in the bay remained constant. but shifted toward the boundaries of
Spheniscus demersus the reserve in 2010. While the no-take zone significantly reduced penguin foraging effort, intensified fish-
Small pelagic fish ing pressure at the reserve boundaries ("fishing the line") in 2010 limited this benefit. The decrease over
time of both adult body mass and chick growth rates from both colonies, suggested that the 20 km-closure
is too small to reverse penguin population decreases. Therefore, stronger fishery management measures,
such as larger no-take zones, buffer zones around reserves, or local reduction of fishing quotas, seem nec-
essary to increase food availability for penguins around their colonies. The collapse of Africa's only breed-
ing penguin species adds urgency to the wider implementation of such measures.
© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Worm, 2009 ). Their populations are declining world-wide

(BirdLife, 2010; Lotze and Worm, 2009) through a combination of
The intensity of marine fishing has increased dramatically since direct exploitation, mortality from fishing gear and competition
the middle-ages, in response to pollution of freshwater ecosys- with fisheries (Tasker et al., 2000; Lotze and Worm," 2009). MPAs
tems, cultural changes, human population increase and improved are increasingly promoted as beneficial for top predators (Hooker
technologies (Roberts, 2007 ). Archaeological records show early et al., 2011 ). Development in technologies facilitated the assess-
signs of local depletion of marine resources by aboriginal tribes ment of the use of marine ecosystems by threatened species
Uackson et al., 2001 ), as is also apparent in European waters over (Ballard et al., this issue; Le Corre et al., this issue) as well as iden-
the past millennium (Longhurst, 2010). The development of indus- tifying threats specific to life stages or species (Montevecchi et al.,
trial fishing in the 20th century has reduced the biomass of pred- this issue) to model the design of potential MPAs (Grecian et al.,
atory fish globally to <10% of pre-industrial levels (Myers and this issue; O'Brien et al., this issue). While it is necessary to work
Worm, 2003 ) and profoundly altered marine environments with governmental institutions for enforcement and compliance
(Boehlert, 1996). Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are crucial to of such protected zones (Arcos et al., this issue; Lascelles et al., this
re-establish ecosystem integrity and to allow sustainable fishing issue), it is of crucial importance to assess the effectiveness of
(Roberts et al., 2005; Worm et al., 2009 ). To date however, less than established MPAs to protect targeted species (Yorio, 2009; Ludynia
1.5% of the ocean is formally protected (Spalding et al., 2010), de- et al., this issue; Garthe et al., this issue).
spite the Biodiversity Convention in Rio in 1992 calling for at least Numbers of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus), endemic to
10% of the oceans to be protected through a network of MPAs. Fur- southern Africa, decreased by roughly 90% during the 20th century
thermore, there is little protection for marine top predators despite (Crawford, 1999). During the first decade of the 21st century, what
their pivotal role in the stability of marine food webs (Baum and was left of the population more than halved, with only 26,000
breeding pairs remaining in 2009 (Crawford et al., 2011 ). This re-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +27 (0) 21 650 3619; fax : +27 (0) 21 650 3295. cent decrease led to the species being down-listed from vulnerable
E-mail address: [email protected] (L Pichegru). to endangered in 2010 (BirdLife, 2010). African penguin survival
0006-3207 /$ - see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.013
392
118 L. Pichegru et al./Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125
and breeding success are closely tied to the availability of sardines 96 x 39 x 26.5 mm; Earth&Ocean Technologies, Germany), that re-
(Sardinops sagax) and anchovies (Engraulis encrasico/us) within cord latitude and longitude at 1 min-intervals to an accuracy
20-30 km of their breeding sites (Crawford, 1999; Pichegru et al., of <10 m, and depth at 1 s intervals to the nearest 0.1 m. The de-
2009 ). These fish are also targeted by an important commercial vices weighed <2.5% of adult body mass and were housed in
purse-seine fishery in South Africa, which developed after World streamlined fibre-composite containers (~1.5% cross-sectional
War II (Griffiths et al., 2004). Exploitation of the fishery remained area of a penguin). They were attached to the penguins' lower back
relatively low and stable until the mid-1990s, but increased stea- feathers with waterproof tape, causing no damage to the plumage.
dily post 2000 (Griffiths et al., 2004). Since the 1980s, this fishery Handling lasted <6 min from capture to release, and these methods
has been regulated by a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) that is set were approved by University of Cape Town's animal ethics com-
annually by the Department of Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries mittee. After deployment, nest sites were monitored until the
(DAFF), to match ca 20% of the pelagic fish biomass estimated every instrumented birds returned, allowing them to be recaptured and
year by fishery-independent acoustic surveys off the South African the logger removed. Previous studies showed no significant differ-
coast (Coetzee et al., 2008 ). Recently, small pelagic fish availability ence in the trip duration of instrumented versus control African
decreased off the west coast of Smith Africa, where most penguin penguins (Petersen et al., 2006; Pichegru et al., 2010).
colonies are situated, due to a south-eastward shift in their distri- On retrieval of the devices, trip duration. path length at sea (at
bution (van der Lingen et al., 2005; Roy et al., 2007). This shift is the surface), maximum distance from the colony and diving effort
probably linked to changing environmental conditions, but also (total Vertical Travel Distance (VTD) defined as the sum of depth of
to a lack of spatial management of the competing purse-seine fish- all dives multiplied by two to obtain distance, sensu Horning and
ery as heavy fishing pressure persists in areas with low fish abun- Trillmich, 1997) were calculated to estimate the birds' foraging ef-
dance due to the location of ports and land-based processing plants fort. We also estimated the diving behaviour of the birds (diving
(Coetzee et al., 2008 ). This spatial mismatch resulted in local com- rate, average dive depth and duration). Data were only recorded
petition between birds and fisheries (Okes et al., 2009; Pichegru for a single foraging trip per bird to limit pseudo-replication. A
et al., 2009). GPS position was associated with each feeding dive (>3 m and
To assess the potential effect of fishing exclusions (MPAs) on diurnal, as defined by Wilson and Wilson (1990)). Adaptive kernel
penguins, an area of 20 km-radius was experimentally closed to analyses were conducted on the entire GPS position dataset for
purse-seine fishing around the world's largest African penguin col- each colony/year, using Arcview GIS 3.1 with the smoothing factor
ony at St. Croix Island (7200 pairs, Crawford et al., 2011 ), Nelson chosen according to the least-squares-cross-validation method
Mandela Bay, South Africa, in January 2009. The waters around (Worton, 1989) to estimate isolines incorporating 50%, 75% and
Bird Island, another penguin colony (2900 pairs, Crawford et al., 75-90% of foraging locations.
2011 ) 50 km away in the same bay, remained open to fishing.
These two islands support >60% of the global population of African 2.2. Diet
penguins, but their numbers also halved since 2001, following a
decrease in small pelagic fish biomass (Crawford et al., 2011 ). Diet samples from adult penguins were collected from random
Purse-seine fishing started in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in birds returning from the sea at dusk, so that the samples were
1990s, and catches have increased fivefold since 2000 (Department likely to reflect the diet fed to chicks. The birds' stomachs were
of Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries, unpubl. data). Historically, flushed with water poured down a tube into the stomach (Wilson,
most pelagic fish catches occurred around St. Croix Island, which 1984) and birds were then released. To limit disturbance, we did
is closer to Port Elizabeth harbour than Bird Island (Pichegru not flush the entire stomach contents, so could not compare the
et al., 2009 ). In the first year after closure, the birds from St. Croix mass of food between years as a proxy for prey capture per trip.
Island decreased their foraging effort, saving daily energy expendi- Prey items were identified, usually to species level, weighed for
ture, while the birds from Bird Island increased their effort, proba- each sample and pooled to estimate the contribution by mass of
bly in response to reduced food availability (Pichegru et al., 2010). different species to the diet of penguins from each island. Logger
The value of these preliminary results in suggesting potential ben- birds were not sampled to reduce disturbance to these birds.
efits of small no-take zones for African penguins was, however, de-
bated (Coetzee, 2010; Ryan et al., 2010). Here, we report the 2.3. Purse-seine fishing catches
foraging behaviour of adult penguins raising chicks at both sites
in the second year of fishing exclusion around St. Croix Island. The positions of purse-seine vessels were monitored constantly
We relate their at-sea behaviour in the year before closure and via satellite telemetry, ensuring compliance within the experimen-
the two years after closure with the distribution and abundance tal closure around St. Croix Island in 2009 and 2010. The weight
of purse-seine fish catches. We also compared the penguins' breed- (tonnes) of pelagic fish (anchovies and sardines) caught by the fish-
ing success and chick growth at the two colonies after the closure. ery between 2008 and 2010 was obtained from catch data re-
corded per 10 x 10 nautical mile (18.5 x 18.5 km) grid cell by the
DAFF. Not all empty hauls are recorded, so we could only estimate
2. Materials and methods total catches and catch per unit area rather than catch per unit ef-
fort (CPUE). The closed area around St. Croix Island overlaps with
2.1. Foraging parameters six reporting blocks (Fig. 1), but the core area falls within four
blocks, with <10% of the two southernmost blocks closed to fishing.
The foraging behaviour of adult penguins raising chicks of We compared the catches in the entire bay (Fig. 1) with catches
1-3 weeks old was studied at St. Croix Island (33°48'S, 25°46'E) occurring in these six blocks around St. Croix Island (i.e. block
and at Bird Island (33°50'S, 26°17'E), in May-June 2008 and numbers 4600, 4605, 4650, 4655, 5610 and 5615, Fig. 1) and four
April-May 2009 (see Pichegru et al., 2010), and April-June 2010. blocks around Bird Island where the penguins from that island pri-
Most African penguins breed at the islands between March and marily forage (block numbers 4702, 4703, 4752 and 4753, Figs. 1
August. Members of each breeding pair share the care of their and 2). We chose these blocks as the area exploitable by fishing
brood of 1-2 chicks, with one adult attending the nest while the boats ( >20 m deep, A. Badenhorst, pers. comm.) was equivalent be-
partner is at sea. Birds were equipped with GPS-TD loggers (a tween the two zones when St. Croix was closed to fishing (690 km 2
GPS recorder combined with a time-depth recorder; around St. Croix Island and 620 km 2 around Bird Island). When
393
L Pichegru et a/./Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125 119
South Africa
Bird Island I
4751
-
100m
Purl 0 4701
Elbrabetll
--·~~~~
' <--,.~ .- -
5613 ~14.. , '· 5615 5711 5712 5713 5714 200m
..:,;.., -.
. . .. ,,,. ;=:-. 5610
.l.
5724 300m
5623 5624 5625 5620 5721 6722 5723
;,::--·,,
.6635 5630 5731

Nthon Mandela Bay
5633 5634
1 ~- ---~ '
Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing the 10 x 10 nm fishing blocks and the areas considered in this study: "Nelson Mandela Bay" (all the numbered blocks), the area around
· St.Croix Island (block numbers 4600, 4605. 4650, 4655, 5610 and 5615) and around Bird Island (block numbers 4702, 4703. 4752 and 4753). The zone closed to purse-seine
fishing from January 2009 within 20 km of St. Croix Island and an adjacent area surrounding an offshore bank (empty circle) is also shown, as well as a small Marine Protected
Area around Bird Island (empty square).
open to fishing in 2008, the exploitable area around St. Croix was are linear (Lilbbe, 2008 ). To compare chick growth between colo-
1320 km 2. We also compared the density of catches (tons/km2 ) nies and years, we used GLMs with growth rate as the dependent
around the two islands among years. factor and year and colony as explanatory variables.
We used General Linear Models (GLMs) to estimate the poten-
tial effects of fishery catches and exclusion on foraging parameters 2.5. Breeding success
of penguins and their adult body mass, using one model per re-
sponse. Given that the two colonies are only 50 km apart, we as- A sample of 90-220 nests other than nests monitored for the
sumed that environmental conditions were similar between chick growth was marked with a unique number painted on a
islands and Bird Island provided a control for environmental effects stone next to the nest on each island in 2009 and 2010. African
between years. Therefore, variation in penguins' foraging effort be- penguins typically lay a clutch of two eggs (Hockey et al., 2005 ).
tween years at Bird Island would be expected to be matched at St. Nest type is known to influence breeding success in these birds
Croix Island, in the absence of fishing closure. This assumption was (Seddon and van Heezik, 1991 ), so only surface nests were selected
necessary to test for effects of the area closure, as significant inter- (as opposed to natural burrows). Nest contents (number of adults,
annual effects that differed between islands would confound the eggs, chicks and the size of the chicks) typically were monitored
effect of area closures. Explanatory variables tested included the every 7-10 days, (occasionally up to 2-3 weeks, due to logistical
year (Year) and the colony (Colony) as well as the intensity of fish- difficulties). If the eggs disappeared between successive checks,
ing catches in the area around each colony (Ftonnes, see Fig. 1) and we assumed that the nest failed at the incubation stage, prior to
the effect of the area closure around St. Croix Island (Reserve). All hatching. After 6-8 weeks, the chicks leave their nests to join cre-
models were performed in R (version 2.12.0, R Development Core ches and are not reliably associated with individual nests. Hence,
Team 2010) using a Gaussian distribution with an identity link. we assumed that a nest was successful if the chicks reached
8 weeks-old and it was found empty. Each breeding attempt in a
2.4. Chick growth marked nest was considered independently, as most adults were
not individually marked and more than one pair may occupy a nest
The rate of mass gain by penguin (and other seabird) nestlings is site in a given season (pers. obs. on some marked pairs). Breeding
retarded during period of malnutrition, as priority is given to struc- success was estimated using a modified Mayfield method (1975),
tural growth rates (van Heezik and Seddon, 1991; Robinson et al., with nest days calculated as the mid-point between nest visits,
2002 ). To determine variability in chick growth rates, the head as the visits were usually <14 days Uohnson, 1979). Nest survival
length (the most repeatable measure of chick size) and mass of probabilities were compared using survival models specified with
76-115 marked chicks was measured every 5-10 days during the the "survreg" function in R v2.12.0 (R Development Core Team
peak breeding season (March-June) in 2009 and 2010. We esti- 2010). The maximum likelihood estimate of risk of failure (F) per
mated a daily increase in mass per chick, including only one growth sampling interval was defined following Sherley et al. (in press):
value per chick to avoid pseudo-replication. The median of the head
F = exp(-a - {Jx),
sizes of the entire sample size of chicks we measured was 86.3 mm.
Therefore, we selected the single growth value per chick which was where oc and pare intercept and coefficients from the regression and
associated with their head length closest to 86.3 mm. Also, to limit xis the explanatory variable (x = 1 for factorial variables). Nest sur-
the effect of chick size on estimated growth rates (due to early or vival (S) at time twas defined as:
late periods of measurements), we removed the data in the first
and fourth quartile of the distribution of the head length of the en-
S(t) = exp(-exp(Ft)),
tire sample size (79.5 mm< head length> 99.1 mm). At that stage with t the average time for incubation and fledging period (38 and
of growth, the growth rates of African penguin chick head and mass 77 days respectively, Hockey et al., 2005 ). Hatching success was
An 0-'~
394
120 L. Pichegru et al. / Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125
2008
Foraging range
• • -50%
-
FilherlescatchN
!50•75%
75.90%
I • • <100 (tons)
•
L,rl • : : :o
2009
•
Foraging range
• • • -50%
-
Fisheries catches
50.75%
75.90%
(tons)
• <100
.t_ 100 • 500
• 500-2000
2010
11n1 hlwl 1
Foraging range
• -50%
- 50•75'%
75•90%
- . ..4 •
Fisheries catches
.t_
• <100
(tons)
100 • 500
500-2000
Fig. 2. Foraging areas (density of feeding dives) of African penguins breeding at St Croix and Bird islands (stars), in South Africa, before (2008 ) and after (2009 and 2010)
closure to purse-seine fishing within 20 km of St. Croix Island and an adjacent area surrounding an offshore bank (empty circle). The location and amount of catches by the
purse-seine fleets between January and August each year (covering most of the penguins' breeding season) are shown by black circles.
defined as the probability of nests hatching at least one chick, fledg- and fledging success. Upper and lower 95% confidence intervals (CI)
ing success as the probability of a _nest that hatched chicks fledging were calculated as:
at least one chick, and breeding success was the product of hatching
. 395
L Pichegru et al. / Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125 121
Table 1
Foraging behaviour of African penguins from St. Croix and Bird islands, Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, before (2008) and after (2009-2010) closure to purse-seine industrial
fishing around St. Croix Island. Values are mean± SD (range).
St. Croix Island Bird Island

2008 2009 2010 2008 2009 2010
N (GPS tracks) 18 14 21 30 29 31
Body mass (g) 3500 ± 550 (1950- 3300 ± 530 (2675- 3000 ± 300 (2325- 3780 ± 410 (2900- 3230 ± 350 (2525- 3080 ± 370 (2125-
4250) 4750) 3525) 4400) 4000) 3875)
Trip duration (h) 22.5 ± 7.1 (13.9- 17.1 ±4.0 (7.8-23 ) 27.1 ± 9.7 (14.7-51 ) 15.6 ± 4.0 (9.7-24) 18.0 ± 5.0 (7.2-30) 20.5 ± 6.9 (5.6-47.1)
47.8)
Horizontal path length 69.3 ± 28.6 (25.9- 50.2 ± 17.0 ( 11.2- 69.2 ± 26.0 (31.6- 39.2 ± 10.4 (25.6- 41.5 ± 11.9 (10.9- 52.1 ± 24.2 ( 19.4-
(km) 152.3) 77.5) 144) 66.7) 59.8) 143.6)
Max. distance from colony 32.3 ± 8.0 (18.7- 19.7 ± 7.2 (4.7-30.7) 24.9 ± 7,8 (6.7-39.1) 14.5 ± 6.8 (6.3-30.3) 14.0 ± 4.9 (4.1-24.8) 15.1 ± 7.8 (6.0-43.2)
(km) 44.5)
Average VTD (km) 17.5 ± 5.6 (7.5-31 .2) 11.8 ± 3.2 (6.9-16.5) 22.6 ± 6.1 ( 13.8- 12.6 ± 4.6 (5.3-22.1) 18.2 ± 6.0 (9.3-40.2) 18.1 ±4.7 (7.5-28.7)
37.9)
Diving rate (dive h- 1) 16.1 ±4.6 (9.1-24.0) 14.5 ±3.0 (8.9-20.7) 14.5 ± 3.9 (9.4-24.1) 17.9 ± 6.6 (7.8-37.1) 18.9 ± 5.2 (8.1-32.8) 16.5 ± 4.6 (10.2-
28.5)
Average dive duration (s) 79.6 ± 12.1 72.5 ± 27.0 (Max: 86.8 ± 14.7 (Max: 75.3 ± 11.7 76.1 ± 12.8 79.2 ± 14.4 (Max:
(Max:163) 153) 122) (Max:154) (Max:275 ) 227)
Average dive depth (m) 26.4 ± 11.5 23.0 ± 16.1 32.1 ± 6.8 (Max: 25.0 ± 10.9 26.8 ± 6.8 (Max: 28.6 ± 9.7 (Max:
(Max:84.9) (Max:76.7) 76.1) (Max:77.2) 91.0) 92.7)
exp(-t(f -1.96 f/v'n)) and exp( - t(f + 1.96 f / v'n)) , by mass being small pelagic fish in both years and on both islands.
Most of the small pelagic fish found in the diet were anchovies
respectively, where n is the number of breeding attempt failures (97% by mass, with the remaining 3% sardines). Other prey in-
during incubation for the hatching success or during brooding for cluded halfbeaks (Hemiramphidae), Cape silverside (Atherina brev-
the fledging success. The nest survival was tested in relation with iceps), Iongsnout pipefish (Syngnathus acus), small Cape snoek
year, colony and fishing activities around the islands as explanatory (Thyrsites atun) and squids (Loligo spp.).
variables in the survival models.
3.3. Fishing activities
3. Results
The total amount of fish caught in Nelson Mandela Bay each
3.1 . Foraging behaviour year remained roughly constant, between 3400 and 3900 tonnes
for the three years of the study (Table 3 ). However, the distribution
There were marked differences in the at-sea behaviour of the of catches varied (Fig. 2 ), leading to differences in fishing intensity.
penguins between colonies and among years (Tables 1 and 2; Figs. In 2008 and 2009, a substantial proportion of catches occurred
2 and 3 ). Birds from St. Croix Island generally travelled further from around Bird Island (26.5% and 42.6% respectively), with relatively
their colony, had longer trip durations, and greater horizontal and high catches per unit area (1.7-2.3 t km- 2 , Table 3 ). In these years,
vertical path lengths (Table 2) than birds from Bird Island (Table the catches in the six blocks around St. Croix were constant (720
1, Fig. 3 ). Penguins breeding on Bird Island increased their foraging and 725 t, Table 3 ). although there was a spatial shift, with catches
effort each year, suggesting an ongoing deterioration of their forag-, in 2009 occurring in the two southern blocks (Fig. 2 ). The closure of
ing environment. At the same time, birds from St. Croix decreased waters within 20 km of St. Croix Island reduced the size of the
their foraging effort after the fishing ban was put into place in exploitable area, increasing fishing intensity in the area open to
2009, but increased it again in 2010, suggesting a short-term bene- fishing (from 0.5 t km- 2 in 2008 to 1.05 t km- 2 in 2009, Table 3 ).
fit from the fishing closure. The foraging effort of penguins from In 2010, however, the catches in St. Croix Island area increased dra-
both colonies was related with fishing intensity in the vicinity of matically, with 1920 tonnes of fish removed from five of the six
the island (Ftons); time spent foraging and Vertical Travel Distances blocks covered by the closure (Fig. 2), suggesting that much of
both increased with increased fishing catches (Table 2 ). In parallel, the fishing fleet's activity occurred within 5 km of the reserve
the implementation of a fishing ban (Reserve) significantly reduced boundaries. In 2010, fishing intensity around St. Croix was
penguin foraging effort; trip duration, foraging path length, maxi- 2.8 t km- 2, with half of the total amount of fish removed from
mum distance from the colony and Vertical Travel Distances were the bay caught in that zone, whereas only 320 t were caught
all significantly negatively correlated with the fishing ban (Table around Bird Island (0.5 t km- 2 ).
2). Finally, birds from St. Croix Island spent more time feeding with-
in the boundaries of the closure after the ban (75% and 55% of their 3.4. Chick growth
dives within the closure in 2009 and 2010, respectively) than when
fishing was allowed in that area (25%of dives, Fig. 2 ). Between March-June 2009 and March-June 2010, growth
Diving behaviour (dive depths, durations and rate) remained increments were analysed from 261 chicks. Chicks from both is-
constant between years and between colonies (Tables 1 and 2 ). lands grew at the same rate (f = 0. 79, p = 0.375 ), but growth rates
Birds from St. Croix Island were slightly lighter than birds from Bird decreased at both colonies by 6-11 g/day between 2009 and
Island (Table 2, p = 0.03 ). but the body mass of adults from both col- 2010, from 43.8 to 32.5 g/day for chicks from St. Croix and 44.7
onies decreased progressively during the study (Fig. 3, Table 2 ). to 38.7 g/day at Bird Island (f • 7.04, p = 0.008, Fig. 4 ).
3.2. Diet 3.5. Breeding success
A total of 110 diet samples was collected (Bird Island : 40 in From the 558 breeding attempts monitored on both islands, we
2009, 19 in 2010; St. Croix Island: 23 in 2009, 28 in 2010). The diet observed 296 failures in 15,240 nest-days during incubation and
of the birds did not differ between years and colonies, with >90% 144 failures in 14,765.5 nest-days during chick-rearing {Table 4).
lb" {1/v'I!,
396
122 L. Pichegru et al./Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125
Table2 similar between the islands (Table 4), except for Bird Island in
Results of GLMs of breeding African penguins' foraging parameters and body mass 2009. This was due to heavy predation on penguin eggs and chicks
against environmental and fishing variables. Colony Bird Island and Year 2008 are the
references.
by kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus), which were removed by South
African National Parks from February 2010 in an attempt to in-
Coefficients Estimate Std error p crease penguin breeding success (Pichegru, unpubl. data). Also,
Adult body mass exceptionally high air temperatures (>45 °C locally) at the begin-
Intercept 3824.26 107.94 35.43 <0.01 ning of March 2010 greatly reduced hatching success on St. Croix
Colony St. Croix -277.11 124.94 - 2.22 0.03
Year 2009 -461.01 98.42 - 4.68 <0.01
Island (all of the 93 monitored pairs breeding at the time aban-
Year 2010 -672.72 100.45 -6.70 <0.01 doned their eggs), but had no effect on Bird Island where penguins
Ftons - 0.09 0.07 - 1.23 . 0.22 had not started breeding yet.
Reserve Yes 265.23 164.03 1.62 0.11
Trip duration
Intercept 12.26 1.64 7.48 <0.01 4. Discussion
Colony St. Croix 8.18 1.85 4.41 <0.01
Year 2009 1.50 1.51 0.99 0.32
Year 2010 7.28 1.55 4.71 <0.01 Our results are consistent with a negative impact of purse-seine
Ftons 2.88 X 10-3 1.11 X 10-3 2.59 0.01 fishing on the foraging effort of breeding penguins. Indices of en-
Reserve Yes -6.93 2.45 - 2.84 O.Dl ergy spent by adults in searching for food (Vertical Travel Distance,
Foraging trip length trip duration and maximum distance from the colony) increased
Intercept 34.60 5.34 6.48 <0.01 with increased fishing catches within 20-30 km of colonies, and
Colony St. Croix 32.61 6.02 5.42 <0.01 decreased when a no-take zone was implemented (Table 2). Mar-
Year 2009 2.70 4.99 0.54 0.59
Year 2010 16.53 5.02 3.29 <0.01
ine upper-trophic level predators' population dynamics (breeding
Ftons 2.92 X 10- 3 3.64 X 10- 3 0.80 0.42 success, recruitment, survival) are affected by changes in prey
Reserve Yes -21.87 7.99 - 2.74 O.Dl availability (e.g. Oro et al., 2004; Davis et al., 2005 ) and fishing
Vertical Travel Distance can modify prey availability for predators by reducing prey density
Intercept 8.71 1.22 7.14 <0.01 or increasing prey recruitment variability (Furness, 2003 ). Long-
Colony St. Croix 5.95 1.53 3.89 <0.01 term data series on both fish catches and predator population
Year 2009 2.94 1.12 2.62 0.01
trends provide correlative support for the impact of fishing on pre-
Year 2010 8.16 1.14 7.18 <0.01
Ftons 3.93 X 10-3 0.84 X 10- 3 4.70 <0.01 dators (e.g. Crawford, 1999; Frederiksen et al., 2004; Jahnke et al.,
Reserve Yes - 8.63 1.95 - 4.42 <0.01 2004; Ainley and Bright, 2009). However, there are few well-docu-
Diving rate mented cases directly demonstrating the consequences of fishing
Intercept 2.77 0.75 36.68 <0.001 on predator populations (e.g. Osterblom et al., 2006), partly be-
Colony St. Croix -0.06 0.09 -0.67 0.49 cause consequences of fishing on marine ecosystems usually are
Year 2009 0.06 0.07 0.86 0.39 lagged Oackson et al., 2001 ). The penguins of Nelson Mandela
Year 2010 - 0.02 0.07 - 0.20 0.84
Ftons 0.000 0.000 0.907 0.37
Bay show a direct negative effect of fishing on their behaviour, as
Reserve Yes -0.14 -0.12 - 1.20 0.23 well as a rapid decrease in effort spent at sea when fishing within
Maximum distance from colony
their foraging area ceases.
Intercept 12.44 1.84 6.75 <0.01 Displacing fishing effort around the St. Croix penguin colony be-
Colony St. Croix 18.52 2.08 8.89 <0.01 tween 2008 and 2009, as well as catches of lower levels than in
Year 2009 -1.05 1.72 - 0.61 0.54 2010, probably increased food availability within the closure and
Year 2010 2.10 1.73 1.21 0.23 influenced the foraging behaviour of the birds (Fig. 2). However,
Ftons 1.79 X 10- 3 J.25 X 10- 3 1.43 0.16
Reserve Yes - 11.54 2.76 - 4.18 <0.01 "fishing the line" in 2010 (increasing fishing intensity around the
reserve boundary) appears to have compromised the benefit of
Dive duration
Intercept 71.532 3.6 19.87 <0.001 the closure to penguins. This practise is a common response by
Colony St. Croix 5.36 4,54 1.18 0.24 fishermen to enhanced catch rates around reserve boundaries
Year 2009 - 0.37 3.33 -.011 0.91 due to spill-over of stocks of territorial fish or shellfish stocks that
Year 2010 6.50 3.35 1.94 0.05 have recovered inside the closure (Roberts et al., 2005 ). It has been
Ftons 0.003 0.002 1.54 0.13
Reserve Yes -3.79 5.79 -0.66 0.51
shown to be positive for fisheries and harmless for the reserve
when the targets are largely sedentary animals (Kellner et al.,
Dive depth
Intercept 23.71 2.33 10.16 <0.001
2007). However, it could limit the benefit of fishing exclusion for
Colony St. Croix 1.06 2.92 0.37 0.72 more mobile fish (Roberts et al., 2005; Kellner et al., 2007 ) and
Year 2009 - 0.24 2.15 - 0.11 0.91 their predators. It could be argued that a catch of 700-2000 tonnes
Year 2010 4.18 2.16 1.93 0.05 would have a trivial ecological impact, especially when one consid-
Ftons 0.002 0.002 1.43 0.15 ers that >25,000 tonnes of small pelagic fish are caught annually
Reserve Yes - 1.23 3.76 - 0.33 0.74
within the foraging range of African penguins breeding on Dyer Is-
land on the south-west coast of South Africa (Pichegru et al., 2009).
However, little is known about the spatio-temporal scale of the
The survival models showed that hatching success was higher on small pelagic fish movements or their availability for penguins
Bird Island than St. Croix, but fledging success was higher on St. during the birds' breeding cycle. Moreover, the increase in catches
Croix. Between 2009 and 2010, hatching success remained similar in the vicinity of St. Croix Island of 1200 tonnes from 2009 to 2010
on both islands, but fledging success increased in 2010. Neither has to be considered in the context of the penguins' energetic
hatching nor fledging success seemed to have been influenced by needs. The 7000 pairs of African penguins breeding on St. Croix
fishing activities around the islands (hatching success: z = 0.17, Island in 2010 require roughly 1000 tonnes of fish to maintain
p = 0.86; fledging success: z"' -0.91, p = 0.36). Birds from St. Croix themselves through the breeding season and each raise a brood
Island showed a breeding success of 0.226 in 2009 and 0.296 in of two chicks (Nagy et al., 1984), which would reverse the current
2010, whereas birds from Bird Island had a breeding success of population trends. The change in catches. from 2009 to 2010 repre-
0.111 in 2009 and 0.241 in 2010. Overall, breeding success was sents more than the total amount of food required by breeding
tr1 ~l~
397
L Pichegru et al./Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125 123
Table 3
Commercial catches in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the total, proportion and catch per unit area of these catches (tons/km 2 ) in the areas around St. Croix and
Bird Islands.
Total catches in the Catches in St. Croix Island area Catches in Bird Island area
bay (t)
Total catches Proportion of total in the Fishing intensity Total catches Proportion of total in the Fishing intensity
(t) bay(%) (t km- 2 ) (t) bay(%) (tkm- 2 )
2008 3960 720 18 0.5 1050 26.5 1.7
2009 3410 725 21 1.05 1465 42.6 2.3
2010 3780 1920 50 2.8 320 4 0.5
** **
40
** ** 40 *** ns
30
;s e::!:. 30
C:
0 QI
~:, 20 u
C:
't:I ; 20
Q,
.: 'S
I- X
10 IQ
10
:i:
0 ..T 0
St Croix Island Bird Island St Croix Island Bird Island
■ 2008
■ 2009
** *
2010
5
30 *** *** *** ***
4
e::!:. 20 'i:ii
::!:.
3
a f/1
f/1
I- IQ
> :i: 2
10
0 0
St Croix Island Bird Island St Croix Island Bird Island
Fig. 3. Foraging parameters (trip duration, maximum distance from the colony, Vertical Travel Distance) and adult body mass of African penguins breeding on Bird and St.
Croix Islands before (2008) and after (2009-2010) closure to fishing around St. Croix Island, South Africa. Values are mean± SD. Level of significance of difference between
years for each colony is noted as follows: ns, p > 0.05, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, •••p < 0.001.
penguins on St. Croix. The 20 km-radius closure seemingly was too

small to offset the greater fishing pressure in 2010. ns
The small, 20 km radius fishing closure apparently provided ■ 2009
short-term benefits to breeding penguins by reducing their foraging 80 ••
r--,
D2010
effort (Pichegru et al., 2010), but it was insufficient to increase pen- 70
guin reproductive output and survival. Indeed, breeding adult body 60
masses and chick growth rates, which are related to food availabil-
ity (e.g. Hennicke and Cluick, 2005 ), decreased throughout our ~ 50
s
study. Small pelagic fish abundance can be highly variable between .c: 40
j
years (Cury and Shannon, 2003 ), as fish recruitment depends on 0 30
physical parameters of the environment (Cury and Roy, 1989 ). Sea- 0 20
birds generally have life-history traits that allow them to buffer
environmental variability, but anthropogenic influences such as 10
fishing increase the amplitude of such natural variability (Hsieh 0
et al., 2006). The rapid decline in African penguin adult survival St Croix Island Bird Island
on the west coast of South Africa (Crawford et al., 2011 ) and the ex- Fig. 4. Daily growth (g/d) of African penguin chicks from St. Croix and Bird islands,
tremely low breeding success estimated in our study (less than half South Africa, in 2009 and 2010, with levels of significance ( ..p < 0.001, ns not
the breeding success of penguins breeding on the west coast of significant). Values are mean± SD.
398
124 L Pichegru et al./Biological Conservation 156 (2012) 117-125
Table4
Hatching, fledging and breeding success of African penguins breeding on St. Croix and Bird islands in 2009 and 2010.
St. Croix Bird Colony Year
2009 2010 2009 2010 z p z p
Incubating period N nests 137 215 125 81
Number of failures 88 120 55 33
Number of nest days 4227.5 5246 3789.2 1977.5 -2.6 <0.01 -0.89 0.37
Survival probability 0.456 0.418 0.572 0.537
95% Cl 0.387-0.538 0.357-0.488 0.493-0.663 0.435-0.664
Chick rearing period N nests 117 84 74 57
Number of failures 45 23 50 26
Number of nest days 5210 4576.5 2230 2749 5.1 <0.001 4.02 <0.001
Survival probability 0.495 0.709 0.194 0.449
95% Cl 0.403-0.608 0.616-0.816 0.123-0.306 0.330-0.611
Breeding success Survival probability 0.226 0.296 0.111 0.242 nd nd

95% Cl 0.156-0.327 0.220-0.398 0.061-0.203 0.144-0.406
South Africa in the mid-1990s, 0.486, Wolfaardt et al., 2008 ) are un- V. Lategan, S. Lloyd, J. Booth, J. Watermeyer, J. Handley, N. Voogt
likely to be sustainable. Indeed, breeding success on St. Croix at the and the rangers from SANParks for their major contribution to data
beginning of the 1980s was comparable to our study (Randall, collection. Finally, we are very grateful to J. Green, D. Ainley, R. Ron-
1983 ), when the population decreased there by >70% between coni and 3 ancmymous reviewers for useful comments on this
1978 and 1993 (Crawford et al., 2011 ). Although a longer study per- manuscript.
iod would be necessary to establish the effect of fishing intensity on
breeding success, recruitment and adult suivival, extensive conser-
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estimation and maximum curvature to set Marine Protected Area boundaries: success of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Dassen Island, especially
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UK. Biological Conservation. 565-580.
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upwelling: seabirds versus purse-seine fisheries. Biological Conservation 142, home-range studies. Ecology 70, 164-168.
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on demography and local population dynamics in a long-lived seabird.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 271 , 387-396.
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Minister Barbara Creecy 01 November 2019

Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
Private Bag X447
Pretoria
0001 "AM1 8"
By email and per [email protected]
Dear Minister Creecy
RE: Fishing exclusions around African Penguin colonies - request for urgent appraisal of
mitigation measures to avert current rapid population decline
The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus has been listed as Endangered by the IUCN since
2010 with the following justification: "it is undergoing a very rapid population decline,
probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. This trend
currently shows no sign of reversing, and immediate conservation action is required to
prevent further declines" 1. Since 1900 we have lost 96% of our African Penguin population
and, since the turn of this century the population has decreased by 77%. If current
population trajectories persist then this species will become functionally extinct in the
near future2.
The African Penguin faces several threats, but the precipitous decline in its population is
largely driven by a concomitant decline in its preferred prey, namely sardine and anchovy
(Figure 1). Several conservation interventions are underway, as set out in the Biodiversity
Management Plan for the species, including mitigating predation impact, improving
breeding habitat on islands, the creation of new breeding colonies, plans to mitigate oil
spills and disease monitoring. Spatial protection of their foraging areas during the breeding
season was identified as a critical intervention which led to the initiation of an island
closure experiment in 2008.
The experiment was launched by the then Marine and Coastal Management, Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism to test if the exclusion of purse-seine fishing could
benefit penguins. Two colonies each in the Western and Eastern Cape were paired with one
being open and the other closed to fishing for 3-yearly cycles (Table 1). The current cycle is
coming to an end this year, with a decision due to be made on the outcome of the
experiment in December 2019.
Despite the inherent uncertainties in establishing cause and effect in marine ecosystems, a
large body of published scientific evidence demonstrates positive effects of fishing
closures on both penguin adults and chicks (see Addendum A). This is despite trade-offs in
the experimental design leading to a suboptimal setup. Therefore, we believe that there is
enough strong evidence for the South African government to responsibly close the areas
around the six largest breeding colonies (Dassen Is., Robben Is., Stony Point, Dyer Is., St
401
Croix Is. and Bird Is.), i.e. 90% of the South African breeding population, to purse-seine
fishing for an extended period (minimum of 10 years), if not permanently. African Penguin
generational periods are ~10 years, meaning that favourable conditions are needed for
extended periods for the positive effects to be evident at a population level.
We acknowledge that the fishing industry will be affected by island closures: estimates of
total allowable purse-seine catches that will be lost due to closures around Robben and
Dassen islands range from 2% to 7%3, although no associated economic costs are predicted
in Algoa Bay4_ However, this shortfall needs to be weighed up against the high socio-
economic value of penguin-based ecotourism 5 and the potential public outcry if no action is
taken, particularly when benefits to penguins have been scientifically demonstrated. A
recent study for example indicated that total expenditure associated with the Simon's Town
colony is approximately R311 million per annum, with the majority coming from
international tourists (i.e. 88%), and estimated to be R 6.87 billion over the next 30 years 6 .
The existing MPA network including the newly declared Marine Protected Areas, though
laudable for other facets of marine conservation, is largely ineffective at protecting penguin
habitat during the breeding season (Figure 2). We cannot over-emphasise the dire situation
the African Penguin currently finds itself in and without urgent interventions around threats
such as food availability, oil spills, and protection of breeding sites, there is a high
probability that we may lose Africa's only penguin species. While we do not wish to bypass
the current processes around the island closure experiment for the remainder of the year,
we urge you to keep in mind the grave situation in which the penguin population finds itself
when making the final decision on the experiment. We sincerely hope you will consider
declaring permanent closure of areas around the six largest breeding colonies, preferably
with a 40' km radius to reflect true penguin foraging ranges, but at least a minimum of 20 km
in line with the experimental closure design.
If it would be helpful to meet with you, together with DEFF seabird scientists (with whom
we have a wonderful working relationship) to discuss this further, we'd be happy to do so.
Dr Stephen van der Spuy Mark D. Anderson Dr Marne du Plessis

CEO, SANCCOB CEO, Birdlife South Africa CEO, WWF South Africa
Prof. Peter Ryan Prof. Astrid Jarre Prof. Pierre Pistorius

Director, FitzPatrick SA Research Chair in Marine Institute for Coastal and Marine
Institute of African Ecology and Fisheries, University Research, Nelson Mandela University
Ornithology of Cape Town
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Figure 1. African Penguin breeding numbers plotted against stacked sardine and anchovy biomass in South
Africa since 2000. The asterisk denotes the beginning of the closure experiment around the four major
colonies.
Table 1. Island closure schedule until present year. Closure is denoted by "x'. Key scientific publications shown
in last row refer to numbered papers in the reference list.
Dassen Island
Robben Island
St Croix Island
Bird Island
Key papers
403
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Figure 2. Location of Island Closure Experiment sites (yellow areas) in relation to areas restricted from fishing
(green areas) in recently proclaimed Marine Protected Areas (blue areas). Proportion of experimental closures
currently restricted from fishing activity within the new MPAs (green areas) are: Dassen Is. - 0 %; Robben Is. -
26 %; St Croix Is. - 23 %; and, Bird Is. - 45 %.
404
Addendum A
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT ISLAND CLOSURES
African Penguins are specialised foragers that predominantly feed on sardine and anchovy.
The availability of this prey to African Penguins strongly influences the breeding population
counts of these birds, the foraging performance of adult penguins, their breeding
performance and their chicks' body condition 7 _10 .
In two regions in South Africa (Western and Eastern Cape), pairs of sites were selected in
2007 to investigate the impacts of purse-seine fishing near colonies on chick-rearing adults'
foraging behaviour and their population dynamics 11,12 . While the experiment is still
underway, closures to fishing have already resulted in decreased energy expended by
breeding birds during foraging 12,13 , increased breeding success 2,11 and increased chick
condition 2 . These differences have been observed despite concerns with the experimental
design including: i) lack of adequate controls - the islands being compared were not
necessarily subject to the same environmental conditions 12_14, ii) lack of adequate temporal
resolution - closures were short relative to the long lifespan and conservative life history
characteristics of penguins, iii) the decline in penguin populations was related to changes in
adult survival while the experiments targeted how potential fisheries competition affects
breeding 2,11, iv) the spatial extent of the closures not adequately addressing impacts of
fishing on the boundaries of the closures, so-called 'fishing the line' 13, and v) insufficient
information on non-fishery related fish stock fluctuations. For example, observed positive
correlations between catch and some penguin parameters was taken as evidence that
fishing does not adversely affect penguins and alternatively may have a positive effect15 .
However, both predators and local fish catches are likely to respond positively to increased
biomass of fish around colonies, leading to positive correlation between the two 16_18 .
Reference List
1. Bird life International. Spheniscus demersus. The IUCN Red list of Threatened
Species 2018: e.T22697810Al32604504 (2018).
2. Sherley, R. B. et al. Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of
experimental fishery closures on marine predator demographics. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol.
Sci. 285, (2018).
3. Bergh, M., Lallemand, P., Donaldson, T. & Leach, K. The economic impact of West
Coast penguin island closures on the pelagic fishing industry. DEAPARTMENT OF
FORESTRY AND F/SHERIES/2016/APR/SWG- PEL/09. (2016).
4. Ginsburg, T. Involving fishermen in seabirds' conservation: bridging the gap between
socio-economic needs of industry and the needs of seabirds". MSc thesis Nelson
Mandela University (2019).
5. Lewis, S., Turpie, J. & Ryan, P. Are African penguins worth saving? The ecotourism
value of the Boulders Beach colony. African J. Mar. Sci. 34, 497-504 (2012).
6. Van Zyl, H., Kinghorn, J. The economic value and contribution of the Simon's Town penguin
colony. Report to the City of Cape Town. Independent Economic Researchers, Cape Town, 23
pp (2018).
7. Sherley, R.B., Underhill, LG., Barham, B.J., Barham, P.J., Coetzee, J.C., Crawford, R.J.M., Dyer,
B.M., leshoro, T.M., Upfold, L. Influence of local and regional prey availability on breeding
405
performance of African penguins Spheniscus demersus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 473:
291-301 (2013).
8. Crawford, R. J. M. et al. Collapse of South Africa's penguins in the early 21st century. African J.
Mar. Sci. 33, 139-156 (2011).
9. Campbell, K. J. et al. Local forage fish abundance influences foraging effort and
offspring condition in an endangered marine predator. J. Appl. Ecol. 56, 1751-1760
(2019).
10. Mcinnes, A. M., Ryan, P. G., Lacerda, M. & Pichegru, L. Targeted prey fields determine
foraging effort thresholds of a marine diver: important cues for the sustainable
management of fisheries. J. Appl. Ecol. 56, 2206-2215 (2019).
11. Sherley, R. B. et al. Bottom-up effects of a no-take zone on endangered penguin
demographics. Biol. Lett. 11, 20150237 (2015}.
12. Pichegru, L., Gremillet, D., Crawford, R. J. M. & Ryan, P. G. Marine no-take zone
rapidly benefits endangered penguin. Biol. Lett. 6, 498-501 (2010).
13. Pichegru L, Ryan PG, van Eeden R, Reid T, Gremillet D, Wanless R Industrial fishing,
no-take zones and endangered penguins. Biol. Conserv. 156: 117-125 (2012).
14. Weller, F. et al. A system dynamics approach to modelling multiple drivers of the
African penguin population on Robben Island, South Africa. Ecol. Model/. 277, 38-56
(2014).
15. Cherry, M. African penguins put researchers in a flap. Nature 514, 283 (2014).
16. Conn, P. B., Johnson, D.S., Fritz, L. W. & Fadely, B. S. Examining the utility of fishery
and survey data to detect prey removal effects on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias
jubatus). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 71, 1229-1242 (2014).
17. Bergh, M. 0. Further clarification of the biases in and interpretation of regressions
where catch is a predictor of penguin response. MARAM/IWS/DEC14/Peng/A10.
(2014).
18. Mcinnes, A.M. Fine-scale drivers of African Penguin prey dynamics in Algoa Bay,
South Africa , and their impacts on penguin foraging ecology. PhD thesis, University of
Cape Town (2016).
406
"AM19"
Subject: FW: African Penguins
From: Mark Anderson <ceo @birdlife.org.za>

Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 8:58 AM
To: [email protected]; [email protected] ; [email protected]
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Hanneline Smit-Robinson <hanneline.smit-
robinson @birdlife.org.za >
Subject: FW: African Penguins
Importance: High
Der Minister
Can you please confirm whether you have received our correspondence.
Will we receive a formal response to the matters we have raised in our letters?
Thank you
Mark
From: Mark Anderson

Sent: Friday, 03 April 2020 5:47 PM
To: [email protected] ; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: African Penguins
·1trust that you and your family are well during these current difficult times.
I am writing to enquire when we can expect to receive replies to our two letters (both attached herewith):
1. Ship-to-ship bunkering in Algoa Bay: concerns from environmental stakeholders (dated 22 July 2019)
2. Fishing exclusions around African Penguin colonies - request for urgent appraisal of mitigation measures to
avert current rapid population decline (dated 1 November 2019).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
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BirdLife
. 0 II RI
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1
407
"AM20"
Subject: FW: African Penguins and Island Closures

Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 5:22 PM
To: Hanneline Smit-Robinson <hanneline.smit-robinson @birdlife.org.za>; Alistair Mcinnes
<[email protected] >
Subject: FW: African Penguins and Island Closures
FYI (she asked me to email it to her at this address, and not the private address that we have been using for comms the
past week).

Sent: Wednesday, 10 February 202117:21
To: [email protected]
Cc: Feroze Shaik <[email protected] >; Nicholas Leontsinis <[email protected] >
Subject: African Penguins and Island Closures
Dear Minister Creecy,
Following our discussion last week and again on Monday, I am pleased to inform you that Bird life South Africa's Seabird
Conservation Programme has provided inputs into a detailed synopsis of all the scientific evidence to date that supports
the significance of forage fish prey to penguins and the benefits of island closures from the results of the experiment
run by your department. The evidence in favour of island closures is overwhelmingly clear and a strong case is made for
the long-term management of these areas. In addition to this, our team has partnered with other NGOs and UCT to
contract the services of Futureworks, who have drafted a proposal for a multi-sector socio-economic study in a
transparent process that includes the needs of both fisheries and ecosystem beneficiaries. This was proposed today by
Ashley Naidoo (O&C) and he will be taking this proposal to senior management in DEFF. Birdlife South Africa has
offered to co-fund this project, so that it can be expedited to help inform a management decision by you later this year.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
RI
0 \II • Co 16'1'8ti!aft Win••
lsdell House, 17 Hume Road (cnr Hume Road/Jan Smuts Drive), Dunkeld West 2196, Gauteng
Private Bag X16, Pinegowrie 2123, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
E-mail: ceo @birdlife.org.za
http://www.birdlife.org.za
1
408
The science-based rationale for closing purse-seine fishing around key African
Penguin breeding localities
AB Makhado1, BJ Barham2, PJ Barham 2, T Carpenter-Kling 3, RJM Crawford 13, C Hagen 3, A Kock4, K

Ludynia 5•8, M Makoala1, M Masotla1, AM Mclnnes3, A Oosthuizen4, L Pichegru 6, PG Ryan 7, LI Shannon 8, K
Shaw9 , RB Sherley7• 10, M Stassen 12 and U Waller 5•11
1
Branch Oceans and Coasts, Depart_ m ent of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Cape Town, South Africa ( 1"
formerly)
2
Penguin Solutions, Bristol, UK and Rondebosch, South Africa
3
Bird life South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
4
South African National Parks, Tokai, South Africa
5
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, Table View, South Africa
6
Department of Zoology, Nelson, Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
7
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
8
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
9
CapeNature, Cape Town, South Africa
10
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
11
Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
12
World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa
Key Points on Scientific Evidence for Impacts of Food Availability on African penguins
In South Africa, the African penguin population fell by c. 75% between 2004 and 2019 primarily
due to food scarcity. At the colonies north of Cape Town, the rate of decline reached almost 10%
per annum between 1999 and 2019.
Peer-reviewed, published research has demonstrated significant relationships between
demographic, condition and foraging parameters of seabirds of the Benguela ecosystem and the
abundance or availability of their prey e.g.
o African Penguins are susceptible to food scarcity during breeding and before and after
moult, life-history stages that are occur throughout the year in many extant colonies.
o Prey decreased and remained below thresholds required for African Penguins in the west
of South Africa to have sufficient reproduction and survival to maintain their populations.
o There was a sharp rise in the mortality of adults at Robben Island after the biomass of
sardine off the west of South Africa fell below 25% of its maximum observed value.
o A system dynamics model suggested that the penguin population at Robben Island was
strongly driven by food availability, both near the island and farther afield.
o Diminishing African Penguin colonies may suffer from Allee effects (inverse density
dependence), reducing their chances of recovery and increasing their likelihood of
extinction.
Specifically with respect to island closures:
o Predominately positive and clear overall benefits of year-round island closures for
penguins have been demonstrated in several peer-reviewed scientific publications and
requested follow-up analyses.
o Population projection models indicate island closures will make meaningful contributions
to reducing the extinction risk of the colonies around which they are implemented.
409
o Across the period of closures, the rate of decrease of African Penguins was reduced off
the west of South Africa and in Algoa Bay (where the year-round closures were applied)
and there was limited growth of colonies in the southwest.
Background
The African Penguin Spheniscus demersus, which breeds in Namibia and South Africa, is Africa's only
penguin. In the 1920s, it was probably Africa's most abundant seabird having an estimated 0.5-1 million
breeding pairs (Shannon and Crawford 1999, Crawford et al. 2007c). It subsequently decreased to c.
17,700 pairs in 2019, of which c. 25% were in Namibia and c. 75% in South Africa (Sherley et al. 2020). It
was classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered in 2010 (IUCN
2020) after large decreases in numbers in Namibia in the latter part of the 20 th century (Crawford 2007)
and South Africa in the early 21 st century (Crawford et al. 2011).
African Penguins feed mostly on small, shoaling pelagic fish species, especially anchovy Engraulis
encrasico/us and sardine Sardinops sagax, which are also harvested by southern Africa's purse-seine
fisheries (Crawford et al. 2011). The collapses of penguins in Namibia and South Africa followed large
decreases in sardine biomass in those countries (Shelton et al. 1984, Crawford et al. 2011).
African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan

Following the classification of the African Penguin as Endangered, the South African government
published a Biodiversity Management Plan for the African Penguin (BMP-AP) in 2013, in terms of the
National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004). It aimed to halt the decline of the
African Penguin population in South Africa within two years of its implementation and after that to
achieve a population growth that would result in a down-listing of the species in terms of its IUCN Red List
status. It failed in these objectives, with South Africa's penguin population falling by 30% between 2013
(c. 19,000 pairs) and 2019 (c. 13,200 pairs).
However, the BMP-AP achieved many of its subsidiary goals, including reducing losses to predation
through the removal of damage-causing animals; rescuing, rehabilitating and returning to the wild oiled
and injured birds and abandoned chicks; implementing measures to curtail the spread of pathogenic
viruses; improving nesting habitat at several colonies through the deployment of specially-designed nest
boxes and the provision of suitable vegetation under which to breed; investigating and taking steps to
initiate a colony for African Penguins at De Hoop Nature Reserve, which is near to the present distributions
of its primary forage resources and where penguins nested in the early 2000s; ensuring preparedness to
cope with oil spills; implementing standards and protocols for seabird rehabilitation; making an inventory
of all African Penguins held in captivity in South Africa; and determining the genetic suitability of their
offspring for release to bolster diminishing colonies.
The main reason for the continuing decrease of African Penguins in South Africa, despite the above
interventions, is food scarcity (e.g. Robinson et al. 2015, Crawford et al. 2018, 2019). Unlike flying birds,
African Penguins must swim to find food, limiting their foraging range while breeding (e.g. Pichegru et al.
2010). Furthermore, when in the cold waters of the Benguela upwelling system they require insulation
against low temperatures and, to achieve this, replace their full plumage annually when they fast ashore
for about three weeks (Randall et al. 1986). To survive the fast, they need to fatten sufficiently before
moult and rapidly to regain condition after grnwing their new feathers. Therefore, African Penguins are
especially susceptible to food scarcity during breeding and before and after moult life-history stages that
are undertaken throughout the year in many of the remaining colonies (Crawford et al. 1995, 2006).
Influence of food on African Penguins and other Benguela seabirds

A large body of published research has highlighted the strong influence of food on seabirds in the
Benguela ecosystem (Appendix 1). Congruence has been shown between trends in prey abundance and
2 ~'\
t'
410
the population sizes of African Penguins and two other endangered seabird species that are endemic to
the Benguela ecosystem, and that feed primarily on anchovy and sardine, Cape Gannet Marus capensis
and Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis (Crawford and Shelton 1978, Crawford 2007, Crawford et al.
2007a, 2007b, 2011, 2019).
In several instances, significant relationships have been demonstrated between demographic,
condition, growth and foraging parameters of these seabirds and the abundance or availability of their
prey (summarised in Crawford et al. 2018, 2019). Notably, fish stocks has decreased and remained below
thresholds required for African Penguins in the west of South Africa to have sufficient reproduction and
survival to maintain their populations (Cury et al. 2011, Crawford et al. 2011, Robinson et al. 2015, Sherley
et al. 2017).
The recent decrease of African Penguins in South Africa

In South Africa, in 2004 African Penguins bred at 19 localities, of which three had >5,000 pairs.
Together, these localities held c. 52,000 pairs of penguins. Dassen Island was the largest colony with c.
25,000 pairs; St Croix had c. 10,000 pairs and Robben Island almost 8,000 pairs. However, 15 years later,
in 2019 (a complete survey was not possible in 2020), the South African population had fallen by 75% to
c. 13,200 pairs, breeding had ceased at five ofthe localities (a rate of loss ofone colony every three years),
no remaining colonies had >5,000 pairs, and the largest colony was c. 3,650 pairs at St Croix Island.
In the mid-2000s, there were losses of c. 45,000 African Penguin breeding adults at Dassen and Robben
islands off the west of South Africa (Crawford et al. 2011, 2018). The estimated annual survival rate of
adult penguins at these colonies decreased markedly after 2001 and 2003, respectively (Sherley et al.
2014). There was a sharp rise in the mortality of adults at Robben Island after the biomass of sardine off
west South Africa fell below 25% of its maximum observed value (Robinson et al. 2015). The estimates of
adult survival rates come from resightings of individuals within breeding seasons - in other words, they
represent mortality during the non-breeding period (Sherley et al. 2014). Moreover, no unusual mortality
was observed ashore, indicating that most ofthe penguins died at sea as a result of food ~carcity (Crawford
et al. 2018). Large losses of adults during their pre-moult fattening period corroborated this (Waller et al.
2019).
Closures to fishing
When in 2006 it became apparent that South Africa's penguins were decreasing rapidly and that their
prey had shifted southeast (Roy et al. 2017, Coetzee et al. 2018), long-term exclusion of purse-seine fishing
around two key southern breeding localities, which were near to the altered distributions of the prey
resources, was recommended. Instead, in 2008 an experiment of alternately opening and closing fishing
around two pairs of islands (Dassen and Robben in th·e west, St Croix and Bird in Algoa Bay) was
implemented to determine the effect of such closures on the penguins (e.g. Sherley et al. 2018). This
experimental design was implemented despite arguments that had been submitted by seabird scientists
for longer-term closures that would accord with the African Penguins' ecology and life history. For
example, young African Penguins wander widely over periods of up to six years before settling at localities
to breed: In contrast, breeders show strong fidelity to their mates and breeding colonies (e.g. Hockey et
al. 2005, Crawford et al. 2013). Hence, frequent alternation of closures may influence recruitment to
colonies and jeopardise the species' adaptation to ecosystem change. Additional arguments were made
that the islands in the paired systems showed marked dissimilarities in terms of their exposure to relative
fishing intensity.
The results of the closure experiment have been extensively debated and not fully agreed.
Nonetheless, several peer-reviewed scientific publications and requested follow-up analyses
demonstrated predominately positive and clear overall benefits of the year round closures for penguins
411
(Figure 1, Pichegru et al. 2010, 2012, Sherley et al. 2015, 2018, 2019, Sherley 2020a,b), even though the
experiment was not well-matched to their biology. Furthermore, across the period of year round closures,
the rate of decrease of African Penguins was reduced off the west of South Africa and in Algoa Bay, where
the closures were applied, and there was limited growth of colonies in the southwest (Sherley et al.
2020c). Additional studies highlight the influence of food availability and localised fishing activity on
seabird colonies. In South Africa, commercial fishing around Dyer Island decreased the numbers of
penguins breeding there (Ludynia et al. 2014) and a system dynamics model suggested that the penguin
population at Robben Island was strongly driven by food availability, both near the island and farther
afield, and would be improved by fishing closures (Weller et al. 2014). In Scotland, black-legged kittiwakes ·
Rissa tridactyla benefitted from the closure of fishing around breeding colonies (e.g. Daunt et al. 2008).
In Peru, fishing for Peruvian anchovy Engraulis ringens close to a Peruvian booby Sula variegata colony
increased the birds' foraging effort; the more the fishery reduced the quantity of prey fish in the area, the
farther the breeding seabirds needed to forage from the colony to find food (Bertrand et al. 2012). And
off the Antarctica Peninsula, the performance of three species of Pygosce/is penguins was reduced when
local harvest rates of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, on which they fed, were~ 10% of the estimated
biomass (Watters et al. 2020). In comparison, off west South Africa, harvest rates of sardine often
exceeded 20% in the early 2000s and reached 44% in 2006 (Coetzee et al. 2008).
Probability of colony extinctions

Probabilities of extinctions of different-sized colonies of African Penguins over 40 years were
obtained from observations on the performance of 41 discrete colonies from 1956-1996 (Crawford et al.
2001). Only one (<4 %) of 28 colonies that in 1956 had ~50 pairs was extant in 1996, compared to 26%
of those having 251-1,000 pairs, 67% of those having 1,001-5,000 pairs and 100% of those with >5000
pairs (Figure 2).
In South Africa, Dassen, St Croix and Robben Islands all held >5,000 pairs in 2004and, in terms ofthe
above probabilities, had no likelihood of extinction within 40 years. Conversely, in 2019 none of the 14
remaining colonies had >5,000 pairs so that all had some chance of extinction within 40 years; seven had
<250 pairs and hence a 96% chance of extinction (Figure 2). In 2019, six colonies held >1,000 pairs and so
had a 67% probability of surviving 40 years: Dassen and Robben Islands on the west coast, Stony Point
and Dyer Island on the southwest coast and St Croix and Bird islands in Algoa Bay. Additionally, the Simon's
Town colony had c. 930 pairs. In 2019, the only Namibian colony having >1,000 pairs was Mercury Island
(c. 2,220 pairs), which falls within the Namibian Islands Marine Protected Area (Ludynia et al. 2012).
Namibia's next largest colony was at Halifax Island (825 pairs).
Allee effects
Diminishing African Penguin colonies may suffer from Allee effects, or inverse density dependence,
reducing their chances of recovery and increasing their likelihood of extinction (Ryan et al. 2012). For
example, African Penguins that forage in groups have a higher catch of prey per unit effort than solitary
birds (Mcinnes et al. 2017, Figure 3) but colonies may become too small for sufficient foraging groups to
form (Ryan et al. 2012, Figure 4). Similarly, smaller group sizes at sea are likely to limit anti-predator
benefits afforded to penguins preening at sea. Dwindling colonies also mean that more birds nest near
colony edges, where eggs and chicks are at greater risk to predation (e.g. Cordes et al. 1999, Figure 5),
and may reduce information acquisition that facilitates food-finding (van Vessem and Draulans 1986,
Wakefield et al. 2013). Amongst penguins taken to a rescue centre, females had higher mortality rates
than males (Pichegru and Parsons 2014). If similar sex-biased mortality exists in the wild, it may skew sex
ratios at small colonies and decrease productivity.
412
To minimise Allee effects and looming extinction, South Africa must take every possible measure to
ensure the continued existence of its larger colonies, viz. Dassen, Robben, Dyer, St Croix and Bird (Algoa
Bay) islands, Simon's Town and Stony Point.
Recommendations from AEWA Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop

In November 2020, a Benguela Current Forage Fish {BCFF} Workshop, organized by AEWA (African-
Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, to which South Africa is a party) in collaboration with the
Benguela Current Convention (BCC, to which South Africa is a party) and Birdlife South Africa (BLSA) and
hosted by South Africa's Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), recommended
actions to be undertaken as a matter of urgency under the auspices of BCC, AEWA and the AEWA Benguela ••
Coastal Seabird International Working Group, as well as by the national governments of Angola, Namibia
and South Africa. These included:
• developing tools to increase the availability of sufficient forage [fish] for threatened endemic
Benguela seabird species, such as setting ecosystem thresholds (i.e. sizes of forage resource
populations below which a range of precautionary measures relating to fishing would be
implemented at various spatial scales) and closing key foraging areas to fishing, adjacent to major
seabird colonies;
• and facilitating and prioritising the recovery of seabird colonies to sufficient size to minimise known
and potential Allee effects, thus reducing the probability of colony extinctions (AEWA 2020).
Economic and ecosystem considerations

It is understood that closures may have economic implications for South Africa's purse-seine fishery,
affecting an estimated 0.4-6.6% of their total catch annually (Turpie et al. 2012, Bergh et al. 2016),
However, at present no reduction in allowable catches is being proposed, and it is noted that in the past
the fishery has adjusted to altered distributions of its target species, e.g. moving the centre of sardine
catches from north of Saldanha Bay in the west to Mossel Bay in the south (Fairweather et al. 2006).
Further, more profitable, sustainable, alternative uses (e.g. for human consumption) of harvested forage
fish currently used for fishmeal should be reviewed and promoted to encourage a more efficient and
sustainable utilization of this resource (AEWA 2020). Moreover, unless decisive action is taken to save the
African Penguin and other endemic seabirds that compete with the purse-seine fishery, their status is
likely to deteriorate further with adverse implications for biodiversity conservation and South Africa's
marine ecotourism industry - which expanded rapidly in the present century and had a value of > R2
billion in 2014 (WWF-SA 2016)-and associated communities (e.g. Saul and Fortuin 2015).
South Africa's seabirds provide several ecosystem benefits. When breeding, they are central-place
foragers that transfer large quantities of nutrients from the ocean to their colonies. This influences the
functioning of island and headland ecosystems and adjacent marine areas, e.g., increasing algal growth
and changing the structure of intertidal communities, which augment populations of several shorebird
species (Bosman and Hockey 1988). Inputs by seabirds of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are substantial,
with concentrations per unit of surface area among the highest measured on the Earth's surface.
Additionally, an essential fraction of the total excreted N and P is readily soluble, increasing the short-
term bioavailability of these nutrients in coastal waters (Otero et al. 2018). Not only do seabirds have such
beneficial bottom-up impacts, but they also exert valuable top-down control. For example, they may
select prey that are small or in poor body condition and by removing substandard individuals may ensure
the long-term survival of prey populations (Tucker et al. 2016). Seabirds facilitate feeding by other species;
e.g. African Penguins herd prey shoals upwards, making them available to birds restricted to feeding near
the surface (Mcinnes and Pistorius 2019).
413
Conclusions
IUCN classifies the African Penguin as Endangered. In South Africa, its population fell by 75% between
2004 and 2019 primarily due to food scarcity. Substantial efforts were made to minimise non-food threats
to penguins. However, their numbers continued to decrease, five colonies went extinct, and seven others
now have a high probability of extinction in the near future. It is critical to give South Africa's seven larger
colonies the maximum possible protection and to do so all year in order to allow for sufficient food
availability for all phases of their life cycle. These foraging grounds thus need to be closed to purse-seine
fishing, as recommended by DEFF's Top Predator Working Group. This may have economic costs for the
fishery but will benefit biodiversity conservation, ecotourism, and ecosystem functioning. It may prove
necessary to implement other conservation measures recommended by the AEWA BCFF workshop, such
as the introduction of ecosystem thresholds.
Recommendation
As soon as is practically possible, purse-seine fishing should be excluded year-round in areas within a
20-km radius of South Africa's seven most populous African Penguin colonies, viz. Dassen, Robben, Dyer,
St Croix and Bird (Algoa Bay) islands, Simon's Town and Stony Point. (This is already the case for Simon's
Town.)
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Figure 1 (from Sherley et al. 2019). Posterior distributions, means and 95% highest posterior density interval (HPDI)
for (A) chick body condition index and (B) the maximum distance travelled by foraging penguins at Dassen, Robben,
St Croix and Bird islands, and for (C) chick survival at Dassen and Robben islands for years when fishing was permitted
['O'] or not permitted ['C']. Open ['O'] results are shown in black, Closed ['C'] are in orange for Dassen, purple for
Robben, blue for St Croix, dark green for Bird. The horizontal solid black lines show the overall mean at each island
pair for chick condition (in A) or maximum distance (in B) across 11 years (2008-2018) and chick survival (in C) across
8 years (2008-2015), grey lines the 95% HPDI and grey polygons the range of the posterior distribution. (D) Posterior
distributions for the percentage difference between 'Closed' years and 'Open' years for chick body condition
[Condition Index], the maximum distance travelled from the island by foraging penguins [Max. Distance] and chick
survival [Chick Surv.] at Dassen [Dass.], Robben [Robb.], Bird and St Croix [St Cr.] islands. The mean and 95% HPDI
are shown on each posterior distribution as solid black lines. The zero axis (no effect of closure) is shown as a dashed
black line. (E) Posterior distribution (polygon), median (dotted black line) and 95% HPDI (dashed black lines) for the
Overall Closure Effect(%) based on combining the 10 individual posteriors in D. In ( D) and (E), all samples yielding a
positive% effect for penguins are shown in green and those yielding a negative% effect are shown in red. .
418
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Figure 2. Top and centre: numbers of African Penguins colonies of different sizes in South Africa in 2004
and' 2019, respectively. Also shown are numbers of colonies where breeding occurred since 1956 that
were extinct in 2004 and 2019 (indicated by colony size= 0). Bottom: probabilities of extinction over a 40-
Y period of African Penguin colonies of different sizes derived from empirical information (Crawford et al.
2001).
419
Figure 3. African Penguins surface after a foraging dive. All are circling in a clockwise direction, indicative
that they have been feeding on a compressed prey shoal (Ryan et al. 2012, photo L Edwards).
Figure 4. A flock of African Penguins numbering at least 158 birds resting on the sea surface after a
foraging dive (Ryan et al. 2012, photo L Edwards). In 2019, numbers of penguins breeding at four of South
Africa's 14 extant colonies (Malgas, Seal in False Bay, Jahleel and Brenton islands) were less than this
amount.
420
Figure 5. Groups of African Penguins nesting at Bird (top) and St Croix (bottom) islands in Algoa Bay. The
walls of buildings were used to minimize edge effects and provide shade (photos RJM Crawford).
421
Appendix 1. A preliminary list of peer-reviewed papers and book chapters demonstrating the strong
influence of food on the distribution, abundance, demographic, condition and foraging parameters of
seabirds of the Benguela ecosystem. Note that the publications are ordered first chronologically by year
and then alphabetically by author.
Crawford RJM, Shelton PA. 1978. Pelagic fish and seabird interrelationships off the coasts of South West and South
Africa. Biological Conservation 14: 85-109.
Crawford RJM, Shelton PA. 1981. Population trends for some southern African seabirds related to fish availability. In
Proceedings of the Symposium on Birds of the Sea and Shore, 1979. Cooper J (Ed.). Cape Town; African Seabird
Group: 15-41.
Duffy DC, Berruti A, Randall RM, Cooper J. 1984. Effects of the 1982-3 warm water event on the breeding of South
African seabirds. South African Journal of Science 80: 65-69.
Shelton PA, Crawford RJM, Cooper J, Brooke RK. 1984. Distribution, population size and conservation of the Jackass
Penguin Spheniscus demersus. South African Journal of Marine Science 2: 217-257.
Crawford, R. J.M., Underhill, L. G., Raubenheimer, C. M., Dyer, B. M. & Martin, J. 1992. Top predators in the Benguela
ecosystem - implications of their trophic position. South African Journal of Marine Science 12: 675-687.
Crawford RJM, Dyer BM. 1995. Responses by four seabirds to a fluctuating availability of Cape Anchovy Engraulis
capensis off South Africa. Ibis 137: 329-339.
Crawford RJM. 1998. Responses of African Penguins to regime changes of sardine and anchovy in the Benguela
system. South African Journal of Marine Science 19: 355-364.
Crawford RJM. 1999. Seabird responses to long-term changes of prey resources off southern Africa. In Proceedings
of 22nd International Ornithological Congress, Durban, 1998. Adams NJ, Slotow RH (Eds). Johannesburg; Birdlife
South Africa: 688-705.
Crawford RJM, Shannon LI, Whittington PA. 1999. Population dynamics of the African Penguin at Robben Island.
Marine Ornithology 27: 135-143.
Crawford RJM, David JHM, Shannon LI, Kemper J, Klages NTW, Roux J-P, Underhill LG, Ward VL, Williams AJ,
Wolfaardt AC. 2001. African Penguins as predators and prey - coping (or not) with change. South African Journal
of Marine Science 23: 435-447.
Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Upfold L, Ward VL. 2001. Age at first breeding of Bank, Phalacrocorax neglectus, and Cape
Cormorants, P. capensis. Ostrich 72: 145-148.
Kemper J, Roux J-P, Bartlett PA, Chesselet VJ, James JAC, Jones R, Wepener Sand Molloy FJ 2001. Recent population
trends of African Penguins Spheniscus demersus in Namibia. South African Journal of Marine Science 23: 429-
434.
Crawford RJM, Cooper J, Dyer BM, Upfold L, Venter AD, Whittington PA, Williams AJ, WolfaardtAC. 2002. Longevity,
inter-colony movements and breeding of Crested Terns in South Africa. Emu 102: 1-9.
Crawford RJM. 2003. Influence of food on numbers breeding, colony size and fidelity to localities of Swift Terns in
South Africa's Western Cape, 1987-2000. Waterbirds 26: 44-53.
Crawford RJM. 2004. Accounting for food requirements of seabirds in fisheries management -the case of the South
African purse-seine fishery. African Journal of Marine Science 26: 197-203.
Whittington, P[A], Klages N[TW], Crawford R[JM], Wolfaardt A[C], Kemper J. 2005. Age at first breeding of the African
Penguin. Ostrich 76: 14-20.
Crawford RJM, Barham PJ, Underhill LG, Shannon LI, Coetzee JC, Dyer BM, Leshoro TM, Upfold L. 2006. The influence
of food availability on breeding success of African Penguins Spheniscus demersus at Robben Island, South Africa.
Biological Conservation 132: 119-125.
Lewis S, Gremillet D, Daunt F, Ryan PG, Crawford RJM, Wanless S. 2006. Using behavioural and state variables to
identify proximate causes of population change in a seabird. Oecologia 147: 606-614.
Underhill LG, Crawford RJM, Wolfaardt AC, Whittington PA, Dyer BM, Leshoro TM, Ruthenberg M, Upfold L, Visagie
J. 2006. Regionally coherent trends in colonies of African Penguins Spheniscus demersus in the Western Cape,
South Africa, 1987-2005. African Journal of Marine Science 28: 697-704.
14
422
Crawford RJM. 2007. Food, fishing and seabirds in the Benguela upwelling system. Journal of Ornithology 148 (Suppl
2): S253-S260.
Crawford RJM, Dundee BL, Dyer BM, Klages NTW, Meyer MA, Upfold L. 2007. Trends in numbers of Cape Gannets
(Morus capensis), 1956/57-2005/06, with a consideration ofthe influence of food and other factors. ICES Journal
Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Kemper J, Simmons RE, Upfold L. 2007. Trends in numbers of Cape Cormorants
(Phalacrocorax capensis) over a SO-year period, 1956-57 to 2006-07. Emu 107: 253-261.
Crawford RJM, Underhill LG, Upfold L, Dyer BM. 2007. An altered carrying capacity of the Benguela upwelling
ecosystem for African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). ICES Journal of Marine Science 64: 570-576.
Crawford RJM, Cockroft AC, Dyer BM, Upfold L. 2008. Divergent trends in Bank Cormorants Phalacrocorax neglectus
breeding in South Africa's Western Cape consistent with a distributional shift of rock lobsters Jasus lalandii.
Crawford RJM, Sabarros PS, Fairweather T, Underhill LG, Wolfaardt AC. 2008. Implications for seabirds off South
Africa of a long-term change in the distribution of sardine. African Journal of Marine Science 30: 177-184.
Crawford RJM, Underhill LG, Coetzee JC, Fairweather T, Shannon LI, Wolfaardt AC. 2008. Influences of the abundance
and distribution of prey on African Penguins Spheniscus demersus off western South Africa. African Journal of
Gremillet D, Pichegru L, Kuntz G, Woakes AG, Wilkinson S, Crawford RJM, Ryan PG. 2008. A junk-food hypothesis for
gannets feeding on fishery waste. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London Biological Series 18: 1-8.
Crawford RJM. 2009. A recent increase of swift terns Thalasseus bergii off South Africa -the possible influence of an
altered abundance and distribution of prey. Progress in Oceanography 83: 398-403.
Crawford RJM, Whittington PA, Martin AP, Tree AJ, Makhado AB. 2009. Population trends of seabirds breeding in
South Africa's Eastern Cape, and the possible influence of anthropogenic and environmental change. Marine
Ornithology 37: 159-174.
Mullers RHE, Navarro RA, Crawford RJM, Underhill LG. 2009. The importance of lipid-rich fish prey for Cape gannet
chick growth: Are fishery discards an alternative? ICES Journal of Marine Science 66: 2244-2252.
Okes NC, Hockey PAR, Pichegru L, van der Lingen CD, Crawford RJM, Gremillet D. 2009. Competition for shifting
resources in the southern Benguela upwelling: seabirds versus purse-seine fisheries. Biological Conservation 142:
2361-2368.
Pichegru L, Ryan PG, Le Bohec C, van der Lingen CD,Navarro R, Petersen S, Lewis S, van der Westhuizen J and
Gremillet D 2009. Overlap between vulnerable top predators and fisheries in the Benguela upwelling system:
implications for marine protected areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series 391: 199-208.
Pichegru L, Gremillet D, Crawford RJM, Ryan PG. 2010. Marine no-take zone rapidly benefits Endangered penguin.
Biology Letters 6: 498-501.
Durant JM, Crawford RJM, Wolfaardt AC, Agenbag CJ, Visagie J, Upfold L, Stenseth NC. 2010. Influence of feeding
conditions on breeding of African penguins - importance of adequate local food supplies. Marine Ecology
Progress Series 420: 263-271.
Crawford RJM, Altwegg R, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, DurantJM, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Makhado AB, Pichegru L, Ryan
PG, Underhill LG, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LI, Whittington PA. 2011. Collapse of South Africa's penguins in the
early 21'1 century: a consideration of food availability. African Journal of Marine Science 33: 139-156.
Cury PM, Boyd IL, Bonhommeau S, Anker-Nilssen T, Crawford RJM, Furness RW, Mills JA, Murphy EJ, Osterblom H,
Paleczny M, Piatt JF, Roux J-P, Shannon L[J], Sydeman WJ. 2011. Global seabird response to forage fish depletion
- one-third for the birds. Science 334: 1703-1706.
Hamann MH, Gremillet D. Ryan PG, Bonadonna F, van der Lingen CD, Pichegru L. 2012. A hard-knock life: the foraging
ecology of Cape cormorants amidst shifting prey resources and industrial fishing pressure. African Journal of
Moseley C, Gremillet D, Con nan M, Ryan PG, Mullers RHE, van der Lingen CD, Miller TW, Coetzee JC, Crawford RJM,
Sabarros P, McQuaid CD, Pichegru L. 2012. Foraging ecology and ecophysiology of Cape Gannets from colonies
in contrasting feeding environments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 422: 29-38.
Pichegru L, Ryan PG, Eeden RV, Reid T, Gremillet D, Wanless R. 2012. Industrial fishing, no-take zones and
endangered penguins. Biological Conservation 156: 117-125.
Sabarros PS, Durant JM, Gremillet D, Crawford RJM, Stenseth NC. 2012. Differential responses of three sympatric
seabirds to spatio-temporal variability in shared resources. Marine Ecology Progress Series 468: 291-301.
423
Sherley RB, Underhill LG, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Coetzee JC, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Leshoro TM, Upfold L. 2013.
Influence of local and regional prey availability on breeding performance of African Penguins Spheniscus
demersus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 473: 291-301.
Cohen LA, Pichegru L, Gremillet D, Coetzee J, Upfold L, Ryan PG. 2014. Changes in prey availability impact foraging
behaviour and fitness of Cape gannets over a decade. Marine Ecology Progress Series 505: 281-293.
Crawford RJM, Makhado AB, Waller LI, Whittington PA. 2014. Winners and losers - responses to recent
environmental change by South African seabirds that compete with purse-seine fisheries for food. Ostrich 85:
111-117.
Green DB, Klages NTW, Crawford RJM, Coetzee JC, Dyer BM, Rishworth GM, Pistorius PA. 2014. Dietary change in
Cape Gannets reflects distributional and demographic shifts in two South African commercial fish stocks. ICES
Journal of Marine Science doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsu203.
Ludynia K, Waller LI, Sherley RB, Abadi F, Galada Y, Geldenhuys D, Crawford RJM, Shannon LI, Jarre A. 2014.
Processes influencing the population dynamics and conservation of African Penguins on Dyer Island, South Africa.
Sherley RB, Abadi F, Ludynia K, Barham BJ, Clark AE, Altwegg R. 2014. Age-specific survival and movement among
major African penguin Spheniscus demersus colonies. Ibis 156: 716-728.
Sherley RB, Barham PJ, Barham BJ, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Leshoro TM, Makhado AB, Upfold L, Underhill LG. 2014.
Growth and decline of a penguin colony and the influence on nesting density and reproductive success.
Population Ecology 56: 119-128.
Weller F, Cecchini L-A, Shannon L, Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, Altwegg R, Scott L, Stewart T and Jarre A. 2014. A
system dynamics approach to modelling multiple drivers of the African penguin population on Robben Island,
South Africa. Ecological Modelling 277: 38-56.
Blarney L, Shannon LI, Bolton JJ, Crawford RJM, Dufois F,. Evers-King H, Griffiths CL, Hutchings L, Jarre A, Rouault M,
Watermeyer KE, Winker H. 2015. Ecosystem change in the southern Benguela and the underlying processes.
Journal of Marine Systems 144: 9-29.
Crawford RJM, Makhado AB, Whittington PA, Randall RM, Oosthuizen WH, Waller LI. 2015. A changing distribution
of seabirds in South Africa - the possible impact of climate and its consequences. Frontiers in Ecology and
Evolution 3: 10, 1-10.
Robinson WML, Butterworth DS, Plaganyi EE. 2015. Quantifying the projected impact of the South African sardine
fishery on the Robben Island penguin colony. ICES Journal of Marine Science 72: 1822-1833.
Sherley RB, Winker H, Altwegg R, van der Lingen CD, Votier SC, Crawford RJM. 2015. Bottom-up effects of a no-take
zone on endangered penguin demographics. Biology Letters 11: 20150237: 1-4.
Crawford RJM, Randall RM, Cook TR, Ryan PG, Dyer BM, Fox R, Geldenhuys D, Huisamen J, McGeorge C, Upfold L,
Visagie J, Waller LI, Whittington PA, Wilke CG, Makhado AB. 2016. Cape cormorants decrease, move east and
adapt foraging strategies following eastward displacement of their main prey. African Journal of Marine Science
38: 373-383.
Gremillet D, Peron C, Kato A, Amelineau F, Ropert-Coudert Y, Ryan PG, Pichegru L. 2016. Starving seabirds:
unprofitable foraging and its fitness consequences in Cape gannets competing with fisheries in the Benguela
upwelling ecosystem. Marine Biology 163: 1-11.
Weller F, Sherley RB, Waller LI, Ludynia K, Geldenhuys D, Shannon LI, and Jarre A. 2016. System dynamics modelling
of the Endangered African penguin populations on Dyer and Robben islands, South Africa. Ecological Modelling
327: 44-56.
Sherley RB, Ludynia K, Dyer BM, Lamont T, Makhado AB, Roux J-P, Scales KL, Underhill LG and Votier SC. 2017.
Metapopulation tracking juvenile penguins reveals an ecosystem-wide ecological trap. Current Biology 27: 563-
568.
Sherley RB, Botha P, Underhill LG, Ryan PG, van Zyl D, Cockcroft AC, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Cook TR. 2017. Defining
ecologically-relevant scales for spatial protection using long-term data on an endangered seabird and local prey
availability. Conservation Biology 31: 1312-1321.
Crawford RJM, Makhado AB, Oosthuizen WH. 2018. Bottom-up and top-down control of the Benguela ecosystem's
seabirds. Journal of Marine Systems 188: 133-141.
Gaglio D, Cook TR, Mcinnes A, Sherley RB and Ryan PG. 2018. Foraging plasticity in seabirds: a non-invasive study of
the diet of greater crested terns breeding in the Benguela Region. PLoS ONE 13: e0190444.
424
Gaglio D, Sherley RB, Ryan PG and Cook TR. 2018. A non-invasive approach to estimate the energetic requirements
of an increasing seabird population in a perturbed marine ecosystem. Scientific Reports 8: 8343.
Sherley RB, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Campbell KJ, Crawford RJM, Grigg J, Horswill C, Mcinnes A. Morris TL, Pichegru L,
Steinfurth A, Weller F, Winker H, Votier SC. 2018. Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of
experimental fishery closures on marine predator demographics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: 285:
20172443: 1-9.
Campbell KJ, Steinfurth A, Underhill LG, CoetzeeJC, Dyer BM, Ludynia K, Makhado AB, Merkle D, Rademan J, Upfold
L and Sherley RB. 2019. Local forage fish abundance influences foraging effort and offspring condition in an
Endangered marine predator. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 1751-1760.
Crawford RJM, Sydeman WJ, Thompson SA, Sherley RB, Makhado AB .. 2019. Food habits of an endangered seabird
indicate recent poor availability of abundant forage resources. ICES Journal of Marine Science 76: 1344-1352.
Mcinnes AM, Ryan PG, Lacerda M, Pichegru L. 2019. Targeted prey fields determine foraging effort thresholds of a
marine diver: Important cues for the sustainable management of fisheries. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 2206-
2215.
Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, Dyer BM, Kemper J, Makhado AB, Masotla M, Pichegru L, Pistorius PA, Roux J-P, Ryan PG,
Tom D, Upfold L, Winker H. 2019. The status and conservation of Cape Gannets Morus capensis. Ostrich 90: 335-
346.
Sherley RB, Crawford RJM, de Blocq AD, Dyer BM, Geldenhuys D, Hagen C, Kemper J, Makhado AB, Pichegru L, Tom
D, Upfold L, Visagie J, Waller LI, Winker H. 2020. The conservation status and population decline of the African
penguin deconstructed in space and time. Ecology and Evolution 10: 8506-8516.
17
425
"AM21 "
Subject: FW: SANParks_Birdlife South Africa meeting re African Penguins
From: Mark Anderson <ceo @birdlife.org.za >

Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 202110:19 AM
To: Luthando Dziba <Luthando.Dziba @sanparks.org>; Stef Freitag-ronaldson <[email protected]>; Hanneline
Smit-Robinson <hanneline.smit-robinson @birdlife.org.za >; Christina Hagen <christina.hagen @birdlife.org.za >; Alistair
Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Tegan Carpenter-Kling <Tegan.Carpenter-Kling@ birdlife.org.za >
Subject: FW: SANParks_Birdlife South Africa meeting re African Penguins
Dear colleagues
FYI, see attached letter.
Thanks Christina for your assistance with the drafting of the letter. ,
Regards
Mark
From: Mark Anderson <[email protected] >

Sent: Wednesday, 24 March 202110:17
To: Feroze Shaik <[email protected] >; [email protected]
Cc: Minister Creecy
Subject: SANParks_Birdlife South Africa meeting re African Penguins
Please see attached letter.
We are getting increasingly concerned about the African Penguin which, very unfortunately, is edging closer and closer
to the edge of the extinction precipice.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
.)~
BirdLife
0 H •RI
0 Yln9 C.n•ffYotl n Wln91
lsdell House, 17 Hume Road (cnr Hume Road/Jan Smuts Drive}, Dunkeld West 2196, Gauteng
Private Bag Xl 6, Pinegowrie 2123, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
1
426
->) ,
BirdLife
SOUTH _
, \fRICA
Giving Conservcrtlon Wings
Birdlife South Africa is a partner of Birdlife International, a global partnership of nature conservation organisations.
Member of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
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PBO Exemption No: 930004518
24 March 2021
Minister Barbara Creecy

Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
Private Bag X447
Pretoria
0001
By email [email protected]
and per [email protected]
As you urged, Bird life South Africa and SANParks met virtually on 24 February 2021.
Luthando Dziba (Managing Executive of Conservation Services) co-chaired the meeting with
me. Also in attendance were representatives from the SAN Park's Parks Division and Scientific
Services. Joining me from Bird life South Africa were our Head of Conservation and members
of our Seabird Conservation Programme. The aim of the meeting was to discuss how Bird Life
South Africa and SAN Parks can more effectively collaborate, especially on African Penguin
conservation. Both organisations are deeply concerned about the drastic decrease in penguin
numbers and know that it will take all stakeholders working together to implement the
necessary conservation measures.
At the meeting, Bird Life South Africa presented a summary of the status and threats to
African Penguins in South Africa, highlighting a lack of prey as the most significant threat.
However, there are also emerging threats in Algoa Bay, such as ship-to-ship bunkering and an
associated increase in shipping traffic that are of concern especially regarding marine noise
pollution. The key conservation actions in which Bird Life South Africa are involved include the
island closure experiment, engagement with the Fisheries branch of DEFF around an
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries management, automated penguin monitoring and the
creation of new penguin colonies. SAN Parks presented on the dramatic decreases in penguin
numbers at the colonies which they manage, particularly St Croix Island in recent years.
SAN Parks also gave a summary of the engagements that are happening within the Penguin
Task Team, notably the drafting of a State of Knowledge report on penguins and the island
closure experiment. Following the presentations, discussions were focused on four themes:
1, Current conservation actions: the current priority is the island closures initiative, While
both organisations believe there is enough evidence to support precautionary closures,
we understand the need for rigorous scientific debate in light of the socio-economic
complexities of the situation. However, because of the nature of the disagreements
427
between the different analyses, it may not be possible to provide enough scientific
evidence to come to a consensus among all involved to reach an agreed decision.
Considering the status of the penguin, taking a decision based on the precautionary
principle is a justified, responsible choice and an adaptive management approach can be
followed, allowing for changes to be made in future if data or analyses support this.
SAN Parks is involved in the task team but will call on Bird life South Africa where and
when necessary for input. Since this meeting, members of our Seabird Conservation
Programme have engaged with the SAN Parks scientists on the Task Team .
2. Coordinated influence and action: ideas on how to improve the messaging and raise
awareness (of the general public as well as within various levels of government) about
the plight of the African Penguin and their role as indicators of ocean health were
discussed.
3. Collaborations: Further partnerships should be formalised with other organisations such
as CapeNature and SANCCOB.
4. An MOU between Bird Life and SAN Parks: the areas of collaboration should be formalised
in an MOU which covers African Penguin conservation but also other areas of
conservation such as vultures and identifying important wetlands for the expansion of
protected areas.
Yours sincerely
Mark D. Anderson
11dell House I 7 Hume Rood

Ounkeld West. Gouteng 219¢
P11vote Bog X 16 P,negowrie
2123 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)11 789 1122
Fox: +27 {OJ 11 789 5188
Emoi.!,jo.!.Q2bir dlif!! .Qi:g,,m
WY.NI. bir dlife org za
Honotory ,atrom: Mrs Gayno, ltupe,t, Dt Pr&clou, Mofof-MofSe-J», Mr Mar.k Shuffleworth, Mil Pamela lld&II
428
"AM22"
Subject: African Penguin meeting: 19 April 2021

Sent: Friday, May 7, 2021 2:33 PM
Cc: Ashley Naidoo <ashleynaidoo22 @g mail.com>; Nicholas Leontsinis <[email protected]>; Feroze Shaik
<[email protected] >; Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <lauren @sanccob.co.za>;
Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; stephen @sanccob.co.za; Kim Prochazka <KimP @daff.gov.za>
Subject: African Penguin meeting: 19 April 2021
Dear Minister
Please see attached letter and minutes.
Thanks again for the opportunity to meet with you, and for all you're doing to support the conservation efforts to save
the embattled African Penguin.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
_)~
B·rdLife
o u r
0 "• Co1t,.,.,,_,, n Wing•
lsdell House, 17 Hume Road (cnr Hume Road/ Jan Smuts Drive), Dunkeld West 2196, Gauteng
Private Bag X l 6, Pinegowrie 2123, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
E-mail: ceo @birdlife.org .za
Donations to Birdlife South Africa may contribute to your B-BBEE scorecard as we are fully SEO compliant in terms of the B-BBEE Act. We are
also a registered Public Benefit Organisation (No. 930004518) and authorised to issue 18A tax certificates where applicable.
Bird life South Africa head office is supported by many generous donors, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, F.H.
Chamberlain, Toyota, AVIS, ZEISS, Nedbank and Sappi, as well as a number of Corporate Members and Golden Bird Patrons.
sappi
..- ~ i l o TOYOTA
■
........... IJeoecawt
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Any information present or attached must be regarded as the communication of information and does not under any circumstance
constitute formal advice unless otherwise stated to the contrary. This information has been prepared solely for the use of the addressee. It is
1
429
~
SA CCOB
saves seabirds
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WWF
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Ministerial Brief: African Penguins and Island Closures

Feedback and way forward following meeting on 19 April 2021
5 May 2021

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Private Bag X447
Pretoria
0001
We would like to extend our appreciation to you for taking time to meet with us on 19 April
2021 to discuss the African Penguin crisis and broader marine ecosystem concerns. We feel
that the meeting was fruitful.
We would like to use this opportunity to provide further details to the three proposed
outcomes of the meeting (with reference to the proposed way forward in the attached
minutes) and thus facilitate the implementation of these recommendations:
1. Proposed socio-economic study
The socio-economic study was proposed to help inform the current Governance Forum
on African Penguin Island Closures. Scientists from DFFE: O&C, SANCCOB, Bird life South
Africa, WWF-SA and UCT have solicited proposals from two consultants for a socio-
economic study to help understand the relative contributions that small pelagic fish
provide to different sectors, including the purse-seine and ecotourism sectors (as the
key food source for several marine predators that have high ecotourism value).
SANCCOB and Bird life South Africa have raised funds for an initial assessment, but we
would value insights into the following before we formerly appoint a suitable consultant:
a. At what stage would such a study be crucial to informing outcomes of the

Governance Forum and what are the expected timelines to ensure that such a
study can contribute meaningfully to this process? We anticipate that the study
will take a minimum of two months to be completed depending on the agreed
upon scope of this study.
430
b. In order to maintain transparency with the implementation of this study, please

can you direct us to the appropriate senior managers or working groups within
your department with whom we can discuss the proposed study.
2. Governance Forum peer-review process
We have provided, on request by the drafting team ofthe State of Knowledge report,
nominations for the seabird-prey specialists who we believe should form part of the
panel (i.e. in addition to the FAO member which you suggested). We would be more
than happy to provide further nominations if required.
3. Proposal to develop an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) Management study
Within the next month, WWF-SA will be leading on the engagements between DFFE:
O&C, DFFE: Fisheries Management, SANCCOB and Bird life South Africa to determine the
most suitable approach for the revitalizing of an EAF in DFFE and to identify how NGOs
and experts who are external to the department could best support the implementation
of this approach.
Yours sincerely
Dr Morne du Plessis
CEO: WWF South Africa
Dr Stephen vd Spuy
CEO: SANCCOB
Mark D. Anderson
CEO: Birdlife South Africa
431
Ministerial Brief: African Penguin Island Closures

19 April 2021
Attendance
Minister Barbara Creecy (BC, DFFE)

Mr Ashley Naidoo (AN, DFFE: Oceans and Coast)
Dr Kim Prochazka (KP, DFFE: Fisheries Research & Development)
Nicholas Leontsinis (NL - DFFE)
Feroze Shaik (FS - DFFE)
Mr Mark D. Anderson ~MDA, BLSA CEO)
Dr Morne du Plessis (MdP, WWF-SA CEO)
Dr Lauren Waller (LW, SANCCOB)
Dr Alistair Mcinnes (AM, BLSA Seabird Conservation Programme)
Agenda
1. Introductions
2. Aims of meeting
3. NGO/Academic institutions concerns
4. Presentation
5. Proposed way forward (NGOs)
6. Status process of DFFE Governance Forum
7. Discussion
8. Proposed way forward (BC)
Aims of meeting (MDA)
1. Emphasise the scale of the African Penguin problem

2. Presentation of the scientific basis of the NGO/Academic sectors' case
3. Provide concrete suggestions on how to proceed
Presentation (LW):
Herewith pdf of presentation attached. The presentation was compiled by:

SANCCOB - Dr Lauren Waller
Birdlife South Africa - Dr Alistair Mcinnes, Christina Hagen, Dr Tegan Carpenter-Kling
WWF-SA- Craig Smith, Monica Stassen
University of Cape Town (Biological Sciences) - Dr Lynne Shannon
Nelson Mandela University- Dr Lorien Pichegru
With an important acknowledgement of the scientific inputs of Dr Richard Sherley from University of
Exeter.
We wanted to achieve the following:

1. Re-emphasise the crisis facing the African penguin, the real extinction risk and the urgent need
for a long-term management decision on island closures.
2. Highlight that our concern is not only about the African penguin but about the health of the
marine ecosystem more broadly given the many negative signals that have been recorded in
recent years.
1
432
3. Reflect on the substantial number of peer-reviewed scientific papers that provide extensive
details of the African penguin decline and the role that reduced local food availability is having
on this trend and the benefits of fishing closures around breeding colonies.
4. Indicate our support to the department and provide some suggested ways forward.
Proposed way forward (NGOs, MdP):
1. Clear and decisive interventions to address the precipitous decline in African Penguin numbers,
including:
a. Extended closure of small pelagic fishing around the six critical breeding colonies.
b. An urgent plan to address sustainability challenges of the small pelagic fisheries in the
interest of both people and related ecosystems (including penguins).
2. DFFE supports inclusive socio-economic study.
3. The DFFE report to be peer reviewed by a panel of three internationally recognised scientists
representing all fields of science involved in the experiment.
4. The Small Pelagic Fisheries Scientific Working Group to include adequate representation of
ecosystem scientists as members.
5. The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Working Group to be reinvigorated.
Status and process of DFFE Governance Forum (AN)
1. A report will be submitted to the DDGs on 30 April including a summary of available science,
science gaps, suggestions and impacts of different island closure scenarios on the small pelagic
fishery and penguins.
2. Update of progress to date and planned way forward before submission:
a. Multiple Task Team meetings have been convened.
b. Editor of African Journal of Marine Science will review the document.
c. Document to be circulated to various working groups for review. Comments will be
added to the document as an annex.
3. Processes post submission of document to Minister's office:
a. Expert review.
b. Scenario selection.
c. Engagement with industry and conservation sectors.
d. Development of legal framework on interpretation and implementation of the
precautionary approach.
Discussion
Scientific results and minimising litigation

BC is mindful of the urgency of the African Penguin situation and emphasised the need to
understand how best to manage competing stakeholder interests. BC highlighted the importance of
having the scientific evidence to back up decisions and thus to resolve differences in scientific
outputs to motivate for a management decision on island closures. BS further noted that this was
important to minimise potential litigation from the fishing industry.
MdP noted that the potential for litigation from the fishing industry needed to be weighed up
against socio-economic and environmental rights as enshrined in the constitution.
BC acknowledged the need for an external review process and indicated a desire to have the FAO as
part of the review in order to get fisheries on board.
2
433
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAF)

MDA and MdP reiterated recent negative ecosystem 'signals' and the implications of current and
future management of the marine ecosystem.
BS noted that an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) management was crucial and acknowledged
that an EAF had been abrogated through disuse in recent years within the DFFE and that there was a
need to re-invigorate an EAF. BC indicated a need to go back to basics, getting agreement on what
EAF means; level of compliance by DFFE in this regard and the broader benefits of and EAF?
Socio-economic study
AM expressed concern about the lack of adequate and current socio-economic information to
inform the outcomes of the Governance Forum. AM enquired if NGO and academic support to a
proposed study could inform the Governance Forum process and what the timelines would be.
AN affirmed that a study of this nature is warranted but that it would have to completed in the
short-term (i.e. months). AN explained that a proposed socio-economic study should be inclusive of
fishing communities that rely on healthy supplies of forage fish, e.g. various linefish fisheries. AN
expressed the need for time-series data of socio-economic metrics so that this data can be
compared to biodiversity monitoring data collected by the department.
KP was supportive of a balanced approach that includes multiple stakeholders and expressed
concern for a lack of capacity within the department.
BC was supportive of a socio-economic study to inform the outcome of the Governance Forum.
Engaging with Media on this Sensitive Issue

LW indicated to BC that our sector is regularly approached by the public and media to comment on
the island closure experiment. LW enquired as to how BC and her department can best be
supported by the NGO/academic sector, while at the same time informing the public. BC confirmed
that we are advising her department on matters related to seabird and fishery interactions; that we
can/should express our views; highlighting that we are aware that DFFE staff are looking at all
aspects of the science in order to make an informed decision; that we have a strong view of the
relationship between penguins and prey biomass.
Proposed way forward (DFFE)
1. Non-government sector to provide support for a socio-economic study that will inform
decisions coming from the Governance Forum. Proposed Action: NGOs to provide funds for
such a study and to engage with DFFE in order to inform and leverage required
support/collaboration.
2. A transparent, impartial, peer-reviewed process be initiated that includes FAQ member and
seabird-prey specialists.
3. DFFE's O&C and Fisheries branches, with the support of NGOs and academic institutions,
conceptualise a proposal to develop an EAF management study to propose an effective way
forward with addressing EAF concerns.
3
434
"AM23"
Subject: FW: EDMS MCE203367 Letter to Mr Anderson

Sent: Friday, July 23, 202112:50 PM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Hanneline Smit-Robinson <hanneline.smit-robinson @birdlife.org.za >
Subject: FW: EDMS MCE203367 Letter to Mr Anderson
Hi Alistair
See attached.
Please send to your relevant staff and colleagues at other organisations.
Thanks
Mark
From: Liesl Jacobs <li [email protected] >

Sent: Friday, 23 July 202110:43
To: Mark Anderson <ceo @birdlife.org.za >
Cc: Janine Buitendag <[email protected] >; ltebogeng Chiloane <ichiloane @environment.gov.za >
Subject: EDMS MCE203367 Letter to Mr Anderson
Dear Mr Anderson
Please receive the attached letter from Minister Creecy for your attention.
Kindly acknowledge receipt thereof.
Regards
Liesl Jacobs
Disclaimer
This message and any attachments transmitted with it are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may be legally
privileged and/or confidential. If you have received this message in error please destroy it and notify the sender. Any
unauthorized usage, disclosure,·alteration or dissemination is prohibited. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
no responsibility for any loss whether it be direct, indirect or consequential, arising from information made available and
actions resulting there from. The views and opinions expressed in this e-mail message may not necessarily be those of
Management.The processing of personal information by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is done
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Information Regulator in terms of the POPI Act and/ or relevant legislation providing appropriate security safeguards for the
processing of personal information of others.
1
435
MINISTER
FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Private Bag X447, Pretoria, 0001, Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Road, Tel: (012) 399 8743
Private Bag X9052, Cape Town, 8000, Tel: (021) 469 1500, Fax: (021) 465 3362
Ref: EDMS MCE203367
Mr Anderson
CEO: Birdlife South Africa
Private Bag X16
PINEGOWRIE
2123
South Africa
Dear Mr Anderson
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS- BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA MEETING RE AFRICAN PENGUINS
I refer to your letter of 24 March 2021.
Concern regarding the decrease of African penguins led to publication in 2013 of the "Biodiversity Management
Plan for the African Penguin Spheniscus demersus• {AP-BMP) in terms of the National Environmental
Management: Biodiversity Act of 2004. The aim of the Management Plan was to halt the decline of the African
penguin population in South Africa within two years of its implementation, and thereafter to achieve a population
growth that would result in a down-listing of the species in terms of its.International Union for the Conservation of
Nature {IUCN) Red List status.
The AP-BMP addressed habitat loss, establishment of new colonies, predation pressure, avian disease, chick
rescue and rehabilitation as well as rehabilitation of oiled birds. The AP-BMP was implemented through
extensive collaboration between the department, provincial authorities and non-government organisations, such
as Birdlife South Africa. The Management Plan did not achieve the key objectives, with South Africa's penguin
population falling by 30% between 2013 and 2019. However, many of its subsidiary goals have been achieved,
including:
• reducing losses to predation through the removal of damage-causing animals;
• rescuing, rehabilitating and returning to the wild, oiled and injured birds and abandoned chicks;
• implementing measures to curtail the spread of pathogenic viruses;
• improving nesting habitat at several islands through the deployment of specially-designed nest boxes;
and
• taking steps to initiate a colony for African Penguins at De Hoop Nature Reserve amongst others.
To address the latest concerns by the public, I have requested relevant Branches of the Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) as well as SANParks to establish a technical task team to evaluate
available scientific information, identify information gaps and provide a set of management recommendations.
This will assist me in making an informed decision. The document and its recommendations will require external
review and stakeholder engagement. The subsequent decisions will be based on the principles of the National
~\L
1 t·
436
FISHING EXCLUSION AROUND AFRICAN PENGUIN COLONIES
Environment Management Act, and in particular the principles of conservation, precautionary approach and
sustainable utilisation of marine resources. •
Although the African -penguin population is exposed to a multitude of stressors, the technical task team has
identified food availability, habitat degradation as a result of increased anthropogenic activity around breeding
colonies and oil pollution as the main reasons for the continuing decline of African penguins. This will be a
complex situation to resolve in a manner that is supported by all relevant internal and external stakeholders.
I want to ensure you that conservation of the African penguin is receiving priority attention by my office through
the relevant department Branches in support of sustainable utilisation of South African marine resources.
Therefore, the content of your letter is noted in a positive manner towards further collaboration between Birdlife
South Africa and the agencies and branches within the department.
Yours sincerely
MS B DCREECY, MP
DATE: 22 t·-:t l -~ f
l ~ ~c, ~ (>.._
r;_ ~~ U,<~~s
2
437
"AM24"
Subject: FW: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic
Fishery and Island Closures

Sent: Friday, August 13, 2021 9:08 PM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <lauren @sanccob.co.za>; Smith, Craig
<csmith @wwf.org.za>; Du Plessis, Marne <mdu [email protected] >; Stephen Spuy <Stephen @sanccob.co.za>
Cc: Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South) <lorien. [email protected] >; Lynne Shannon
<lynne.shannon @uct.ac.za>; [email protected] ; Richard Sherley <[email protected] >
Subject: FW: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island
Closures
Dear colleagues
See below and attached.
We need to nominate three people to represent "conservation organisations" {I am not sure whether these
organisations include SANParks and CapeNature).
Any suggestions on how we determine who these three people will be, especially considering that they will need (a)
knowledge of the African Penguin's biology and (b) expertise in modelling and other scientific methods (so that they can
counter any of the fisheries' scientists arguments)?
My proposal is that our representatives are Alistair, Lauren and Craig?
Regards
Mark
From: Bukeka Bandezi <bbandezi @environment.gov.za>

Sent: Friday, 13 August 2021 20:21
To: [email protected]; co [email protected] ; redah @rialfishing.co.za; Ste phen @sanccob.co.za ;
romar@ca penature.co.za; Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected] rg .za >; Mark Anderson <[email protected]>:
wilfred @marinedynamicstravel.com : Gregg.Oelofse <Gregg.Oelofse @ca petown.gov.za >; Sabelom @robben-
island.org.za : MM @overstrand.gov.za; melvy [email protected] ; Josephfletcher21 @gmail.com : Pichegru, Lorien (Dr)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <lorien.pichegru @mandela.ac.za >: [email protected]: Peter Ryan
<[email protected]>; michelle joshua @masifundise.org.za; [email protected]: hildadms3 @gmail.com;
[email protected]; natashac.visagie @gmail.com ; [email protected] ; davidcharles [email protected] :
[email protected]
Cc: Judy Beaumont <[email protected] >; Sue Middleton <SMiddleton @environment.gov.za >; Ashley
Naidoo <Anaidoo @environment.gov.za >: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected]>; Luthando Dziba
<Luthando.Dziba @sanparks.org>; Nosiseko Mhlahlo <NMhlahlo @environment.gov.za >
Subject: Re: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island
Closures
Dear Stakeholders
1
438
Following the meeting convened by Minister Creecy on 12 August to discuss proposals to address the decline in the
breeding populations of the African Penguin, attached please find the following:
• Presentation made at the meeting

• Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small
Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures
As agreed at the meeting, nominations are requested as follows: 3 representatives from the fishing industry; and 3
representatives from conservation organisations.
The first workshop is scheduled to take place on 31 August 2021. An agenda and invitation will follow.
Kind Regards
Bukeka Bandezi
DFFE -Cape Town Branch
East Pier Road
Waterfront
021819 2610
lr'll ·, ....... ,.. ~ ... , ... ,.,.,.

II • . . . _ Im .. Lil 1,, .. ,.
forestry. fisheries
& the environment www. nv ronm nt.gov.z:a
DeoaMleOL
f-W, nell&ie~ an~ tho Ell.,..uo-1 Call Centre: 086 1 11 1468
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRk:A
Bukeka Bandezi
T: IC:
E: [email protected]
W:
2
439
A: 2nd Floor ,Foretrust Building 1 Martin Hammerschlag Way
unauthorized usage, disclosure, alteration or dissemination is prohibited. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment
no responsibility for any loss whether it be direct, indirect or consequential, arising from information made available
and
Management.The processing of personal information by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is
done
lawfully and not excessive to the purpose of processing in compliance with the POPI Act, any codes of conduct issued by
the
Information Regulator in terms of the POPI Act and / or relevant legislation providing appropriate security safeguards
for the
3
440
ANNEXURE A
REPORT TO THE MINISTER,

A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in

the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island
Closures
Contributors in alphabetical order:
Janet Coetzee (Fisheries Management), Alison Kock (SAN Parks), Cloverley Lawrence (SAN Parks),
Azwianewi Makhado (Oceans & Coasts), Makhudu Masotla (Oceans & Coasts), Herman Oosthuizen
(Oceans & Coasts), Fannie Shabangu (Fisheries Management) and Carl van der Lingen (Fisheries
Management).
To be cited as: DFFE (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment). 2021. A synthesis of
current scientific information relating to the decline in the African penguin population, the small
pelagic fishery and island closures. Unpublished report. Cape Town, South Africa: DFFE.
441
Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 3
List and brief description of major role players.................................................................................. 8
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Status of the African penguin: declines regionally and nationally.............................................. 9
3. Responses to the African penguin decline................................................................................. .... 11
4. Drivers of African penguin food availability and penguin-fish interactions.............................. 16
4.1. Small pelagic fishes as forage of African penguins and other predators.................... 16
4.2. Status of South African sardine and anchovy stocks....................................... .............. 17
4.3. Population fluctuations and drivers of South African sardine and anchovy.............. 18
4.3.1. Environmental drivers.................................................................................. 18
4.3.2. Predation........................................................................................................ 19
4.3.3. Fishing...................................................................................................... ....... 20
4.4. Changed distributions and drivers of South African sardine and anchovy................ . 21
4.5. Small pelagic fish abundance and availability to penguins ........................................... 24
5. Effects on African penguin reproductive performance of fishery closures around island
27
breeding colonies ............................................,...................................................'............................. .
5.1. Experimental closure to purse-seine fishing ................................................................... 29
5.1.L Feasibility study .............................................................................................. 30
5.1.2. Island Closure Experiment .................................... ....................................... . 32
5.1.3. Summary of results ........................................................................................ 38
5.1.4. Remaining uncertainty ............................................................................... .. . 41
6. Sustainability, ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations ................................................. 42
6.1. The South African small pelagic fishery ............................................................................ 42
6.1.1. Current management .................................................................................... 43
6.1.2. Recent operational management procedure (OMP) developments ..... . 44
6.1.3. Sustainability and harvest rates ................................................................... 46
6.1.4. Ecosystem considerations ......................................................................... ... . 47
6.2. Effects of overharvesting of small pelagic fishes ............................................................ 47
6.3. Economic evaluation of the relative cost of closures ........................... ........................ . 48
6.4. The social, economic, biodiversity and ecosystem value of African penguins ......... .. 49
7. Research gaps and responses ...................................................... .............................. ..................... . 50
8. Governance and policy imperatives ................................................................................................ 51
8.1. Threatened or Protected Marine Species (TOPS) ........................................................... 53
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. . 54
References ................................................................................................................................................. 55
442
Executive Summary
"Penguins and fishermen have the same needs. They both want to fish as close to their
shores/islands as possible with the least cost. For the fishermen their costs are monetary, for
the penguins their costs are energetic".
A joint 'Governance Forum' (GF or Decision-making Forum), comprising DDGs and senior officials of
Branch: Oceans and Coasts (B: O&C) and Branch: Fisheries Management (B: FM), as well as South
African National Parks (SAN Parks), was established by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment (DFFE) on 22 February 2021 to synthesise scientific information relating to the decline of
the African penguin Spheniscus demersus and closures to fishing around their breeding colonies to
enable the Minister to make decisions in this regard . The Minister advised that the GF should be
guided by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA, Act 107 of 1998) and its principles of
(amongst others) conservation, sustainable use and the precautionary approach. This was in response
to recommendations to the Minister by SAN Parks and the TP-SWG (B: O&C) that were supported by
Birdlife SA, WWF-SA, SANCCOB and others to immediately implement long-term closures to purse-
seine fishing around the six largest penguin breeding colonies. The GF established a Drafting Team
(DT) comprised of DFFE and SAN Parks scientists to prepare a report on the current state of African
penguins, relevant fisheries management and the socio-economics of island closures and penguin-
related tourism. This report provides such a synthesis.
Status of the African penguin

The African penguin breeds only in Namibia and South Africa. In the 1920s, it was probably Africa's
most abundant seabird, having an estimated 0.5-1 million breeding pairs. It subsequently decreased
to ~17 700 pairs in 2019, of which ~25% were in Namibia and ~75% in South Africa. After large
decreases in the Namibian population in the latter part of the 20th century and in the South African
population in the early 2l51 century, the species was classified as Endangered on the Red List of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2010.
In 2004, ~52 000 pairs of African penguins bred at 19 localities in South Africa, but 15 years later, in
2019, the population had fallen by 75% to ~13 200 breeding pairs, and five colonies became extinct.
Based on their sizes, all South Africa's colonies now have a substantial probability of extinction,
particularly the smaller ones (<250 breeding pairs), and it is expected that South Africa will lose
another seven colonies in the near future. Because larger colonies have a lower probability of
extinction, it is imperative to save the seven South African colonies that at present have >900 breeding
pairs: at Dassen and Robben islands on the west coast, Simon's Town, Stony Point and Dyer Island on
the southwest coast, and St Croix and Bird islands in Algoa Bay. The recent estimates of the African
penguin population in South Africa reflect the dire situation it is in: if current population trajectories
continue, it could be functionally extinct by 2035.
Responses to the African penguin's decline

The listing of the African penguin as Endangered in 2010 triggered several initiatives to secure its
future, including the development of an African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP-AP) that
was gazetted in 2013 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA,
Act 10 of 2004). The BMP-AP had a five-year timeframe and aimed to halt the decline of the African
443
penguin population in South Africa within two years of its implementation and after that to achieve a
population growth that would result in a down-listing of the species in terms of its IUCN Red List status.
It failed in these objectives. However, the BMP-AP achieved a number of its subsidiary goals and
several management actions were implemented, including: (i) improved cooperative management;
(ii) population reinforcement; (iii) improved breeding-habitat management; and (iv) improved
management of the captive population.
In response to the reduction in numbers of African penguins, DFFE's Small Pelagics Scientific Working
Group (SWG-PEL) developed a penguin-population model for use in conjunction with the operational
management procedure (OMP) for small pelagic fish and experimentally closed purse-seine fishing
around some key island breeding colonies on a short-term, rotational basis. However, these initiatives
also failed to halt the decrease of penguins in South Africa.
Drivers of African penguin food availability and penguin-fish interactions

African penguins depend mainly on energy-rich sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis
encrasico/us for food, although other small pelagic fishes and squid are also eaten. Both the
abundance and quality of prey are important in influencing their population dynamics. Unlike flying
seabirds, African penguins must swim to find food, which limits their foraging range particularly while
breeding. Furthermore, they require insulation against low oceanic temperatures and, to achieve this,
replace their full plumage annually by moulting, during which time they remain ashore for about three
weeks without feeding. Therefore, they are especially susceptible to food scarcity during breeding and
before and after moulting, activities which take place at colonies year-round.
Anchovy and sardine off South Africa have both shown marked changes in population size from 1984
to 2020. A 'pelagic boom' occurred in the early 2000s, with both anchovy and sardine biomasses being
very high, but subsequently sardine biomass decreased rapidly and anchovy biomass declined
gradually. Small pelagic fishes such as anchovy and sardine are typified by 'boom and bust' population
dynamics arising from inherent variability in their recruitment strength and short lifespans. Present-
day variations in small pelagic fish population sizes are a combined outcome of the interacting drivers
of fishing, environmental changes and predation. The latter is often the largest contributor to their
natural mortality and may increase at low population sizes, when management of forage resources
should be particularly cautious. Changes in the relative distributions of anchovy and sardine off South
Africa have been observed over the past few decades. Anchovy adults showed an abrupt shift from
being located predominantly on the west coast from 1984 to 1995 to predominantly on the south
coast from 1996 to present. Sardine also showed an eastward shift in relative distribution, but that
occurred more gradually than was observed for anchovy and reached a maximum in 2005. These
distribution changes have resulted in a mismatch in the location of penguins and small pelagic fish,
particularly off the west coast.
Not only are seabirds influenced by the abundance but also by the availability and local exploitation
rates of their prey, since seabirds have restricted diving depths and, while breeding, are central-place
feeders with limited foraging ranges, and hence localised exploitation around their breeding colonies
may reduce prey availability. Whereas there is general agreement that food abundance/availability is
an important driver of African penguin population dynamics, there is disagreement on the relative
444
importance of this driver compared to other drivers. Seabird scientists and marine ecologists suggest
this as a primary driver, while fisheries scientists suggest a lower relative importance.
Effects on African penguin reproductive performance of fishery closures around island breeding
colonies
South Africa's small pelagic purse-seine fishery and African penguins both target mainly sardine and
anchovy. Sardine and anchovy occupy a key position in the marine food web, where they are the link
that transfers energy produced by plankton to large-bodied predatory fish, seabirds and marine
mammals. Because many animals and humans depend on forage fish, as these small pelagic species
are collectively known, it is important to manage the fishery activities in a sustainable manner that
considers and accounts for their high degree of variability and importance to the ecosystem.
In the 2000s, a substantial increase in mortality of adult penguins on the west coast was linked to a
decrease in the biomass of sardine in that area to below a quarter of its maximum observed value.
The increase in penguin mortality was hypothesised to be due to insufficient food during the pre-
moult period. Significant relationships have been demonstrated between demographic, condition,
growth and foraging parameters of African penguins (and other seabirds in the Benguela upwelling
system that feed mainly on anchovy and sardine) and the abundance or availability of their prey. Given
the fluctuating nature of small pelagic fish stock biomasses, these have at times been below thresholds
that have been suggested as necessary to support sufficient reproduction and survival to maintain the
populations of such seabirds.
Following the observed increases in mortality from 2006 and subsequent further reduction in the
number of African penguins off South Africa, it became important to not only reduce mortality as far
as possible, but to also ensure that penguin reproduction was sufficient to partially offset mortality.
In response, a study to assess the effects of short-term closure to purse-seine fishing around penguin
breeding colonies was initiated in 2008. That study comprised two parts: (i) a feasibility study (2008-
2014) during which purse-seine fishing was prohibited around some colonies, and data on penguins
and small pelagic fish were collected to determine whether an experiment would have adequate
statistical power to detect a significant effect of closure, if such existed; and (ii) an experimental phase
(2015-2020). In order to maximise contrast for more precise estimation, the study involved a three-
year alternation of opening and closing to fishing around islands, although this was not well-matched
to the biology of African penguins, which usually do not breed until aged 4-6 years but, once breeding,
show high fidelity to mates and colonies. Conflicting results emerged from two groups (B: O&C and B:
FM) who had applied different approaches to analysing the results of the experiment. Both sets of
results were subjected to frequent review by the International Review Panels (IRPs) of several
International Fisheries Stock Assessment Workshops (IFSAWs), who recommended improvements to
the different approaches.
All scientists agree on the need for robust science and trade-offs between costs and benefits. Scientists
from B: O&C and SAN Parks maintain that the results to date from the Island Closure Experiment show
a positive effect on chick survival that has slowed the rate of population decline, and, given the
Endangered status of the African penguin, they call for applying the precautionary approach and
implementing closure around South Africa's six largest colonies without further delay. They emphasise
that spatial management is crucially important for predators constrained to undertake central-place
445
foraging like African penguins, and hence the reason closures around key penguin colonies are being
sought is to lessen the risk of colony extinctions. In contrast, scientists from B: FM consider that closure
has only a relatively small positive effect, that there is substa'ntial uncertainty regarding this effect,
and that closure has an economic. impact on the small pelagic fishing industry. They therefore
recommend the implementation offurther island closures (seasonal in some instances) in 2021 whilst
analyses to address remaining uncertainties are conducted.
Sustainability, ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations

The small pelagic fishery is the country's largest and second-most valuable fishery, with an estimated
2014 wholesale catch value of R2 .4 billion, and directly employs >5 000 staff in addition to thousands
of seasonal workers. It makes an important socio-economic contribution to the well-being of coastal
communities. Management of the South African small pelagic fishery is primarily via the setting of
annual total allowable catches and bycatches which are set using an operational management
procedure (OMP). The OMP uses data from research surveys and fishery and stock i)ssessment models
in an adaptive management system which includes consideration of ecosystem and fishery needs, and
which is able to respond to major changes in resource abundance. Recent research has indicated the
presence of multiple sardine stocks off the South African coast and the OMP therefore considers stock
structure and consequently implements spatial management to limit exploitation rates on the more
productive western sardine component that was previously subject to higher exploitation, although
overall annual harvest rates of both sardine and anchovy are low. Overharvesting of small pelagic fish
can have detrimental effects on upwelling ecosystems, particularly on marine top predator
populations. However, the inherent variability in the population sizes of small pelagic fish is a strong
challenge to sustainable management and higher harvest levels should be avoided when population
sizes and/or productivity levels are low.
Closure of Dassen and Robben Islands to fishing was estimated to cost approximately R50 million per
annum, and a loss of between 1.63% and 6.87% of the total annual catch. When using an economic
multiplier this translates to R150 million per annum (2016 values) for those two islands, i.e.
approximately 6% of the annual wholesale catch value of the small pelagic fishery. The potential loss
of revenue of closure around breeding colonies in Algoa Bay was estimated at R17.5 million per annum
(2011 values), i.e. 6.6% of the average south coast sardine catch.
African penguins are Africa's only penguin species and together with other seabirds have important
social, economic, biodiversity and ecosystem values and benefits. The Simon's Town penguin colony
presently attracts close to a million visitors a year and its economic value in 2017 was estimated at
R311 million per annum, generating 885 jobs. The Stony Point colony presently attracts 77 500 visitors
per year but economic evaluations of that and other colonies have not been conducted. South Africa's
seabirds additionally provide several ecosystem benefits. They transfer large quantities of nutrients
from the ocean to their colonies, which influences the functioning of island and headland ecosystems
and adjacent marine areas which are important for many organisms, including migratory shorebirds.
They also exert valuable top-down control; e.g. they may select prey that are small or in poor body
condition and by removing substandard individuals ensure healthy prey populations. Seabirds also
facilitate feeding by other species; e.g. African penguins herd prey shoals upwards, making them
available to birds restricted to feeding near the surface.
446
Research gaps and responses

All stakeholders agree that urgent action is needed to reverse the decline in African penguin
population size. But despite all the interventions implemented thus far, the decline continues. The
programme of short-term (3 years) closures to fishing around islands has not reversed the decline but
may increase breeding success by 1% (assuming that the effect estimated at Robben Island applies for
all islands), which would reduce the present rate of decline by 10%. Even closure of the entire sardine
fishery off the west coast was estimated to have a very small benefit to penguins. Although local
fishi.ng restrictions around breeding colonies have been suggested as more effective than population-
wide regulations - e.g. limiting overall catches - the assumed benefits of longer-term closures around
breeding colonies in South Africa remain untested.
Given that the implemented actions have not arrested or reversed the decline in the African penguin
population, either there are unknown or unconsidered factor/s responsible, and/or not all actions
have been sufficiently implemented or effective. Research needs to be directed at identifying those
unknown or unconsidered factor/s and attributing relative importance to the drivers of the African
penguin population decline, e.g. using models of intermediate complexity for ecosystems assessments
(MICE) or other sufficiently quantitative ecosystem models. Such models need to account for
appropriate temporal scales that accord to penguin life history stages. Additional research on
penguins, small pelagic fishes and the fishery is also suggested but additional capacity and funding
would be required to conduct this monitoring and research, particularly with regard to modelling.
Governance and policy imperatives

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has a suite of legislation to help
manage the balance between conservation and sustainability, including the National Environmental
Management Act (NEMA, Act 107 of 1998), the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA, Act 18 of 1998),
the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA, Act 10 of 2004), the Marine
Spatial Planning Act (MSPA, Act 16 of 2018), National Environmental Management: Protected Areas
Act (NEMPAA, Act 57 of 2003), as well as the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal
Management Act (ICMA, Act 24 of 2008). NEMA highlights the need for cooperative governance and
intergovernmental relations and a holistic approach to ensure environmental protection. The
concomitant need to promote socio-economic development and the precautionary or cautious
approach concerning management and development of marine living resources, in order to avert risk
and account for the limits of current knowledge and consequences of decisions and actions, is
mandated in the MLRA. Threatened or protected marine species (TOPS), such as the African penguin,
are accorded protection under NEMBA.
In 2020, a Benguela Current Forage Fish Workshop (BCFFW), held under the auspices of the African
Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Benguela Current Convention (BCC), both
treaties to which South Africa is a party, recommended inter alia the development of tools to increase
the availability of sufficient forage [fish] for threatened endemic Benguela seabird species, including
consideration of applicable management and conservation options, such as setting ecosystem
thresholds and/or closing key foraging areas to fishing, adjacent to major seabird colonies, in order to
facilitate the recovery of seabird colonies to sufficient sizes to reduce the probability of colony
extinctions.
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List and brief description of major role players
B: O&C- Branch: Oceans and Coasts of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
B: FM - Branch: Fisheries Management of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
DFFE - Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, formed through the recent (2019)
merger of components of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) with the
Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). Initially called the Department of Environment, Forestry
and Fisheries (DEFF), in April 2021 the name was changed to DFFE. Until about 2009, the predecessors
of B: O&C and B: FM were jointly contained within Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), which
fell under the Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).
IFSAW - International Fisheries Stock Assessment Workshops at which a panel (IRP) of international
scientists meet annually to review and advise on stock assessments and fisheries management
approaches by the Branch: Fisheries Management.
IRP - International Review Panel of the annual IFSAWs
MARAM - Marine Resource Assessment and Management Group affiliated to University of Cape Town,
and under contract to DFFE's Fisheries Management Branch to undertake stock assessments and
provide fisheries management advice.
SANParks - South African National Parks is the national conservation management authority
mandated by DFFE to undertake conservation management of the largest remaining African penguin
colonies.
SWG-PEL - Small Pelagics Scientific Working Group, a scientific working group that advises on
management of small pelagic (e.g. sardine, anchovy, round herring, etc.) fish stocks under B: FM and
comprising internal and external fisheries scientists as members. Stakeholders including seabird
scientists and industry representatives are observers in this working group.
TP-SWG - Top Predator Scientific Working Group, comprising internal and external seabird scientists,
marine biologists, conservation biologists and management authorities and administered by B: O&C.
Fisheries and other scientists are also members.
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1. Introduction
A joint 'Governance Forum' (GF or Decision-making Forum), comprising DDGs and senior officials of B:
O&C and B: FM, as well as SAN Parks was established on the 22nd of February 2021. This followed a
meeting of the officials from B: O&C and B: FM with the Minister of the Department of Environment,
Forestry and Fisheries (now Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) on the 19 of January 2021 where
she requested the Department to provide her with a synthesis of the current scientific information
relating to island closures and African penguin population declines. That meeting was in response to
recommendations to the Minister by SANParks and the TP-SWG (B: O&C) supported by Birdlife SA,
WWF-SA, SANCCOB and others to immediately implement long-term closures to purse-seine fishing
around the six largest penguin breeding colonies.
The Minister advised that the GF should be guided by NEMA (the National Environmental
Management Act, Act 107 of 1998). She further emphasised that NEMA is the overarching legislation
applicable to both B: O&C and B: FM and as such the three principles, amongst others, of conservation,
sustainable use and the precautionary approach should be applied by both Branches when dealing
with this issue. The Minister acknowledged the differences in scientific views but she requested that
a collective and responsible approach to avoid the extinction of the African penguin should be sought,
based on credible science and after consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
The GF subsequently met and agreed as a first step to establish a Task Team, comprised of internal
scientists of the Department and SANParks, to prepare a comprehensive synthesis report of the
current state of knowledge relating to African penguins, island closures, fisheries management
relevant to African penguins and the socio-economics of island closures and penguin-related tourism.
Furthermore, several management scenarios are proposed based on the available science.
2. Status of the African penguin: declines regionally and nationally

The African penguin Spheniscus demersus, which breeds in Namibia and South Africa, is Africa's only
penguin. In the 1920s, it was probably Africa's most abundant seabird, having an estimated 0.5-1
million breeding pairs (Shannon and Crawford 1999; Crawford et al. 2007c). It subsequently decreased
to ~17 700 pairs in 2019, of which ~2s% were in Namibia and ~1s% in South Africa (Sherley et al.
2020a). The Namibian penguin population decreased by ~10% prior to 1986, coinciding with the
collapse of Namibia's sardine stocks in the 1960s and 1970s (Crawford 2007). Penguin numbers fell to
a worrying 3 800 pairs in 2006 before recovering slightly to 4 300 pairs by 2019 (Sherley et al. 2020a).
The population in Namibia is likely now constrained at a low level by a scarcity of small pelagic fish
(Watermeyer et al. 2008; Roux et al. 2013).
The South African penguin population recently declined at a faster rate than the earlier decrease in
Namibia (Figure la). This resulted in a 61% reduction of the overall population over 28 years (Bird life
International 2010) and a global classification of the species as Endangered in 2010 by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2020). This was despite a small population
recovery in the late 1990s and early 2000s, driven mostly by increases in colonies off the west coast
of South Africa (Figure lb). A subsequent population crash from the mid-2000s to an historical low in
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South Africa of ~13 600 pairs in 2019, reflected an ongoing population decline of nearly 5% per annum
(Sherley et al. 2020a). On the west coast, the former stronghold of the species in South Africa,
numbers have declined by 10% per annum over the last two decades (Figure lb).
(b) West Coast region

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1979 1991 2003 2015 1979 991 2003 2015

YEAR
Figure 1: Changes in the African penguin breeding population collectively in South Africa (a) and within
three regions since more than three generations (G) ago: (b) the west coast region (Western Cape
colonies north of Cape Town), (c) the south-west coast region (Western Cape colonies south and east
of Cape Town, and (d) the Eastern Cape (Sherley et al. 2020).
In 2004 in South Africa, African penguins bred at 19 localities, of which three had >5 000 pairs.
Together, South African localities held ~52 000 pairs of penguins. Dassen Island held the largest colony
with ~25 000 pairs; St Croix Island had ~10 000 pairs and Robben Island almost 8 000 pairs. However,
15 years later, in 2019 (a complete survey was not possible in 2020), the South African population had
fallen by 75% to ~13 200 pairs. Breeding has ceased at five of the localities (a rate of loss of one colony
every three years) and no remaining colonies have >5 000 pairs, with the largest colony consisting of
only ~3 650 pairs, at St Croix Island.
Smaller sized colonies (<1 000 pairs) of African penguins have higher probabilities of extinction than
larger colonies (>1 000 pairs; Crawford et al. 2001).
In 2004, Dassen, St Croix and Robben Islands all held >5 000 pairs and, in terms of the above
probabilities, had no likelihood of extinction within 40 years. However, in 2019 none of the 14
remaining colonies had >5 000 pairs, implying that all have a chance of extinction within 40 years .
Seven colonies had <250 pairs and hence a 96% chance of extinction. Six colonies held >1 000 pairs,
indicating a 67% probability of survival in the next 40 years: Dassen and Robben islands on the west
coast, Stony Point and Dyer Island on the southwest coast and St Croix and Bird islands in Algoa Bay.
Additionally, the Simon's Town colony had ~930 pairs. In 2019, the only Namibian colony with >1 000
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pairs was at Mercury Island (~2 220 pairs), which falls within the Namibian Islands Marine Protected
Area (Ludynia et al. 2012). Namibia's next largest colony was at Halifax Island (825 pairs). •
Diminishing African penguin colonies may suffer from Allee effects, or inverse density dependence,
reducing their chances of recovery and increasing their likelihood of extinction (Ryan et al. 2012). For
example, penguins that forage in groups have higher prey catches per .unit effort than solitary birds
(Mcinnes et al. 2017) but colonies may become too small for sufficient foraging groups to form (Ryan
et al. 2012). Similarly, smaller group sizes are likely to limit anti-predator benefits afforded to penguins
preening at sea. Dwindling colonies also mean that more birds nest near colony edges, where eggs
and chicks are at greater risk of predation (e.g. Cordes et al. 1999), and may reduce information
acquisition that facilitates food-finding (van Vessem and Draulans 1986; Wakefield et al. 2013).
Amongst penguins taken to a rescue centre, females had higher mortality rates than males (Pichegru
and Parsons 2014). If similar sex-biased mortality exists in the wild, it may skew sex ratios at small
colonies and decrease productivity.
The recent estimates of the African penguin population size in South Africa reflect the dire situation
the population is in; and, if the current population trajectory continues, it could be functionally extinct
by 2035 (Sherley et al. 2018). This highlights the ·imperative of adopting mitigation measures as a
matter of urgency. To minimise Allee effects and looming extinction, South Africa must take every
possible step to ensure the continued existence of its larger colonies, viz. those at Dassen, Robben,
Dyer, St Croix and Bird (Algoa Bay) islands, Simon's Town and Stony Point. In addition, provisions
should be made to not only secure the viability of current colonies but allow for and promote the
establishment of new colonies to address the needs created by shifting food sources and climate
change.
3. Responses to the African penguin decline

Concerted efforts to secure the future of the African penguin have been taken since its listing as
Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2010. The listing triggered several
initiatives, including a planning workshop towards drafting the first African Penguin Biodiversity
Management Plan (BMP-AP) {Shaw et al. 2011). The approved BMP-AP was gazetted in 2013 in terms
of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA, Act 10 of 2004). It had a five-
year timeframe and included establishing two working groups (i.e. African Penguin Habitat Working
Group and Population Re-enforcement Working Group) focused on habitat improvement and
population re-enforcement and the implementation of a range of management actions to address
threats to the South African population of penguins (Table 1). The BMP-AP aimed to halt the decline
of the African penguin population in South Africa within two years of its implementation and after
that to achieve a population growth that would result in a down-listing of the species in terms of its
IUCN Red List status. It failed in these ambitious objectives, with South Africa's penguin population
falling by 30% between 2013 (~19 000 pairs) and 2019 (~13 200 pairs). An updated BMP-AP was
gazetted for comment in November 2019, and the final version of the second BMP is in review. The
validity period of five years to implement the BMP was challenging because it did not speak to the
biological needs of the species, nor provide African penguins with sufficient time to respond to
conservation actions.
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However, the BMP-AP achieved many of its subsidiary goals and implemented several management
actions (DFFE in prep.). Some of these are listed in Table 1, with additional detail as follows:
(i) Improved cooperative management: establishment and implementation through interagency

working groups which include DFFE, management authorities, conservation agencies, museums and
zoos, NGOs, and research institutions. Examples include co-management of the Simon's Town penguin
colony by SANParks and the City of Cape Town, and the management of the Stony Point penguin
colony by CapeNature.
(ii) Population reinforcement: rescuing, rehabilitating and returning to the wild oiled and injured adult
birds and abandoned chicks; chick and egg bolstering via hand-rearing and release; increased
monitoring of demographic parameters through the deployment of passive integrated transponders;
monitoring of mortality on beaches; guidelines to assess chick condition; and investigating and taking
steps to initiate a colony for African penguins at De Hoop Nature Reserve, which is close to present
distributions of the primary forage resources of the species and where penguins nested in the early
2000s.
(iii) Improved breeding habitat management: testing the suitability of artificial nest designs that
decrease losses of eggs and chicks to aerial predators and inclement weather, e.g. heat stress;
improved predator management guidelines to reduce the losses to predation; storm and severe-
weather readiness interventions to temporarily move penguins at risk to areas of safety; implementing
measures to monitor and curtail the spread of pathogenic viruses through the disease-surveillance
programme; ensuring preparedness to cope with oil spills.
(iv) Improved management of the captive population : development of a studbook, including DNA and
BioBanking, National Norms and Standards relating to Seabird Rehabilitation in South Africa in terms
of NEMBA (Act 10 of 2004); translocation guidelines for African penguins that conform to IUCN
criteria; and determining the genetic suitability of captive-born offspring for release to bolster
diminishing colonies.
13
Table 1: A subset of relevant threats to wild African penguins and their colonies identified in the 1st African penguin BMP with the objectives, some actions and progress made
in addressing those threats, as well as relevant publications. (Legislative, research, education, and rehabilitation objectives are excluded.) Adapted from the Final Implementation
Report for the African penguin Spheniscus demersus Biodiversity Management Plan (DFFE in prep). Note: not all threats, objectives, actions and progress described in that
document are reported below. Green font= actions achieved; orange font= partially achieved/ongoing; red font= not achieved
Threat: Fish and fishing

Objectives: Ensure adequate prey for penguins:
Actions Progress Published research
• Attempt to ensure adequate prey for penguins: Island Closure Experiment (this report); monitoring Crawford and Dyer 1995 Crawford 1998; Crawford et al.
a) In areas close to their breeding localities and was intensified at various colonies at start of 2006,2007a, 2007b,2007c, 2008a,2008b,2011,2019;
b) during non-breeding periods of their life cycle experiment; research on movement and foraging Cury et. al. 2011; Sherley et al. 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018;
• Investigate and monitor the possible impact of fishing behaviour conducted; foraging areas identified; Cannan et al. 2016; Campbell et al. 2019; Pichegru et al.
near penguin colonies on the biology of African foraging depth identified; small-boat surveys 2009, 2010a; Robinson et al. 2015; Mclrines 2015;
penguins conducted; bi-annual acoustic surveys to determine Mcinnes and Pistorius 2019
• Undertake small-boat surveys to measure local penguin the biomass and distribution of pelagic fish have
prey abundance around selected localities throughout continued; a penguin population dynamics model
the year was developed and coupled to OMP-14 and OMP- Recent Scientific Working Group documents
• Continue monitoring long-term distribution and 18 MCM 2010; Dunn et al. 2014, 2015, 2016; Coetzee et al.
abundance of pelagic fish 2016, 2019; DAFF 2016; de Moor 2018; Die et al. 2019;
• Investigate relationships between long-term Coetzee et al. 2020a, 2020b; DEFF 2020a; Haddon et al.
abundance and distribution of pelagic fish and catches 2020
thereof on African penguin numbers and develop
models and procedures to incorporate findings in
management of small pelagic fish stocks
• Investigate the possibility of implementing spatial
fishery management strategies that address spatial
mismatches between fish location and catches to the
benefit of the African penguin
Threat: Anthropogenic activities (poor breeding habitat and human disturbance)
Objectives: To improve breeding habitat for African penguins and reduce human disturbance in and adjacent to breeding colonies
• Evaluate the design and construction of artificial nests ■ Habitat Working Group established Shelton et al . 1984; Crawford et al . 1989; Sherley et al.
and implement identified changes • Artificial nests designed and implemented 2012; Pichegru 2013; Lei et al. 2014; Buckley et al.
• Develop and implement guidelines to minimise • Habitat restoration 2016; Pichegru et al. 2016; Espinaze et al. 2020
disturbance • Draft road disturbance guidelines in place
• Air restrictions
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• Investigate the possibility of placing permanent or • Investigated buffer zones Scientific Working Group documents
temporary exclusion/buffer zones around breeding ■ Chick bolstering Makhado et al. 2016; Waller et al. 2018
localities and develop guidelines (e.g. routing of boats • Implementation of a functional programme on
and ship traffic) rescuing, rearing and releasing chicks that are
• Investigate possible collaboration with fishing industry unlikely to survive
to provide pelagic fish for birds in care during large oil ■ Impact of seismic surveys on African penguins
spills and to feed rescued chicks determ ined
• (a) Appoint a Working Group to (b) formalise guidelines
for rescuing, rearing and releasing chicks that are
unlikely to survive without intervention and (c) advise
on the suitability of bolstering existing colonies and the
establishment of new colonies with orphaned and
possible captive-bred penguins
Threat: Catastrophic events
Objectives: To minimise the impact of catastrophic events on African penguins: oil spills, disease outbreaks and extreme weather
• Identify bunkering activities and management Randall and Bray 1983; Crawford et al. 1992, 2000;
• A National Oiled Wildlife Preparedness Plan,
processes impacting African penguins and advise Jones 1999; Whittington 1999, 2002; Grim et al. 2003;
SAMSA
appropriate authorities on mitigation interventions Parsons and Underhill 2005; Parsons et al. 2016;
■ National Oil Spill Contingency and Response Plan
• Identify reasonable measures to be taken to prevent Barham et al. 2007, 2008; Wolfaardt 2007; Wolfaardt et
has been drafted in line with international
pollutants, especially oil, entering the water and al. 2008; Horne et al. 2011; Naude 2014; Weller et al.
legislation including MARPOL
impacting African penguins and their habitat 2016; Espinaze et al. 2019
• Satellite radar imaging that detects oil at sea can
• Advise on zonation of shipping lanes, bunkering be made ava ilable
operations, and shipping activities to minimise the risk ■ African Penguin Disease Surveillance and
of oil spills and pollution from emissions near seabird Scientific Working Group documents
Diagnosis Programme Guidelines developed and
colonies Parsons 2015; Roberts 2018
implemented
• Assess the efficacy of the implementation of African
Penguin Disease Surveillance and Diagnosis Programme
• Ensure that provision is made for mitigating the effects
of extreme weather and other natural disasters on the
African penguin population
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Threat: Predation
Objectives: To reduce predation mortality of African penguins
Actions: Progress: Published research
• Develop and implement guidelines around the ■ The draft predator guidelines are currently in Crawford et al. 2001; David et al. 2003; Johnson et al.
management of natural predators in relation to African place 2006; Underhill et al. 2009; Makhado et al. 2009, 2013;
penguins (e.g. Cape fur seals and kelp gulls) ■ Protected area management plans in place Pichegru 2013; Weller et al. 2016
• Develop and implement a program for the control of ■ Implementation and monitoring of predator
introduced alien predators at colonies that have management at all African penguin colonies; Scientific Working Group documents
harmful impacts on African penguins quantifying predator impacts (kelp gulls) at some Makhado et al. 2018
• Develop and implement guidelines to prevent colonies; predator management workshop held
introduction of alien predators to islands w ith all management agencies; adaptive
• Develop monitoring and research guidelines and management intervention applied on most
programmes to evaluate the impact that any predation colonies (damage-causing seals and gulls are
has on the African penguin and the effectiveness of any euthanised, non-lethal interventions for land-
mitigation measures implemented based colonies [e.g. fences] and humane
euthanasia where needed)
■ Artificial nests in most colonies to protect from
predation
Threat: Research
Objectives: To coordinate, prioritise, and evaluate monitoring and research on African penguins
Actions Progress
Appoint a Working Group to achieve the objective. Seabird Technical Team formed
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A draft 2nd BMP-AP is currently being developed with a primary focus on the new and old actions that
were not fully achieved in the first BMP. That draft was circulated for public comment in November
2019 and feedback was received from a wide range of stakeholders, amongst them the Small Pelagics
Scientific Working Group (SWG-PEL). Key concerns with the draft 2nd BMP-AP listed by the SWG-PEL
included: (i) the need for a systematic review of the results from actions implemented as part of the
first BM P-AP; (ii) insufficient evidence that prey scarcity is by far the largest driver of the recent decline
in penguin numbers and the need for a quantitative assessment of the proportional contribution of
all drivers of the African penguin population decline in order to understand their relative importance
and develop appropriate plans to mitigate against them; (iii) insufficient evidence that precluding
fishing around penguin colonies during breeding and on feeding grounds during the pre- and post-
moult periods will result in an appreciable improvement in the availability of prey and hence also in
the conservation status of African penguins; and (iv) failure to acknowledge numerous reviews by
International Fisheries Stock Assessment Workshop panels of the Island Closure Experiment (see
below) and that "cessation of fishing around the islands by itself is unlikely to be sufficient for the
penguin population to recover" (Die et al. 2019). The draft 2nd BMP-AP is presently being revised
following consideration of these and other comments, and will be finalised in 2021.
An additional response to the reductions in numbers of African penguins at their major breeding
colonies around South Africa has been the development by the SWG-PEL of two processes to account
for the dependence of this species on small pelagic fishes as forage. The first is the development of a
penguin population dynamics model for use in conjunction with the small pelagic fish operational
management procedure (OMP; see 'Sustainability, socio-economics and ecosystem considerations'
section, below) so that the impact on penguins of predicted future pelagic fish biomass trajectories
under alternative harvest strategies can be evaluated (Robinson et al. 2015; de Moor 2018). The
second has been the experimental closure to purse-seine fishing around islands with key penguin
breeding colonies so as to investigate whether fishing near these islands impacts penguin population
growth rate negatively. This intervention was initiated more than a decade ago and required
substantial buy-in from the pelagic fishing industry, and is described in the 'Interactions between
African penguins and the small pelagic fishery' section, below).
4. Drivers of African penguin food availability and penguin-fish

interactions
4.1. Small pelagic fishes as forage of African penguins and other predators
African penguins depend largely on sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis encrasico/us for
food (Crawford 1998, 2007; Crawford et al. 2011, 2014; Sherley et al. 2013, Mcinnes and Pistorius
2019), although other small pelagic fishes such as round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi are also
consumed (Randall and Randall 1986) and at times juvenile horse mackerel Trachurus capensis are
important forage on the west coast (Campbell 2016). Chokka squid Loligo reynaudi have also been
identified as important prey of African penguins in Algoa Bay (Connan et al. 2016), with adult penguins
there targeting squid for self-provisioning whilst concurrently feeding their chicks small pelagics. In
Namibia, where the biomass of small pelagic fishes (in particular sardine, which historically dominated
this group) have been low for some decades (Roux et al. 2013), African penguins now feed heavily on
the abundant pelagic goby Sufflogobius bibartus (Ludynia et al. 2010). Gaby is prey of low nutritional
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quality as they have a low energy content, and Ludynia et al. (2010) suggest that prey quality rather
than prey abundance is more important in influencing population dynamics of African penguins off
Namibia. Seabird scientists, marine ecologists and fisheries scientists agree that African penguins are
specialist predators of sardine and anchovy, but that other prey can occasionally be important.
Unlike flying birds, African penguins must swim to find food, limiting their foraging range while
breeding (e.g. Pichegru et al. 2010a). Furthermore, when in the cold waters of the Benguela upwelling
system they require insulation against low temperatures and, to achieve this, replace their full
plumage annually, during which time they remain ashore for about three weeks without feeding
(Randall et al. 1986). To survive the fast, they need to fatten sufficiently before moulting and then
rapidly regain condition after growing their new feathers. Therefore, African penguins are especially
susceptible to food scarcity both during breeding and before and after moulting, activities which take
place year-round.
In addition to the African penguin, sardine and anchovy are also important forage for many other
predators, including fishes, sharks, marine mammals and other seabirds, the dynamics of some of
which are strongly dependent on small pelagic fish dynamics (e.g. geelbek and sardine; see Parker et
al. 2020). In particular, congruence has been shown between trends in prey abundance and the
population sizes of African penguins and two other endangered seabird species, Cape gannet Morus
capensis and Cape cormorant Pha/acrocorax capensis, that are endemic to the Benguela ecosystem,
and that feed primarily on anchovy and sardine {Crawford and Shelton 1978; Crawford 2007; Crawford
et al. 2007a, 2007b, 2011, 2019).
Whereas there is general agreement that food abundance/scarcity is an important driver of African
penguin population dynamics, there is disagreement on the relative importance of this driver
compared to other drivers. Seabird scientists and marine ecologists suggest this as a primary driver,
while fisheries scientists suggest a lower relative importance.
4.2. Status of South African sardine and anchovy stocks

Anchovy and sardine off South Africa have both shown marked changes in recruitment and population
size over the period 1984-2020, during which scientific surveys have been used to estimate these
metrics (Figure 2). Before the turn of the century, anchovy biomass varied between 0.2 and 2 million
tonnes (Mt), with occasional marked interannual variations due to recruitment variability. Sardine
biomass was mostly <1 Mt, and recruitment variability did not translate into biomass variability (as
seen for anchovy) because the contribution to biomass of incoming recruits was dampened by several
age classes (as opposed to fewer age classes in anchovy). A 'pelagic boom' occurred in the early 2000s,
with anchovy biomass recorded between 2 and 4 Mt for the next decade and sardine biomass >2 Mt
from 2000 to 2004. The biomasses of both species declined thereafter. Anchovy recruitment and
biomass mostly declined gradually, albeit with some large interannual variability, and was most
recently (end 2020) estimated at 2.6 Mt. Sardine biomass declined rapidly to levels similar to those
before the boom, and with the exception of a single year {2010) recruitment has been low for the past
17 years and the population was most recently (end 2020) in a depleted state at around 0.3 Mt.
Recent research has provided convincing evidence for two sardine components (or stocks), one off
the west and one off the south coast, which mix to a degree and which are both harvested by South
Africa's small pelagic fishery (van der Lingen et al. 2015; Sakamoto et al. 2020). A two-mixing-stock
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18
assessment model for sardine has been developed (de Moor et al. 2017), which is used for
management (see 'Sustainability, socio-economics and ecosystem considerations' section, below) and
which indicates that the western component is appreciably more productive (in terms of the numbers
of recruits produced per unit spawner biomass) than the southern component.
South African sardine is not the only population of this globally-distributed genus (Sardinops) that is
presently at low abundance. Recent catches of Sardinops spp. in the four regions where it supports or
supported industrial-scale fisheries (the Benguela, California and Humboldt Current upwelling
ecosystems and off the coasts of Japan) have been low, with catches since 2015 <20% of maximum
recorded catches over the past 70 years in all regions (FAO Global Capture Production 1950-2018).
The fishery for Pacific sardine Sardinops sagax along the west coast of the USA has been closed since
2015 because of low population size (Kuriyama et al. 2020), and the Namibian fishery for this species
was closed in 2018 (P Kainge, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Namibia, pers. comm.) for
the same reason and has remained closed since.
900 Anchovy . 8000 70 Sardine .. 4500
ic;:: (a) 2 (b)
0
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800
r'
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-
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iii
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11 : ~
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a: 100 000 Ii, 10 - soc~
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• Anchovy total biomass - Anchovy recruitment • sardine total biomass - Sardine recruitment
Figure 2: Time-series of acoustically-estimated anchovy (a) sardine (b) recruitment strength (lines) and
total biomass (histograms) off South Africa, 1984-2020
4.3. Population fluctuations and drivers of South African sardine and anchovy
Small pelagic fishes such as anchovy and sardine are typified by 'boom and bust' population dynamics
arising from inherent variability in their recruitment strength and their short life-spans (Katara 2014;
Peck et al. 2021), with studies on fossil scales of these fish preserved in ocean sediments showing that
these fluctuations occurred before the advent of industrial-scale fishing and over inter-annual,
decadal, multi-decadal and millennial time-scales (Alheit et al. 2009; Field et al. 2009; Peck et al. 2021
and references therein). The likely causes of these natural fluctuations in the population sizes of small
pelagic fishes are environmental drivers that act from the bottom up either directly by physical forcing
(such as temperature, upwelling, etc.) or indirectly through the food web (via changes in their prey
compositions), top-down processes such as predation, or through a combination of these. Present-
day variations in population sizes of small pelagic fishes are therefore a combined outcome of
interacting drivers of fishing and the environmental drivers mentioned above (Checkley et al. 2009;
Peck et al. 2021),
4.3.1. Environmental drivers

Because the South African anchovy fishery harvests mainly recruits, several studies have examined
drivers of recruitment variability in this species (e.g. Hutchings et al. 1998), with the most recent of
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19
these documenting strong, positive correlations between winds that drive upwelling and recruitment
strength, as well as a positive effect of anchovy spawner biomass on recruitment (van der Sleen et al.
2018). Less attention has been given to sardine and important drivers of sardine recruitment have yet
to be identified, although studies are currently underway investigating correlations between
environmental time-series data (e.g. sea surface temperature [SST] and wind/upwelling) and
recruitment strength. However, the anomalous and spatially and temporally extensive harmful algal
blooms (HABs) that have occurred off the South African south coast over the past decade (Pitcher et
al. 2014; Smith and Bernard 2020) may have negatively impacted sardine recruitment. This is because
sardine (but not anchovy or round herring) within the HAB area were in substantially reduced
condition (i.e. lower weight-at-length and a lower index of energetic reserves and also of nutritional
quality as prey) compared to those not in the bloom area (van der Lingen et al. 2016). Given the
importance of energetic reserves to subsequent reproduction for sardine (Ganias 2009), fish in
reduced condition were considered unlikely to spawn in the near future (van der Lingen et al. 2016).
4.3.2. Predation
Predation mortality is often the largest contributor to the natural mortality of forage fish (Tyrrell et al.
2011; Engelhard et al. 2014; McClatchie et al. 2018; Shannon et al. 2020). Predation pressure is
typically variable, depending on the number of predators and biomass available to prey on (Tyrrell et
al. 2011), and may increase at low prey population sizes (Saraux et al. 2021). Given the dependence
on forage fish and preference in many cases for sardine and anchovy, predation pressure on sardine
is currently presumed to be high, with estimates from the most recent sardine stock assessment
models suggesting a higher natural mortality since about 2003-2005 (1.05 to 1.45 year-1) compared
to earlier years (0.85 to 1.0 year- 1; de Moor 2020a). No long-term trend has been observed in the
estimates of anchovy natural mortality, though they are highly variable, fluctuating about a value of
1.2 year-1, from a minimum of 1.0 to a maximum of 1.6 (de Moor 2020b). For both species, estimates
of the amounts consumed by predators far exceed the quantities taken by the fishery (Figure 3); on
average the commercial catch of anchovy over the last six years has been 7% of the amount lost to
natural predation (de Moor 2016, 2020c; Bergh 2020a). This is not unexpected as these species are
key forage species in the Benguela ecosystem. This is the case for both the west and south sardine
components too (Figure 3), where the ratio of total sardine catch to estimated consumption by
predators has generally been low (<0.2), apart from the years immediately following the peak sardine
biomass on the west coast, which coincided with exceptionally high mortality of adult African penguins
there.
A simulation study, based on the Atlantis modelling framework to evaluate the effects of climate
change and fishing on South African marine species, found that releasing predation pressure (as a
result of fishing-induced reductions of piscivorous fish) on forage fish outweighed the direct impacts
of fishing on these species (Ortega-Cisneros et al. 2018). This study also noted forage species
experienced marked biomass reductions under warming despite the simultaneous decrease in
predators. Results are consistent with earlier work (Shannon et al. 2004a, 2004b; Travers-Trolet et al.
2014) which found that environmental effects affecting recruitment, and predation, rather than
fishing, were the primary drivers of changes in anchovy and sardine biomass. In this regard the authors
of the 'Little Fish - Big Impact' study (Pikitch et al. 2012) state the following: "Acknowledging that M
[natural mortality] is variable (and scaled to predator abundances) - and considering it in estimating
fishing mortality and stock biomass targets and thresholds - provides the basis for a precautionary,
459
20
ecosystem-based approach to maintain adequate forage fish biomasses." The sensitivity of stock
assessment models and OMP performance to estimates of natural mortality is evaluated during the
development of OMPs for anchovy and sardine in South Africa.
16000
Anchovy 0.6
c 14000 - Total Catch
0.5 C
~
~
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:, -;::;-10000
-
-
consumption by predator
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Year
West sardine component South sardine component
2500 0.6 2500 0.6
I 2000
Total Catch
Consumption by predators
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.!!
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Year Year
Figure 3: Time-series of model-estimated annual consumption by predators (red histograms), annual

total catches (blue histograms) of anchovy (top) and sardine (directed- and bycatch combined and
shown separately for the western and southern components), and the ratio of total catch to estimated
consumption by predators (green line) for each (from de Moor 2016)
4.3.3. Fishing
Population-assessment models of anchovy and sardine used for management indicate that fishing has
a relatively small impact in relation to predation (as described above), and also that fishing has a
relatively small impact in relation to recruitment variability in driving the population dynamics of these
species (Hilborn et al. 2017). There is strong evidence that recruitment of Pacific sardine is largely
independent of fishing pressure (Punt et al. 2016), and this is particularly important for the South
African anchovy fishery where the bulk (>70%) of the catch consists of recruit fish of <1 year old.
Simulated population trajectories with and without fishing (the so-called dynamic biomass reference
point or Bo) indicate that, since 2000, the biomasses of both anchovy and sardine have been 70-80%
of what they would have been without fishing (Figure 4). The Marine Stewardship Council
recommendation for a target reference point for low trophic level stocks such as anchovy and sardine
is 0.75 of Bo (MSC 2018). More information on the impact of fishing and exploitation rates is contained
in the 'Sustainability, socio-economics and ecosystem considerations' section.
460
21
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0 t::::1==~=---_J__ _j__ _L_ __L_ _J___J
1.0
:;::- 10
C:
0
= 8
1
:ll 6
~
.Q 4
CXl
]i 2
~
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Figure 4: Time-series of modelled biomass WITH (solid blue lines) and WITHOUT (dashed red lines; the
so-called dynamic Bo trajectory) fishing for western and southern sardine stocks (upper panel) and
anchovy (left plot in lower panel); and the ratio of the two indicating the proportion of the population
remaining after fishing for western and southern sardine stocks (middle panel) and anchovy (right plot
in lower panel). From de Moor (2020c; sardine) and Bergh (2020a; anchovy}.
4.4. Changed distributions and drivers of South African sardine and anchovy
Composite distribution maps of anchovy and sardine densities observed during annual biomass
surveys (conducted in spring/early summer) for the period 2011-2019 are shown in Figure 5. At that
time of the year the anchovy population (comprising mostly spawning adults as this species matures
at around 1 year old) is distributed over the entire continental shelf between Cape Columbine and
Port Alfred. Highest anchovy densities are observed on the entire western Agulhas Bank between Cape
Point and Cape Agulhas, along inshore and shelf-edge regions east of Cape Agulhas, and in Algoa Bay
(Figure Sa). Sardine (both juvenile and adult) are found in dispersed clusters on the western Agulhas
Bank, and on the central and eastern Agulhas Bank between Mossel Bay and Port Alfred (Figure Sb).
Anchovy recruits are found predominantly off the west coast, particularly in St Helena Bay, during
autumn and winter, whereas sardine recruits are observed off both the west and south coasts at that
time (not shown).
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22
November2011-2019
Anchovy density (g.m-2) African Penguin (breeding pairs P)
[ ' ] >1.0 • 0
■ >25.0 0 0.14
■ >100.0 O a.27
33° !Ill Purse-seine fishing prohibited
Q Proposed closures
34°
35°
36°
November 2011 - 2019

Sardine density (g.m-2) African Penguin (breeding pairs P)
>1.0 • 0
■ >25.0 0 0.14
■ >100.0 O o.27
33° ~ Purse-seine fishing prohibited
Q Proposed closures
34°
35°
36°
18° 19° 20° 21° 22° 23° 24° 2s· 26°
Figure 5: Composite distribution maps of (a) anchovy and (b) sardine density as observed during
pelagic biomass surveys conducted in spring/summer, 2011-2019. The locations of African penguin
breeding colonies in South Africa are shown as red circles with white centres, and the circles are scaled
so as to represent the proportional contribution to the total SA penguin population (in 2019) made by
that colony. Abbreviations: SHB-St Helena Bay, CC-Cape Columbine, CP-CapePoint, CA- Cape Agulhas,
MB-Mossel Bay, AB- Algoa Bay, PA-Port Alfred .
Changing distributions as a response to climate change have been predicted for many marine species
including small pelagic fishes (Freon et al. 2009), and many anchovy and sardine species and stocks
have shown or are predicted to show poleward shifts in their distributions (Liu et al. 2020; Peck et al.
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23
2021). Changed distributions of anchovy and sardine off South Africa have been observed over the
past few decades, with both species showing changes in their relative distributions (i.e. percentage of
total biomass off the west and south coasts). Anchovy adults showed an abrupt shift from being
located predominantly (>50% of observed biomass) to the west of Cape Agulhas (WoCA) from 1984
to 1995 to being located predominantly east of Cape Agulhas (EoCA) in 1996, and this shift has mostly
persisted since (Figure 6). Roy et al. (2007) hypothesised that the shift was environmentally mediated
because of coastal cooling EoCA in 1996 and a significant positive correlation between the cross-shelf
sea surface temperature (SST) gradient and the percentage of anchovy spawner biomass there over
the period 1984-2005. Updating this analysis to cover the period 1984-2011 supported that
hypothesis (Augustyn et al. 2018a).
(a)Anchovy
East of Agulhas ■ West ~f Agulhas
75%
50%
gJ 25%
~
0
iii
...,
~ (b)Sardine
~ ■ East of Aguthas ■ West of Agulhas
LL.
0
~
75%
50%
25%
Figure 6: Time-series of relative distributions(% west of Cape Agulhas and% east of Cape Agulhas) of
anchovy and sardine observed during annual total biomass surveys, 1984-2020
Sardine have also shown an eastward shift in their relative distribution (Figure 6), but that occurred
more gradually than was observed for anchovy and was at its maximum (93% of sardine biomass EoCA)
in 2005 before reversing to variable but mostly higher values thereafter. In 2020, 79% of the total
sardine biomass was estimated to be EoCA. Whereas the cross-shelf SST gradient EoCA and the
percentage of sardine biomass there for the period 1984-2011 were significantly correlated (Augustyn
et al. 2018a), the relationship was weaker than that for anchovy. The changed sardine relative
distribution may also have been driven by fishing pressure which has historically been higher for
sardine off the west compared to the south coasts due to the greater processing infrastructure on the
former (Coetzee et al. 2008; Augustyn et al. 2018b). The shift in relative biomass of adult anchovy had
little impact on the small pelagic fishery because it targets primarily juvenile anchovy off the west
coast (see below), whereas the sardine shift had substantial impacts, in particular during the peak
sardine biomass years of the early-2000s. The average position of directed sardine catches showed a
463
24
progressive eastward movement from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, with >50% of the total
directed sardine catch being taken off the south coast in 2005 and much of that having to be trucked
to the processing facilities on the west coast, which increased transport costs (Augustyn et al. 2018a).
4.5. Small pelagic fish abundance and availability to penguins

Seabird scientists and marine ecologists argue that the main reason for the continuing decrease of
African penguins in South Africa is food scarcity (e.g. Robinson et al. 2015; Crawford et al. 2018, 2019).
However, a meta-analysis that used prey-linked population models of 32 marine predator species
(including 9 seabirds) to measure the influence of forage fish abundance on their population growth
rates found that prey abundance rarely impacted predator productivity, even in species with a high
dependence on forage fish (Free et al. 2021). That said, those authors also note that, in the context of
seabirds, which are limited in their foraging range during breeding periods, there seems to be support
for restricting fishing around such breeding colonies to increase prey availability and that this is
deemed more effective than population-wide precautionary management, because local abundance
is not necessarily correlated with total abundance (Kuhn et al. 2014).
Seabird scientists and marine ecologists maintain that overfishing (especially in Namibia) and a shift
in the geographic distribution of the two main prey species (sardine and anchovy) (especially in South
Africa) that led to a mismatch in the location of prey in relation to penguin breeding locations, are
considered key factors in the decline of African penguin numbers at regional scales in recent decades
{Crawford 1998; Crawford et al. 2001, 2008a, b; Durant et al. 2010, Sherley et al. 2020a). Dispersing
juvenile penguins from the west and southwest coasts tend to migrate to the northern Benguela
ecosystem i.e. north of the Luderitz upwelling cell, following intrinsic cues to historically high prey
abundances {Sherley et al. 2017). However, doing so induces a high mortality due to a lack of prey
because fishing and environmental effects have degraded fish stocks there, and the resultant
population-level impact offers the first evidence that forage fish depletion can drive marine ecological
traps {Sherley et al. 2017). Seabird and fisheries scientists and marine ecologists agree that the decline
in sardine abundance off Namibia and the South African west coast has likely been an important driver
of reduced African penguin numbers there, and that other factors (e.g. predation, inadequate
breeding habitat, and anthropogenic factors such as oil spills and disturbance related to the Coega
harbour development in Algoa Bay (see Crawford et al. 2009 for the last)) may have been or be
important drivers of the continuing observed penguin declines regionally or locally around South
Africa (see examples in Table 2). However, fisheries scientists argue that there are not strong
relationships between forage fish abundance and African penguin population size, particularly on the
south coast.
The recent changes in anchovy and sardine biomass levels and distribution patterns (using data
collected during annual surveys over the period 1984-2020) off South Africa, as well as an indicator
(number of breeding pairs) of the South African penguin population status over the period 1979-
2019/20, are synthesised in Figure 7. The normalised (as a proportion of the observed maximum)
biomass of anchovy and sardine separately (and the two combined) observed off the west and south
coasts (and off both coasts combined) are shown, together with average levels for the first (1984-
1995) and last {2009-2020) 12-year portions (one third) of the 37-year fish time-series. Similarly, the
normalised number of African penguin breeding pairs (extracted from Sherley et al. 2020a) off the
west and south coasts (and off both coasts combined) is shown. The biomass of sardine off the west
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25
coast has been very low during the past few years and the average sardine biomass during the last½
of the time-series has decreased by 29% compared to the average during the first½. Anchovy biomass
off the west coast has remained similar between the first and last½ of the time-series, with the latter
being only 1% higher than the former. The shift in relative distribution of anchovy has resulted in a
substantially increased (by 166%) biomass off the south coast during the last ½ of the time-series
compared to the first½, and sardine biomass off the south coast has similarly increased by 131%.
Table 2: A summary of the estimated annual percent change in population growth rate of African
penguins (at the specified location) attributed to various threats or actions. Modified from Sherley et
al. 2020b.
Penguin
Percent change Location of
Threat/ Action demographic References
in growth rate study
parameter affected
Food abundance/
availability
Adult survival Robben Island Robinson et al. 2015
• with fishing 8% reduction
• without fishing 6.1% reduction
Food abundance/
6% reduction Juvenile survival Western Cape Sherley et al. 2017
availability
Chronic oiling 1.3% reduction Reproductive output Dassen Island Weller et al. 2014
A
Catastrophic oiling 2% reduction Adult mortality Dassen Island Weller et al. 2014
Seal predation 2.7% reduction Adult mortality Dyer Island Weller et al. 2016
Gull predation 0.2% reduction Breeding success Dyer Island Weller et al. 2016
Halifax Island
Disease outbreaks• 3.2% reduction Adult mortality OIE 2019
(Namibia)
Fishery closure* 3.1% increase Adult survival Robben Island Robinson et al. 2015
Artificial nests 1% increase Fledging success South Africa Sherley et al. 2012
Chick and juvenile Robben and
Island closuret ~1% increase Sherley et al. 2018
survival Dassen islands
~This study considered the relative change in sardine biomass before and after 1984-1998 and 1999-2012
* This study considered the closure of the sardine fishery west of Cape Agulhas under 1999-2012 distributions
tThis study considered the closure to fishing around island colonies
• These threats do not act on the population continuously
Overall, the combined abundance of anchovy and sardine off the South African coast has been higher
by almost 50%, on average, during the last 12 years than during the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, yet
fisheries scientists point out that the African penguin population has declined substantially between
those two periods on both coasts, although the rate of decline did decrease somewhat. Therefore,
fisheries scientists maintain that this lack of coherence between prey (anchovy and sardine) and
predator (African penguin) abundance trajectories strongly suggests that there are significant drivers
impacting African penguin population dynamics other than prey abundance. Whereas there has been
a large body of published research that highlights the strong influence of food abundance on seabirds
in the Benguela ecosystem {Crawford et al. 2011), seabird scientists and marine ecologists maintain
that comparing the overall sardine and anchovy biomass to African penguin population trends does
not take into account the importance of localised availability of those prey to African penguins near
their colonies, as they are constrained by swimming distance especially during their breeding season
{Pichegru et al. 2009, 2010a).
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26
ANCHOVY SARDINE ANCHOVY & SARDINE
w 0.25
N
en
z
0
~
:::)
0.75
a.
0
a.
0
UJ
(/) 0.25
:::;
~
a:
0 J:
z I-
0.75 ::)
0 I-
(/) (/)
0.50 c15(3
~u
0.25 UJ
~
YEAR
Figure 7: Time-series of annual normalised (as a proportion of observed maximum) biomass
(histograms) of anchovy and sardine off the South African west coast (i.e. west of Cape Agulhas
[WoCA]), south coast (i.e. east of Cape Agulhas [EoCA]), and both coasts combined, observed during
annual total pelagic biomass surveys, 1984-2020 (DFFE 2020; the dashed lines show average levels
during the first and last 12-year periods of the time-series); and annual normalised (as a proportion of
observed maximum) number of African penguin breeding pairs off the west, south and both coasts
combined as observed from annual censuses, 1979-2019 (from Sherley et al. 2020a).
Crawford et al. (2019) developed a 'food availability index' (FAI) for seabirds off South Africa's west
coast based on an analysis of temporal variability in the diet of Cape gannet Morus capensis (another
seabird with a high dependency on sardine and anchovy) that was positively related to annual
numbers of Cape gannet and Cape cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis breeders and to annual
estimates of survival of adult penguins at their two largest colonies off the west coast. Those authors
reported a change in the relationship between the FAI and the combined biomass of anchovy and
sardine WoCA over the period 1984 to 2015, with results indicating high food availability up to 1999
but an abrupt switch to low availability from 2000 onwards, leading them to suggest that it is not
overall abundance of forage that impacts African penguin population dynamics but the local
availability thereof. Crawford et al. (2019) identified the small pelagic fish distribution shifts
(mentioned above), a movement of fish to a deeper position in the water column, or a combination
of the two as possible causes of the decrease in local prey availability. Those authors also noted that
the anchovy total allowable catch (TAC) had been under-caught since 2001 and that the extent of the
under-catch had increased in recent years, indicating a reduced availability to the small pelagic fishery
as well as to seabirds.
A comparison of annual FAI values with the proportion of the anchovy TAC caught for the period 1987-
2015 shows the two are significantly and positively correlated, suggesting that both were similarly
impacted. However the under-catch of the anchovy TAC has been attributed to a wide variety of
factors including reduced processing capacity in the light of increasingly stringent environmental
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27
regulations governing factory emissions and effluent discharge; severe winter weather and sea
conditions; disruptions caused by high bycatches of juvenile horse mackerel and sardine at times,
along with the industry's resultant attempts to minimise these by temporarily stopping fishing in such
areas; and factors relating to the profitability of the sardine fishery relative to that of the anchovy
fishery (DAFF 2016). Except in recent years the sardine TAC has seldom not been filled, and the
proportion of the TAC caught is not correlated with the FAI. It is worth noting that, despite the high
prey availability between the mid-1980s and 2000 indicated by Crawford et al. (2019), the African
penguin population continued to decline over that period, although the rate of decline did decrease
somewhat. This suggests that pressures other than food availability (and as distinct from prey
abundance) likely have significant impacts on the African penguin population in South Africa.
Additional studies highlight the influence of food availability and localised fishing activity on seabird
colonies elsewhere. In Scotland, black-legged kittiwakes Risso tridacty/a benefitted from the closure
of fishing around breeding colonies (e.g. Daunt et al. 2008). In Peru, fishing for Peruvian anchovy
Engraulis ringens close to a Peruvian booby Sula variegata colony increased the birds' foraging effort;
the more the fishery reduced the quantity of prey fish in the area, the farther the breeding seabirds
needed to forage from the colony to find food (Bertrand et al. 2012). Off the Antarctica Peninsula, the
performance of three species of Pygoscelis penguins was reduced when local harvest rates of Antarctic
krill Euphausia superba, on which they fed, were ~10% of the estimated biomass (Watters et al. 2020).
These and local studies have indicated that local availability of prey around seabird breeding colonies
is critical, which led to the Island Closure Experiment described below.
5. Effects on African penguin reproductive performance of fishery

closures around island breeding colonies
South Africa's small pelagic purse-seine fishery targets mainly sardine Sardinops sagax and anchovy
Engraulis encrasicolus. Sardine and anchovy represent what are known as forage fish, occupying a key
position in the marine food web where they are the link that transfers energy produced by plankton
to large-bodied predatory fish, seabirds (including African penguins, e.g. Crawford et al. 2011; Sherley
et al. 2013) and marine mammals (Smith et al. 2011). Because many animals and humans depend on
. forage fish, it is important to manage the fishery activities in a sustainable manner that considers and
accounts for their high degree of variability in population size and importance to the ecosystem
(Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries [EAF]; see 'Sustainability, ecosystem, and socio-economic
considerations' section).
Distributional shifts in the availability of forage fish resources and the inability of penguins to adapt to
large-scale changes in prey distribution resulted in a period of poor and declining adult survival and
variable juvenile survival {Sherley et al. 2014). The increased adult mortality of penguins at Robben
Island on the west coast was linked to a decrease in the biomass of sardine to the west of Cape
Agulhas, with mortality increasing markedly when that biomass dropped below a quarter of the
maximum observed (Robinson et al. 2015). At Dassen and Robben islands in the 2000s, large losses of
adult penguins during their pre-moult fattening period (Waller et al. 2019) suggested that these birds
died as a result of being unable to obtain enough food to attain a condition sufficient to undertake a
successful moult (Waller et al. 2019). Moreover, because no unusual mortality was observed ashore,
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28
and after accounting for at-sea predation by seals and losses to oiling, it was assumed that most other
mortality of the penguins resulted from food scarcity (Crawford et al. 2018). In addition, more than
60% of adult and 92% of juvenile African penguin mortalities of birds admitted to the Southern African
Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) between 2004 and 2012 were attributed
to starvation (Pichegru and Parsons 2014). Several other factors including oiling, predation by seals
and disease, however, may also have contributed significantly to adult and juvenile mortality
(Crawford et al. 2006).
In several instances, significant relationships have also been demonstrated between demographic,
condition, growth and foraging parameters of these seabirds and the abundance or availability of their
prey (summarised in Crawford et al. 2018, 2019). Given the fluctuating nature of small pelagic fish
stock biomasses, these have at times been below thresholds that have been suggested to be required
for African penguins in the west of South Africa to support sufficient reproduction and survival to
maintain their populations (Cury et al. 2011; Crawford et al. 2011, 2019; Robinson et al. 2015; Sherley
et al. 2017).
Furthermore, a system dynamics model (penguin pressure model) suggested that the penguin
population at Robben Island was strongly driven by food availability, both near the island and farther
afield, and would be improved by fishing closures (Weller et al. 2014). Those results suggested that a
20-year period of closure to fishing around Robben Island would result in an average 8% increase in
the size of the penguin population there, although variability about that average was large, with an_
appreciable number of estimates indicating a decrease in the original size of the penguin population
after 20 years of no fishing. The 2016 IFSAW panel (see below; Dunn et al. 2016) noted, however, that
the overall trend in penguin abundance indices was not adequately fitted by that model and
recommended that it not be used for tactical management advice for small pelagic fish. For the same
island, a different model by Robinson et al. (2015) projected a 3% increase in penguin numbers over
a 20-year closure period of a much larger area, compared to when fishing was allowed (the percentage
proportional change per year as a result of decreased mortality in the absence of fishing was -10%
compared to -7% when fishing was allowed).
Extension of the penguin pressure model to Dyer Island off the southwest coast (Weller et al. 2016)
suggested that t,he penguin population decline there was strongly influenced by the effects of
predation by Cape fur seal Arctocepha/us pusillus pusil/us and the emigration of immature birds. Those
authors concluded that at the current low population size, impacts from seal predation or immature
emigration were sufficient to mask any beneficial effects to penguins from possible improvements in
available food biomass (e.g. from fishery restrictions).
Following the observed increases in mortality from 2006 and subsequent further reduction in the
number of African penguins off South Africa, it became important to not only reduce mortality as far
as possible, but to also ensure that reproduction by penguins was sufficient to partially offset mortality
(Crawford et al. 2006). Long-term exclusion of purse-seine fishing around two key southern breeding
localities was recommended as a precautionary measure in 2006 (Crawford 2006). This intervention
was suggested because of the limited foraging range (2D-40 km) of African penguins during breeding
and the idea that shifts in the distribution of anchovy and sardine had placed much of the prey biomass
beyond this foraging range. Whereas first-time breeders are able to move to non-natal colonies
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29
(Whittington et al. 2005), established breeders of long-lived seabirds, including African penguins, are
also often faithful to mates and breeding colonies, and are therefore unlikely to relocate to more
favourable breeding locations when prey distributions change (Pichegru et al. 2010b). Furthermore,
previous analyses had found that the breeding success of African penguins and the proportion of birds
breeding were related to food abundance and availability {Crawford et al. 1999, 2006).
The response from the SWG-PEL to the appreciable reductions in numbers of penguins at the major
breeding colonies and the call for purse-seine fishing exclusion zones was to embark on two processes
to address the dependence of African penguins on forage fish:
i. Development of a penguin population model for use in conjunction with the small pelagic fish
operational management procedure (OMP) so that the impact on penguins of predicted
future pelagic fish trajectories under alternative harvest strategies can be evaluated
(Robinson et al. 2015; de Moor 2018).
ii. Initiation of experimental closure to purse-seine fishing around two pairs of islands with key
penguin breeding colonies to investigate whether fishing near these islands impacts penguin
population growth rate negatively.
The coupling of the penguin population model with the OMP is described in the 'Sustainability,
ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations' section, and the experimental closure to pelagic
fishing is detailed below.
5.1. Experimental closure to purse-seine fishing

Penguins may be especially sensitive to changes in pelagic fish abundance and distribution as a
consequence of their land-based breeding sites and their limited foraging range (20-30 km) during
breeding (e.g. Pichegru et al. 2012; Sherley et al. 2013; Crawford et al. 2019). For this reason, a study
to assess the effects of closure to purse-seine fishing around penguin breeding colonies was initiated
in 2008. This study comprised two parts: {i) a feasibility study during which purse-seine fishing was
prohibited around some island breeding colonies and data on penguins and small pelagic fish were
collected to determine whether an experiment would have adequate statistical power, within a
reasonable time-period, to detect a statistically significant effect (a so-called 'power analysis') of
closure, if such existed; and (ii) an Island Closure Experiment, during which sufficient data were to be
collected to enable rigorous scientific evaluation of whether closures are beneficial to penguin
breeding success.
Data collected and models used to analyse those have been extensively debated and regularly
reviewed by panels (international review panels [IRPs]) of international fisheries and ecosystem
scientists at annual IFSAWs.
Several peer-reviewed scientific publications reported benefits of closure to fishing for penguins early
on (Pichegru et al. 2010a, 2012; Sherley et al. 2015), despite caution from the IRPs against drawing
premature conclusions about the benefit of island closures because of insufficient power in the data
to draw such conclusions. More-recent studies (e.g. Sherley et al. 2018, 2019; Sherley 2020a, b)
continue to affirm biologically meaningful effects of those closures to fishing around African penguin
breeding colonies even though the experiment was not well-matched to the biology of the birds (see
below). Nonetheless, these positive benefits of short-term closures were insufficient to reverse the
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30
rate of decline, with IRPs reiterating that cessation of fishing around the islands by itself is unlikely to
be sufficient for the penguin population to recover and that several simultaneous conservation
interventions will be needed (Dunn et al. 2014, 2016). Such interventions are discussed later. By 2019
the IRP confirmed that the available scientific information was now sufficient for making management
decisions but encouraged further analysis to investigate some of the remaining uncertainties.
This body of evidence, together with other peer-reviewed publications and a recent recommendation
of the African Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement-Benguela Current Convention (AEWA-BCC)
Benguela Current Forage Fish (BCFF) Workshop, as well as the ongoing rate of decline in numbers of
African penguins and other seabirds, prompted SAN Parks and the TP-SWG (B: O&C) to recommend
immediate implementation of long-term closures around the six largest African penguin breeding
colonies (see, for example, Makhado et al. 2020a, 2020b). Some of the findings of those publications
have, however, been disputed by the SWG-PEL, which pointed out several issues regarding the results
(see 'Remaining uncertainty' below). Given the need to base management decisions on robust
scientific results, and the fact that island closures incur an economic cost to the fishing industry (see
'Sustainability, ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations' section), the SWG-PEL has continued
implementing short-term closures on a rotational basis while analyses are refined and sufficient
information is collected to reduce uncertainty. A detailed description of the feasibility study and the
Island Closure Experiment is given below.
5.1.1. Feasibility study

In 2007, the SWG-PEL recommended that a two-year feasibility study be conducted to assist the design
of an experiment which could have the potential to achieve adequate statistical power within a
realistic time-period to confirm the effects of closure (to purse-seine fishing in areas near to colonies)
on African penguins. The rationale for this approach was that it was not clear whether, and in
particular to what extent, suspension of purse-seine fishing in the vicinity of breeding colonies of
African penguins might impact penguin breeding performance. It was proposed that an experimental
programme of closures might allow this extent to be estimated reliably.
The feasibility study was initiated in 2008. An area around Dassen Island (Figure 8; a circle of 20 km
radius around the island) was closed to purse-seine fishing during 2008 and 2009, and an area around
St Croix Island (a circle of 20 km radius around the island in addition to a circle of 5 km radius around
the nearby Riy Banks) was closed to purse-seine fishing during 2009 and 2010.
Penguin monitoring was intensified, and data were collected on the numbers of breeding pairs and
moulters, adult survival, breeding success, chick condition, the foraging effort of adults and the diets
of adults feeding chicks. In addition, small-scale acoustic surveys using an inflatable vessel were
conducted to provide a direct estimate of the biomass of small pelagic fish available to penguins
around some of the islands. Those surveys were initially around Robben Island (six surveys were
conducted in 2009) but in later years were extended to around Dassen, St Croix and Bird Islands
(Coetzee et al. 2016). Fine-scale surveys were also conducted by non-governmental researchers
around St Croix and Bird islands from 2014 to 2018 (Mcinnes et al. 2017). The small-scale surveys were
subsequently abandoned at the end of 2018 given their relatively low precision, staff shortages and
lack of funding.
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31
33•
Dassen
Island
33• ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,
34•
Bird
Island
35• Addtitional closure proposed (20 km radius) 34"

II Purse-seine fishing prohibited (new MPA established 2018) St Croix
ffl Island Closure Experiment (20 km radius closed on rotational basis) Island
II Purse-seine fishing P.rohibited (MPA/Small J>E!lagic permit conditions)
18" 19" 25" 26' 27"
Figure 8: The location of the islands on the west coast (left) and south coast (right) of South Africa
around which purse-seine fishing was closed on an experimental basis. Circles indicate the extent of
the 20 km closure
Although a two-year period was initially intended for the feasibility study, that proved to be
insufficient time to allow experimental power to be estimated for all the penguin parameters
monitored, and analyses of the impacts of purse-seine fishing in the vicinities of breeding islands failed
to produce clear-cut results. Following deliberations of the SWG-PEL and inputs from the 2010 IRP
(Parma et al. 2010), it was agreed that the feasibility study be extended for an additional four years
(until the end of 2014). It was further recommended that alternation between islands open and closed
to fishing (where Robben and Bird islands were paired with Dassen and St Croix islands, respectively)
be implemented to optimise the outcome of the study. This decision took account of the sometimes-
conflicting study objectives of: (i) rapid alternation to maximise contrast in the data to enable more
precise estimation; (ii) a slower alternation to take account of possible autocorrelation in the penguin
indices being monitored; and (iii) the desirability to integrate the feasibility study into a possible future
experiment to lead to earlier answers. Seabird scientists, however, suggested longer-term (more than
four years) closures that would accord with the African penguins' ecology and life history. For example,
young African penguins wander widely for periods of up to six years before settling at localities to
breed. In contrast, breeders show strong fidelity to their mates and breeding colonies (e.g. Hockey et
al. 2005; Crawford et al. 2013). Hence, frequent alternation of short-term closures may mask
important effects on demographic parameters, including recruitment to colonies (Crawford 2010).
Whereas seabird scientists acknowledged the statistical merit of alternation, they also pointed out the
dissimilarity of paired island ecosystems, and that island-specific differences may create a large
amount of noise in the data and obscure closure effects (Pichegru et al. 2010c; Wanless and Moseley
2010).
By the end of 2014, two groups of analyses had emerged (Hagen et al. 2014; Robinson et al. 2014).
The first was by scientists on behalf of the SWG-PEL (i.e. UCT's Marine Resource Assessment and
Management Group [MARAM]), who focused primarily on the estimation of residual variance
471
32
(unexplained or error variance in a model) using annually aggregated results of the feasibility study in
a generalised linear-mixed effects model (GLMM) and estimated the impacts of catches on penguin
biological parameters. The second, led by independent seabird scientists but in collaboration with the
B: O&C, used individual penguin data (disaggregated data) and focused on the impact of closures on
penguin biological parameters.
Both groups reported inconsistent findings regarding the impact of closures or reduced catches on
penguin biological parameters within and between analyses. A plausible explanation offered by the
2014 IRP was that there may have been at least one unidentified factor which drives penguin dynamics
that had not been included in any of the models, but which was confounded with the closure periods.
That IRP also noted that statistically significant effects are not necessarily biologically important, and
made recommendations for estimating the relative magnitude of any such effects and how they
impact the penguin population. They further stated that cessation of fishing around the islands by
itself is unlikely to be sufficient for the penguin population to recover (Dunn et al. 2014). It should be
noted that in 2013, B: O&C (then a branch of DEA) gazetted the first African Penguin Biodiversity
Management Plan (BMP-AP), which attempted to manage all threats to African penguins.
By the end of 2014 both sets of analyses supported the notion that the feasibility study had been
successfully conducted (i.e. that the data collected for some of the variables were already sufficient
to detect a statistically significant effect or to indicate the number of additional years of data collection
that would be required to detect a statistically significant effect) and the IRP concurred (Dunn et al.
2014). The IRP recommended that a full-scale experiment be conducted by continuing the programme
of closures that had been implemented during the feasibility study, and set clear guidelines for refining
the power analysis to include new information.
5.1.2. Island Closure Experiment

The experiment has since continued (Table 3) and analyses in respect thereof have been subjected to
periodic review by several IRPs. The following summarises the outcomes of those reviews and the
steps taken by both groups to further the analyses of the experiment. A timeline describing major
events and decisions during the island closure feasibility study and experiment is shown in Figure 9.
Table 3: Schedule of closures around islands with African penguin breeding colonies (x = closed; for
2021, seasonal closures have been introduced whereby Dassen Island is closed in the first and fourth
quarters [x- -x] and St Croix Island is closed in the second and third quarters [-xx-])
Island 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Feasibility study Island Closure Experiment
Dassen X X X X X X x--x
Robben X X X X X X
St Croix X X X X X X -xx-
Bird X X X X X X
A technical task team, comprising members from each of the two groups of analysts and reporting to
the SWG-PEL, was formed in 2015 to implement the 2014 IRP recommendations. By August 2015 that
task team presented an agreed set of specifications to the SWG-PEL for operating models to evaluate
the various biases in methods of estimation of the effect of closure (Penguin Island Closure Task Team
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33
2015a). Having conducted that evaluation, consolidated analyses (Penguin Island Closure Task Team
2015b) were presented for review at the 2015 IFSAW. That IRP provided revised specifications for the
power analyses, focusing on the key considerations likely to impact the power to detect biologically
meaningful impacts caused by the fishery (Dunn et al. 2015). It also identified a reference set of
specifications for the operating model and estimation methods that should form the basis for final
conclusions.
Based on a Robben Island penguin population model (Robinson 2013), Robinson et al. (2014) provided
a rationale for selecting a biologically meaningful fishing-effect size for a response variable that is
directly linked to penguin reproductive success. From this, the agreed fishing-effect threshold for a
biologically meaningful effect was chosen to be -0.1, equivalent to a 1% increase in the penguin
population growth rate in the absence of fishing. The 2015 IRP advised that similar quantitative
thresholds for the fishing-effect/closure-effect parameter should be selected for each response
variable. They further recommended that a response variable should not be considered further if
there is no objective way to determine a threshold for it because it may be unclear how to quantify
how changes in such a variable impacts biological processes and hence population growth rate. The
IRP also cautioned against premature attempts to draw conclusions on the effects of fishing near
islands and on the statistical power to detect such effects (Dunn et al. 2015).
In December 2016 the IRP reviewed further progress made by the Task Team in implementing their
2015 recommendations. The IRP noted that sufficient progress had been made so that it should be
possible to identify for which combinations of response variables and islands it is possible to conclude
there is a fishery effect, for which there is no fishery effect, and for which neither conclusion can, as
yet, be reached. They further noted that the power analysis should assist management to identify the
response variable and island combinations for which no conclusions could be drawn even given
continued collection of the data concerned over a further 20 years. In addition, the IRP developed an
algorithm for synthesising the results of the analyses conducted to date (Dunn et al. 2016).
34
Figure 9: Timeline describing major events, decisions etc. during the island closure feasibility study and experiment
...... SWG-PEL Response:

i) Develop penguin population model to use with small pelagic OMP
ii) Initiate experimental closure to investigate whether fishing near
colonies impacts penguin reproductive rate negatively
•
2008 2009
• •
2010
•
2011
•
2012
•
2013
•
2014
Feasibility Study (FS)
St Croix & SWG-PEL & IRP: Two groups of analyses

Dassen & Bird SWG-PEL (MARAM): estimation of residual variance using
Feasibility be extended for additional 4
Robben Island annually aggregated results in GLMM, estimating impacts of
years
Island start start catches on penguin biological parameters
Alternation between open & closed
Feasibility Feasibility Independent seabird scientists in collaboration with B: O&C:
islands be implemented to optimize
Study Study. individual penguin data (disaggregated data), focussing on
study outcome
Small impact of closures on penguin biological parameters
Seabird biologists suggested longer(> 4
scale fish
surveys
year) closures that accord with African IRP:
penguin's ecology & life history Unidentified factor may be driving penguin dynamics
around
Some seabird biologists raised concern Statistically significant effects not necessarily biologically
Robben
on closure time frames & dissimilarity meaningful
Island
of paired island ecosystems Recommendations for estimating relative magnitude of
effects and how they impact the penguin population ~
Feasibility successfully conducted and full scale experiment -...J
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can be conducted, continuing the closures
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475
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At that time the IRP also reviewed additional analyses (Sherley (2016), later published after
modification as Sherley et al. [2018]) based on an alternative Bayesian framework rather than the
previously used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) framework and using disaggregated penguin
data in the GLMM structure as recommended by Dunn et al. (2015). The 2016 IRP noted that this
approach (i.e. the Bayesian framework) could form the basis for evaluating power but that it, too,
would be required to implement the steps as outlined for the power analyses by the 2015 IRP, and
made additional recommendations for improvement. The SWG-PEL agreed to continue the
experiment for a further three years (2017-2019), and to conduct comprehensive analyses of available
data by the end of 2019 with a view to making future longer-term recommendations at that time.
In 2019, two separate sets of analyses were again presented to the SWG-PEL and subsequently to the
IFSAW at the end of the year. The first set continued and updated the GLMM analyses for the south
coast islands (Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth 2019a, 2019b). The second set extended the Sherley et
al. (2018) Bayesian approach based on fits to responses for individual penguins (Sherley et al. 2019),
which seabird scientists supported and considered as evidence for the benefit of closure. However,
given criticism by members of the SWG-PEL (Butterworth 2016; Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth 2019c}
of the implementation of some aspects of the latter approach and hence also by implication the work
published by Sherley et al. (2018), the 2019 IRP was requested to provide advice on whether this
approach possibly produced negatively biased estimates of the standard error of the parameters and
whether adequate adjustment had been made for the non-independence of data. The IRP confirmed
that such approaches (i.e. Sherley et al. 2019) are capable of providing estimates of precision that are
negatively biased if covariates common to individuals are ignored (i.e. pseudo-replication) but that
random-effects models are used to account for such 'latent' covariates in designed experiments (Die
et al. 2019). They stated: "Given the nature of the experiment, use of individual data is to be preferred.
However, this is only the case if an appropriate random effects structure is chosen". Die et al. (2019)
also noted that it is a working hypothesis that including random effects chosen using model-selection
methods will appropriately account for the pseudo-replication in natural experiments such as this
closure experiment. They recommended that this should be explored further by constructing a
simulation experiment with multiple possible random effects and including testing of the model-
selection process and that the simulation study should also further examine the lack of balance (e.g.
effect sizes that match those in the data; sample sizes that match those in the data; appropriate error
variances, etc.) that could impact the performance of both approaches. The SWG-PEL, after
consideration of the review, agreed to continue the experiment in 2020 by maintaining the established
sequence of closures so that the 2019 IRP recommendations could be properly addressed through
updated and improved analyses before a long-term decision on island closures was taken. However,
biological data on the penguins could not be collected in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the course of 2020 both analyses were further extended (Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth 2020;
Sherley 2020a) to include updated information (although the extent of inclusion of recent in.formation
differed between the two sets of analyses, given the timing of some of the data becoming available
and other constraints on analysts' time). In this regard, it is important to note that there are still some
response variables included by one group but not by the other and differences in the length of the
time-series included in each analysis, in addition to the differences in model structure and the use of
aggregated vs disaggregated data between them.
476
37
Concerns were again raised during SWG-PEL discussions about the validity of both approaches (see
summarised comments and responses in DEFF 2020b, c, d). On the one side, some fisheries scientists
argued that updated results from the Bayesian approach showed that estimates of the precision of
effect size are not robust to decisions made about which factors to include in the random effects.
Hence the random-effects models used (e.g. Sherley et al. 2018) had failed to account adequately for
the effects of pseudo-replication, resulting in overestimation of the estimates of precision. Concern
was also raised about the validity of the methods used to estimate penguin survival estimates. On the
other side, proponents (i.e. seabird scientists and marine ecologists) of the disaggregated data
approach argued that the aggregated approach is hampered by a low number of degrees of freedom
and potential lack of statistical power, and therefore should not be considered for making
management decisions with respect to the effect of fishing closures on penguin reproductive success.
In December 2020 the IRP was requested to review both sets of analyses and to comment on their
appropriateness for informing management decisions. In addition, they were asked to comment on
the suitability of the penguin chick survival estimates for use as inputs to estimators of the island
closure effects. The 2020 IRP noted the lack of like-vs-like comparisons between the two sets of
analyses and suggested the use of common datasets and common model structures for some of the
response variables to determine the sensitivity of the results to the use of aggregated vs disaggregated
data (Haddon et al. 2020). They further advised that both approaches are suitable for informing
management decisions, provided that they are appropriately structured - failing which both
approaches can lead to biased estimates of closure effects and the standard errors of the estimates
of these effects (i.e. the precision with which effects are estimated). The IRP pointed out that there
are many differences between the implementations of the two approaches and that whereas some
are likely to be relatively inconsequential (e.g. Bayesian vs MLE), others, such as how data are
weighted, may be critical for both the estimated precision of the closure effect size and for the
estimated effect size, given that the datasets are unbalanced in terms of sample size. In this regard
they recommended that strata (e.g. year-island-month combinations) with more observations and/or
lower among-individual variation should be given more weight during model fitting.
The 2020 IRP also recommended that the model-selection process recommended by the 2019 IRP
should continue to be applied but a final test should also be conducted to determine if the variance
of the residuals is similar to the variance of the observations at the level of island/year/month (or the
strata that are retained in the model selected). Furthermore, they noted the need for careful
consideration of how the variance that is not attributable to closure, such as year and month effects,
i.s modelled. Concerning this issue, they pointed out that the current Bayesian approach (Figure 10)
does not in fact implement a nested hierarchical random effects structure, and recommended that
additional models with island nested within year be included in the model selection process as
previously recommended (Haddon et al. 2020). In respect of the survival estimates, the 2020 IRP
suggested that the existing analyses based on chick survival rate could be used when drawing
conclusions regarding the effects of fishing on penguin populations if decisions are required
immediately, but that additional work is necessary. Modified closures were recommended by the
SWG-PEL and have been implemented in 2021 whilst the further required analyses (see section on
'Remaining uncertainty') are being conducted.
477
38
a Dassen Robben St Croix Bird b Oassen Robben St Croix Bird

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Figure 10: Posterior distributions, means and 95% highest posterior density interval (HPDl)for (a) chick
body condition index and (b) the maximum distance travelled by foraging penguins at Dassen, Robben,
St Croix and Bird islands, and for (c) chick survival at Dassen and Robben islands for years when fishing
was permitted ('O') or not permitted ('C'). (d) Posterior distributions for the percentage difference
between 'Closed' years and 'Open' years for chick body condition, the maximum distance travelled
from the island by foraging penguins ('Max. Distance') and chick survival at Dassen, Robben, Bird and
St Croix islands. (e) Posterior distribution (polygon), median (dotted black line) and 95% HPDI (dashed
black lines) for the overall closure effect(%) based on combining the 10 individual posteriors in (d). In
(d) and (e), all samples yielding a positive% effect for penguins are shown in green and those yielding
a negative% effect are shown in red. From Sherley et al. (2019)
5.1.3. Summary of results

Analyses by Sherley et al. (2019) indicated that closures improved the index of chick body condition
at Dassen, Robben and Bird islands but not at St Croix Island (Figure 10a). Closures decreased the
maximum distance travelled by adults on foraging trips from St Croix Island but had no effect on this
parameter at the other three islands (Figure 10b). Closures improved chick survival, which directly
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impacts population trends, at both Robben and Dassen islands (Figure 10c), but this variable was not
studied at St Croix and Bird islands. In seven of the 10 possible pairwise comparisons there was a
benefit of closures for penguins, in two no effect was apparent and in one a negative effect was
observed (Figure 10d). When chick condition, chick survival, and maximum foraging distance from
islands where these data were collected were grouped into a single index, there was a clear positive
benefit for penguins of the closures (Figure l0e).
Using observed effect sizes and population-projection modelling, Sherley et al. {2018) estimated that
year-round closure to fishing at both Robben and Dassen islands would increase the penguin
population growth rate (lambda - il) at those islands by 0.64% (i.e. reduce the present rate of decline
by ~1%). Across the period of the experiment (2008-2019), which has seen effective year-round
closures at 50% of four of the six largest colonies (so essentially 50% of the effect modelled in Sherley
et al. 2018), il in the South African penguin population has improved (the decline has slowed) by
almost 2% (Sherley et al. 2020a). This is composed of the improvement of 0.64% off west South Africa
(where Robben and Dassen islands dominate population numbers), an improvement of 1% within
Algoa Bay (where St Croix and Bird islands dominate population numbers), all of which are areas where
closures were applied, as well as limited colony growth (an improvem·ent of 2.3% in A.) in the southwest
where no closures around Stony Point and Dyer Island were imposed {Sherley et al. 2020a). The extent
to which these improvements in the population trajectory are a consequence of fisheries closures,
increased biomass of small pelagic fish in those areas, other interventions such as the introduction of
artificial nests and removal of predatory gulls and seals, or a combination of these, has not yet been
quantified
Figure 11 provides a comparison of results (both point estimates and precision) from the two different
approaches, necessarily standardised given different model specifications, for each island included in
the experiment. A negative point estimate indicates a negative impact of fishing and a positive impact
of closure, whereas a positive point estimate indicates the opposite. The biologically meaningful
threshold of -0.1 is equivalent to a 1% per annum increase in the penguin population growth rate for
response variables that can be directly linked to penguin demographics, but see section on 'Remaining
uncertainty' with respect to the choice of biologically meaningful thresholds for some variables.
Details of the results are available in Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth {2019a, 2019b, 2020), de Moor
(2020a) and Sherley (2020a). In general, these do not suggest a clear and consistent negative impact
due to fishing (Bergh 2020b). Point estimates on either side of zero and/or the biologically meaningful
threshold are obtained and the confidence intervals are very broad and in most cases span both 0 (no
discernible effect of closure) and the threshold level.
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40
{a} Dassen -+- MARAM {b} Robben
I
-.- Sherley
0.5
0.0
I 0.5
0.0
-0.5 -0.5 I
~ ..L
m
E
~
G)
sm {c) St Croix (d} Bird

0
0.5 0.5
Response variable
Figure 11: Zeh plots of the closure effect estimates and rough 95% confidence intervals are shown for
the MARAM (aggregated data-based) and Sherley (individual data-based) models. The horizontal black
line marks zero, and the horizontal dashed line marks the biologically meaningful threshold of -0.1.
The values for the Sherley models have been derived from the last table of de Moor (2020) by use of
the following formula : li = ln(l - p/100) where the p values are those reported in that last table as
a simple approach to transform from normal to log-space to achieve improved comparability. The
confidence intervals have been converted in a similar manner, and a rough standard error may be
calculated as (max(Cl)-min(Cl))/4. Fl succ. = fledging success, Length = foraging path length, Duration
= forage trip duration, Max. length= Maximum foraging distance. Figure from Butterworth (2020).
A broad summary of the results for each island included in the Island Closure Experiment is given
below:
• Dassen Island: Both approaches suggest a biologically meaningful positive effect of closure on
chick survival only, though the 95% confidence intervals of the aggregated approach
(MARAM) are wider than those of the disaggregated approach (Sherley) and include positive
values, i.e. which indicate a negative impact of closure (Figure lla). There may be some
support for a positive impact of closure on chick condition based on the disaggregated
(Sherley) approach, but this effect was also not statistically different from zero. There are no
other conclusive effects of closure, and four of the seven response variables analysed by the
MARAM group suggested negative impacts of closure.
• Robben Island : The MARAM analyses of chick survival, chick condition and fledging success
provide some indication of a possible positive impact of closure on the penguin population
there, though this does not meet the -0.1 threshold for chick survival and in all cases the
confidence intervals include positive values (Figure llb). The remainder of the penguin
datasets give little indication of a biologically meaningful impact of closure. The Sherley
analysis indicates a positive impact of closure on chick survival and chick condition, although
only the chick-survival effect is conclusive.
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41
• St Croix Island: Both approaches provide evidence for a positive impact of closure on foraging
path length and maximum foraging distance, but not for chick condition for which the Sherley
result suggests a reverse (negative) impact of closure (Figure llc).
• Bird Island: A possible positive, though not conclusive, impact of closure was indicated for
forage trip duration by the MARAM analysis, but not for any of the other variables by either
analysis (Figure lld).
All scientists agree on the need for robust science and trade-offs between cost and benefits. Scientists
from B: O&C and SANParks maintain that the results to date from the Island Closure Experiment show
a positive effect of closure on African penguins which, since implementation, have slowed their rate
of population decline. They further add that, given: (i) the Endangered status of the African penguin;
(ii) ongoing population declines; (iii) extinctions of five out of 19 of South Africa's colonies; (iv) the
high likelihood of extinction of a further six colonies in the medium term; (v) increased Allee effects
as colony sizes decrease; and (vi) that key population and demographic parameters will continue to
be monitored at colonies around which closures will be implemented; together with (vii) the existing
body of literature showing the dependency of African penguins on small pelagic fish, necessitate that
substantive measures are taken to maintain South Africa's six largest African penguin colonies without
further delay. Thus they call for applying the precautionary approach to facilitate management
decisions,
However, the SWG-PEL has considered: (i) both sets of results, as well as the estimates of relatively
small positive effects of closure (see 'Summary of results' section, above); (ii) the remaining
uncertainty in both approaches (see 'Remaining uncertainty', below); (iii) other information pertaining
to the economic impact on the fishing industry of further island closures (see 'Sustainability,
ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations' section); and (iv) the seasonality of both fishing and
penguin reproduction. Following these considerations, the SWG-PEL has recommended the
implementation of further island closures in 2021 whilst further required analyses are completed.
However, the experimental design was changed by incorporating seasonal closure on some islands to
take account of the trade-off between losses to industry versus possible benefit to penguins. This
decision was taken despite the objection to seasonal closure by seabird biologists and concerns over
how this might impact future analyses.
5.1.4. Remaining uncertainty

The 2020 IRP made several recommendations for further work which may assist with understanding
the differences being reported by the two groups of analysts and improve the scientific basis for
decision making. In addition, several other questions have remained unanswered and require further
discussion and investigation. These include:
• Dassen Island: Possible improvements in chick survival during closed years take place despite
opposite changes in foraging metrics (birds are foraging farther during closed periods).
Despite being highly correlated (DEFF 2020a; Sherley 2020a), impacts of closure on fledging
success and chick survival are in different directions. Similarly, improvements (not declines) in
chick growth rates with increases in chick survival during closed periods is expected but was
not observed.
• Robben Island: The analyses estimated improvements from closure to fishing in terms of chick
survival and potentially chick condition and fledging success, but the reverse for foraging
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42
metrics. The reliability of foraging metrics as indicators of the impact of fishing on the breeding
success of penguins is therefore questionable, particularly in light of the opposite (improved)
estimates for penguins on St Croix Island during closed years.
• St Croix Island: Despite a positive effect of closure for some foraging response variables,
closure to fishing had little or no impact on chick condition. The extent to which increased
foraging ranges and duration negatively impact breeding success therefore remains unclear.
• No biologically meaningful threshold has been established for foraging response variables. For
west coast islands, estimates of the effects of closure on foraging tend to be negative. Benefits
of closure on foraging parameters are expected to translate into similar improvements in chick
condition, fledging success and chick survival, but in most cases this is not evident and may be
dependent on other factors such as prey type and quality.
• Biologically meaningful thresholds are also lacking for chick condition and chick growth
response variables and hence instances of positive effects of closure reported above may in
fact not be biologically meaningful. For example, it is unclear whether a bird needs to forage
10% or 100% farther before it starts to impact its ability to provision chicks or is detrimental
to its own wellbeing, with Boersma and Rebstock (2009} predicting non-linear responses in
the probability of Magellanic penguin fledging success for increases in foraging range. Recent
analyses are making progress on developing a threshold for chick condition based on results
for Macaroni penguins.
• The extent to which the aggregated approach may be improved with the inclusion of
additional covariates such as month and brood mass.
• The extent to which the estimates of precision, and hence the conclusions which may be
drawn, from the disaggregated approach may be modified by the inclusion of a hierarchical
model structure that includes 'island' nested within 'year', for example, is under investigation.
Recent progress in this regard suggests that this is an important consideration and that
appropriately chosen model structures for the disaggregated approach lead to less-precise
estimates (i.e. that are similar to those obtained from the aggregated approach) (Ross-
Gillespie and Butterworth 2021).
• The sensitivity of the results to the inclusion/exclusion of data collected during open years,
prior to the experiment.
• There are still questions regarding the calculation of chick-survival estimates that need to be
properly understood.
6. Sustainability, ecosystem, and socio-economic considerations

6.1. The South African small pelagic fishery
South Africa's fishery for small pelagic fishes is industrial-scale and has been operational for the past
70 years. It uses purse-seine nets to target sardine, anchovy and round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi,
principally off the west coast but with sardine also caught off the south coast (Figures 12 and 13). The
fleet presently consists of around 75 vessels ranging in size from 14 to 39 m in length and with four
categories: (i) small sardine-only vessels; (ii) medium dual-purpose vessels targeting sardine and
anchovy; (iii} medium anchovy-only vessels; and (iv) large dual-purpose vessels targeting sardine,
round herring and anchovy (Cochrane et al. 2020). Around 85% of the sardine catch is canned for
human consumption (both locally and for export) and pet food whilst the remainder is frozen for bait
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43
(Coetzee et al. 2019), whereas anchovy and round herring are processed into fish meal and fish oil.
Because of this different processing, sardine have a landed value per tonne of around five times that
of the other two species.
The small pelagic fishery is the country's largest with average annual landings (1950-2020) of 376 000
tonnes, >80% of which is anchovy and sardine, and is the second-most valuable (after that for Cape
hakes), with an estimated wholesale catch value of R2 .4 billion in 2014, and with the wholesale value
including about R650 to R730 million in export revenue each year between 2012 and 2015 (Brick and
Hasson 2016). The present R/US$ exchange rate is now about 10% higher and, given increases in the
global fishmeal price since 2014 of about 35%, the wholesale value at present is likely closer to RS
billion per annum. Additionally, the small pelagic fishing industry has multiple forward and backward
linkages with other sectors of the economy and an economic multiplier analysis conducted for South
Africa's entire marine fishing industry showed that for every Rl spent in exogenous demand for fishery
products an additional Rl.60 was generated in output through those linkages (Brick and Hasson 2016).
The small pelagic fishery directly employs >5 000 staff in addition to seasonal workers (Cochrane et al.
2020; van der Lingen 2021). An increase in overall fishery output of Rl million would be associated
with an extra 10.7 jobs in the country's fishery sector and in the wider economy, and a loss in fishery
production would be associated with a decline in employment (Brick and Hasson 2016). Fishmeal and
canning facilities, as well as the vessels that supply these facilities, are all located in areas outside of
the major metropoles of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and income from these activities (either
through direct salaries, associated service businesses or social spend) therefore make an important
socio-economic contribution to the well-being of these smaller communities, particularly on the west
coast (Hutchings et al. 2012; Brick and Hasson 2016).
6.1.1. Current management

Management of the South African small pelagic fishery is primarily via the setting of annual total
allowable catches (TACs), total allowable bycatches (TABs) and precautionary upper catch limit
(PUCLs). The higher landed value for sardine means that TACs for this species are typically filled,
whereas that for anchovy and the PUCL for round herring are typically not filled, sometimes by a large
margin (as described above; DAFF 2016). The TACs and TABs are set using an operational management
procedure (OMP; presently OMP-18; de Moor 2018) which is an adaptive management system that is
able to respond, without increasing risk, to major changes in resource abundance (Coetzee et al.
2019). The OMP uses an agreed-upon set of harvest-control rules and pre-specified data and stock
assessment models that incorporate survey-derived estimates of recruitment and total biomass as
well as catch data. OMP formulae were sel.ected with the objectives of maximising average directed
sardine and anchovy catches in the medium term, subject to constraints on the extent to which TACs
can vary from year to year in order to enhance industrial stability. The formulae were conditioned on
low probabilities (i.e. an acceptable level of risk given the inherent variability in population sizes of
these species referred to above) that the abundances of these resources drop below agreed threshold
levels below which successful future recruitment might be compromised .
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31".------..-- - - -- - - -- - - - -- -- - ~
700 ,--- - - - - - - - - - - ,
Upper 600
Anchovy catch (t)

2011-2019
n >10
■ >500
■
33•
m >2000
Purse-seine fishing prohibited
.. Q E•perimental closures
Q Proposed additional closures
34•
35•
Lower West Coast
18° 19°
Figure 12: Map showing the cumulative catch of anchovy by 2-nautical-mile block over the period
2011-2019, with darker shading indicating higher catches (note that 'catch' is not an accurate depicter
of fish biomass). Marine protected areas (MPAs) and areas presently closed to purse-seine fishing, and
areas around African penguin mainland and island breeding colonies for which long-term closure has
been proposed (Dassen, Robben and Dyer islands and Stony Point), are indicated. The graph shows a
time-series of annual anchovy catches, 1958-2020.
6.1.2. Recent operational management procedure (OMP) developments

Simulations of anchovy and sardine population trajectories under a range of harvest-control strategies
are conducted during OMP development, with the final OMP used for making management
recommendations (TACs and TABs) selected following consideration of a variety of so-called
'performance statistics', including those pertinent to the risk to the resource, biomass and critical
biomass levels, catches and catch variability, and indicators of the population dynamics of African
penguins that are used as proxies for predator (i.e. trophic ecosystem) needs. Under OMP-18, selected
risk thresholds are: (i) a 16% probability of the sardine west component (see below) effective spawner
biomass being below the 2007 level {the lowest observed during the past 30 years) over the projection
period and compared to a 7% probability under no fishing; and (ii) a 13% probability of the anchovy
spawner biomass being below the 1996 level (the lowest observed during the past 30 years) over the
projection period and compared to a 3% probability under no fishing {de Moor 2018).
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450 Sardine catch (t)
>
400 2011-2019
.. 350
>10
32° -( .S.·
,. ..
Lambert's
§: ■ >100
200rTI , -= 200
~150 ■ >500
~ 100
a 50
iffl Purse-seine fishing prohibited
33° 0
Q Experimental closures
Q Proposed additional closures
34°
.. . . . -.
.... = Is. Is.
35°
West C ast Sout Coast

18° 19° 20° 21° 22° 23° 24° 2s 0 26°
Figure 13: Map showing the cumulative catch of sardine (directed catch only) by 2-nautical-mile block
over the period 2011-2019, with darker shading indicating higher catches (note that 'catch' is not an
accurate depicter of fish biomass). Marine protected areas (MPAs} and areas presently closed to
purse-seine fishing, and areas around African penguin mainland and island breeding colonies for which
long-term closure has been proposed (Dassen, Robben, Dyer, St Croix and Bird Islands and Stony Point}
are indicated. The graph shows a time-series of annual directed sardine catch and sardine bycatch
(mostly juveniles taken in anchovy-directed fishing), 1949-2020
Because recent research has indicated the presence of multiple sardine stocks off the South African
coast (van der Lingen et al. 2015; Coetzee et al. 2019), OMP-18 uses a two-mixing-stock assessment
model for sardine, modelling western and southern sardine stocks targeted by the purse-seine fishery
(de Moor et al. 2017}. The western stock is considerably more productive than the southern stock and
produces a substantially higher number of recruits per unit spawner biomass (de Moor et al. 2017},
and hence recovery of the South African sardine population from its present depleted state depends
to a high degree on the recovery of the western stock. Given this, and the fact that fishing pressure
has historically been higher (see below) off the west coast compared to the south coast because of
the concentration of processing infrastructure there, OMP-18 biomass and critical biomass statistics
focus on the sardine west component and include threshold levels for western stock biomass (one of
the performance statistics} and the spatial distribution of directed sardine catches. Passing these
thresholds triggers explicit spatial management measures aimed at maintaining a relatively low
exploitation rate of sardine off the west coast (de Moor 2018) . The decline in the sardine population
and its present depleted status have had substantial impacts on the small pelagic fishery, and
adaptation measures that have been implemented include importing frozen sardines from a variety
of countries over the past decade in order to keep factories operational and meet local demand (van
der Lingen 2021). Whereas this has avoided the socio-economic costs of shutting down some factories,
it has also raised the risk of importation of a pathogen, pilchard herpesvirus (PHV), the introduction
of which into Australia was responsible for dramatic reductions in the population size of Sardinops
sagax there (Whittington et al. 2008). South African sardine have been shown to be na'ive to this
pathogen (Macey et al. 2016), and hence introduction of PHV here remains a potential threat and
would likely have serious impacts, as observed off Australia (Crockford et al. 2005}.
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6.1.3. Sustainability and harvest rates

Annual harvest rates (where the harvest rate is the proportion of the population caught in a given
year; also known as the exploitation rate) for South African sardine are shown in Figure 14. These were
initially low (<0.2) for the sardine population overall but increased to close to 0.3 in 2007 before
declining thereafter. That was not considered to be too high a harvest proportion at that time, when
the sardine population was considered to be panmictic (i.e. one completely mixed population)
(Augustyn et al. 2018b). When examined for the western and southern components separately,
however, it is clear that the harvest proportion has been higher for the western component in all years
but one, and that it increased for both components from around 2005 but has declined subsequently,
albeit with occasional high (>0.3) values and substantial interannual variability for the western
component. The high harvest rates for the western component were masked by the calculation of
relatively low harvest proportions for the population as a whole, which are lower than or similar to
most other industrial-scale fisheries for small pelagic fish species (Barange et al. 2009; Bergh 2020c).
These different harvest rates for western and southern components demonstrate why spatial
management, as has been introduced for the sardine fishery, is important for this species. However,
the harvest rate of sardine off the south coast has typically been low and averaged just below 8% from
2000 to 2009, the decade when sardine biomass there declined from 2.5 Mt to 0.2 Mt, indicating that
low fishing mortality cannot be guaranteed to result in sustained large populations for small pelagic
fish like sardine (Augustyn et al. 2018b). Exploitation rates have typically been below 0.15 for anchovy
(de Moor 2020c).
-Total
- West
C:
0
0.6 - South
t
0
c..
e
c.. 0.4
-~
t i)
0.2
ro
J:
0.0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Figure 14: Exploitation rate (harvest proportion; calculated as the observed annual [from 01
November in yearn to 31 October in yearn+1l catch tonnage as a proportion of the model-predicted
total biomass at the time of the pelagic biomass survey [November in yearn]) of South African sardine
shown for the total population (black line) and western (red line) and southern (blue line) components
for the period 1985 to 2019. (Note that this plot excludes small sardine bycatch taken with anchovy,
the inclusion of which increases exploitation rates slightly). From de Moor (2020b).
In a review of sustainable fishing, Hilborn et al. (2015) highlighted the existing large differences in
perception and definition of the concept of sustainable fisheries that lead to the same fishery or
product being deemed sustainable by some groups but unsustainable by others. Those authors argued
that social and economic factors need to be considered, along with ecological impacts, for future long-
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47
term sustainability to be achieved, and that " ...the sustainability of seafood production depends not
on the abundance of a fish stock but on the ability of the fishery management system to adjust fishing
pressure to appropriate levels" (Hilborn et al. 2015).
6.1.4. Ecosystem considerations

In addition to simulation-testing of the OMPs to ensure acceptabie risk levels of anchovy and sardine
and anchovy abundances dropping below specified thresholds, the OMP was also simulation-tested
using parameters denoting risk to the African penguin population as part of an ecosystem approach
to management (EAF) of the small pelagic fishery. Penguins were chosen as a representative predator
species for consideration because they feed predominantly on anchovy and sardine and because of
their conservation status which had been of concern due to appreciable reductions in numbers at the
major breeding colonies on Robben and Dassen Islands. A model of the population dynamics of African
penguins on Robben Island that incorporated estimates of anchovy and sardine abundances off the
west coast (Robinson et al. 2015) showed a significant relationship between adult mortality rate and
the biomass of sardine west of Cape Agulhas, with mortality increasing rapidly when biomass dropped
below around 330 000 t. That model was linked to future sardine abundances simulated under
candidate management procedures (including a no fishing scenario) assessed during OMP
development so that the impact on penguins on Robben Island of predicted future pelagic fish
trajectories under alternative harvest strategies could be evaluated.
The analysis of Robinson et al. (2015) indicated that fishing is likely to have a relatively small impact
on penguins, especially when compared with uncertainties that arise from the variable spatial
distribution of the sardine population. Similarly, OMP-18 ecosystem performance statistics (the rate
of increase [ROI] of penguins on Robben Island over various time-periods) indicate that, even with
large reductions in pelagic catches, there would be little benefit for penguins; under the baseline
sardine operating model, the rate of decline in the number of African penguin moulters at Robben
Island would be an annual 6% over the next 15 years, compared to 5.7% if there was no sardine fishing
(de Moor 2018). That Robben Island penguin model requires updating given collection of further data.
6.2. Effects of overharvesting of small pelagic fishes

Overharvesting of small pelagic fishes can have detrimental effects on upwelling ecosystems. For
example, overfishing of sardine in Namibia during the 1960s and 1970s affected ecosystem
functioning, with jellyfish and gobies replacing sardine in that system (Roux et al. 2013). This had a
significant effect on marine top predator populations, especially piscivorous seabirds such as African
penguins and Cape gannets, whose populations remain a fraction of what they were before
overharvesting occurred in this region (Roux et al. 2013). In the Antarctic, local forage (Antarctic krill)
exploitation rates of as low as 0.1 can negatively affect the performance (in a variety of metrics
including foraging-trip duration, post-hatch breeding success, relative cohort strength, and fledging
mass) of three species of Antarctic penguin (Watters et al. 2020).
In South Africa, Coetzee et al. (2008) suggested that overfishing resulted in a collapse of sardine in the
1960s, and exploitation rates of sardine off the South African west coast during the mid-2000s were
often high (>0.4; de Moor 2020b), which may have contributed to the decline in the western stock
(Augustyn et al. 2018a). However, another analysis that quantified how different the trajectory of the
sardine resource would have been in the absence of directed fishing for this species suggested that
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the recent (post-2000) collapse could not be attributed to a large extent to fishing (Bergh 2017, 2020c).
This highlights the difficulty in managing small pelagic fish populations (Barange et al. 2009) because
of their inherent variability in population size, and how avoiding collapses and/or ensuring recovery
cannot be guaranteed by conservative management (Augustyn et al. 2018a). However, higher harvest
levels should be avoided when population sizes and/or productivity levels are low (Essington et al.
2015), and management measures should aim to prevent fishing mortality from rising as biomass
declines and should actively attempt to minimise the risk that the population size decreases to low
levels at which recruitment is impaired, or predators are adversely affected (Augustyn et al. 2018a).
6.3. Economic evaluation of the relative cost of closures

The 2014 IRP recommended that an economic evaluation of the relative cost of closures to the fishery
be carried out {Dunn et al. 2014). An opportunity-based model, which considers the unique
characteristics of the fishery and quantifies the percentage of the catch {17.8%) within the closure
area of Dassen and Robben islands which cannot be replaced by fishing outside the closure area, was
developed in consultation with the SWG-PEL and the fishing industry {Bergh et al. 2016). The results
from that analysis indicated the total annual economic loss due to both forfeited anchovy {and
associated bycatch) catches and additional fuel costs, were of the order of R27 and R22 million for
Dassen and Robben Islands, respectively. Closure' of both therefore translates to a negative economic
impact of approximately RS0 million per annum, and a loss of between 1.63% and 6.87% of the total
annual catch. These estimates, however, were calculated using an exchange rate of RlS to the USD
{the present exchange rate is about 10% higher), and did not use an economic multiplier, for which a
value of 3 is not unreasonable {Brick and Hasson 2016). A present economic impact of RlS0 million
per annum {i.e. approximately 6% of the annual wholesale catch value of the small pelagic fishery) is
therefore feasible as a result of the closure of both Robben and Dassen Islands {Bergh 2020b).
This estimate is similar to that from an economic impact study commissioned by SANParks of the
closure to fishing around St Croix and Bird Islands in the Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected
Area {Turpie et al. 2012). That study estimated that the industry could potentially lose approximately
6.6% of the catches in the southern part of the Eastern Cape {Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth) {Turpie
et al. 2012). Given that only sardine is caught on the south coast, where it is processed for both bait
and canning, and assuming an average processed value of R18 000 per tonne, and multiplying by 6.6%
of the average south-coast sardine catch since 2011 in the years when St Croix was open to fishing {14
700 tonnes), the potential loss of revenue is ~R17.5 million per annum. Note that this estimate
assumes that those fish could not be caught elsewhere outside of the closed area. However, some
fishers in the Eastern Cape indicated that, despite overlap between their fishing and penguin foraging
activities, they actually found better fishing grounds and losses were minimal during the Island Closure
Experiment {Ginsburg 2019). That study also analysed sardit1e catches and fishing-vessel travel-time
{as a proxy for fuel costs) when fishing exclusion zones were implemented around St Croix Island and
reported no significant differences in average catches per trip or average time travelled to fishing
grounds. Ginsburg {2019) concluded that the exclusion zones did not significantly impact these
variables and in addition noted that catches were slightly higher when the fishing exclusion zone was
in place. However, this approach was criticised for its simplicity and lack of sufficient detail on methods
provided to allow for defensible conclusions to be drawn {Bergh 2020a). In addition, Coetzee and
Merkle {2020) reported that 68% of catches in Algoa Bay occurred within the St Croix closure area
during years in which fishing was permitted there, illustrating its importance to the local fishery.
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49
At present no reduction in allowable catches is being proposed in order to benefit the African penguin;
rather, the SANParks and the TP-SWG (B: O&C) recommendations are to close important penguin
foraging areas to fishing. It is noted that in the past the fishery has adjusted to altered distributions of
its target species, e.g. the average location of sardine catches moved from north of Saldanha Bay in
the west to Mossel Bay in the south (Fairweather et al. 2006), but that adjustment increased costs.
Further, more profitable, alternative uses (e.g. for human consumption) of harvested forage fish
currently used for fishmeal should be reviewed and promoted to encourage a more efficient utilisation
of this resource (AEWA 2020). Some steps in this regard have been taken, e.g. canning of round herring
and investigations into using anchovy for human consumption (van der Lingen 2021), but these have
not had large-scale uptake as yet.
6.4. The social, economic, biodiversity and ecosystem value of African penguins
African penguins are Africa's only penguin species and, together with other seabirds, have important
social, economic, biodiversity and ecosystem value and benefits. When breeding, they are central-
place foragers that transfer large quantities of nutrients from the ocean to their colonies. This
influences the functioning of island and headland ecosystems and adjacent marine areas, e.g.
increasing algal growth and changing the structure of intertidal communities, which augment
populations of several shorebird species (Bosman and Hockey 1988). Inputs by seabirds of nitrogen
{N) and phosphorus (P) into surrounding coastal waters are substantial, with concentrations per unit
of surface area among the highest measured on the Earth's surface. Additionally, an essential fraction
of the total excreted N and P is readily soluble, increasing the short-term bioavailability of these
nutrients in coastal waters (Otero et al. 2018). Not only do seabirds have such beneficial bottom-up
impacts, but they also exert valuable top-down control. For example, auklets Cerorhinca monocerata,
another pursuit-diving seabird species, were reported to select prey that are small or in poor body
condition and, by removing substandard individuals, may ensure the long-term survival of prey
populations (Tucker et al. 2016). Additionally, seabirds can facilitate feeding by other species; for
example, African penguins herd prey shoals upwards, making them available to birds restricted to
feeding near the surface (Mcinnes and Pistorius 2019).
South Africa's marine ecotourism industry has expanded rapidly in the present century and had a value
of >R2 billion in 2014 (WWF-SA 2016). The African penguin is an iconic bird and a major tourist
attraction in the Western and Eastern Cape, specifically the Simon's Town colony (inclusive of Boulders
in Table Mountain National Park), Cape Town, and increasingly the Stony Point colony in Betty's Bay,
and St Croix Island in Algoa Bay. The City of Cape Town recognised the importance of this resource
and solicited an assessment into the economic value and contribution of the Simon's Town penguin
colony (van Zyl and Kinghorn 2018). SANParks has invested significant infrastructure and human
capacity in the development of the Boulders colony as a tourism attraction, with annual visitor
numbers growing from about 580 000 in 2006 to 930 000 in 2017. van Zyl and Kinghorn (2018) found
that the total expenditure associated with the Simon's Town colony in 2017 was approximately R311
million per annum and generated 885 jobs. This was broken down into transport expenditure of
tourists (R37 million), and other expenses such as accommodation, food, fees, and curios (R255
million), as well as another R19 million from local Cape Town residents: The projected future income
from tourism at the Boulders colony over the next 30 years was estimated at approximately R6.8
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billion. The Stony Point colony presently attracts 77 500 visitors per year (CapeNature, unpublished
data) but economic evaluations of that and other colonies have not been conducted.
Besides the direct income derived from the African penguin colony at Simon's Town, other benefits
include the branding of the City of Cape Town as an ecotourism and leisure hub, the enhancements
of property values throughout Simon's Town via the significant amenity values, as well as deriving
direct benefit from visitor expenditure. The colony combines the presence of a highly charismatic,
endangered species, with a picturesque and historical setting resulting in high heritage and socio-
cultural value. This is the contribution of only one colony, albeit the one with highest value, and does
not include other regions or any ecological value of the species, but it illustrates the potentially
important economic value of African penguins, particularly at a local scale. In the Californian upwelling
ecosystem, where sardine and anchovy are also key forage-fish species, it was suggested that
consideration of nonmarket predators (i.e. with non-consumptive economic value) such as penguins
could tip the balance of trade-offs toward conservation of forage fish and away from their harvest
(Koehn et al. 2017).
7. Research gaps and responses

All stakeholders agree that urgent action is needed to reverse the decline in African penguin
population size. But despite all the interventions implemented thus far, the decline continues. The
programme of short-term closures to fishing around islands has not reversed the decline but may
increase breeding success by 1% (assuming that the effect estimated at Robben Island applies for all
islands), which would reduce the present rate of decline by 10%. Even closure of the entire sardine
fishery off the west coast was estimated to have a very small benefit to penguins. Although local
fishing restrictions around breeding colonies have been suggested to be more effective than
population-wide regulations, e.g. limiting overall catches (Free et al. 2021), the assumed benefits of
longer-term closures around breeding colonies in South Africa remain untested.
Given that the implemented actions have not arrested or reversed the decline in the African penguin
population, either there are unknown or unconsidered factor/s responsible, and/or not all actions
have been sufficiently implemented or effective. Research needs to be directed at identifying those
unknown or unconsidered factor/s and attributing relative importance to the drivers of the African
penguin population decline, e.g. using models of intermediate complexity for ecosystems assessments
(MICE) (e.g. Plaganyi et al. 2014) or other sufficiently quantitative ecosystem models. Such models
need to account for appropriate temporal scales that accord to penguin life history stages.
While some research has been done or is underway, suggested research topics include inter alia:
• Assess the efficacy of current management interventions on African penguins.
• Develop a toolbox of interventions to ensure adequate forage resource availability (as suggested
by AEWA [2020]).
• Develop robust penguin population models for each colony.
• Conduct socio-economic studies on the projected economic value of top predators, including
penguins, at each colony.
• Assess synergistic effects of multiple threats to African penguins.
• Quantify the effects of climate change on African penguin eggs, adults and chicks.
• Identify factors affecting, and key requirements of, the establishment of new penguin colonies.
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• Determine the long-term effects of disease and pathogens (including parasites) on population health
status, including dynamics of spread and recovery, etc. (e.g. Espinaze et al. 2019), and assess the
potential for development of vaccines for key diseases.
• Investigate interactions between penguins and small pelagic fishes during pre-· and post-moult
periods.
• Expand investigations into penguin foraging ecology, i.e. consider other colonies, and assess potential
overlap with competing predators.
• Test the effectiveness and feasibility of using remote technologies and automated systems to increase
frequency of population monitoring and data collection and reduce disturbance.
• Investigate the effects of anthropogenic pollutants such as microplastics, microfibres and persistent
organic pollutants and heavy metals such as mercury, etc., on African penguin survival and breeding
success.
• Examine the effects of ship traffic and noise on penguin foraging behaviour.
• Assess the impacts of natural/anomalous catastrophic events, e.g. marine heatwaves, cold spells,
harmful algal blooms, etc., on the biology and ecology of African penguins and small pelagic fishes.
• Conduct further rigorous economic studies of the costs of closure to the small pelagic fishery.
• Develop economic scenarios for the small pelagic fishery that include product beneficiation, e.g.
using catches for human consumption rather than as fish meal.
• Attain greater understanding of synergistic effects of multiple drivers (e.g. fishing, climate change,
recruitment variability) on small pelagic fishes (e.g. Ortega-Cisneros et al. 2018 and other research
in progress).
• Improve understanding of seasonal and spatial dynamics of small pelagic fish stocks, which will
require an increase in monitoring effort.
• Investigate implementation of remote technologies and automated systems to increase frequency
and accuracy of monitoring fish stocks (e.g. Swart et al. 2016), including exploring the use of
drones for continuous fish stock monitoring around seabird colonies with the potential to improve
regulation of fishing effort in real time, based on the status of prey resources (e.g. Mordy et al.
2017).
• Expand consideration of spatial management in OMPs for the small pelagic fishery to account for
the needs of dependant predators at appropriate spatio-temporal scales.
Additional capacity and funding would be required to conduct this monitoring and research,
particularly with regard to modelling, but in other fields as well.
8. Governance and policy imperatives

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has a suite of legislation to help
manage the balance between the conservation of the African penguin and sustain the economic
benefit offisheries. This legislation includes, among others, the National Environmental Management
Act (NEMA, Act 107 of 1998), the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA, Act 18 of 1998), the National
Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA, Act 10 of 2004), the Marine Spatial Planning
Act (MSPA, Act 16 of 2018), the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA,
Act 57 of 2003), as well as the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management
Act (ICMA, Act 24 of 2008). These Acts provide objectives and principles as introductory provisions
under which they can operate. These include, but are not limited to: (i) the conservation of
ecosystems; (ii} utilisation of the environment for economic growth; and (iii} sound decisions based
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on the consideration of the social, economic and environmental impacts. NEMA highlights the need
for cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations and a holistic approach to ensure
environmental protection, and the concomitant need to promote social-economic development.
These structures of cooperative governance and integrated environmental management (IEM)
provide for a participatory approach to environmental management through extensive stakeholder
engagement and inclusivity, with an appropriate capacity building that guarantees equitable
participation.
The Minister requested that the recommendations of management interventions to conserve the
African penguin population be grounded in NEMA, particularly the environmental management
principles of promotion of conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, and the precautionary
principle echoed in the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2:24, Box 1; see below). NEMA is the overarching
legislation applicable to biodiversity and fisheries management and imposes a general duty of care for
the environment that requires, whenever possible, that actions are put in place to ensure the
prevention of environmental degradation (in this case, the loss of the African penguin). The
precautionary principle recognises that harm to the environment can be irreversible. A risk-averse and
cautious approach needs to be applied, which considers the limits of current knowledge about the
consequences of decisions and actions (NEMA, Act 107 of 1998) although there are as yet no
guidelines as to how such principles are to be operationalised. The precautionary or cautious approach
concerning management and development of marine living resources is mandated in the Marine Living
Resources Act (MLRA, Act 18 of 1998) to avert risk accounting for the limits of current knowledge and
consequences of decisions and actions.
Box 1: Bill of Rights (Chapter 2:24)
Environment
HEveryone has th e right-
(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing; and
(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through
reasonable legislative and other measures that -
(i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
(ii) promote conservation; and
(iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while
As a signatory to the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, South Africa has committed to
sustainable development and environmental conservation as adopted in our regulatory instruments.
Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration states: 'To protect the environment, the Precautionary Approach
shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or
irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-
effective measures to prevent environmental degradation" (IUCN 2007). The precautionary approach
is often deferred due to the lack of compelling evidence and socio-economic pressures. However, this
delay could lead to potential long-term harm to the resource and environment, often resulting in
greater cost to reverse the threat. The Precautionary Approach is established on "the recognition that
a false prediction that a human activity will not result in significant environmental harm will typically
be more harmful to society than a false prediction that it will result in significant environmental harm"
(IUCN 2007).
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In November 2020, the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), to which South
Africa is a party, in collaboration with the Benguela Current Convention (BCC), to which South Africa
is also a party, and Birdlife South Africa (BLSA) organised the Benguela Current Forage Fish (BCFF)
Workshop. The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries {DEFF; now DFFE) hosted the
workshop. The workshop's outcome was that targeted actions need to be considered as a matter of
·urgency by the national governments of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. These actions included:
• developing tools to increase the availability of sufficient forage [fish] for threatened endemic
Benguela seabird species, including consideration of applicable management and conservation
options, such as setting ecosystem thresholds (i.e. sizes of forage resource populations below
which a range of precautionary measures relating to fishing would be implemented at various
spatial scales) and closing key foraging areas to fishing, adjacent to major seabird colonies,
• and facilitating and prioritising the recovery of seabird colonies to sufficient sizes to minimise
known and potential Allee effects, thus reducing the probability of colony extinctions (AEWA
2020).
8.1. Threatened or Protected Marine Species (TOPS)

In terms of regulations and of specific pertinence to the African penguin is the TOPS regulation of
2007, published and enacted in 2007. The purpose of this regulation emanates from Chapter 4 of
NEMBA, which aims to: (i) provide for the protection of ecosystems that are threatened or in need of
protection to ensure the maintenance of their ecological integrity; (ii) provide protection of species
that are threatened or in need of protection to ensure their survival in the wild ; (iii) give effect to the
Republic's obligation under international agreements regulating international trade in specimens of
endangered species; and (iv) ensure that the utilisation of biodiversity is managed in an ecologically
sustainable way.
The TOPS also aims to further regulate the permit system set out in Chapter 7 of NEMBA that relates
to restricted activities involving specimens of listed threatened or protected species. This regulation
includes: (i) registration of captive breeding operations, commercial exhibition facilities, game farm
nurseries, scientific institutions, sanctuaries and rehabilitation facilities and wildlife traders; (ii)
prohibition of specific restricted activities involving specific listed threatened or protected species;
and (iii) protection of wild populations of listed threatened species.
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Acknowledgements
The drafting team would like to express their immense gratitude to the following:
• Members and observers of the TP-SWG (including the Seabird Technical Team, African
Penguin Habitat Working Group and Population Re-enforcement Working Group)
• Members and observers of the SWG-PEL (including the Penguin Technical Task Team)
• Numerous colleagues within DFFE, SANParks and other institutions for their ongoing
contributions
• The IRP members from the various IFSAWs for their advice and comments on the Island
Closure Experiment
• Ms Cathy Boucher (DFFE) for assistance with graphics and formatting
• Dr Sheldon Dudley (DFFE) for detailed and thorough editing of the draft of this report
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508
69
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University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Whittington PA, Randall RM, Randall BM, Wolfaardt AC, Crawford RJM, Klages NTW. et al. 2005.
Patterns of movements of the African penguin in South Africa and Namibia. African Journal of
Whittington RJ, Crockford M, Jordan D, Jones JB. 2008. Herpesvirus that caused epizootic mortality in
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2024/02/:
509
The Penguin Island Colonies and

Small Pelagic Fishing Industry
Interactions
Proposed fishing limitations and penguins forage area conservation.
(CONSERVATION I SUSTAINABLE USE I PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH]
12 August 2021
-
forestry, lsieies
&die enwi OIIOIIIC
l "tnWf.+---~
Nl'l,IIIJCCWIOUlMIAICA
10000 60
9 000
~ 8000
C:
Endangered 50 .,,
ID
i
C:
.S 7000 5·
"C 40::,
C: C:
~ 6000 3
::,
0 g
E~
sooo 30;
::r
e
~
4000 0
C:
0
:0 3 000 20 ~
Q.
-5;
u:: al
2000
1ol
1000
0 ~~-~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~ 0
~#~#~##~#~~~~~#~~~#~~
-Sardin~ biomass -Anchovy biomass - Penguins
Off South Africa, African Penguin declined by ~ 61 % decrease in their overall

population over the preceding 28 years {Bird Life International 2010).
2
2024/02/'.
510
Key Issues and guiding principles

The African penguin population is in a critical situation and urgent action is needed.
Principles of Conservation, Sustainable Use and the Precautionary Approach have informed the
proposals below.
Define limitations/ closures of small pelagic commercial fishing around penguin colonies. Colonies
identified for closure were selected based on conservation and economic criteria.
The effects of long-term closures on the penguin population are unknown but the effect is assumed
to be larger than that observed during the short-term closures.
Closures will have an economic cost on the small pelagic fishery that will vary from colony to
colony. The Small Pelagic Fisheries Sector is an important sector regionally and locally within the
industrial fisheries sector.
Closures proposed around 3 colonies as a precautionary approach with some restrictions around the
other 3 colonies within the limits of existing Marine Protected Areas.
The boundaries of closed areas for the 3 selected colonies have been modified/adjusted to maximise
benefit to African Penguins and minimise cost to the fishery based on penguin foraging and fisheries
catch data around each colony.
II
I • •
Medium Term
.
.. . ..
' ... .
2022 - 2025 (4yrs), Reviewed annually and for Longer Term 2025-2032
1806 (18%) Closed 6 Closed as per proposed bounaanes (Target 75% and 50%) - see map
months (2 x 3-
month % Proportion of the 75% core penguin foraging area conserved: 57.99
periods: Jan- % Penguin tracking points included: 90.00
Mar & Oct· % Anchovy Fishery Impact as a percentage of regional catch(): 4.36 (7.51)
Dec)- 20kms o·
I% SaFdiRe ~is~ery IFRpa&t as 3jl9fG@Mage gf F09i9Ral &at;~ Q ~8 !O 4fi)I
1007 (10%) Closed to Open with fishing closed within the limits of the Robben Island MPA restricted
fishing as per- zones
20km for 12
months
623 (16%) Open, noting Open with fishing closed within the limits of the Betty's Bay MPA
that fishing
restrictions
are currently
in place for
the Betty's
BayMPAand
will continue
to aeJJIY
4
2024/02/:
511
· · ·■
Num·
• r.
I • •
penguin Medium Term
Colonies 2022 - 2025 (4yrs), Reviewed annually and for Longer Term 2025-2032
•• • • : . ' ••
pairs as of I• • "I
I •. I
• .• ..
Dyer 1 ,• Open Closed as per proposed boundaries - see map
Island
% Proportion of the 75% core penguin foraging area conserved: 68.82
% Penguin tracking points included: 67.38
% Anchovy Fishery Impact as a percentage of regional catch(): 3.94 (10.05)
% Sardine Fishery Impact as a percentage of regional catch(): 11.97 (16.14)
St. Croix Closed as per Closed as per proposed boundaries - see map
agreed zoning
-20km for6 % Proportion of the 75% core penguin foraging area conserved: 59.07
months (Apr- % Penguin tracking points included : 83.37
Sep) I% •n,119'"/ ~islle,cy IFApaGt as a perGeniase ef resienal G~GhO · ilO i7 (2§ §i)l
% Sardine Fishery Impact as a percentage of regional catch(): 32.86 (42.12)
Bird Island Open, noting Open with fishing closed within the limits of the Addo Elephant National Park
that fishing restricted zones
restrictions
are currently
in place for
the AENP
MPAandwill
continue to
a11ply
Dassen Island
Anchovy
Dyer Island
6
2024/02/:
512
Sardine
Dyer Island St Croix Island
Agul
••
•• ••
Dassen island Area, cut at continental landmass I of I of Proportion of

information + (the total area/scale that the 50% and 75% Anchovy Sardine penguins' tracking
Location. West kernel calculations are s1gnif1cant for.. As the data per data points in an area
Coast north of algorithms ignores landmass)
Table'Bay + [Cartesian geometry of a whole circle] nm 2 per nm 2 A poor proxy for
penguin foraging
Within 20km Ocean around 2 isl: 901+7so = ~1651 km 2 11.17% 0.73%
C
of two [2ITr' = 2513.27 km'] (n-762) (n=762)
.Q
i.e. Around Dusen+ Robben Islands respectively
j adjacent isl.
i., Within the ~235 km 2 6.28% 0.089% 83.71%
~ 50% kernel (280.9km 2) (n=85) (n=85) n=646889
~
,t!
~ Within the ~461 km 2 Proportion of kernel's 6.90% 0.096% 87.36%
oceanic airea in each draft
~ 75•1.: ke_rnel ~ (n=l59) (n=159)
_for foraging
i!
0
u D, aft 1 ~901 km 2 0.9718 of 75% 7.51% 0.46% 88.41%
r=20km [ITr'= 1256.6 km 2] = 72.88% (n=386) (n=386)
Draft 2 ~988 km 2 0.9296 of 75% 8.42% 0.54% 90.53%

= 69.72% (ne346) (n=346)
Draft 3 ~946 km 2 0.7647 of 75% 4.46% 0.37% 89.75%

= 57.35% (n=330) (n=330)
~1040 km 2 0.7647 of 75% 4.63% 0.38% 89.75%

= 57.35% (n=363) (n=363)
~842 km 2 0.7647 of 75% 4.44% 0.33% 89.72%

= 57.35% (n=294) (n=294)
~946 km 2 0.7732 of 75% 4.36% 0.38% 90.00%

=57.99 (n=330) (n=330)
8
2024/02/:
513
Penguin - WIMt Coal.NP
colonies:
Closure area Pttnguirmlracb
MF'Ao
drafts
l.Dassen
2.Dyer j_
t·
l
3.St. Croix ! -33 c1e
A - - == : : : i -
02.11 10
Dassen Island
rth ofTable Bay
- west Coast NP
c::J Oassen proposal
D Dassan 20km radius
D Foraging: 50%
LJ Foraging: 75%
-33 de 45 mlns
N
-3S.75deg
A - - ==::iKlomelere
0 2.5 5 10
10
2024/02/:
514
Dyer Area, cut at continental landmass I of I of Proportion of

information + (the total area/scale that the radial buffer 20km Anchovy Sardine penguins' tracking
and kernel calculattons are s1gn1fu;:ant for As the
algorithms ignores landmass) data per data per points in an area
Location West of
[cartes1an/planar geometry of a whole c1rtle] nm 2 nm 2 for penguin
Cape Agulhas -t-
foraging
n=S7242
Within 20km Ocean around 2 ils: 657+688 = 1345 km 2 11.19" 25.37"

of two [211r'= 2513.27 km~ (n=757 (n=757)
I
i.e. Around Dy« Island ♦ Stonv Point respectively
adjacent 11s.
Within the ~ 659 km 2 10.01% 22.75% 62.34%
l 50'll kernel (725.7 km 2) (n=257) (n=257)
i Within the ~ 1373 km 2 Proportion of kernel's oceanic 13.4% 41.17% 86.14%
-
i
1:1
~
C
75 kritd ~
~657 km 2
area In each draft.
_for fora1in&
0.4645 of 75%
(n=546)
10.05%
(n=546)
16.14% 52.65%
8 Dra ft alpha lnr' = 1256.6 km 2) (n=381) (n=381)
= 34.84%
Within r=20km
Draft beta ~ 2061 km 2 0.9177 of75% 13.03% 44.03% 86.65%

=68.82% (n=728) (n=728)
~ 1625 km 2 0.6256 of 75% 3.42% 13.26% 64.n¾

=46.92% (n=582) (n=S82)
Draft delta ~ 1780 km' 0.9177 of 75% 4.18% 14.83% 71.14%

=68.82% (n=630) ln•630)
Draft epsilon ~ 1492 km 2 66.71% of75% 3.83% 13.89% 69.04%

=50.04% (n=S33) (n•S33)
~raft fol!!.r!>t ~ 1303 km 2 0.9177 of 75% 3.94 11.97 67.38%

=68.82% (n=457) n=457)
11
Dyer Island info-graphic (West of Cape Agulhas) Marine Protected Area
Exclosure drafts beta, gamma, CapeNatureReaerves

Dyer_foxtrot
delta, epsilon & foxtrot
....
""
Draft gamma
I Draft delta
c::J Draft epsiJon

c::Joref!Beta
- AgulhasNP
D Foraging: 50%
D Foraging: 75%
D Draft alpha (radius 20km)
I E
g, ,• :;:
-., I -.,
N • T"" ~ : ffi
- - - -:.- . . : . ; a ~-=--. _ _ _ ~ - -- ·-- •••• i
A -34 degrees and 58 mins and 47 seconds ..,
~ - - = : : : i Kilometers
02.55 10
12
2024/02/:
515
Dyer Island (West of Cape Agulhas)

Proposal
Legend
- Marine Protected Area
CapeNatureReservea
c:J Dyer proposal

- AgulhasNP
CJ Foraging: 50%
CJ Foraging: 75%
0Rradius20km
DyerPenguins
A - - = =::::i Kilometers
0 2.5 5 10
13
St. Croix Area, cut at continental landmass I ot I ot Proportion ot

information + (the total area/scale that the radial buffer Anchovy Sardine penguins' tracking
20km and kernel calculations are significant data per data points in an area
Location: Algoa Bay for.. As the algorithms ignores landmass) , , , , , for
2 2 1
and the MPA of + [Cartesian geometry of a whole circle]. nm per nm f
Addo Elephant N.P penguin oragmg n=S6057
Within 20km Ocean around 2 ils: 613+842= 1455 km 2 25.56% 48.64%

of two (2J'7r = 2513.27 km 2] (n=757) (n=757)
-~
i.e. Around St. Croix+ Bird Islands respectively
j adjacent ils.
~ Within the ~449 km 2 17.24% 29.72% 73.81%
"g 50% kernel (448.6 km 2) i.e totally offshore n=l56 n=l56
I!!
J!! ~871 km• Proportion of kernel's oceanic 32.39% 51.16% 90.77%
!! Within the
--~
~ 75'io kernel (941.5 km')
A
area in each draft.
_for foraging
n=304 n=304
u
0
Oratt A ~613 km2 0.6538 of 75% 25.56% 42.12% 76.37%
r=20km [llr' = 1256.6 km 2] = 49.03% n=375 n=375
Draft B ~1481 km 2 0.8679 of 75% 52.22% 56.07% 95.94%

= 65.1% n=S17 n=Sl7
~ 927 km 2 0.8174 of 75% 31.19% 36.26% 86.78%

= 61.31% (n=321) (n=321)
Draft D ~911 km 2 0.8553 of 75% 30.67% 36.32% 90.32%

= 64.15% (n=316) (n=316)
Draft E ~748 km 2 0.7520 of 75% 30.67 29.85 80.63%

=56.40% (n=260) (n=260)
Draft F ~809km 2 0. 7876 of 75% 30.67 32.86 83.37%

= (n=281) (n=281)
14
V'\~
2024/02/:
516
. Croix info-graphic (Location: Algoa B

xclosure drafts
Ste,gixOraf!C
9
StCrob:~_Or~~
~ - i - -,1--,. ,.-..--..- ~s~te-,o-ix_~o-,aftE
'.T
- ..+-- - -I -E---- -- 1
,,-,_...,.._ :StCroiKDraftO
StCroix Ord B
- Addo Ele p hant NP

- MPA
□~= -
□ Foraging: 75%
c:J StCroix Draft A (20km radius}
Penguin b'acks
N
- - - == = Kilometers
0 2.5 5 10 A
15
St. Croix Island (Location:~o~ay)

~ Exclosure P-roposal
D Foraging: 50%
D Foraging: 75%
c:J Stcroix 20km radius
Penguin tracks N
>34.07 degrees (34deg 04min 12seconds)
- --==::i Kilometers
0 2.5 5 10 A
16
2024/02/:
517
Mitigating the Impact of closure around penguin breeding colonies

Estimated loss per annum
(lost opportunity and increased fuel expense)
R120000000 ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -~
■ Closure of 20 km around 6 colonies
RlOO OOO OOO +--■
~ Clo
-s-
ur-
e~
of~3-co~lo~ni-es- w~it~h ~
alt-er-ed~ b-o-un~da- r~
ies_ _ _ _ __
RSO 000 000 +--------------------
R60 000 000 +--------------------

-55%
R40 000 000 +-----------
RO
Dassen Robben Stony Pl Dyer Island St Croix Bird Total
17
Way Forward
• Feedback on proposals
• Additional Science Areas
- Quantitative Assessment inclusive of all pressures
- Cost-benefit analyses of interventions
- Social & Economic data and knowledge
• Thank you
18
518
"AM25"
Subject: RE: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic
Fishery and Island Closures

Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 6:43 AM
To: Bukeka Bandezi <bbandezi @environment.gov.za >
Cc: Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected] >; Stephen Spuy <Stephen @sanccob.co.za>; Lauren Waller
<lauren @sanccob.co.za>; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za>
Subject: RE: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island
Closures
Dear Bandezi
Bird life South Africa would like to nominate the following three people to serve on the working group:
Alistair Mcinnes, Birdlife South Africa, [email protected]

Lauren Waller, SANCCOB, [email protected]
Craig Smith, WWF-SA, csmith @wwf.org.za
We look forward to receiving the invitation and agenda for the meeting that will take place on 31 August 2021.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
Birdlife South Africa
From: Bukeka Bandezi <bbandezi @environment.gov.za >

To: [email protected]; co [email protected] ; [email protected]; [email protected] ;
romar@ca penature.co.za; Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected] >; Mark Anderson <ceo @birdlife.org.za>;
wilfred @marinedynamicstravel.com ; Gregg.Oelofse <[email protected]>; Sabelom@robben-
island.org.za; MM @overstrand.gov.za; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <lorien.pichegru @mandela.ac.za >: [email protected] ; Peter Ryan
<[email protected] >; michelle joshua @masifundise.org.za; [email protected]; hildadms3 @gmail.com;
sassfcinfo @gmail.com ; natashac.visagie @gmail.com ; [email protected]; davidcharles jordaan @gmail.com ;
[email protected]
Cc: Judy Beaumont <[email protected]>; Sue Middleton <SMiddleton @environment.gov.za>; Ashley
Naidoo <Anaidoo @environment.gov.za>; Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected] >; Luthando Dziba
<Luthando.Dziba @sanparks.org>; Nosiseko Mhlahlo <NMhlahlo @environment.gov.za >
Subject: Re: Documents relating to Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island
Closures
Dear Stakeholders
1
519
Following the meeting convened by Minister Creecy on 12 August to discuss proposals to address the decline in the
breeding populations of the African Penguin, attached please find the following:
• Presentation made at the meeting

• Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small
Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures
As agreed at the meeting, nominations are requested as follows: 3 representatives from the fishing industry; and 3
representatives from conservation organisations.
The first workshop is scheduled to take place on 31 August 2021. An agenda and invitation will follow.
Kind Regards
Bukeka Bandezi
DFFE - Cape Town Branch
East Pier Road
Waterfront
021819 2610
==================================-=======-====---====----===-------------------------------------
',, ··•·" ,., ~ .... , ...

n • 1 ' • ~ ' • .... l...l ,,,,,,.~..,,,.
forestry. fisheries
& the environment www. vironm nt.gov.J:a
IJl!ll)IUO'l)enl
F ~. nllher~ and Uie Ell..-un,nrnt Call Centre: 0 6 1 11 1468
AEPUBLIC Of' SOUTH AFRICA
Bukeka Bandezi
T: IC:
E: [email protected]
W:
2
520
A: 2nd Floor ,Foretrust Building 1 Martin Hammerschlag Way
unauthorized usage, disclosure, alteration or dissemination is prohibited. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment
no responsibility for any loss whether it be direct, indirect or consequential, arising from information made available
and
Management.The processing of personal information by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is
done
lawfully and not excessive to the purpose of processing in compliance with the POPI Act, any codes of conduct issued by
the
Information Regulator in terms of the POPI Act and/ or relevant legislation providing appropriate security safeguards
for the
3
EXTENDED TASK TEAM: AFRICAN PENGUIN ISLAND CLOSURES
Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report
2 November 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
►To gauge the efficacy of different proposed boundaries in terms of their potential to
alleviate fishing pressure within critical African penguin habitat around their breeding
colonies, the Conservation Stakeholder Group has assessed the different proposals
against an internationally recognised scientific methodology, marine Important Bird
Areas (mlBAs).
► In order for the African penguin population to have the best chance of recovery we
strongly recommend that the last remaining six major colonies in South Africa (i.e. >
1000 pairs), Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St Croix Island and
Bird Island be afforded no-take fishery closures within 100% of their mlBAs and, for
Dassen and Dyer islands, where edge or 'fishing-the-line" effects are likely, that
further precautionary management measures be implemented in buffer zones on the
affected boundaries of these mlBAs.
► The ml BA extents do not represent the entire foraging ranges of African Penguins and
are considered a compromise position in terms of allocating the smallest area
necessary for African penguins, i.e. their core habitat utilisation while breeding.
► Although catches of sardine and anchovy vary inside mlBAs from as little as 0,5%
(sardine caught around Dassen Island) to 53,6% (sardine catches around St Croix) of
the regional catch it is argued that industry would still not be prevented from catching
their allocations if the mlBAs were closed to fishing as demonstrated by the Island
Closure Experiment. It is agreed that actual catching costs would increase, but some
of these additional costs, if not all, are expected to be passed on in the value chain.
The actual economic impact to fisheries was not possible to assess as economic data
were not made available for assessment.
► The recommended closures need to be in place year-round for a minimum of five
years before the efficacy of these closures can be adequately assessed.
► If the full mlBAs around the six islands are not implemented, we have submitted
alternative (although sub-optimal) proposals with associated conditions that may
reduce adverse impacts to African penguins subject to a review of the efficacy of these
delineations and potential extension of these closures after five years. Since the CSG
has been requested to participate in the ETT process, these alternative proposals and
associated conditions are viewed by the CSG as being a minimum set of criteria that
cannot be compromised on.
► The proposed Joint Scientific Task Team (STT) needs to be more inclusive of a broad
range of scientific skills that can ensure that any hypotheses of drivers of African
penguin population declines can be optimally formulated. Future research needs to
be informed by a structured process, e.g. a decision support framework, that assesses
the current critical gaps in African penguin conservation science, identifies the
feasibility of undertaking proposed research options, and prioritises research needs
based on the potential for these outcomes to inform practical management solutions.
► Deliberations processes and concerns- The CSG notes that no consensus was reached
nor was the ETT able to table a compromised position on island closures. The CSG
further feels the impasse is due to different perceptions of the primary objectives of
522
the ETT engagement process. The fishing industry perceives that they have no
significant impact on African penguins and that other drivers are far more important
and hence adopted a stance to reduce costs to industry as their primary objective for
engagement. The CSG perceives that reduced food availability is the one threat that
has not been effectively dealt with, with fishing the one driver that has not been
adequately managed and is likely to have a significant impact on African penguins
through competition for food, which is becoming more scarce, due to reduced small
pelagic biomass and distributional shifts linked to climate change. Consequently, the
CSG engaged with the objective to reduce fishing impacts to endangered African
penguins and as a secondary objective consider options that would reduce costs to
the fishing industry. A further observation noted by the CSG is that the original
proposal tabled by the Department is a compromise on a compromised position. The
fact that only 3 of the 6 largest penguin colonies are afforded increased protection is
a concern given the conservation status and high risk of colony extinctions. Secondly,
none of the 3 colonies that is afforded increased protection under the original
proposal covers 100% of the penguin's core habitat utilization. Adopting closures as
they currently stand will once again compromise the ability to assess the success of
these closure measures in arresting the decline of African penguins. Lastly, the CSG
strongly urge~ the Department to implement stringent measures to urgently rebuild
the west coast sardine stock and to ensure that adequate environmental reserves are
included for top predators that are highly dependent on forage fish as a source of
food.
INTRODUCTION
The Conservation Stakeholder Group (CSG), comprised of representatives of Bird life South Africa, the
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and the World Wide
Fund for Nature - South Africa (WWF-SA), welcomes the process initiated by the Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment to explore different delineations of island closures to ameliorate
resource competition around major African penguin colonies. The potential impacts of resource
competition for forage fish on African penguins was realised as early as the 1970s (Frost et al. 1976)
and proposals for fisheries exclusions around sensitive penguin habitat were recommended by
government seabird scientists in 2006 (Crawford 2006). A multitude of subsequent peer reviewed
published studies, and more recently, during the Island Closure Experiment (ICE), have reinforced the
need to implement island closures as a matter of urgency around the last remaining colonies that have
the greatest chance of contributing to an improvement in the conservation status of this endangered
species.
The CSG participated in five Extended Task Team (ETT) meetings subsequent to Minister Creecy's
presentation on proposed closure delineations around six major African penguin colonies on 12th
August 2021. The following is a synopsis of the CSG's rationale for recommended fisheries closures
including our position on wha~ is required in terms of boundary extents for fishing exclusions to arrest
the decline of African penguins. We also provide feedback of our perception of the ETT deliberation
process.
523
A) CONTEXT AND RATIONALE FOR CSG CLOSURE DELINEATIONS
Forage fish fisheries are known to cause local scale competition, reducing prey availability to
predators. This is of particular concern for many seabirds like African penguins that are range
restricted when breeding and whose energy requirements during breeding are considerable.
Insufficient access to food reduces adult condition and survival, reduces chick condition and
survival and negatively impacts population growth. Several peer reviewed scientific manuscripts
highlight the significance of local food availability to various penguin demographics, some of which
are key in promoting population recovery. Time-area closures are an effective fisheries
management technique (Dunn et al. 2011) and are deemed appropriate to alleviate resource
competition around African penguin colonies. The sardine stock on the west coast is now
depleted. Since 2014, the annual November biomass estimates have been consistently less than
both the long-term average as well as the 5 year average. This depleted state further increases
the competition for scarce resources, further highlighting the urgency for fishing restrictions
around the major African penguin colonies.
Marine Important Bird Areas (mlBAs)
To gauge the efficacy of different proposed boundaries in terms of their potential to alleviate
fishing pressure within critical penguin habitat around their breeding colonies, we have assessed
the different proposals against an internationally recognised scientific methodology, marine
Important Bird Areas (mlBAs); details of this methodology are expanded upon in Appendix 1. We
have also noted key concerns for potential edge and displacement effects that may compromise
the ability of these no-take areas in mitigating resource competition. This approach is scientifically
defensible, appropriate for the crisis in which the African penguin is in in terms of identifying
critical areas, and pragmatic in terms of fishing industry requirements. The mlBA method uses the
tracking data available from birds at each colony and is representative of the populations' core
marine habitat use requirements for each site. It is thus using far superior empirical evidence for
how the birds are utilising the marine environment as opposed to the previous method which
approximated their foraging range, i.e. the method used to delineate ICE boundaries when
insufficient data on their foraging movements for each individual colony were known . It does not
reflect the entire area that the penguins use but calculates the core utilisation area for breeding
foraging birds. The proposed mlBAs have also been shown to be utilised by pre- and post-moult
African penguins highlighting the need to implement these closures throughout the year. Any
small pelagic fishing inside the mlBAs will increase competition for food, particularly in years when
forage fish populations are low. A precautionary approach is therefore needed to ensure the
integrity of theses sensitive areas (mlBAs) are protected given the high risk of African penguin
colony extinctions.
B) CSG RECOMMENDED CLOSURE DELINEATIONS
• all six islands require the full mlBA to be protected from resource competition (see Figs 1,2
and 3 for mlBAs relative to other proposals, and Appendix 1 for mlBA technical detail). The 6
islands are those that comprise the last remaining African penguin colonies in South Africa
that have the lowest extinction probability, i.e.> 1000 Pairs (Crawford et al. 2001). The mlBAs
are areas that represent the critical and core habitat usage areas of African penguins.
524
• In addition to these mlBAs, additional fishing management conditions need to be

implemented on the boundaries of these mlBAs in regions where depletion of fish biomass
is likely to have impacts on the availability of prey in the adjacent mlBAs, i.e. edge effects or
"fishing-the-line": These areas have been highlighted in the ETT meetings, and include the
area north of the ml BA for Dassen Island and north of the ml BA for Dyer Island. Displacement
effects of fishing pressure to nearby colonies should also be considered and mitigated against
when decisions around closures are finalised. An example here is the closure of Dyer Island
which is likely to result in displaced fishing effort towards the Stony Point colony, which under
the current DFFE proposal only affords 5% ml BA protection for the latter colony.
• A review of the efficacy ofthe proposed closures should be aligned to biologically meaningful
intervals, notably age to first breeding (~s years) to allow the closures to demonstrate their
full potential in terms of recruitment benefits.
C) FURTHER COMPROMISE RECOMMENDATIONS
If the Department decides not to implement these mlBAs, and compromises further on the above
recommendations, we provide specific conditions that should be incorporated into the management
decisions that result from these ETT proceedings. We acknowledge that further detail on the practical
implementation of these management conditions will require further engagement with the managing
authorities.
Note that the mlBAs are already a compromise, since they identify the absolute core utilisation area
of the birds. Given their endangered status, and the depleted sardine stock, the Department really
should be providing this species with every opportunity possible for population recovery.
a) Dassen Island
1. Draft proposals d6, d7, dB, d9 and dl0 incorporate between 33% and 89% of the ml BA (Figure
1).
2. Counter proposal d7 has the least coverage of the ml BA (33%) but only potentially reduces
the proportion of anchovy catch by 1.3% when compared to dlO which incorporates the
greatest amount of the mlBA (89%, Table 1).
3. If the full mlBA is not considered as an option for implementation, then we recommend the
following conditions:
a. Option dlO be implemented (See Figure 1).
b. Spatial and temporal management of the fleet is required to reduce the fishing
pressure at the boundary of the ml BA, and 100% observer coverage must be included.
In addition, the number of vessels fishing in this area should be limited on any given
day and should be authorized by the department. Rationale: The proposed closure
lies within an area that is used by anchovy recruits that move southward through the
system. Intensive fishing at the northern part of the closure is likely to have
downstream effects on prey availability to penguins within the ml BA.
c. An incentive scheme should be introduced in FRAP policy to reward applicants that
voluntarily commit to not fish in mlBA areas open to fishing.
d. The opening of 16-mile beach MPA was discussed as part of the deliberations for
extensive closure of Dassen Island, but on further engagements outside of the ETT
this option should be avoided as the 16-mile beach MPA is an important foraging area
for non-breeding African penguins and endangered Cape cormorants.
525
e. Assessment after 5 years with provisions to extend boundary to full mlBA should the
dl0 extent be shown to be ineffective in mitigating resource competition.
b) Dyer Island
1. Draft proposals d6, d7, and golf incorporate between 20% (d7) and 76% (golf) of the ml BA
(Table 1).
2. If the full mlBA is not considered as an option for implementation, then we recommend the
a. Option golf be implemented (See Figure 2).
b. Spatial and temporal management of the fleet is required to reduce the fishing
pressure at the boundary of the ml BA, particularly in the north and 100% observer
coverage must be included. In addition, the number of vessels fishing in this area
should be limited on any given day and should be authorized by the department.
Priority should be considered for right holders with small vessels operating from
Gansbaai to access these areas. Rationale: The proposed closure lies within an area
that is intensively fished for sardine which is currently a depleted stock. We reiterate
our concern for the concentration of fishing pressure in this area. We did request
specific information that would have assisted in discussing spatial and temporal
management options of the fleet, but this was not provided.
c. Incentive scheme should be introduced in the FRAP policy to reward applicants that
voluntarily commits to not fish in ml BA areas open to fishing.
d. Assessment after 5 years with provisions to extend boundary to full ml BA should the
golf extent be shown to be ineffective in mitigating resource competition.
c) St Croix Island
1. Draft proposals d6, d7, and golf incorporate between 49% (d7) and 75% (d6) of the mlBA
(Table 1).
2. If the full ml BA is not considered as an option for implementation, then we recommend the
a. Option d6 be implemented (See Figure 3).
b. Incentive scheme should be introduced in the FRAP policy to reward applicants that
voluntarily commit to not fish ml BA areas open to fishing.
c. Assessment after 5 years with provisions to extend boundary to full ml BA should the
d6 extent be shown to be ineffective in mitigating resource competition.
d) The MPAs of Robben Island, Stony Point and Bird Island
Three of the proposed colonies were proposed with their current MPA restrictions so these are
the status quo in terms of fishing restrictions and maintaining current fishing pressure. These
MPAs were delineated for the protection of biodiversity features and ecological processes more
generally, and do not adequately protect the foraging areas required by African penguins. We also
assessed these current MPA restrictions around Robben Island, Stony Point and Bird Island against
the mlBA standard.
526
1. Robben Island
• Restricted fishing areas include 41% of the ml BA which is the current condition
under the MPA restrictions (Figure 4).
• Should the Department decide not to close the full mlBA to fishing, to alleviate
fishing pressure in non-protected mlBAs we recommend incentivising rights
holders to avoid these areas.
2. Stony Point
• This site has the least protection, only 5% in the existing MPA at Bettys Bay (Figure 4).
• We are concerned that fishing effort, excluded in new restrictions around Dyer Island, may be
displaced to this area thereby intensifying resource competition for penguins from this colony.
• Stony Point penguin colony has significant socio-economic benefits as it is a mainland colony
and therefore gets a substantial number of visitors, including tourists and school children.
• A larger portion of the ml BA must be included in the closure proposals.
• To alleviate fishing pressure in non-protected mlBAs, incentivising rights holders to avoid
these areas should be implemented.
3. Bird Island
• This site has 45% of its ml BA protected currently in an MPA (Figure 4).
• Although there is currently little fishing around this island we are concerned about
displacement of fishing effort to this region in the future.
• Recommend that offshore waters of the island be included in the proposed closure.
• To alleviate fishing pressure in non-protected mlBAs recommend incentivising rights holders
to avoid these areas.
C) CONSERVATION SECTOR VIEW OF THE ETT PROCESS TO DATE
Here we note some of our key concerns regarding the proceedings in the spirit of reaching a
meaningful compromise both in terms of a sensible outcome that is informed by the best available
science in protecting critical habitat for African penguins and minimising the cost to the fishing
industry.
• Perceptions that island closures will have a negligible effect on penguins.

We are seriously concerned about this false perception that has been propagated through the
fishing industry community. There is no published, peer-reviewed evidence that
demonstrated this - nor has the International Stock Assessment Review Panel expressed such
a view.
• Lack of engagement on discussing closure boundary options.

Much of the time has been spent discussing the merit of closures and the additional science
programme that was stated as a condition of further engagement. Despite our request to
. keep the ETT focus on the task at hand ·as requested by Minister Creecy - to discuss the
boundaries proposed by DFFE and come to an agreement, real, practical discussions on
527
boundaries and exploring various management options were obstructed as industry believes
they are not having a significant impact on the African penguin population.
• Lack of engagement on the possibility of other spatial management measures.

The conservation reps provided their inputs via the marine IBAs during the 2nd ETT meeting,
and made requests for further information such as: how the fleet could be spatially managed
to ensure limited impact to smaller vessels/fishing companies; what management
interventions could be discussed to mitigate 'fishing the line' where fishing pressure could
reduce the movement of fish into the closed area and so limit the benefit of the marine IBA;
reducing fleet sizes in the Dyer Island region which is the focus of the sardine fishery on the
west coast. These discussions were not fruitfully and meaningfully had with data not being
provided on fishing activity to aid the discussion.
• Lack of real compromised proposals with quantitative socio-economic assessment to

justify acceptable closure extents.
Proposals submitted by fisheries representatives are motivated by ad hoc skippers' perceived
favourable fishing areas and the areas previously utilised by industry provided by fisheries
department with no motivation as to why other areas in the DFFE's proposals cannot be
mitigated. No quantitative economic assessment to motivate for these preferred delineations
were given; ideally we would like to see a spatially explicit, sardine and anchovy specific
representations of replacement costs for the industry based on an assessment of the
proportion of the TACs lost during years when fishing was restricted around islands in the ICE.
Data was requested on the actual costs of the closures (given the 13 years of alternated
closures to date); when were TACs not met as a result of closures; what were profits vs losses
in open/closed years.
The proposals received to date (for Dassen and Dyer) by the purse-seine fisheries sectors
cannot be seen as a compromise as they essentially include areas that are unfavourable for
fishing, or cannot be accessed for fishing, with no consideration given to penguin foraging
needs. Looking at only the sardine catch 0,4% and 0.2% of the historical catch is impacted by
the Dassen Island and Dyer Island proposals with only 33 and 20% of the MIBA included for
these islands respectively.
• The economic cost of the depleted sardine stock on the west coast to industry
The decoupling of the costs of the depleted west coast sardine stock, relative to the costs
associated with closures is absolutely essential in order to obtain the real cost to industry of
any fishing closures.
• 16 Mile Beach MPA

We are concerned that 16 Mile Beach MPA is being put on the table as a condition of
participation. This area has been shown to be important for endangered African penguins and
Cape cormorants. Furthermore, we are concerned about the precedent set to bypass MPA
processes if the opening up of this MPA to fishing is supported by government.
• Seasonal closures
We have objected to seasonal closures in a previous submission to DFFE's SWG-PEL (Makhado
et al. 2021) as there is substantial scientific evidence to demonstrate that African Penguins
528
utilise the marine habitat around their colonies during different life history stages throughout
the year (Carpenter-Kling et al. 2021, Makhado et al. 2021 and references therein).
• Diurnal closures
This should not be entertained as the closures are being implemented to reduce resource
competition, i.e. depletion of fish stocks around penguin colonies. Depletion can be
cumulative over timescales beyond the diurnal cycle so cannot be considered to ameliorate
this effect. It must be noted that this proposal was for the sardine fishery which mostly
operates at night in any event, i.e. proposal of this nature are not much different from the
status quo, i.e. the same magnitude of fishing that the island closure proposals are trying to
mitigate against.
• Need for fisheries management representation on the task team

Having fisheries management represented on the task team will greatly assist in discussing
real, practical options for fleet management and finding solutions to limit resource
competition.
• Intensity of sardine fishing between Dyer Island and Stony Point

We are extremely concerned about the intensity of sardine catches between Stony Point
and Dyer Island. That ~so% of the sardine catch west of Cape Agulhas is caught in this area
indicates the level of competition that the seabirds face. Fishing restrictions around Dyer
Island are likely to have displacement effects for Stony Point, and practical spatial fleet
management options urgently need to be discussed.
• The elephant in the room- low sardine biomass

This issue was not discussed directly in the ETT, but the declining sardine biomass as a forage
fish is likely to play a key role in the declining numbers of many top predators in the
Southern Benguela ecosystem. An EAF in the small pelagic fishery needs to be adopted that
would urgently seek to rebuild the sardine resource while simultaneously providing
sufficient environmental reserve, not just for African penguins but for all top predators that
are highly dependent on small pelagic species as a food resource.
529
Figures and Table 1.
Dassen Island closure proposal

Location: West Coast,
north ofTable Bay
~ st Coast NP -
• ~ MPAs
Pengu,nstra<:l<a
Dassen proposal (d!I)
Counter proposal (d7) D
Draft 8
Draft9 :·· .. ··:
Dmt110 E i
20kmrec11us C J
Foraging: 50¾ D
• Foraginp 75~~ D
mlBAs □
A 0 5 10
Figure 1. PETT draft closure proposals for Dassen Island (Source: PETT_lO_Penguin_colony_closure
proposals_for_informatiuon_20211021).
Dyer Island (West of Cape Agulhas)

Closure proposal
cap.NaturaR-.rves D mt&A
0y., p,..... 1..,...,, CJ f o , - -
CJ Draft tl)OII, CJ F0n1g1n1r 75%
- Agullos NP D Rraoius 20km
0,,011'enguln&
N .34 deg,.... 8'10 47 minutes

J. - = = i Kilometers
~ 02.55 10
Figure 2. PETT draft closure proposals for Dyer Island (Source: PETT_lO_Penguin_colony_closure
proposa Is_for_informati uon_20211021)
530
St. Croiilliland (Location: Al
D Foraging~.60%
Q foraging,-75%
D 20km radius
Penguin tracks
N
- - - ==::::iKilometero J..
0 2.5 5 10 ~
Figure 3. PETT draft closure proposals for St Croix Island (PETT_lO_Penguin_colony_closure proposals_for_informatiuon_20211021).
.:::7
':;:!S?f-·
> '
531
a) Robben Island b) Bird Island
-33.8 -33.6
-33.7 ~
-33.7
.,
-u
i~33.8
C:
.3
,, ~,
- -- - -- - ---- - -- r / -
~1!
- -::
__J
:::1
1
-33.8
-33.9
-33.9 ----- ---------~-- -- -- -

'' -34.0
'''
-340 •34.1
181 18.2 183 ,a, 18.~ 26.0 261 26.2 26.3 26-< 26.5 26.6
Latitude Latitude
c) Stony Point
~
-34.30
Marine Important Bird Area
., .3435
-u
---· Marine Protected Area (MPA)
i-34.40
C
- - • MPA and purse-seine fisheries
0
.J restricted areas
.34.45
-34.50
18.8 18.9 19.0 111.1 19.2
La1itude
Figure 4. ml BA and MPA extents around Robben Island, Stony Point and Bird Island.
Table 1. Areas and proportional impacts on African Penguins (mlBAs) and fisheries catches for different ETT proposed fishery closure delineations.
Dassen Island Dyer Island St Croix Island

Area %mlBA %anchovy o/oSardine Area % mlBA %anchovy %sardine Area %mlBA %sardine
Proposals (km 2} incorp. catch catch (km2) incorp. catch catch (km2) lncorp. catch
mlBA 688 100 7.47 0.46 1137 100 12.36 32.65 938 100 53.63
20km 901* 65 7.51 0.46 657* 56 10.05 16.14 613* 60 42.12
Original DFFE proposal {d6) 946 88 4.36 0.38 1303 76 3.94 11.97 809 75 32.86
Industry counter proposal (d7) 720 33 2.27 0.4 260 20 0.12 0.22 497 49 24.16
Counter- draft8{d8) 907 77 4.31 0.27 - - - - - - -
Counter- draft 9 (d9) 889 58 3.69 0.34 - - - - - - -
Counter- draft 10 (dl0) 864 89 3.57 0.34 - - - - - - -
Counter - draft golf - - - - 1032 76 3.65 9.34 609 60 28.95
~~°\'""'
'l... ,
532
Appendix 1. Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (mlBA) method.
Following the methods of Lascelles et al. (2016) and Dias et al. (2018) and using the R package track2KBA (Beal et al.
2021), marine Important Bird Areas (mlBAs) were identified separately for each African Penguin colony. The method
follows four steps:
1. Identify core area usage of individuals: The core area of each individual is estimated using kernel density analysis.
Kernel density analysis calculates the density of locations by fitting a bivariate normal function with a pre-defined
radius (smoothing parameter; h) around each location and summing up the values to create a smooth density
surface. The kernel utilization distribution (UD) is the isotopleth that contains a certain percentage of the density
distribution. The UD that estimated the core area of each species during a particular life-history stage was
estimated based on optimal isopleth value selection (OIVS), following Vander Wal and Rogers. The OIVS method
uses the exponential relationship between the proportion of home range area used by an individual and the
isopleth volume to identify thresholds (slope = 1) delineating areas of maximum use. OIVS was applied to each
individual and the mean optimal isopleth value of all individuals of a species within a specific life-history stage (e.g.
breeding or post-moult) and was taken to represent the core range of the birds. The h-value was based the scale
of each datagroup's area restricted search. For flying seabirds, it was determined using first passage time analysis
and for penguins, a h- value of 7 km was used following Dias et al. (2018).
2. Assess the representativeness of the sampled data: The representiveness of the tracking dataset from a sub-
sample of the population is assessed by iteratively randomly selecting individuals tracks 100 times and pooling the
data to estimate a UD using the isopleth estimated in the previous step. The proportion of non-sampled tracking
locations within the resulting area is calculated (i.e. the 'inclusion rate'). A non-linear least square regression is
fitted to the relationship between sample size and inclusion rate to project this rate until its asymptote (that is the
sample size which fully represent the source population distribution) and calculates the degree to which the
tracked sample represents the space use of the population. The inclusion rate at the maximum sample size should
approximate the specified UD when the tracked sample is fully representative.
3. Identification of shared areas of high intensity use: Boundary of sites which are used by different birds is
identified . That is, areas that are used by~ 10%, ~12.5% or~ 20% of the tracked individuals, depending on whether
the sample had representativeness values of> 90%, 80%-90% or 70%-80%, respectively.
4. Final delineation of marine IBAs: To enhance practicability of management zones, spatial polygons are aggregated
to minimize the boundary-to-area ratio. Specifically, any isolated polyg_on or hole within a larger polygon, which is
smaller than 5% of the total area identified, is removed or filled, respectively, using the R package smoothr.
Polygons are further merged if the great circle distance between their centroids was< 5% of the greatest distance
between any two polygon centroids. The final boundaries of sites identified for each data group are delimited by
a minimum convex polygon R package adehabitat (Calenge 2006).
533
References
Beal M, Oppel S, Handley J, Pearmain L, Morera-Pujol V, Miller M, Taylor P, Lascelles B, Dias M.

2020. Birdlifelnternational/track2kba: First Release (Version 0.5.0).
Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3823902
Calenge C (2006) The package "adehabitat" for the R software: a tool for the analysis of space and habitat use by
animals. Ecol Model 197:516-9.
Carpenter-Kling T, de Blocq A, Hagen C, Harding C, Morris T, Pichegru L, Roberts J, Ryan PG, Wanless Rand Mcinnes A
(submitted). Important marine areas of African penguins during two crucial life history stages outside of the
breeding season. Scientific Reports.
Crawford RJM, David JHM, Shannon LI, Kemper J, Klages NTW, Roux J-P et al. 2001. African Penguins
as predators and prey- coping (or not) with change. South African Journal of Marine Science
23: 435-447.
Crawford, RJM. 2006. Closure of areas to purse-seine fishing around the St Croix and Dyer islands African penguin
colonies. SWG/OCT2006/PEL/02.
Dias MP, Carneiro APB, Warwick-Evans V, Harris C, Lorenz K, Lascelles B, Clewlow HL, Dunn MJ, Hinke JT, Kim JH,
Kokubun N, Manco F, Ratcliffe N, Santos M, Takahashi A, Trivelpiece W, Trathan PN (2018) Identification of marine
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands.
Ecology and Evolution 8:10520-10529.
Dunn DC, Boustany AM, and Halpin PN (2011). Spatio-temporal management of fisheries to reduce by-catch and
increase fishing selectivity. Fish and Fisheries, 12: 110-119.
Frost PGH, Frost WR, Siegfried R, Cooper J. 1976. Conservation of the jackass penguin (Spheniscus demersus (L.)).
Biological Conservation 9(2): 79 - 99.
Lascelles BG, Taylor PR, Miller MGR, Dias MP, Oppel S, Torres L, Hedd A, Le Corre M, Phillips RA, Shaffer SA,
Weimerskirch H, Small C (2016) Applying global criteria to tracking data to define important areas for marine
conservation. Diversity and Distributions 22: 422-431.
Makhado A, Hagen C, Pichegru L, Shannon LI, Sherley RB, Waller LI, Carpenter-Kling T, Ludynia Kand Mcinnes A. The
seasonal significance of at-sea habitat for African Penguins around St Croix Island and the importance of full-year
fishery closures. FISHERIES/2021/JAN/SWG-PEL/03.
Vander Wal E, Rodgers AR (2012) An individual-based quantitative approach for delineating core areas of animal space
use. Ecological Modelling 224: 48-53.
534
"AM27"
Subject: CAFMLR Approved Terms of Reference
From: Alieya Haider <[email protected]>

Sent: Monday, March 14, 2022 2:13 PM
To: T.Frantz <[email protected] >; Kerry Sink <K.Sink @sanbi.org.za >; kevern.cochrane
<kevern.cochrane @gmail.com>; aneshgovender <[email protected] >; liaison <liaison @fishsa.org>; 'Stacey
Williams' <[email protected]>; Jeppe Kolding <[email protected]>; Welly Qwabe <[email protected] >;
zolani.mbanjwa <[email protected] >; Cheslyn Liebenberg <[email protected] >; Janet Claire Coetzee
<JCoetzee @dffe.gov.za >; Azwianewi Makhado <AMakhado @dffe.gov.za>; Herman Oosthuizen <[email protected] >;
georgieoosthuizen <[email protected] >; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Asanda Njobeni
<an jobeni @dffe.gov.za>; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >;
Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za>; Dr Mike Bergh <mike @olsps.com>; co [email protected];
redah @oceangrow.co.za ; Redah De Maine <redah @rialfishing.co.za>; Alison.Kock <[email protected]>;
Cloverley Lawrence <cloverley.lawrence @san parks.org>; Zishan Ebrahim <Zishan.Ebrahim @sanparks.org>; Pierre de
Villiers <estuaries@ca penature.co.za >; Makhudu J. Masotla <MMasotla @dffe.gov.za >
Subject: CAFMLR Approved Terms of Reference
Dear Colleagues
I hope you are well.
Please find a copy of the approved Terms of Reference as signed by Minister in the attachment.
Kind regards
Alieya Haider
CAFMLR Secretariat
Fisheries Management Branch
Department: Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE)
Alternative email: [email protected]
Mobile: 0842507735
for~. fisheries
& the environment
Departm.ent:
Forestry. Fisheries and the Environment
1
535
MINISTER
Private Bag X447, PretO!la, 0001, Environment House, 473 Sieve Biko Road, Tel: (012) 399 8743
Private Bag X9052, cape Town, 8000, Tel: (021)4691500, Fax: (021)465 3362
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM FOR MARINE LIVING
RESOURCES· SPECIAL PROJECT TO REVIEW PENGUIN CONSERVATION AND SMALL PELAGIC
FISHERIES INERACTIONS
1. Forum's Official Designation. Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources (the
"Forum")). The Forum is established by the Minister responsible for fisheries in terms of section 5
of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No.18 of 1998) (the "MLRA")
2. Authority. Section 5 of the MLRA requires the Minister responsible for fisheries to establish the
Forum, which the Minister established on 21 June 2021.
3. Objectives and Scope of Activities. Section 6 of the MLRA sets out the functions of the Forum.
The Forum must advise the Minister on · any matter referred to the Forum by the Minister.
Specifically, the Minister is requesting the Forum to advise her on the following:
3.1 Consider outputs from the Extended Task Team onPenguin Conservation and make agreed upon
recommendations to the Minister on the limiting of Small Pelagic Fishing Activities adjacent to
penguin colonies. The following documents must be considered.
1. Penguin Conservation Task Team Activities Summary for the CAF
2. Penguins and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions Synthesis Report
3. Synthesis Report Review 1
1
536
FISHERIES INTERACTIONS

5. Summary Report and Preferred Options from the Conservation Sector Group
6. Summary Report and Fishing Limitations Proposal from the Small Pelagic Fishing Industry
for the West Coast (Dassen, Robben, Stony Point and Dyer Islands). Note there is no
separate document on the South Coast Small Pelagic Fishery as these were communicated
directly to the Department. This is included as the St. Croix map and Summary Table as
Industry Counter Proposal (I) in the collated options Annexure 1.4.
7. Collated options of fishing limitation with estimated loss percentages and percentages of
Marine Important Bird Areas conserved around the major penguin islands.
3.2 Make additional agreed upon recommendations on other conservation measures that may be
adopted by the Minister.
4. Industrial bodies and interest groups. The Forum may consider other relevant information from
stakeholders which the Forum believes should be brought to the attention of the Minister as part
of the Forum's advisory role.
5. Appointment of Observers. The Minister may appoint persons with observer status for the
duration of the deliberation. These observers will have speaking rights; the right to cross-examine
expert witnesses and the right to present their own evidence. The Chairperson may decide to
include observers in the final deliberations and formulation of recommendations by the CAFMLR
to the Minister. The observers will be paid at the same rates as ordinary members for the period
of their appointment.
The Minister appoints the following observers for this special project:
Dr Lauren Waller - SANCCOB (Conservation sector)
Dr ~listair Mcinnes - Birdlife SA (Conservation sector)
Mr. Craig Smith - WWF (Conservation sector)
Mr. Mike Copeland - West Coast (Fisheries sector)
Dr Mike Bergh - West Coast (Fisheries sector)
Mr. Redah De Maine - South Coast (Fisheries sector)
537
6. Description of Duties. The Forum will be required to submit written reports and written
recommendations to the Minister on the special project commencing from 24 of January 2022.
The final report with recommendations must be submitted to the Minister by no later than 14 March
2022. The Forum will function solely as an advisory body and will comply fully with the MLRA and
its regulations, and in particular, these TORs.
7. Office or Official to Whom the Forum Reports. The Forum shall report to the Minister
responsible for fisheries through the Office of the Minister.
8. Support. The Branch: Fisheries Management of the Department responsible for fisheries will
provide administrative support for the Forum.
9. Estimated Annual Operating Costs. The duration of this project is for five weeks. This includes
fees for members' attendance at Forum meetings, preparation and research as approved by the
Chairperson, travelling time to Forum-meetings as well as travel and subsistence allowances, as
necessary. These costs will be covered and paid for by the Marine Living Resources Fund.
10. Disclosure. The CAFMLR members and members with observer status shall annually disclose
all fisheries related interests to the Minister and at every CAFMLR meeting and/or sub-committee
meeting, per item discussed, to be so reflected in the Aide memoir.
11. Duration. The duration of the Penguin Conservation - Small Pelagic Fisheries Review is for a
period of seven (7) weeks, commencing 24 January 2022 and ending on 14 March 2022. CAFMLR
members and observers shall sign and adhere to the Code of Conduct and Ethics Agreement and
Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement, attached as Annexures A and B to this Terms of
Reference.
12. Remuneration. Membership to the CAFMLR shall be remunerated in accordance with the
determined remuneration of Category B, sub-category B2 of the National Treasury published
remuneration levels: Service benefit packages for office-bearers of certain statutory and other
institutions (as amended from time to time).
538
Category Classification B2 (Part-time Members)

Remuneration 2021Rates
Position Meeting rate
Perday Per hour
Chairperson R3888 R486
Members R2382 R298
Remuneration shall include attendance at Forum meetings, preparation and research as approved
by the Chairperson, travelling time to Forum-meetings (up to a maximum of 7 days per meeting)
as well as travel and subsistence allowances. The following shall be applicable to all remuneration
matters concerning the CAFMLR members:
i. Members shall register as Services Providers with National Treasury and shall submit
invoices in lieu of payment for all remuneration accrued and expenses incurred in serving
on the CAFMLR;
ii. Members shall register as provisional Tax Payers with the South African Revenue
Services (SARS) and in addition shall register for Value Added Tax (VAT) (should they be
earning above the SARS threshold), such proof shall be submitted to the Chief Directorate:
Fisheries Operations Support (or any such name the post may operate under at some
point in future) on an annual basis, or as and when requested.
iii. Members shall be remunerated for each hour served up to a daily rate maximum of 7 days
per meeting (as published by National Treasury for office bearers of certain statutory and
other institutions), applicable to sitting fees, research and travelling time.
iv. Members shall in addition to the daily rate above, receive Travel and subsistence
allowances in line with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
Policy and rates.
v. Flights, accommodation, car hire, transfers, conference registration and attendance fees,
venue fees, catering etc. shall be arranged by the Chief Directorate: Fisheries Operations
Support to be paid for by the DFFE in line with DFFE Policy and rates.
vi. Members utilising their private vehicles for official travel related to the CAFMLR shall
maintain a travel log and submit claims on a monthly basis via the Chief Directorate: (
~ ~t--\
4
539
Fisheries Operations Support for payment. Mileage claims shall be paid line with DFFE
Policy and rates.
vii. Employees of National, Provincial and Local Government or Agencies and Entities of
Government serving as Members on the CAFMLR are not entitled to additional
remuneration.
13. Recordkeeping. The records of the CAFMLR shall be handled in accordance with the Protection
of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013), and the Minimum Information Security
Standards for the State as approved by Cabinet on 04 December 1996.
All meetings shall have Aide memoirs and any recommendations provided to the Minister shall be
compiled in a report and shall include any dissenting views from members.
14. Communication. All communication related to the CAFMLR shall be exclusively limited to the
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment through the Office of the Minister.
In this Terms of Reference, the "Minister" shall mean the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment or such other Ministry under whose ambit the CAFMLR may operate at some pointin future.
■ .&
. . - .
• • • I
MS 8 D CREECY, MP
DATE: <;;, f:>( ~L--

"AM28 640
MINISTER
,FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Private Bag X447, Pretoria, 0001, Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Road, Tel: (012) 399 8743
Private Bag X8052, Cape Town, 8000, Tel: (021) 469 1500, Fax: (021) 465 3362
Dr Alistair Mcinnes
Birdlife SA
Per Email: Laurenewt.org.za
Dear Dr Mcinnes
APPOINTMENT AS AN OBSERVER ON THE CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM IN TERMS OF

SECTION 5 OF THE MARINE LIVING RESOURCES ACT, 1998, ACT NO. 18 OF 1998 ON A SHORT-
TERM BASIS FOR THE SPECIAL PROJECT TO THE REVIEW PENGUIN CONSERVATION AND SMALL
PELAGIC FISHERIES INTERACTIONS
In terms of section 7(1) of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) (MLRA) and
Treasury Regulations 3.1.2 (issued in terms of Section 76(4)(d) of the Public Finance Management Act,
1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), you are hereby appointed to serve as an Observer on the Consultative Advisory
Forum (CAF) on a short.term basis for the special project to review the penguin conservation and small pelagic
fisheries interactions.
The purpose of your appointment to the Consultative Advisory Forum, as set out in section 6 of the MLRA,
is to advise the Minister on the following:
1.1 Consider outputs from the Extended Task Team on Penguin Conservation and make
recommendations on the limiting of Small Pelagic Fishing Activities adjacent to penguin colonies.
The following documents must be considered.
1. Penguin Conservation Task Tearn Activities Summary for the CAF
2. Penguins and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions Synthesis Report
5. Summary Report and Preferred Options from the Conservation Sector Group
6. Summary Report and Fishing Limitations Proposal from the Small Pelagic Fishing Industry
for the West Coast (Dassen, Robben, Stony Point and Dyer Islands). Note there is no
separate document on the South Coast Small Pelagic Fishery as these were communicated
directly to the Department. This is included as the St. Croix map and Summary Table as
Industry Counter Proposal (I) in the collated options Annexure 1.4.
7. Collated options of fishing limitation with estimated loss percentages and percentages of
Marine Important Bird Areas conserved around the major penguin islands.
~
~f~1l.v\
The processing of personal informatJon by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is done lawfully and n<1 excessive to.
the purpose of processing in compiance with the POPI Act, any codes of conduct issued by the Information Regulator in terms of the POPlf •
Act and I or relevant legislation providing appropriate security safeguards for the processing of personal information of others, rt' '
1
541
APPOINTMENT AS AN OBSERVER ON THE CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM IN TERMS OF

SECTION 5 OF THE MARINE LIVING RESOURCES ACT, 1998, ACT NO. 18 OF 1998 ON A SHORT-
TERM BASIS FOR THE SPECIAL PROJECT TO THE REVIEW PENGUIN CONSERVATION AND
SMALL PELAGIC FISHERIES INTERACTIONS
1.2 To provide the Minister with agreed upon recommendations on the approach to possible island
closures.
1.3 Make additional recommendations on other conservation measures that may be adopted by the
Minister.
As an interested and affected party with observer status, you will have speaking rights; the right to cross-
examine expert witnesses and the right to present their own evidence but will not be party to the final
deliberations and formulation of recommendations by the CAF··to the Minister. You will be paid at the
same rates as oroinary members for the six weeks of your appointment.
This appointment is valid for a seven.week period from 24 January 2022 and expiring on 14 March 2022.
You will be reimbursed in terms of the National Treasury tariffs (as amended annually}. The current rates
are as follows:
• An hourly rate of R298.00 wil be paid for the duration of each meeting with four-hour preparation
time being allowed.
• A daily rate of R2 382.00.
You and other members of !he Consultative Advisory Forum have an important task to fulfil, and I wish
you every success in this regard. Attached to this letter, please find the Term of Reference for the
Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources and the Acceptance Fonn. Please sign the
Acceptance Form and email back a copy to: [email protected]
Yours sincerely
f(tqcz,t_~----__,,
MS B D CREECY, MP
DATE: 11/51~"2,
542
APPOINTMENT TO SERVE AS A MEMBER OF THE CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM
l, ... A.f:-.t.~TI\~{S ... H:.l.~~-~ ................hereby accept/do not aoaept the appointment to
serve as a member of the Consultative Advisory Forum on a short-term basis for Marine Living
Resources. I also agree/de not agree that my appointment is subject to the provisions of the Marine
Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) (MLRA} and in particular, sections 6 and 7 of the MLRA.
In accepting my appointment, I agree to adhere to the proedures of the Consultative Advisory Forum
contained in the Terms of Reference approved by the Minister.
SIGNATURE:
DATE:
543
"AM29"
Subject: FW: RE: Failed CAFMLR consultation process regarding African Penguin conservation
and Small Pelagic Fisheries interactions

Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2022 9:42 PM
To: Du Plessis, Morne <mdu [email protected] >; Natalie Maskell <[email protected] >; Yolan Friedmann
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <alistair.mcinnes @birdlife.org.za >; Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za>; Harriet T.
Davies-Mostert <harrietd @ewt.org.za>; Nicky Stander <nicky@ sanccob.co.za>; Silandela, Mkhululi
<msilandela @wwf.org.za >; Hanneline Smit-Robinson <hanneline.smit-robinson @birdlife.org.za >; Lauren Waller
<[email protected]>
Subject: FW: RE: Failed CAFMLR consultation process regarding African Penguin conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries
interactions
Dear colleagues
Minister Creecy asked me this afternoon to send her our report/arguments, and I have done so. I have also just
WhatsApped her to say that the report has been sent to her.
I have purposefully deleted her email address below, as she asked me to send it to her home email address (and I am
not sure whether she wants this email address to be widely known).
It will be interesting to see how things pan out during the next few days.
Regards
Mark

Sent: Wednesday, 16 March 2022 21:27
To: Minister Creecy
Subject: RE: Failed CAFMLR consultation process regarding African Penguin conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries
interactions
Dear Minister
I refer to our telephone conversation this afternoon.
To date, we have not received and had an opportunity to review the report stemming from the Consultative Advisory
Forum for Marine Living Resources (CAFMLR). This is despite compromised island closure delineations having been
presented to the stakeholders at the final CAFMLR meeting on 8 March 2022. We have also n9t received confirmation
that we will be afforded a chance to do so. We note that we similarly had no opportunity to review the report presented
from the Extended Task Team {ETT) of Penguin Conservation, and that our submissions were, unfortunately,
misrepresented therein.
The Conservation Sector Group views the CAFMLR final recommendation as insufficient to make a meaningful
difference to alleviate resource competition around important African Penguin colonies. We are strongly of the opinion
that the process was procedurally flawed on multiple accounts.
1
544
As discussed this afternoon, and to ensure that your consideration of this matter is informed by a full and accurate
understanding of our submissions, I am sending you our recommendations in the accompanying report.
We'd like to note that this report has not had the attention to detail that we would have wished for, particularly as we
are shooting a little in the dark since we have not had sight of what has been submitted to you by the CAFMLR.
The attached report is detailed and long, but you will understand the just of our concerns in the Executive Summary.
I am sending you this email and the report on behalf of the Conservation Sector Group (CSG) on which Bird life South
Africa, SANCCOB and WWF-SA (and now also the Endangered Wildlife Trust) is represented.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need any further information or clarification.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
.)1,
• dLife
If \l R I
Iv. 'It• C ,_,,,.,,, n Wint•
ls dell House, 17 Hume Road (cnr Hume Road/ Jan Smuts Drive), Dunkeld West 2196, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
http://www.birdlife.orq.za
Donations to Birdlife South Africa may contribute to your B-BBEE scorecard as we are fully SED compliant in terms of the B-BBEE Act. We are
Birdlife South Africa head office is supported by many generous donors, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, F.H.
-
Birdl1fe
t I
- sappi
........,..,, ... TOYOTA
not intended for use by any other party and may not be relied upon by any other party. No acceptance of any liability for any
unauthorised use of this information or any associated attachment will be given. Further. this information is based on the facts provided by
the addressee and on the law as promulgated at the date of this document. No responsibility will be taken for advising on any changes to
the information which may arise as a result of subsequent changes to law or practice
2
545
Failed Consultative Process - Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on
recommended island closure delineations as deliberated on during the Consultative Advisory
Forum for Marine Living Resources - Special Project to Review Penguin Conservation and Small
Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR)
Date: 16 March 2022
Submitted by representatives of the Conservation Sector Group: Dr Alistair Mcinnes (Birdlife South
Africa), Dr Lauren Waller (formerly: Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal
Seabirds; currently: Endangered Wildlife Trust), Craig Smith (World-Wide Fund for Nature - South
Africa)
Executive summary
1. African Penguins are currently listed as globally Endangered by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with their populations currently decreasing by 5-10% per annum.
Regionally, in 2021, the east coast population in Algoa Bay met the IUCN Red Listing criteria for
Critically Endangered status and the population on the west coast is predicted to be functionally
extinct by 2030. Urgent conservation action is required to stem this decline. This conservation
action must take the form of addressing the primary threats to the species, of which reduced
availability of food ranks as number 1.
2. The final CAFMLR compromise proposal does not address the Minister's concerns about arresting
the decline of African Penguins. It does not meet any of the criteria (see Appendix 1 for more
details) stipulated by the Conservation Sector Group (CSG) for a biologically sensible compromise
and, as such, the final recommendation is viewed as insufficient to make a meaningful difference
to alleviate resource competition around important African Penguin colonies.
3. The CAFMLR process was flawed on several accounts (see Appendix 2 for more details) including
the following weaknesses:
a. The final recommendation submitted to the Minister was developed based on a lack of
transparent socio-economic data on the actual replacement costs to the fisheries sector
resulting from fishing closure periods during the Island Closure Experiment (this despite
numerous requests for the submission of this information by the CSG).
b. The CAFMLR proposal was informed by a compromise metric initially proposed by the
Fisheries Sector Group (FSG), and not agreed to by the CSG. This shifted the decision space
in favour of lower perceived costs to the fishing industry while preventing the CSG from
achieving important biological considerations set out to guide a meaningful outcome for
African Penguins.
c. The constitution of the CAFMLR membership, while including fisheries scientist expertise,
did not include seabird scientists which resulted in an unbalanced assessment of both the
merits of the science of the Island Closure Experiment and the subsequent adjudication
of a balanced compromise position.
4. The CSG recognises that the most recent updated peer-reviewed science on the results of the
Island Closure Experiment demonstrates a biologically meaningful effect of island closures on
population level impacts of African Penguins which will reduce the current population decline by
up to 20% per annum.
5. Proposed way forward: to the extent that there remains dispute between the scientists from the
FSG and the CSG, we would like to emphasise that, where there are threats of serious or
irreversible damage (as there clearly are in this instance), lack of scientific certainty by all parties
should not be used to delay conservation action. South African law stipulates the application of
the Precautionary Principle in these instances and to this end, considering the dire and declining
1
546
status of the African Penguin, we recommend that all six colonies be afforded 100% marine
Important Bird Area (mlBA) protection consistent with our original position at the end of the
Extended Task Team process.
6. We recommend that the appropriate mechanism be activated through DFFE to source the actual
socioeconomic costs from industry of the closures that took place over the 13 year period from
2008-2020 so that a clearer understanding of the real (not modelled) economic cost of closures
be calculated so that a real compromise can be found.
Background on processes to date
The Extended Task Team (ETT) was commissioned by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and
the Environment (DFFE) to engage two stakeholder groups, the Conservation Sector Group (CSG)
and the Fisheries Sector Group (FSG), to identify suitable fishing closure areas for African Penguins
while minimising costs to industry. This process concluded in 2021 with no consensus and different
recommendations from both the CSG and FSG. This was followed by the initiation by DFFE of a
Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources (CAFMLR) process with the aim of
finding an agreement on island closure delineations by the two sectors. The CAFMLR process
concluded in March 2022 with no consensus position on island closures. The CAFMLR submitted
a report to the Minister without affording stakeholders in the CSG the opportunity to review the
content of the final report, including their interpretations of the proceedings and their
recommendations. This is not in the spirit of the CAFMLR and its purpose.
Outcome of ETT
This process was limited by different perceptions of the primary objectives of the ETT engagement
process. The CSG recommended the closure of mlBAs around the last remaining large and mostly
unprotected African Penguin colonies at six sites. The CSG stipulated that, if this recommendation
was not accepted by government, the most representative delineation proposals by DFFE, i.e.
those with the greatest mlBA coverage could potentially be used, but with several associated
conditions to alleviate fishing in the unprotected ml BA extents. The CSG made it clear that this
was sub-optimal to full mlBA protection and may not adequately address the decline in African
Penguin colonies. Requests were made by the CSG for access to the data on the socio-economic
costs of island closure to fishing during the Island Closure Experiment to assess the realistic
replacement cost potential due to proposed closure extents. This was not provided. The CSG
requested that innovative and proactive solutions to reduce resource competition around Stony
Point and Dyer Island, a region that absorbs ~so% of sardine catch west of Cape Agulhas, be
discussed, such as vessel size specific spatial management of catches and the implementation of
buffer areas to reduce fishing pressure on the boundaries of the closed area, i.e. to minimise
fishing the line effects and to ensure minimum impact of closures to the local fishing industry
located at Gansbaai. These potential solutions were not discussed and not included in the final
presentation to the Minister.
Outcome of CAFMLR
The final CAFMLR compromise proposal (Appendix 1) did not meet any of the criteria stipulated
by the CSG to guide a biologically sensible compromise and, as such, the final recommendation is
viewed as insufficient to make a meaningful difference to alleviate resource competition around
important African Penguin colonies. During the CAFMLR proceedings various compromise
proposals were explored by both the CSG and FSG but were subsequently not considered and/or
2
547
mis-represented by the CAFMLR under new disputed rules governing a compromise position and
the use of a 'fair metric'. A formal objection to this decision was submitted to the CAFMLR
(Appendix 3); the CSG subsequently stated in the final CAFMLR meeting that perceived CSG
compromise positions were not an accurate reflection of our position. Given the aforesaid
limitations and procedural flaws, the CSG position remains consistent with our proposal at the end
of the ETT process, i.e. that 100% mlBA protection be implemented around the last remaining
unprotected African Penguin colonies with > 1000 breeding pairs (Dassen, Robben, Dyer, St Croix
and Bird islands and Stony Point) for a minimum of five years before being reviewed.
Proposed way forward
1. Recognising that the African Penguin is in crisis and that the results of the Island Closure
Experiment demonstrate significant benefits of island closures to African Penguin populations,
urgent action is required to reduce resource competition around the last remaining large colonies
that have the lowest extinction probabilities.
2. Emphasising that to the extent that there remains dispute amongst scientists, where there are
threats of serious or irreversible damage (as there clearly are in this instance), lack of scientific
certainty should not be used to delay conservation action. This Precautionary Principle is well-
recognised in South Africa's international commitments, and is embedded in the national
environmental management principles articulated by section 2 of the National Environmental
Management Act and sections 2 a,b,c and f of the Marine Living Resources Act.
3. Considering the above and the procedural flaws with the CAFMLR process, the CSG recommends
that 100% mlBA protection be implemented around the last remaining unprotected African
Penguin colonies.
4. In order to facilitate a robust and balanced evaluation of the impacts of longer-term island
closures on Africa!) Penguin population performance and, in order to avoid unnecessary and
protracted scientific discourse as was the case with the Island Closure Experiment, an agreed
analysis framework should be developed and implemented. Experience to-date should guide the
necessary framework and sample sizes. The analysis framework should be internationally peer-
reviewed prior to implementation and all data must be made available to all stakeholders.
5. As a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory
Waterbirds (AEWA), South Africa has committed internationally to conserving the African
Penguin. We draw your attention to the Implementation Review Process (IRP) established by this
treaty's Meeting of the Parties to address incidents of adverse (or potentially adverse) effects on
AEWA species as a result of human activities (https://www.unep-aewa.org/en/ activities/ irp). The
IRP is a process to assist states' implementation of AEWA and may include an advisory mission to
(i) assess the impacts of an activity on AEWA species and (ii) make recommendations about how
to prevent or mitigate these impacts. Given the disputes between stakeholders regarding island
closures, we urge you to consider approaching the AEWA Secretariat with a view to using this
mechanism to elicit objective, expert advice on how to proceed in a manner that ensures South
Africa's compliance with this Agreement and prevents the potential extinction of the African
Penguin.
6. Mechanisms exist within DFFE to access the required socioeconomic costs from industry of the
closures that took place over the 13-year period from 2008-2020. These should be followed so
that a clearer understanding of the real (not modelled) economic cost of closures be calculated.
3
548
Appendix 1. Biological criteria and colony specific delineation assessments
CSG recommended criteria and information needed to guide compromise decisions

During the ETT process the CSG proposed the use of an internationally recognised scientific
methodology to identify the core utilisation areas of African Penguins, marine Important Bird Areas
(mlBAs). The mlBA extents do not represent the entire foraging ranges of African Penguins and are
considered a compromise position in terms of allocating the smallest area necessary for African
penguins, i.e. their core habitat utilisation while breeding. To facilitate a mutually beneficial
compromise during the CAFMLR process both in terms of identifying a biologically meaningful
outcome for African Penguins while minimising the costs to the fishing industry, during the
deliberations the CSG submitted guiding principles and information needed to help achieve this aim,
notably:
1. Emphasising meaningful representation of the ml BA extents in each of the three regions: (a) West
Coast (Dassen and Robben islands), (b) South Coast (Dyer Island and Stony Point), and (c) East
Coast (St Croix and Bird islands).
z. Prioritising colonies with the highest population recovery potential using historical population
numbers and current nest carrying capacities.
3. To facilitate monitoring and evaluation potential, ensuring that full mlBA coverage is realised in at
least one colony that has been subject to appreciable fishing pressure, i.e. to gauge the full longer
term recovery potential of closures to fishing.
4. The submission of socio-economic costs to industry during closed periods to fishing during the
Island Closure Experiment to assess replacement costs potential of island closures.
Colony-specific comments on CAFMLR proposal
With reference to the maps herewith, we have the following comments on each proposed closure
delineation:
1. Bird Island - this proposed closure extent has the largest proportion (93%) of mlBA coverage but
has experienced very low levels of fishing to date affording it little value for evaluation of the
impacts of closures on reducing resource competition.
2. St Croix Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island and Robben Island - these colonies have <42% ml BA
coverage affording them little protection against resource competition and providing very little
value in terms of evaluating the impacts of closures on benefits to penguins.
3. Dassen Island -this proposed closure covers 84% of the ml BA but with a significant portion to the
north of the ml BA that is open to fishing. Given that breeding African Penguins forage on anchovy
recruits that migrate southwards during the chick-rearing period, intensive fishing in the northern
zone will likely have negative downstream effects providing little alleviation of resource
competition for these birds during the breeding season. As with all the other site proposals, this
delineation will have very little evaluation potential.
4
549
Maps: The following maps include the foraging ranges of breeding African Penguins (full coloured
polygons), the marine Important Bird Area (mlBA) extents (yellow outline), the CAFMLR proposed
closure extents (orange outline) and the corresponding fisheries cost layer.
The latter represents the distribution of anchovy and sardine catches during years open to fishing
between 2011 and 2020 and do not reflect replacement catch potential during closed years. The cost
layer was used to represent the cost to the small pelagic fishing industry if a planning unit is selected
as a closed area for penguins (Fig. 1). The costs layer was based on the on the percentage contributions
to regional weighted catch (i.e. the fleet was split into western, southern and eastern sections) for the
period 2011 to 2019. The values used were the average values for fished years in each region (to avoid
the impacts of closed periods). Sardine catches were weighted Sx that of anchovy. The coloured
squares indicate where fishing has taken place during this time period, the white areas are where no
fishing activity has been recorded during this time frame.
5
550
St Croix Island
......•
•
•
•
Penguin density Cost
50
1 -
Bird Island
•
• •
■ ■
OmlBA
. ..
■
□ CAFMRL proposal
■
•
•
'"I
Penguin density
·- • • c::==-Jllli"'""
~
-
•.--~-=--,
Cost
- - - --~ .--
so
6
551
Stony Point
*'I OmlBA
0CAFMRL proposal
. -
Cost
Penguin density so
- - - c::= • '00%
Dyer Island
~• □ mlBA
••1 O CAFMRL proposal
•h ,t,
·~-
·•u . '"
100% so
7
552
Dassen Island
"'
0 mlBA
0 CAFMRL
proposal
,.
.,. ..,
-
tU q_... ... .
50
"""
Robben Island
..
□ mlBA
□ CAFMRL
proposal ..
:13.0
. ....
•
.•.•
.••.....
..:..:•
I •
y
.
....
·-
,,. 118
110 t82 tt ◄
'"""
8
553
Appendix 2: Process concerns.

1. The CAF's recommendation is a compromise submitted based on a lack of representative
socio-economic information on actual replacement costs to the fisheries sector determined
from closed periods to fishing during the Island Closure Experiment - this despite numerous
requests for the submission of this information by the CSG.
a. Had descriptive statistics by company per year (at sea and land) in terms of the
cost/profit per year, as well as job losses per year been provided, we could have
evaluated the real cost to industry of closures.
b. In the absence of this information, and in an attempt to understand the industry
concerns more, the CSG conducted a desktop study of one of the biggest companies
operating on the west coast, Oceana. A review of their integrated reports from 2008
- 2020 did not mention any risks attributed to island closures, nor of profit or job
losses as a result of closures (See Appendix 3 Figure 1 and Table 2).
c. Decoupling the economic cost to industry of the depleted sardine stock on the west
coast versus the cost of closures is critical. It is essential that closures be placed in
context in terms of the economic impact of the collapse of the sardine stock on the
west coast during years of closures.
d. Industry has presented to CAF that there has been a reduction of about 30 vessels in
the fleet since 2008 and that there has been a total of four processing plants that
have been closed that has resulted in a loss of almost 1000 seagoing and land-based
jobs. We don't dispute these figures but would add that the context of these figures
should be considered. Sardine TAC has reduced during this time period from about
100,000 t to a low of 12,000 t which would likely be the main reason for the vessel
reduction. Furthermore, if the processing plants were canneries then the depleted
sardine resource would also have a major impact. Despite these reductions provided
by industry it cannot be argued to be mainly attributed to island closures but should
be considered in terms of the depleted state of the sardine resource. These trends
were also observed in the Namibian small pelagic fishery which after much calling by
scientists for the fishery to close over a period of 20 years it was only closed in 2018
and still remains closed to this day. Penguins and other seabirds are telling us there
is something very wrong with the southern Benguela ecosystem and if we don't act
decisively we too will follow the fate of the Namibian fishery with devastating
consequences to the ecosystem and industry.
2. The CAFMLR proposal was informed by a compromise metric initially proposed by the
Fisheries Sector Group (FSG) that shifted the decision space in favour of lower perceived costs
to the fishing industry while preventing the CSG from achieving important biological
considerations set out to guide a meaningful outcome for African Penguins.
a. The introduction of MARXAN as a decision support tool was extremely valuable in this
process. It was however, not used to its full potential. Given that the CAF imposed
the 300% metric, MARXAN was limited in its use as evidenced by the trade-off curve
below (Figure 1) where the restricted decision space was shifted to the left of the plot,
favouring one stakeholder inputs over the other.
b. The CSG repeatedly stated that this metric was not a fair compromise in terms of
evaluating closure cost to industry versus benefit to penguins and adequate
protection for penguins could not be made within these imposed limitations.
Suggestions were submitted to address this (See Appendix 2), but not taken into
account in the final delineation compromise.
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c. Four of the colonies have MPAs adjacent to them of various sizes. The CAF requested
that the CSG provide a proposal that included the MPA extent contained in the MIBAs
in their 300% calculation. These MPAs accounted for 105% of the 300% mlBA metric
that the CSG had to work with, further limiting the CSG in terms of the mlBA
proportions they could allocate to different islands and ensuring adequate protection.
In order to do this, the CSG had no choice but to effectively withdraw from St Croix,
Stony Point and Robben Island, in order to give meaningful protection to Dassen and
some to Dyer Islands (See Appendix 3, Table 1, Column '300mlBA - incl. MPAs').
Despite having stated that the CSG did not agree with the metric, the design space
has been deliniated by CAF within the blue circle in Figure 1. It implies support by the
CSG of this metric through including the 'Conservation Z' proposal (300mlBA - incl.
MPAs), but the CSG do not support this metric as a fair compromise.
d. The cost layer used in the trad-off curve (Figure 1) does not take into account the
replacement costs, averaging the cost over the whole ICE period. It thus does not
differentiate the cost between open and closed years, the analyses of which is needed
to assess the real cost. If we had more time, this process could have been improved
on as we built on our learning and the process would have reflected rea costs more
accurately.
3. The constitution of the CAFM LR membership, while including fisheries scientist expertise, did
not include seabird scientists which resulted in an unbalanced assessment of both the merits
of the science of the Island Closure Experiment and the subsequent adjudication of a balanced
compromise position. Some examples ofthis lack of representivity influenced the process and
subsequent recommendations from the CAF include the following:
a. With no formal ToR adopted and circulated, a substantial amount of time was spent
discussing the merit of closures, as opposed to the actual boundaries themselves.
While the CAF stated a number of times that they were not a scientific forum and did
not have the expertise to evaluate the merit of closures or the ICE results, much time
was in fact spent discussing the merits of closures and ICE results .
b. The CSG requested on numerous occasions to focus discussion on closure boundaries,
as well as innovative and proactive mechanisms to reduce resource competition,
including (but not limited to) buffers to mediate against fishing the line on closure
boundaries and spatial management of the fleet to reduce closure impact to the local
fishing industry at Gansbaai. These were never discussed in practical detail.
c. During numerous meetings, some CAF members repeatedly stated that closures have
negligible to little benefit for penguins based on the science available. There is no
published, peer-reviewed work that provides evidence that demonstrates negligible
impact of closures on penguins, only to the contrary. The constant reference to ICE
results in reinforcing this belief was/is a concern. This is an incorrect biological
interpretation of the published results and has influenced the CAF recommendation.
d. There is intense academic debate on ICE analyses, and it was confirmed at the very
last CAF meeting held on 8th March 2022 that some CAF members had access to a
currently embargoed opinion piece which is a rebuttal against the latest published
work by that confirms the biological meaningful benefit of closures. The editor is
giving the authors to which this rebuttal is aimed the opportunity to reply and both
pieces will be published together. That CAF had access to the embargoed piece should
have been disclosed by CAF members at the outset of this process. CAF denied that
access to this unpublished piece, or the published document to which it refers had
had influence on their decision, yet they made reference to it during proceedings and
continued to verbalise that closures do not have significant benefit to penguins. It
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was also confirmed during the SWG-PEL on 16 March 2022 that a CAF member had
approached an author of this rebuttal paper, on behalf of the CAF, for this paper to
be sent to them.
e. While the CSG highlighted other published work that indicated benefit of closures,
only the ICE results were discussed in detail (despite the confirmation from the CAF
that they were not there to adjudicate the science). CAF members indicated that they
had read wider and consulted seabird expert friends, but it was not made clear if these
consulted experts were familiar with life-history traits of the African Penguin, and how
this influences closure design and longevity required.
f. CAF displayed a population trend graph placing the benefit of closures, in their
opinion, in the 'bigger picture,' indicating that they provide marginal benefits to
benefits to penguins. This was clear bias demonstrated by CAF clearly indicating that
they are of the opinion that the benefit of closures are negligible. This is important
since ICE results have shown that closures have contributed to arresting the
population decline by 20% annually - a hugely significant number in biological terms.
g. Penguin biological considerations not taken into account
i. The CSG also constantly reminded the CAF that the original ICE design was
flawed, in both extent, longevity and population parameters assessed.
Recommendations made by Dr Rob Crawford of the Department were not
taken on board to the detriment of the ICE experiment. This included his
recommendations on the size of closures required as well as penguin
biological parameters that needed to be assessed. The impact of this poor
closure design was confirmed by an international external reviewer with 30
years expertise in penguin and other top predator foraging behaviour and
predator-prey interactions. Evidence was also provided by Birdlife South
Africa on the use of the mlBAs by non-breeding penguins during the period of
pre and post moult - periods in their life history where they are energetically
vulnerable and need readily available access to fish. Thus the actual benefit
of closures is likely to be far greater than that currently reported. The CSG
emphasised that the CAF take these recommendations into account, that
seabird biological advice not be ignored again, and that it was critical that
lessons learnt from ICE be taken on board going forward.
h. The calculation of the Marine Important Bird Areas (MIBAs) is a scientific method that
has been calculated to identify the minimum core areas utlised by foraging seabirds.
CAF do not recognise that this is a minimum core area stating that "they do not accept
100% is meaningful and that anything else is less" (CAF member 8 March 2022). The
recommendations of CAF are reflective of this belief. Furthermore, the CS repeatedly
requested that 100% MIBA be given to Dassen Island as it is essential that a baseline
be provided to monitor this. The recommendations have denied the opportunity to
test the 100% M IBA as a baseline or provide meaningful benefits to the other colonies
at Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island and St Croix Island.
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10000.0
• • Full breeding distribution
9000.0
8000.0 • • MIBA
• NGO tailback
7000.0
Ill
,'!::
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■
• NG0_22Feb22
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d! 3000.0 • CAf.B
2000.0 0 lndustryZ
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0 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Cost Units
Figure 1: Trade off Curve used by CAF to make their recommendation. The blue circle indicates the
decision space that CAF deliniated using the metric imposed by them onto the observers
Some other concerns to note:
1. No Terms of Reference -The CSG was led to believe that both the ETT and CAF were tasked by
the Minister to deal with trying to get consensus on boundaries of closures around the islands.
For both processes, no formal ToR was circulated or adopted, so substantial time was spent during
both processes discussing the African Penguin BMP; other threats as well as debating the science
on the merit of closures (but limited only to ICE results).
2. Rushed process
a. The ETT never came to a conclusion, and stakeholders were not informed as to where this
process was at. Much time was spent discussing the merit of closures, ICE results and
other conservation actions required. Very early on in CAF it was clear that boundaries
proposed by Industry and CSG were not aligned. One CAF member made a proactive
recommendation to use MARXAN as a decision support tool. This was a valuable process.
However, the full benefit of this process was rushed due to time constraints and there
was little time for recourse and engaging for a mutually beneficial outcome. Had this
process been given more time, possibly another month where the cost layer refined, the
results and recommendation by CAF may have been different.
3. No fisheries management representative in this process
a. During the ETT and again at CAF, the CSG requested that fisheries management
representation be, included, as this would have added valuable fishery management
advice and expertise into practical management options that could be explored with
industry. This was not taken up during both processes.
4. Stakeholder Engagement
a. Both the ETT and the CAF have reinforced an "us vs them approach", with industry and
the NGO representatives of the Conservation Sector pitted against each other. The CSG
includes SANParks and CapeNature, and seabird scientists from Oceans and Coasts. who
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all share the same view. Furthermore, stakeholders from the tourism sector have been
excluded from these deliberations, and this is most certainly a flaw in this process.
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Appendix 3. Report submitted to the CAFMR members on 7 March 2022 in response to the
adoption of the 300% ml BA compromise metric.
Conservation Sector Group (CSG) concerns regarding recent developments in the CAFMLR
deliberations on proposed island closures compromise metrics and recommendations for a more
balanced approach.
7March2022
Dear CAFMLR members
We would like to reflect on decisions taken at the CAFMLR meeting held on 3 March 2022 which will
have a considerable bearing on an imminent compromise position on the delineation of no-take areas
to fishing around important African Penguin colonies:
The CAFMLR presented a metric to limit the compromise extent of closure delineations to 50% of the
six marine Important Bird Area (ml BA) extents, i.e. 300% of the 600% ml BA spatial extents around the
last remaining six African Penguin colonies with> 1000 pairs. This metric was initially proposed by the
Fishing Industry sector in their bilateral meeting with the CSG on 22 February 2022 and was
subsequently disputed by CSG representatives at that meeting and in subsequent email
correspondence with CAFMLR members. The CSG has the following concerns regarding this
compromise method:
1. The metric relies on a scale (or currency) determined by the mlBA extents. The ml BA extents
do not represent the entire foraging ranges of African Penguins and are considered a
compromise position in terms of allocating the smallest area necessary for African Penguins,
i.e. their core habitat utilisation while breeding (ETT-CSG, 20211102). By setting the
compromise limit to half of this area without any substantive rationale for this approach is
unreasonable given that this area is already a compromise position.
2. Costs of proposed closure extents to the purse-seine fishery not factored into compromise
metric. This is a crucial aspect that should be included in the compromise method used to
assess and compare different cost-benefit scenarios to penguins and fisheries. The cost-
benefit trade-off curve which utilised indices extracted from the MARXAN approach to guide
a more balanced compromise was not considered for evaluation of proposals during the
CAFMLR proceedings on 3 March 2022 - this despite numerous requests by participants to
assess these. Although this trade-off curve is useful in principle, we note that the costs to
fishing reflect the distribution of catches during years open to fishing during the Island Closure
Experiment (ICE) but do not represent the replacement cost potential during closed years.
Despite having requested information on company performance and employment numbers
during open and closed years to fishing during the ICE from the Fishing Industry sector on
numerous occasions during both this process and the Extended Task Team process, this data
is still not forthcoming. To date, including the recent submission by SAPFIA (SAPFIA 2022),
submissions of these perceived costs rely heavily on an opportunity model developed by
Bergh et al. (2016). In the absence of this information, and in a genuine attempt to understand
the real costs of closures to industry, we have assessed the annual financial and performance
of the relevant small pelagic fisheries sector of Oceana (Oceana 2022) - one of the largest
rights holders of small pelagic fish in South Africa - during the ICE period which show a general
increase in revenue and operating profit over this period with no indication of losses to profits
and employment numbers accredited to closed periods of fishing (Table 2, Figure 1). We do
acknowledge that industry was, in good faith, participating in the Island Closure Experiment.
14
559
There is, however, no mention of potential or real impacts of island closures to their
performance in their risk profiles in any of the integrated reports that we have assessed (2004
- 2020). While we acknowledge that these results are a sample of the fishing sector, they are
nonetheless indicative of performance that is incongruous with the costs that have been
perceived to be attributed to closures by the Fishing Industry sector to date.
3. Inclusion of MPAs into 300% mlBA tally limits ability for seabird scientists to meet their
criteria for a biologically sensible option. The choice to include MPA extents into the 300%
cap on the compromise extent further places significant limits on the conservation sector's
ability to achieve a meaningful compromise aligned to the biological criteria guiding their
selection {Table 1). Portions of MPAs are found at 4 of the 6 islands under consideration for
closure with a range of mlBA overlaps: Robben Island (41% of ml BA), Stony Point (5% of ml BA),
St Croix Island (15% of mlBA) and Bird Island (44% of mlBA). To consolidate our 300% mlBA
allocation to optimise greater coverage at certain localities we would be forced to allocate
these to islands with appreciable MPA coverage. While this can meet our criteria for greater
mlBA coverage it prevents us from achieving other important biological criteria, e.g. regional
representation, population recovery potential and evaluation and monitoring potential (Table
1).
Proposed way forward
The Conservation sector strongly urges the CAFMLR members to build and reflect on the experiences
gained during the CAFMLR processes to date which will allow the CAFMLR members to adopt a more
balanced approach to guide compromised positions for penguins and fisheries. The following are some
recommendations that can help the CAFMLR achieve this:
1. Development of a mutually acceptable compromise method that clearly articulates factors

that need to be considered in development of compromise positions.
2. This method should include representative costs layers including replacement fishing cost
potential which can be achieved by:
a. Sourcing information from the fishing industry on costs and employment numbers
affected during the ICE and using these figures to inform relative costs to each island
closure.
b. Replacing the existing MARXAN cost layer (which excludes replacement cost potential
by only using open years to fishing) with all years used in this assessment, i.e.
averaging the costs over open and closed years.
3. Provide updated cost information including spatial layers to stakeholders to inform revised
compromise positions.
4. Plot these new positions on the trade-off curve for further discussion and hopefully
consensus. If a consensus cannot be achieved then the CAFML members can propose a
position utilising the trade-off curve to rationalise their decision.
15
560
Table 1. Comparison of different island closure compromise scenarios to achieve biological and
fisheries cost criteria used by the CSG. The scenarios are ranked by their potential (low - high) of
achieving these criteria. Scenarios: 600mlBA - original CSG sector proposal; CSG_20220220 -
compromise proposal submitted during CAFMLR process; 300% mlBA incl. MPAs - method stipulated
by CAFMLR which includes extents of MPAs into the 300% mlBA tally; 300% ml BA excl. MPAs - method
stipulated by CAFMLR but excluding extents of MPAs into the 300% mlBA tally; Proposed new method
with updated costs - mutually accepted method.
Criteria to Proposed new

300mlBA- 300mlBA
evaluate 600mlBA CSG_20220220 method with
incl. MPAs excl. MPAs
compromise updated costs
Dassen 100 89 100 100
Robben 100 41 41 41
Stony Point 100 5 5 5

?
Dyer Island 100 55+ 38* 46 80
St Croix 100 55 15 15
Bird 100 100 93 93
Regional
med-high med-high ?
representation
Population
recovery medium low-med ?
potential
Evaluation and
monitoring medium medium ?
potential
Inclusion of
relevant
fisheries costs
in assessment
Relative mlBA
coverage ?
potential
*split zone with 55% mlBA no-take and 38% ml BA reduced fishing
We note that extensive deliberations in both the ETT and CAFMLR processes to date have brought to
light hitherto important considerations for assessing and deliberating on optimal solutions to achieve
16
561
our ultimate objective of providing suitable benefits to penguins while minimising costs to industry.
We hope that the CAFMLR members acknowledge our concerns regarding this pivotal stage in the
process and seriously consider our proposed way forward to achieve our ultimate objective.
Your sincerely
Dr Alistair Mcinnes, Birdlife South Africa

Dr Lauren Waller, SANCCOB/EWT
Craig Smith, WWF-SA
References
Bergh Mike, Philippe Lallemand, Tyler Donaldson and Kobus Leach. 2016. The economic impact of
West Coast penguin island closures on the pelagic fishing industry.
ETT-CSG, 20211102 - Extended Task Team: African Penguin Island Closures - Conservation
Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 2 November 2021.
Oceana 2022. Data extracted from 2007 - 2020 reports from https://oceana.co.za/ investors/
SAPFIA 2022 - Estimated socio-economic impact of island closures. SAPFIA report submitted to
CAFMLR on 2 March 2022.
17
562
Table 2. Synthesis of profits and employment numbers (where available} from annual financial
statements from Oceana: extracted from financial statements in https://oceana.co.za / investors/ .
Operating profit before

abnormal items (inshore Direct
Year Revenue inshore fishing fishing) employees
2007 R 1409 041000 R 105 862 000
2008 R 1879 711000 R 164 345 000
2009 R 2142 497 000 R 165 451000
2010 R 2 280069 000 R 211060 000
2011 R 2 268 296 000 R 185160 000
2012 R 2 582 636 000 R 318 941000 1342
2013 R 2 657106 000 R 219 646000 1446
2014 R 3 086476 000 R 380 931000 1420
2015 R 3 408 988 000 R 452 504 000
2016 R 4 275 576000 R 528 464000
2017 R 3 768 707 000 R 288 223 000
2018 R 4 054 601000 R 436 710000
2019 R 4 038 540 000 R 436 298 000
2020 R 4 471836 000 R 536130000
18
563
Figure 1. Operating profit of Oceana in the context of sardine and anchovy biomass variability and
Dassen Island closed periods during ICE.
4500 R600000000
4000
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2007 2008 WCS 2010 1 011 W12 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 201B 2019 2020
Year
□
Clo~ Oaiiien Island (20km)
- sardine biomass Aochovy biom,m - O!>eratin11 profit before abnormal items
19
564
"AM30"
Subject: Island closures

Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2022 8:04 AM
To: Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected]>; Yolan Friedmann <[email protected] >; Natalie Maskell
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >;
Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za>
Subject: Island closures
Dear colleagues
I met with Minister Creecy for 2 h 35 min yesterday! We chatted at length about the island closures, as well a range of
other topics. In very brief summary:
• The fisheries sector is unlikely to accept the CAF recommendations. They will apparently not respond formally to the
Minister, but they have requested to the Minister that there's an international review of the CAF recommendations.
• The Minister suggested that Marne and I have a face-to-face meeting with Mike Copeland asap, and that we try and
find a compromised way forward. In her words, "we should try and find each other".
• She warned about us continuing to use the science "argument", as the dispute between our scientists and the
fisheries scientists will not be easily resolved.
• She will release the CAP recommendations (together with the Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan, which she
says still needs work) for public comments after Easter.
• Minister Creecy is very concerned, in particular, about "small-scale fishers" (is this what they are called?) in the
Eastern Cape and them potentially being impacted by a larger closure around St Croix. She said that, for example,
the fishers (and their families) could have "mass demonstrations" and this would not be good for our cause. She
said that there are at least 1000 jobs at stake and that this is at a time, post COVID, where jobs cannot be sacrificed.
• I am not sure whether she has her information correct about small-scale fishers around St Croix, and maybe Craig,
Lauren and Alistair can advise. She said that they fish there because it is safe (calm seas) and that it is a rich fishing
area.
• She also spoke about us considering more flexibility in terms of opening/closing the areas around the colonies to
fishing (i.e. seasonal closures).
• I mentioned to her that WWF-SA is engaging with retailers, and it was clearly something she did not know they were
doing. It seemed to catch her by surprise and she seemed concerned that this was something that was being
discussed. Later in our discussion she said that there could be benefits of a "penguin-friendly logo" on Lucky Star
pilchards.
• She's clearly in a very difficult predicament, and she'd like to avoid the matter going to court. She says that the
fishing industry has deep pockets and that a legal process could delay the closures by years.
• There's concern that if (a) we return to negotiations and/or (b) we go to the courts, we will not have fishing closures
for several years (and that would not be good for penguins)
As per Minister Creecy's request, I reached out to Mike Copeland (Chairman of the South African Pelagic Fishing
Industry Association) and had a 30 min telephone discussion with him on Monday night. In summary:
• He did not attend the Fisheries meeting with the Minister last Friday, as he was out of the country.
• The Fisheries sector is not happy with the CAF recommendations and will not accept them.
• I asked him "how 'we' can help penguins?" and he said (a) the fishing effect is small and (b) we have not explored
other reasons for the decline (such as predators, competition for food, and "habitat" issues). I did not debate this
with him.
1
565
• When I asked him about the socio-economic impacts of the previous closures, he said that the information had
been provided to the processes (I assume he meant both ETT and CAF). I did not debate this with him.
• He believes that the data and analyses of the data show that the previous island closures show that there's only a
small benefit to the penguins. Again, I did not debate this with him.
• He likes the idea of an international review, which I assume means reviewing more than the CAF recommendations
(but also the results of the island closure experiment).
• One of his main concerns is the SSMEs in Algoa Bay who would been impacted by island closures (around St Croix).
He said that they are only involved in catching fish, have small rights and are not involved in the entire value chain
(as are large companies).
Minister Creecy recommended that Marne and I have a meeting with Mike Copeland, and this will now happen (over
lunch in Cape Town) on Wednesday 13 April. A fourth person, Rideau DeMaine, who apparently represents the SSMEs in
the Eastern Cape, will attend this meeting.
Ultimately, it is my opinion that we will not win our argument using science (i.e. the results of the island closure
experiments). It is also my concern that further extended negotiations and/or litigation will only stall the process,
perhaps by years. The penguins can ill afford several years without island closures. This may mean:
• Finding a resolution/compromise (percentage island closures) with Fisheries and their scientists. Probably unlikely?
• Meeting with the CEOs of the major fishing companies, so that they can understand our position/concern.
• Using the retailers to put pressure on the fishing companies. WWF-SA has been doing this and will further expedite
the work. I am however concerned that only 10% of the sardines that are canned in SA are locally caught (the rest
are imported) and that more than 90% of the anchovy/red eye catch us turned into fish meal and exported. So, it is
my understanding that very little of the fish that end up in cans on the shelves of supermarkets in South Africa are
locally caught.
• Initiating a massive international awareness campaign (website, petition, etc.}
In preparation for our meeting with Mike Copeland and Rideau DeMaine on Wednesday, can I please request the
following (from Alistair, Craig and Lauren}:
• Questions that Marne and I could/should ask Mike and Rideau.
• Information about the SSMEs in Algoa Bay (what's the concern, do they have a legitimate argument, etc.}.
• What socio-economic data have we been provided with, and why this is inadequate.
• Exactly what socio-economic data we require.
• What we are doing to determine other factors that may be responsible for the decline, papers published on this
subject, why we rule out other factors, etc. I know that we are investigating noise, ship traffic, and bunkering in
Algoa Bay, but this work is recent and it is confined to the "eastern colonies".
Sorry for the long email, and apologies for my tardy replies/summaries, but this is only one of dozens of things currently
on my plate.
Regards
Mark
DrrcJlife
NOW AVAILABLE
IN RETAIL
Includes free 2022

MARCH/APRIL 2022 ISSUE Bird of the Year poster
Mark D. Anderson
2
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BirdLife
0 l If
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lsdell House, 17 Hume Road (cnr Hume Road/Jan Smuts Drive}, Dunkeld West 2196, Gauteng
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
Chamberlain, Toyota, A VIS, ZEISS, Nedbank and Sappi, as well as a number of Corporate Members and Golden Bird Patrons.
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naturu sap.pi
ahll!'l'IEi .._'°l'_ TOYOTA ,...........
unauthorised use of this information or any associated attachment will be given. Further, this information is based on the facts provided by
3
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"AM31"
Subject: FW: CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM ON MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CAFMLR)
RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE AFRICAN PENGUIN CRISIS

Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2022 6:46 AM
To: Smith, Craig <: csmith @wwf.org.za >; Lauren Waller <LaurenW @ewt.org.za >; Alistair Mcinnes
Subject: FW: CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM ON MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CAFMLR) RECOMMENDATIONS ON
THE AFRICAN PENGUIN CRISIS
FYI

Sent: Wednesday, 27 April 2022 13:17
Cc: [email protected] ; Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected] >; Natalie Maskell <[email protected]>; Yolan
Friedmann <[email protected] >
Subject: CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM ON MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CAFMLR) RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE
AFRICAN PENGUIN CRISIS
Please see attached letter for your attention.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
.)J,
BirdLife
Ol II RI
01mg ConHJYi Wl •
lsde.11 House, 17 Hume Rood (cnr Hume Rood/Jon Smuts Drive), Dunkeld West 2196, Gouteng
Private Bog X16, Pinegowrie 2123, Johannesburg, Gouteng, South A frico
lei: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fox: +27 (0)117895188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
http://www.birdlife.orq.zo
1
568
-.
....
·-· ~ \i~
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BirdLife
SOlJ IH A FRICA ENDANGERED
WILDLIFE TRUST ®
GMng Comervaflon Wings Prot.cting forever, tog@ther. SANCCOBR WWF
saves seabirds
27 April 2022

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Private Bag X447
Pretoria
0001
Per e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM ON MARINE LIVING RESOURCES (CAFMLR)

RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE AFRICAN PENGUIN CRISIS
We refer to our meeting with you on 28 March 2022, as well as our letter dated 5 April 2022.
Two of us, Morne du Plessis and Mark Anderson, met with Mike Copeland (Chairman, South
African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association) and Redah de Maine (Chairman, Eastern Cape
Small Pelagic Association) on 13 April 2022. It was a useful meeting, as it provided an
opportunity to further interrogate the fisheries' perspective of the African Penguin crisis.
In essence, they agree that food availability is a critical factor in the precipitous decline of the
African Penguin, but dispute that their fishing activities are responsible for any part of this.
The Conservation Sector Group (CSG) has subsequently convened a meeting and proposes
the following:
1. As the African Penguin is in a dire position, with its population declining at between 5-
10% per annum, we believe that urgent measures are needed to support this
embattled species. Therefore, and as the precautionary approach forms a key
principle of the Marine Living Resources Act of South Africa (MLRA; Section 2c), we
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569
recommend that you implement interim closures to fishing around all six colonies that
support more than 1000 breeding pairs, i.e. Dassen Island, Robben Island, Dyer Island,
Stony Point, St Croix Island and Bird Island. These interim closures should be
implemented as soon as possible and then revised or reinforced based on the
recommendations of an international review by an Independent Panel (see below).
2. As the Fisheries Sector and the Conservation Sector are unable to reach agreement on
the way forward, we propose that an independent international review of the
CAFMLR's recommendations (and the subsidiary reports that were provided to the
CAFMLR proceedings) be undertaken. The panel that undertakes the review can, after
evaluating the relevant information, make a recommendation on the future of the
island closures. It would be essential for both groups to reach agreement on the Terms
of Reference (ToR) for this review, as well as the scientists who will undertake the
review, in advance of this work taking place, and to commit (in advance) to abide by
the outcome of this process. The ToR should be explicitly framed around the clear
objective of implementing meaningful benefits for African Penguins through island
closures, while minimising costs to the fishing industry.
As always, we stand ready to provide any further information that might assist you in taking
this important matter forward.
Yours sincerely
Mr Mark D. Anderson Mrs Yolan Friedmann

Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer
Birdlife South Africa Endangered Wildlife Trust
Mrs Natalie Maskell Dr Morne du Plessis

Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer
SANCCOB WWF-SA
2
570
"AM32"
Subject: Island closures: meeting with Minister Barbara Creecy on 6 May 2022

Sent: Sunday, May 8, 2022 4:36 PM
To: Du Plessis, Marne <[email protected] >; Natalie Maskell <[email protected]>; Yolan Friedmann
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Lauren
Waller <[email protected] >
Cc: Driesen, 1:melda <[email protected] >
Subject: Island closures: meeting with Minister Barbara Creecy on 6 May 2022
Importance: High
Dear colleagues
Minister Creecy invited Morne, Natalie, Yolan and me to meet with her on Friday afternoon but, as Morne and Natalie
were unavailable, Yolan and I represented the four of us. The meeting was also attended by Shonisani Munzhedzi (CEO
of SANBI) and Luthando Dziba (SAN Parks).
Here follows a brief summary of the meeting (especially see the and an urgent meeting request):
Minister Creecy said:

• An immediate (and temporary, i.e. until a longer-term way forward has been determined) closure to fishing around
the key colonies is necessary to deal with the rapid decline in the African Penguin population.
• There's concern that the breeding season is already underway.
• The ETT and CAF processes have not delivered recommendations that the two parties find acceptable.
• Fisheries can be litigious, which is not useful.
• The small-scale fishers may demonstrate if closures are implemented which impact on their operations.
• MdP and MDA's meeting with Mike Copeland and Redah de Maine seems to have been useful, as fisheries are more
amendable to find a compromise way forward.
• She phoned Mike Copeland and he reiterated his disagreement with our scientific evidence, but indicated that he'd
be happy with an international review. He however said that he'd like the Island Closure Experiments and not the
CAF recommendations reviewed.
• Mike Copeland expressed concern about limitations on fishing around Dyer Island.
• He stated that they may be happy with a 312/600 way forward (i.e. and not the CAF-recommended 300/600)
• He is happy to discuss the "geography" of closures.
• She's happy to wait a few weeks before putting out the CAF report/recommendations and African Penguin BMP for
comment.
• She said that there's a "window of opportunity" to reach an agreement.
• She stated several times that the key words for the closures were "immediate" and "temporary"
We indicated to the meeting that:

• An international, independent panel must be established to review the CAF reports (and the supporting documents
that were provided to CAF).
• The precautionary principle needs to be invoked and there needs to be a closure to fishing around the important
colonies.
• In terms of the colonies:
o We are happy for the closures proposed for Robben Island and Bird Island.
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571
o We can negotiate the area of closure around Stony Point and Dyer Island, especially as these two colonies
were not part of the original experiment. We'd also be amendable to negotiate "adaptive management1'
around these two colonies to give benefit to the local fleet.
o We are concerned about the CAF's recommendations for Dassen and St Croix Islands.
■ Dassen was the biggest colony.
■ The most crucial area has been excluded (i.e. where anchovy recruits move through).
• I reiterated that the MIBAs was already a compromise, as these areas were smaller than 50% of the penguins
foraging range.
• I reminded the Minister that St Croix and Dassen should have been closed this year, as part of the Island Closure
Experiment).
• We need fisheries to disclose their socio-economic information, and Yolan mentioned that there's a-PAIA request.
• Urgent short-term solutions are required, and longer-term, perhaps creative solutions, would be useful.
• We are sympathetic with the small-scale fishers, and that engagement with them is required.
Luthando said:
• There's a window of opportunity to find a compromise.
• "Internal" discussions are needed to determine what trade-off we can accept and take to the fishing industry.
• We need to avoid litigation, as that takes time and uses limited resources.
• We may not end up with an ideal outcome, but one that is "best for conservation and the fishing industry".
Shani said there's no debate about whether island closures are needed, but there's just debate required about the
extent of the boundaries.
Minister Creecy stated that if there's no alternative on the table (and one that both parties agree on) her only option is
to implement the CAF recommendations.
We need to urgently (in the next week} come up with a proposal for 3 {above}. Alistair is on leave on Tue, Wed, Thu and
Fri, so I suggest that we meet on Mon afternoon/evening. As it is short notice, it may not be possible for all of us to
attend. I will send out a Doodle Poll, so please indicate the times that you're available.
Regards
Mark
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3
573
"AM33"
From: Mark Anderson
Sent: Friday, 27 May 2022 07:58
To: Yolan Friedmann; Natalie Maskell; Lauren Waller; Smith, Craig; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Du Plessis, Marne; Luthando Dziba
Subject: FW: African Penguins/Island Closures
Attachments: African Penguins_lsland Closures_Governance Forum recommendations.docx
Good morning, colleagues
See below, FYI.
I will let you know when we receive a response, which I hope will be favourable.
Regards
Mark
From: Mark Anderson <[email protected]>

To: Mike Copeland <[email protected]>; Mike van den Heever <[email protected]>
Cc: Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected]>; Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>
Subject: African Penguins/Island Closures
Dear Mike and Mike
Thanks very much for meeting with us on 25 May 2022 to discuss the African Penguin crisis. We found the
meeting constructive and cordial as we believe you did too.
While there remains differences of opinion as a result of our differing perspectives, we herewith wish to
capture the essence of our discussion in order to obtain your support.
1. We all agree that the African Penguin numbers reflect a crisis which requires urgent attention, despite
retaining our right to differ in our interpretation of the primary drivers thereof.
2. The CAF process has produced proposals that do not satisfy either the conservation or fisheries
sectors, despite its intention to strike a compromise position acceptable to both.
3. We broadly agree on an independent expert panel/process to be put in place as soon as possible by
Minister Barbara Creecy, the details of which are yet to be determined. Both sectors foresee that a
reasonable process can be designed that is mutually acceptable and binding in its conclusions. This
independent process will play itself out over the medium term, but should ideally be concluded by the
end of 2022.
4. In the interim, we seek to provide Minister Creecy with measures that are both urgent and temporary
until the recommendations of the process outlined in 3. can be implemented beyond the current
penguin breeding season.
5. In the spirit of urgent compromise, and given our inability to find a mutually acceptable way forward,
the conservation sector and SAPFIA support the proposal that was developed jointly by state fisheries
and conservation entities under the banner of the Governance Forum late in 2021 as an interim
1
fto;l
r~
574
measure. This is not a proposal that fully satisfies the conservation sector, and neither do we expect
that it will satisfy the fishing industry.
6. The specifics of this proposal were submitted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment (DFFE) to the fisheries and conservation sectors prior to the stakeholder engagements in
2021 (I attach the document herewith). The proposals (blue lines) represent a compromise initially
established between the fisheries and biodiversity sectors of DFFE for three islands: Dassen, Dyer and
St Croix.
If we can agree to the above as an acceptable way forward, we would be delighted to draft a joint letter to the
Minister.
We understand that you have to further explore the level of support from other members of SAPFIA, and that
this may not be broadly supported. In that instance, we would have to separately propose our respective
suggestions to the Minister on how to move this process forward.
We look forward to your earliest response.
Your sincerely
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
Bird life South Africa
CC: Dr Marne du Plessis and Dr Luthando Dziba
2
575
O&C/2021/SEP/Extended Penguin TT/01
African penguin colony closures: Finding a balance between minimizing costs to the small pelagic fishing
industry while maximizing coverage of foraging area for breeding African penguins
Janet C Coetzee, Azwianewi Makhado, Carl D van der Lingen, Zishan Ebrahim, Alison Kock, Cloverley
Lawrence, Fannie W Shabangu.
Background
The African penguin/Fisheries Synthesis Report Drafting Team met in July 2021 to consider two scientific
recommendations regarding closures around penguin breeding colonies and to develop a Departmental
compromise position in this regard . The proposals were for (i) closure of small pelagic fishing within a 20
km radius around six penguin breeding colonies for ten years, made by the Top Predator SWG {Scientific
Working Group) of the Branch: Oceans and Coasts and SAN Parks {South African National Parks); and (ii)
continuation of the current (in 2021) implemented 20 km seasonal closure around two islands in 2022
pending conclusion of further quantitative assessments to estimate the impact of the various drivers of
the penguin population decline, made by the Small Pelagic SWG of the Branch: Fisheries Management.
Given the contrasting recommendations and that conflict management requires parties to recognize
problems as shared ones and engage with clear goals and an awareness of trade-offs, the Drafting Team
first attempted to find common ground and develop guiding principles to move the discussion forward.
These guiding principles were:
• The African penguin population is in a critical state of decline, and urgent action is needed
• NEMA (National Environmental Management Act) principles of conservation, sustainable use and
the precautionary approach need to inform the proposals
• Penguin colonies identified for closure were selected based on conservation and economic
criteria
• The effects of long-term closures on the penguin population are unknown but are assumed to be
larger than that observed during the short-term closures
• The small pelagic fishery is an important industry regionally and locally within the industrial
fisheries sector. Closures will have an economic cost on the small pelagic fishery that will vary
from colony to colony
At subsequent meetings, and using the guiding principles, the Drafting Team sought compromise through
the (i) prioritization of the penguin colonies in terms of their importance for penguin conservation (e.g.
carrying capacity, current status, rate of recent decline and regional representation) and (ii) in terms of
the cost of closing areas around those colonies on the small pelagic fishery at a regional level. Following
this process, agreement was reached on short, medium and long-term actions.
In the short-term (2021), there was agreement that closures as recommended and implemented by
Branch: Fisheries Management in 2021 should be continued for the remainder of 2021, i.e. Dassen and St
Croix islands are closed for six month periods, and Robben Island is closed for the whole year.
In the medium-term {2022 - 2025), there was agreement that three of the six colonies should remain
open to small pelagic fishing, namely, Robben and Bird Islands and Stony Point, noting that restrictions
that are currently in place for MPAs around those three colonies, will continue to apply. Agreement was
also reached on the three colonies that should be closed to small pelagic fishing in the medium-term (2022
- 2025), namely Dassen, Dyer and St Croix Islands. However, the extent, i.e. boundaries of those closures,
would be adjusted to try and minimize the cost of closures on the small pelagic fishery while attempting
to maximize the coverage of African penguin foraging area.
576
In the long-term (2022 - 2032), the extent of the closures could be modified based on further research
and evaluation. This research would run parallel to the medium term proposals and comprises three
components. These are:
1. A quantitative assessment of the proportional contribution of all plausible major drivers (e.g., food
availability, predation, climate change, disease, disturbance such as seismic surveys, vessel activity, and
research and tourism, and competition with other predators for food as well as the availability and quality
of breeding habitat) of the African penguin population decline at relevant spatial scales. This is required
to understand their relative importance better and further develop or initiate plans where appropriate to
mitigate against them if possible. That assessment should be conducted urgently. A joint Task Team
(Oceans and Coasts, SAN Parks, Fisheries and other stakeholders) should oversee this assessment from the
start and specify, depending on data available, analyses methods. Given a lack of internal capacity, this
should be outsourced to an entity with no previous close involvement in this process. No cost estimates
are available at this time.
2. Rigorous cost/benefit analyses are essential and should be urgently developed to improve the
estimation of costs and benefits of closure around individual colonies through an agreed framework. This
should be expanded to include socio-economic information related to penguin-directed tourism and other
biodiversity considerations. A joint Task Team (Oceans and Coasts, SANParks, Fisheries and other
stakeholders, including appropriate economists) should oversee these analyses from the start and specify,
depending on data available, analyses methods. Given a lack of internal capacity, this should be
outsourced to an independent and objective entity, preferably with no previous close involvement in this
process. No cost estimates are available at this time.
3. A quantitative assessment (to the extent possible) of the efficacy of current management interventions
conducted to date under the APBMP (African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan) should be
conducted. It should be a priority action of the second APBMP. Given a lack of internal capacity, this should
be budgeted for and outsourced under the APBMP to an entity with no previous close involvement in this
process. This assessment will be essential for informing adaptive management measures to mitigate
against all threats to penguins.
Determining the extent of island closures in the medium term for three of the colonies
Determining the extent of island closures for Dassen, Dyer and St Croix colonies was achieved by using
available data on catches of sardine and anchovy around the colony and African penguin foraging
positions.
The Drafting Team compared penguin foraging and small pelagic catch data around Dassen, Dyer and St
Croix islands and evaluated multiple closure variants. Those variants attempted to limit small pelagic
fishing within the 75% kernel penguin FA (foraging area) and cover as many tracked GPS positions as
possible. We also sought to reduce the estimated cost to the small pelagic fishing industry to 50% of what
it would have been under a circular closure area of a 20 km radius. Shapes other than circles for closure
areas were considered to provide more flexibility and increase the chances of meeting cost and benefit
targets. Attempts were made to position the closure boundaries to increase navigational ease and for
compliance reasons.
Although simultaneously meeting both targets (closure covers the 75% FA and reduces estimated costs
by 50%) could not be attained for any of the three islands, the Drafting Team developed compromise
positions on the extent and boundaries of the closures areas around these three islands. This document
describes the data used to estimate the cost to the small pelagic fishery and the benefit to the African
penguin (in terms of their foraging characteristics), and on which the compromise (trade-off) closure
boundaries were selected.
577
Determining the average cost of closure

The cost of closure to the small pelagic fishing industry was measured based on the average annual
percentage of the catch within the proposed closure area between 2011 and 2019. This can be scaled up
to an economic cost, but that requires assumptions about how much of the catch within a proposed
closure area is lost {lost opportunity cost) and the increased fuel cost of catching that fish elsewhere. For
evaluating trade-offs, we, therefore, calculated the percentage of catch (a proxy for cost) that occurred
within the proposed 20 km radius closed area around penguin breeding colonies and sought to reduce
that by approximately 50% by adjusting the boundaries of the closure area. This was done separately for
anchovy and sardine. However, around Dassen Island, the catch is dominated by anchovy and around St
Croix Island, it is dominated by sardine hence catches were prioritized accordingly.
The average annual percentage of the catch occurring within the proposed closure area was determined
as follows:
Reported catch positions, to the nearest nm (nautical mile), between 2011 and 2019 were assigned to a
lxl nm grid cell. The annual proportion of the regional catch (west of Cape Agulhas and east of 24°E) of
each species for each year within each grid cell was averaged over years in which that grid cell was open
to fishing (fishing around colonies was prohibited in some years as part of the island closure experiment).
The average proportion per grid cell was renormalized so that the proportions at a regional scale summed
to one and were expressed as a percentage. Summing the percentages of catch per grid cell for those cells
that are contained within the proposed closure area derives the cost of closure to the fishing industry.
The percentage of the catch per grid cell for the regional catch is presented in Figures 1 and 2 for sardine
and anchovy, respectively.
Determination of core foraging areas

Data collection
During the breeding (or chick-rearing period) between 2008 and 2019, one adult from pairs of African
penguins rearing small chicks was equipped with a GPS logger for one foraging trip at six of the species
major South African breeding colonies. Loggers were attached to the feathers on the dorsal mid line of the
bird's lower back using TESA® tape (Beiersdorf AG, Germany) following recommended methods for
deployment on diving birds (Bannasch et al. 1994). No bird was tracked more than once per season. The
GPS loggers were programmed to acquire a position at one-minute intervals. Tags were removed "'1-4
days after deployment, depending on the presence of the birds in the colonies.
Data analysis
Location data on land were removed, and tracks were split into trips between land-based events. Only
complete trips (i.e. evidence of the bird leaving and returning to the colony) were retained for further
analyses. Possible erroneous GPS locations, based on a transit speed of greater than 12.4 km h-1 {Wilson
1985), were filtered from the data and locations were linearly interpolated at one-minute intervals. For
each colony (Table 1-3), the marine habitat use of the penguins was estimated using kernel utilization
distributions (UD; Worton 1989) using the R package adehabitatHR (Calenge 2006). A smoothing factor of
7 km was used, following the methods of Dias et al. {2018), and the 50% and 75% UD contours were
estimated for each colony to represent the penguins' core and home range, respectively. Figures 3, 4 and
5 show the individual foraging tracks and resultant foraging areas for Dassen, Dyer and St Croix Islands,
respectively.
Finding a balance
The drawing of draft boundaries took into account four spatial data inputs:
1. A grid of data-points of the percentage of the catches per one square minute(= 1 nm)
578
2. The initial draft closure, a circle of 20 km radius around the island

3. The area that represents the core 75% (and 50%) penguin foraging kernels
4. Penguin tracking points (GPS tag-data)
The first draft boundary was a circular 20 km radius around the island (excluding landmass). This formed
the basis of the initial cost calculation to fisheries (see above). Circular boundaries are harder to navigate
and enforce than north-south and east-west lines, and thus the Team decided to use straight-line
boundaries. Initially, draft boundaries attempted to include the entire 75% foraging kernel, using
landmarks and existing MPA latitudes or longitudes as markers. However, the cost (i.e. the sum of catch
percentage per one square nm for the closure area) to fisheries was similar to the original 20 km radius
closure cost or sometimes higher. To reduce the cost to the fishery, the Drafting Team moved the
boundary away from the 75% kernels and adjacent MPAs, but towards areas used by penguins foraging
away from their core. If the cost to fisheries was still too high, further edits moved the boundary by one
nm at a time to re-calculate the sum of costs captured under a draft area.
The proportion of the tracking points covered and the proportion of area (Albers Equal Area conical) of
the 75% kernel covered by each draft was calculated. All data were tabulated· for the initial circular draft
and five additional (box/square) draft closures (Table 1-3).
Cited Literature
Bannasch R, Wilson RP, Culik B (1994) Hydrodynamic aspects of design and attachment of a back-mounted
device in penguins. J. exp. Biol. 194: 83 - 96.
Calenge C (2006) The package "adehabitat" for the R software: A tool for the analysis of space and habitat
use by animals. Ecol Modell 197:516-519.
Dias MP, Carneiro APB, Warwick-Evans V, Harris C, Lorenz K, Lascelles B, Clewlow HL, Dunn MJ, Hinke JT,
Kim JH, Kokubun N, Manco F, Ratcliffe N, Santos M, Takahashi A, Trivelpiece W, Trathan PN (2018)
Identification of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South
Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands. Ecol Evol 8:10520-10529.
Wilson RP (1985) The Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) as a pelagic predator. Mar Ecol Prog Ser
25:219-227.
Worton BJ (1989) Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies.
Ecology 70: 164 -168.
579
Table 1. Closure iterations for Dassen Island

Dassen island Area, cut at continental landmass I of I of Proportion of
information + (the tota l area/scale that the 50% and 75% Anchovy Sardine penguins' tracking
Location: West kernel calculations are significant for... As the
data per data points in an area
Coast, north of algorithms ignores landmass)
nm 2 per nm 2 A poor proxy for
Table Bay + [Cartesian geometry of a whole circle) .
penguin foraging
I • • I •t
c:: [2flr' = 2513.27 km 2] (n=762) (n=762)
..
:S
E
oftwo
adjacent isl.
i.e. Around Oassen + Robben Islands respectively
]
.!: Within the ~235 km 2 6.28% 0.089% 83.71%
8
c:: 50%kemel (280.9 km 2) (n=85) (n=85) n=646889
~
$. Proportion of kernel's
~ Within the ~461 km 2 6.90% 0.096% 87.36%
--
'x
~
1604.2 km2 J oceanic area in each draft.
j _forforaging
(n:159) (n=159)
c::
0
u Draft 1 ~901 km 2 0.9718 of 75% 7.51% 0.46% 88.41%
r=20km [llr1 = 1256.6 km 2] = 72.88% {n=386) (n=386)
Draft 2 ~988 km 2 0.9296 of 75% 8.42% 0.54% 90.53%

= 69.72% l n=346) (n=346)
Oraft3 ~946km 2 0. 7647 of 75% 4.46% 0.37% 89.75%

= 57.35% (n=330) (n=330)
Draft 4 ~1Q40km 2 0.7647 of 75% 4.63% 0.38% 89.75%

= 57.35% (n=363) (n•363)
Draft 5 ~g42 km 2 0.7647 of75% 4.44% 0.33% 89.72%

= 57.35% (n=294) (n=294)
~946km 2 o. 7732 of 75% 4.36% 0.38% 90.00%

= 57.99 (n=330) (n=330)
580
Table 2. Closure iterations for Dyer Island
\n- . I .. l'J
• 1tr;Pomt l! P" rt ~
- ·5.9 1m, 1 .Ul i275 62.,J",

p,;;;;_7 ,.111<1 I 11 I •li71
mJ 4117W,
11'1645. or75'f M).05\11, 16..14" 5,:, 65%

- 34.84 ' I II l .:3111
m
DAflbe1-I - .1~ U.m (l n ?Ii' 44- 0.3 . 65

- 68.Jl2" I 71St
~
(i.25 u 2~ o 15' 1 l.'!6 77'-i
.
:: 46.92,. f/•s!'>ll.1.1
- 11aok"111 1 0.91 ]J Qt]si,ti us 1-1 .83!1(, 71 14%

"" ,~- .~:•) I· WI
. 4i.:lkm 1 66 71 ot75~
= 50.04" ~,
~ 13 8 '!6
I !aHt
6 .04~
- 1303 ,: 0.9171 oP 7S% J.94 U..97 61.38%

i1 . I
581
Table 3. Closure iterations for St Croix

St. Croix Area, cut at continental landmass I of I of Proportion of
information + (the total area/scale that the radial buffer Anchovy Sardine penguins' tracking
20km and kernel calculations are significant
for... As the algorithms ignores landmass)
data per data points in an area
Location: Algoa Bay
and the MPA of + [Cartesian geometry of a whole circle). nm 2 per nm 2 for
.
penguin foraging
Addo Elephant N.P.
C
0 of two
. . .
[2J7il = 2513.27 km 2) (n=757) (n=757)
n=56057
;:; i.e. Around St. Croix+ Bird Islands respectively

"'
E adjacent ils.
j
.!: Within the "'449 km 2 17.24% 29.72% 73.81%
flC 50%kemel (448.6 km 2) i.e totally offshore n=156 n=156
!!
~ Proportion of kernel's oceanic
!! Within the "'871 km 2 32.39% 51.16% 90.77%
--
1;.
~
C
75. (941.5 km'I area in each draft.
for foraging
n=304 n=304
0
u Draft A "'613 km 2 0.6538 of 75% 25.56% 42.12% 76.37%
r=20km [11r2 = 1256.6 km 2] = 49.03% n=375 n=375
Draft B "'1481 km 2 0.8679 of 75% 52.22% 56.07% 95.94%

= 65.1% n=517 n=517
"'927 km 2 0.8174of75% 31. 19% 36.26% 86.78%

= 61.31% (n=321) {n=321)
Draft D "'911 km 2 0.8553 of 75% 30.67% 36.32% 90.32%

= 64.15% (n=316) (n=316)
Draft E "'748 km 2 0.7520of75% 30.67 29.85 80.63%

=56.40% (n=260) {n=260)
"'809 km 2 o. 7876 of 75% 30.67 32.86 83.37%

=59.07% (n=281) (n=281)
582
0
(MPAfpermit conditions)
Q 20 km radius around colony
=
0
Harbour traffic zones
50% Foraging Area
er Island
175% Foraging Area
C) Proposed closure Area
t Croix Island
Averace sardine catch ("I

2011-2019
0.001 'J6 to 0.0S'J6
0.05% to 0.2%
0.2% to 0.5%
0.5% to 10%
■ 33 -
35
I6 17 18 19 24 25 26 2
Figure 1. The average annual proportion of regional sardine catches (2011 - 2019 when fishing was
allowed during the Island Closure Experiment) by 1 nm square block for the west coast (west of 20°E; left
panel) and the south coast (east of 24°E; lower right panel), and zoomed views (upper right panels) around
Dyer and St Croix islands. For all maps, the proposed closure of a circle of 20 km radius (black line), the
75% (green line) and 50% (red line) penguin foraging areas, and the proposed compromise closure area
(blue line) are shown.
583
30
(MPA/permit conditions)
200m
Q 20 km radius around colony
=
0
Harbour traffic zones
50% Foraging Area
31 0 75% Foraging Area 33.5
0 Proposed closure Area
Average anchovy catch l"I

2011-2019 ~ e n Island
32
<=0.0001"
......
. ... <= 0.001"
·- . <=0.01%
■ <=0.1% 34.0
18.0 18.5
33 ■ <=1%
■ <=15.21%
34 34.5
35
35.0
16 17 18 19 19.0 19.5
Figure 2. The average annual proportion of regional anchovy catches (- 2011 - 2019 when fishing was
allowed during the Island Closure Experiment) by 1 nm square block for the west coast (west of 20°E; left
panel; note that negligible quantities of anchovy are taken east of Cape Agulhas), and zoomed views (right
panels) around Dassen and Dyer islands. For all maps, the proposed closure of a circle of 20 km radius
(black line), the 75% (green line) and 50% (red line) penguin foraging areas (FAs), and the proposed
compromise closure area (blue line), are shown .
584
assen Island
Robben Island
Figure 3. Individual tracks (different colours) and 75% foraging area (green ellipse) of African penguins
breeding on Dassen Island from satellite-tracking data from 2008-2019, superimposed on the sardine
catch map shown in Figure 1. The proposed closure of a circle of 20 km radius (black circle) and the now
proposed compromise closure area {black polygon) are shown.
585
r Island
•
Figure 4. Individual tracks (different colours) and 75% (green ellipse) and 50% (red ellipse) foraging areas
{FAs) of African penguins breeding on Dyer Island from satellite-tracking data collected over the period
2008-2019, superimposed on the sardine catch map shown in Figure 1. The proposed closure of a circle
of 20 km radius (black circle) and the now proposed compromise closure area {blue polygon) are shown.
586
St Croix Island
Figure S. Individual tracks (different colours) and 75% and 50% foraging areas of African penguins breeding
on St Croix Island from satellite-tracking data collected over the period 2008-2019, superimposed on the
sardine catch map shown in Figure 1. The proposed closure of a circle of 20 km radius (black circle) and
the now proposed compromise closure area (blue polygon) are shown.
587
"AM34"
From: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, 30 May 2022 15:29
To: Mark Anderson; Yolan Friedmann; Natalie Maskell; Du Plessis, Morne; Dr Luthando
Dziba; Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig
Subject: RE: African Penguins/Island Closures
Importance: High
Dear CEOs and Technical Team

Andre Coetzee, the MD of Gansbaai Marine called me this morning. As expected, he is not happy about the Dyer Island
proposal that we are considering for the island closures. He had much to say, including the following:
If that proposal goes forward, it will sink their business, livelihoods will be lost and children will starve
With the science that clearly proves no impact of closures on penguins and that we are not looking into the real
causes of the decline and other threats, he has no choice but to sue the government if this goes forward
Mike C and Mike B cannot be responsjble for deciding his business' future
That both industry and NGOs are not budging and not genuinely trying to find a compromised way forward
That they will go under if all their fishing grounds are closed
That he will agree to a closure where they can fish but larger vessels from the west coast are excluded,
particularly since
o They have their own fishing grounds up the west coast
o They are catching good fish now, whereas Gansbaai Marine has only had 27 fishing days this year
apparently
o One of their vessels sunk a few weeks ago, and they will not be replacing it, and so their fishing effort is
reduced from 8 vessels to 7
Andre and I know each other from my days at CapeNature, and we have also chatted during the ETT and CAF. There is
thus an existing relationship, and we are able to be completely blunt and open with each other, so keep that in mind as
you read my response below:
Re-iterated that he and I disagree on what the science is saying, and that I believe he is being misled and
misinformed regarding the science on a number of fronts (ICE and wrt other threats)
That we were the ones that requested during the ETT and CAF to have practical innovative discussions around
Dyer Island and Stony Point, but that was disregarded by industry
That we do indeed care very much about livelihoods (as South Africans, we are aware of the current economic
climate; and are not environmental activists who have no regard for livelihoods as we seem to have been
labelled in this process) hence our repeated requests that the real (not modelled) costs of closures be provided;
reiterating that it is astonishing that after 13 years, with a sound financial system in place, that industry is not
able to provide this information (acknowledging that this relates to industry on west and east coast since Dyer
and Stony were not part of the ICE). Our efforts however, to genuinely understand the socio-economic impacts
of closures have been thwarted by industry who have not provided this information.
Regarding the compromise, it does not sound like he is aware of the compromise of the MIBAs relative to the
full breeding foraging range; and that the government proposal is a further compromise on top of that. The
compromise of loss of foraging areas vs fishing grounds is not equal
That closures around seabird breeding colonies do not constitute a closure of all the fishing grounds
I told him that these discussions are now at our CEO level and that they are engaging with industry and the Minister.
He's asked me to convey this discussion to you, and to see if there is a way that we can work around this, hence this
email to you.
He did mention that they are meeting tomorrow with SAPFIA to discuss the island closure proposal.
Warm Regards
Lauren
1
588
"AM35"
Subject: FW: African Penguin conservation - request for meeting with Minister Creecy to discuss
"island closures"
Importance: High

Sent: Sunday, June 5, 2022 6:13 PM
Subject: FW: African Penguin conservation - request for meeting with Minister Creecy to discuss "island closures"
Importance: High
FYI
From: Mark Anderson

Sent: Sunday, 05 June 2022 18:11
To: Feroze Shaik <[email protected] >; [email protected]
Cc: Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected] >; Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>
Subject: African Penguin conservation - request for meeting with Minister Creecy to discuss "island closures"
Importance: High
Dear Feroze
As requested by Minister Creecy, we are engaging with the Fisheries sector about island closures.
Dr Morne du Plessis and I met with Mike Copeland and Redah du Maine in Cape Town on 13 April 2022, and Morne, Dr
Luthando Dziba and I met with Mike Copeland and Mike van den Heever in Cape Town on 25 May 2022. We have
subsequently been in email correspondence with the Fisheries sector in order to find a compromise way forward
because both the Conservation and Fisheries Sectors are not supportive of CAF's recommendations.
We would like to request a meeting with the Minister to discuss the way forward for (a) the island closures and (b) the
international review. As we're largely unavailable from Monday-Wednesday, it would be preferential for us to meet
with the Minister on Thursday or Friday (or perhaps even during the coming weekend).
Initially, we'd propose that the Conservation Sector representatives meet with Minister Creecy but, alternatively ifthe
Minister would prefer, it could be a joint meeting with the Conservation and Fisheries sectors.
We appreciate your assistance.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
1
PFIA
Soulll Nl1cO'I Plllaglc fllllll,g lnculry ~
1st FLOOR, HARBOUR PLACE, 7 MARTIN HAMMERSCHLAG WAY, FORESHORE, CAPE TOWN, 8001
P.O. BOX 2066, CAPE TOWN, 8000
TEL: +27 21 425 2727 • FAX: +27 21 425 4734 EMAIL: [email protected]
29 June 2022
Dear Ashley
Re: Penguin science review panel suggestions
In response to your email of the 28 June please see below our suggestions relating to above
matter.
On 25 March SAPFIA (together with ESCPA) wrote to the Honourable Minister Creecy with
suggestions regarding an international penguin science review panel. In our recent letter to
the Minister dated 20 June we mentioned that we would be updating our views on this
matter, as we now do in this letter.
The need for this international penguin science review panel has become the more necessary
given that the CAF did not evaluate the quantitative scientific analyses of the Island Closure
Experiment {ICE), relating to the key aspect of the need, if any, to implement closures to
pelagic fishing around some penguin breeding colonies. Our suggestions concern the core
issues of:
(i) Panel membership,
(ii) Chair and procedures
and
(iii) Terms of reference (ToRs).
1
590
Since that time, we have benefitted from consultation internationally with scientists who
have been involved in similar processes in other countries. They have emphasised to us the
importance that such ToRs clearly distinguish issues related to science and those related to
policy choices. Accordingly in the attachment to this email, we have slightly modified our
earlier suggestions from 25 March.
With regard to (i) panel membership, the basic rule we have applied in making our suggestions
is that all candidate members must have the technical/scientific competence to evaluate the
quantitative aspects of analyses of the Island Closure Experiment (ICE} results, around which
the debate and core differences on this matter revolve. Internationally, this matter falls within
the general scientific field of marine multi-species and ecosystem modelling and
management, which is complex and mainly mathematical-statistical in its nature. It is
therefore essential that panel members have some demonstrable and established track
record in this field. Note that we have not yet checked the availability of any of our proposed
panel members, but we could do so and advise further once you hopefully decide to progress
this suggestion.
We trust also that there would be continued consultation with ourselves as the arrangements
for this review panel are developed. We consider such iterative consultation to be absolutely
essential.
Yours sincerely
For SAPFIA and ESCPA
2
591
Annexure: Proposals for the appointment of an international scientific panel
to review the science surrounding the ICE and related aspects of African
penguin conservation
i) Panel Membership
The following is a list of scientists who have the necessary quantitative scientific competence
for inclusion in this panel. We would envisage that a panel of 8 persons be formed (excluding
a DFFE co-chair).
Sir John Beddington Former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government;
played an important role in the initial development of
the ecosystem modelling field in the 1970s
Prof Tom Carruthers Arguably the leading young scientist in the world in the
ecosystem modelling field
Dr Alistair Dunn Panel member in past penguin deliberations
Dr Malcolm Haddon Panel member in past penguin deliberations
Dr Ana Parma Panel member in past penguin deliberations
Dr Eva Plaganyi Recognised as leading international authority on the
MICE approach to ecosystem modelling
Prof Andre Punt Panel member in past penguin deliberations
Dr Michael Sissenwine Former Chief Science Advisor at US NOAA Fisheries and
President of ICES
Dr Michael Wilberg Panel member in past penguin deliberations
More details on these scientists can be provided should you require.
ii) Chair and Procedures
The Chair for the panel proposed here must have a reasonably full technical understanding of
the subject matter to be discussed (as international experience has shown to be essential for
such meetings if efficient progress is to be made). In South Africa; the only persons who might
3
592
qualify would be presenting material to the panel, so would not be in contention. Hence the
Chair would have to be drawn from amongst the panel members.
However, DFFE would clearly still need to have some "control" at that level, to ensure that
. the panel discussions focus on DFFE's main concerns. This can be achieved by appointing a
co-chair from DFFE's scientific staff. Two possibilities for this role are Dr Kim Prochazka and
Dr Janet Coetzee - these two handled the organisation and running of a similar international
panel virtual meeting on penguin issues in December 2000 very well. This co-chair
representative from DFFE would add better value to the process if they have experience with
ICE (and some knowledge of the associated quantitative analyses) as well as with the history
of this issue.
The panel should meet virtually (all that would seem practical for reasons of time and cost)
at appointed times and with a clear agenda. The schedule for this virtual meeting needs to
include possibilities for Panel-only meetings, private meetings between the Panel and
protagonists of different standpoints, and "public" meetings where protagonists present their
standpoints and can be questioned by both Panel members and other members of the
"public" present. All participants (including CAF members and DFFE scientists) must be
allowed to speak freely.
iii) Terms of Reference
Ultimately decisions in this matter come down to trade-off selections, which involve policy
matters, and the Minister must select amongst the trade-off options available. This requires
that the pros and cons for each option are quantified, based on the best scientific evidence.
Thus, for example, island closure proposals involve a trade-off between the benefits in terms
of the likely change to the penguin population growth rate, against the cost in terms of loss
of revenue and jobs to the pelagic fishing industry. The Panel is responsible for scientifically
evaluating the.various estimates of such quantities, and to then recommend which are best,
and their reliability. Comments on policy choices, if any, should focus on clarification aspects
only.
593
In that context, we propose that the panel be given the task of answering the following
questions:
1) Do the estimates of closure effects provided in Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2021b)
and associated documents 1 provide an acceptable basis for quantifying the potential
benefit, if any, of closures to penguin colony growth rates.
2) Do the estimates of closure effects provided in Sydeman et al (2021) and other related
documents provide an acceptable basis for advising quantification of the potential
benefit, if any, of closures to penguin colony growth rates 2. These estimates have been
argued by, inter alia, Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2022) to be incorrect in
particular because of their failure to take due account of pseudoreplication; are those
arguments correct?
3) Trathan (2021) argues that the experimental design for the ICE is flawed, and SAPFIA
(2021) responds to the contrary. Have these alleged design concerns any merit, and
even if so, do they invalidate conclusions drawn by existing analyses of the ICE such as
in Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2022)?
4) What are the best estimates of the island closure effects in terms of their likely
quantitative impacts on penguin colony growth rates, and how do these estimates
compare with estimates of recent decline rates for penguin populations?
5) Advise on estimates of the costs in terms of revenue and jobs to the fishing industry
of island closures: which of these estimates are likely the most reliable.
6) What research should be undertaken, and with what urgency, to try to identify other
possible causes of the penguin decline?
Also provide brief remarks (only if the panel so wishes) of a clarification nature on the
following policy-related aspects
A) What are the implications of the results of the ICE for possible future island closures?
1
The associated documents should inter alia include Ross-Gillespie and Butterworth (2021),
Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2021a) and Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie (2022).
2 2
The associated documents include Sherley et al (2018) and Sherley et al (2021). At"'\
5 ~~{:-
594
B) Should these closures continue, and if so, how widely spread and for how long? What
analyses should be undertaken to provide the scientific basis to underly the fine spatial
and temporal details of such closures?
References
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021a. A revised summary of results for the island
closure experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report
FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEL/41. Spp.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021b. A response to some queries concerning the
revised summary of results for • the island closure experiment provided in
FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEL/41. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
report FISHERIES/2021/SEP/SWG-PEL/59. 6pp.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2022. Comment on "South Africa's experimental
fisheries closures and recovery of the endangered African penguin" by Sydeman et al. (2021).
ICES Journal of Marine Science. In press.
Ross-Gillespie, A. and Butterworth, D. S. 2021. Updated analysis of results from data arising
from the Island Closure Experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
report FISH ERIES/2021/JU N/SWG-PEL/39rev.
SAP FIA, 2021. Letter to Deputy Director-General: Oceans and Coasts Ms J Beaumont dated 5
November 2021, "Re: REVIEW OF THE SYNTHESIS OF CURRENT SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION
RELATING TO THE DECLINE IN THE AFRICAN PENGUIN POPULATION, THE SMALL PELAGIC
FISHERY AND ISLAND CLOSURES, by Philip N. Trathan". 2 pp.
Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J.M., Grigg, J., Horswill,
C., Mcinnes, A., Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A., Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C.
2018. Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures
on marine predator demographics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,
285: 20172443.
Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J.M., Grigg, J., Horswill,
C., Mcinnes, A., Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A., Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C.
2021. Correction to 'Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental ~I\
6 ~,(_,
595
fishery closures on marine predator demographics'. Proceedings of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences, 288: 20212129.
Sydeman, W. J., Hunt, G. L., Pikitch, E. K., Parrish, J. K., Piatt, J. F., Boersma, P. 0., Kaufman, L.,
Anderson, D. W., Thompson, S. A. and Sherley, R. B. 2021. South Africa's experimental
fisheries closures and recovery of the endangered African penguin. ICES Journal of Marine
Science. https:// doi.org/10.1093/ ices jms/fsab231.
Trathan, P.N. 2021.Review of the Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the
Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures. 20
September 2021, 12 pp.

596
"AM37"
Subject: FW: Conservation Sector Report on African Penguin Conservation
Attachments: Conservation Sector Report on African Penguin conservation for the attention of
Minister Barbara Creecy_4 July 2022 .. pdf

Sent: Monday, July 4, 2022 10:57 AM
To: Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected]>; Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>; Yolan Friedmann
<[email protected] >; Natalie Maskell <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >;
Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Alison Kock <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: Conservation Sector Report on African Penguin Conservation
Dear colleagues
See attached FYI.
Luthando will contact Feroze Shaik to schedule an opportunity for us to meet with Minister Creecy.
Regards
Mark

Sent: Monday, 04 July 2022 10:26
Cc: Feroze Shaik <[email protected] >
Subject: Conservation Sector Report on African Penguin Conservation
Please see attached report, which is a summary of recommendations on Island Closures (to benefit African Penguin
conservation) from Birdlife South Africa, WWF-SA, SANCCOB, Endangered Wildlife Trust, and SANParks.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information and/or if you have any queries.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
_)~
BirdLife
Ollll \IRI(\
Olvlng Con• rwrtl Win••
Private Bag X 16, Pinegowrie 2123, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) l l 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) l l 789 5188
1
597
Report to Minister Barbara Creecy on the outcomes of the consultations

between the Conservation Sector and the Fishing Industry on Island
Closures and the conservation of the "Endangered" African Penguin
Mark D. Anderson (Birdlife South Africa), Morne du Plessis (WWF-SA), Luthando Dziba
(SANParks), Yolan Friedmann (Endangered Wildlife Trust), and Natalie Maskell (SANCCOB)
Introduction
The Conservation Sector NGOs, namely Bird Life South Africa, WWF-SA, Endangered Wildlife
Trust, and SANCCOB, wrote a letter to the Minister requesting her intervention to
implement island closures in light of the dire conservation state of the African Penguin. The
Minister indicated that she had received similar correspondence from the Fishing Industry
expressing their concerns about the proposed island closures. The Minister encouraged the
CEOs of the Conservation Sector and SAN Parks to engage with the CEOs of the Fishing
Industry and find common ground and report back to her.
Mark Anderson, Luthando Dziba and Morne du Plessis (representing the Conservation
Sector) and Mike Copeland and Mike van den Heever (representing the Fishing Industry)
met at WWF-SA's offices in Cape Town on 25 May 2022. This follows the meeting that Mark
Anderson and Morne du Plessis had with Mike Copeland and Redah Maine in Cape Town on
13 April 2022. Subsequent to the latter meeting, the Conservation Sector (coordinated by
Mark Anderson) engaged by email with Mr Copeland and his colleagues (correspondence
which is dated 27 May 2022, 13 June 2022, and 23 June 2022 is included as Appendix 2).
Discussion
This report is a summary of our engagements and provides feedback to the Minister from
the perspective of the Conservation Sector. At one point after the second meeting, it was
hoped that the Conservation Sector and the Fishing Industry would write a joint letter to the
Minister reflecting what then appeared to be areas of convergence between the Fishing
Industry and the Conservation Sector. Unfortunately, this has not materialised and the
correspondence below reflects that representatives of the Fishing Industry did not get
support for the areas that were initially felt to be a reasonable comprise.
598
These included the following:
a. The Conservation Sector recommended immediate implementation of interim island

closures but cutting down the number of penguin colonies for island closure to three
(Dassen, Dyer and St Croix Islands) as opposed to the original six islands.
b. The Conservation Sector also recommended 75% closure of the African Penguin foraging
areas in the affected islands but recommended that there should be no reduction in
Total Allowable Catch for the Fishing Industry.
c. The Conservation Sector also recommend to the Minister the urgent appointment of an
independent international panel to review the recommendations of both the Extended
Penguin TT Forum and the CAF and recommend an evidence-based way forward to the
Minister.
d. During the meeting, the representatives of the Fishing Industry recommended the
opening of a part of Sixteen Mile Beach to fishing. The representatives of the
Conservation Sector indicated that this was outside their mandate/authority, but that
they would share the request with the Department.
In several email correspondences with the Fishing Industry, the Conservation Sector offered
several compromises in an effort to find common ground. Unfortunately, none of these
were deemed adequate by the Fishing Industry. In summary,
a. On 27 May 2022 the Conservation Sector proposed that both the Conservation Sector
and Fishing Industry support the proposal that was developed jointly by state fisheries
and conservation entities under the banner of the Governance Forum in late-2021 (see
Appendix 3). The proposals represented a compromise initially established between the
fisheries and biodiversity sectors of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the
Environment for three islands: Dassen, Dyer and St Croix. Our proposal was initially
considered by the representatives of the Fishing Industry, only to be rejected later after
their consultation with the industry. Their primary reason for rejection was related to
their contention that the small-scale fishers around Dyer and St Croix would be
disproportionately negatively affected by this proposal.
b. The Conservation Sector then, on 13 June 2022, proposed a concession. Correspondence
to Mr Copeland and his colleagues stated that "In the interest of progressing this matter
and finding a resolution, we are prepared to make a further concession. This concession
would be to allow smaller vessels (i.e. Gansbaai Marine vessels, and not larger vessels
from the west coast) to fish in the proposed Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and
Environment closure area. As you will know, Dassen and St Croix islands were scheduled
(according to the Island Closure Experiment) to be closed to fishing this year, and there
have been no effective closures in place around any colonies since 2020. We believe that
the demarcated areas (as proposed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the
Environment) around Dassen and St Croix islands should remain closed to all purse-seine
599
fishing until such time as an international review process has finalised allocation and
delineations of long-term closures around the important African Penguin colonies." This
proposal, which was intended for this season (i.e. until the international review had
been concluded) was also rejected by the Fishing Industry.
At the request of the Minister and with the investment of considerable further effort and
time, the Conservation Sector sought to find a compromise solution that would take into
account both the plight of the African Penguin and of small-scale fishers. Despite the
meeting and correspondence with the Fishing Industry, a solution has not been found.
In Appendix 1, the Conservation Sector puts forward recommendations for consideration by

the Minister as part of the proposed way forward.
Conclusion
The situation in which the African Penguin finds itself is dire, as a number of factors, in
addition to declining food availability, are almost certainly responsible for its demise (these
include ship-to-ship bunkering and ship traffic/noise in Algoa Bay). The Conservation Sector,
therefore, urges the Honourable Minister to (a) urgently implement the island closures as
per the Governance Forum's recommendations (Appendix 3) and (b) establish the
international review panel so that longer-term measures can be implemented to benefit the
endangered African Penguin.
600
Appendix 1. Recommendations
The Conservation Sector recommends the following:
a. The Minister implements interim island closures as per the recommendations originally
provided by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment through the
Governance Forum. This forum included scientists and managers from both the Oceans
& Coasts and Fisheries Branches of Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the
Environment and SANParks and the recommendations were presented to stakeholders
on 12 August 2021. Although the Governance Forum's recommended closures already
representing a significant compromise and which are not optimal for African Penguins,
they offer some degree of protection during the current breeding season and include
crucial elements of regional representation and population recovery potential. This is
therefore not a long-term solution for the African Penguin, but is, we believe, a
defensible short-term option.
b. The Minister establishes an international review panel to review the CAF
recommendations and all information submitted by the Conservation Sector and the
Fishing Industry to the CAF deliberations (our summary on the CAF process is included as
Appendix 4). The Terms of Reference for this review panel should have specific
objectives, viz. to recommend delineations of closures that provide a meaningful benefit
to African Penguins while reducing actual, tangible costs to the industry. The
Conservation Sector prepared suggestions for the Terms of Reference and these were
emailed to the Minister's office on 13 June 2022.
c. The Conservation Sector implores the Minister to invoke a precautionary approach (a
key principle of the Marine Living Resources Act of South Africa (MLRA; Section 2c), and
to initiate closures with immediate effect.
601
Appendix 2: Correspondence with the Fishing Industry
From: Mark Anderson

To: Mike Copeland <[email protected]>; Mike van den Heever
<[email protected]>
Cc: Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected]>; Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>
Subject: African Penguins/Island Closures
Dear Mike and Mike
Thanks very much for meeting with us on 25 May 2022 to discuss the African Penguin crisis.
We found the meeting constructive and cordial as we believe you did too.
While there remains differences of opinion as a result of our differing perspectives, we

herewith wish to capture the essence of our discussion in order to obtain your support.
1. We all agree that the African Penguin numbers reflect a crisis which requires urgent
attention, despite retaining our right to differ in our interpretation of the primary
drivers thereof.
2. The CAF process has produced proposals that do not satisfy either the conservation
or fisheries sectors, despite its intention to strike a compromise position acceptable
to both.
3. We broadly agree on an independent expert panel/process to be put in place as soon
as possible by Minister Barbara Creecy, the details of which are yet to be
determined. Both sectors foresee that a reasonable process can be designed that is
mutually acceptable and binding in its conclusions. This independent process will
play itself out over the medium term, but should ideally be concluded by the end of
2022.
4. In the interim, we seek to provide Minister Creecy with measures that are both
urgent and temporary until the recommendations of the process outlined in 3. can
be implemented beyond the current penguin breeding season.
5. In the spirit of urgent compromise, and given our inability to find a mutually
acceptable way forward, the conservation sector and SAPFIA support the proposal
that was developed jointly by state fisheries and conservation entities under the
banner of the Governance Forum late in 2021 as an interim measure. This is not a
proposal that fully satisfies the conservation sector, and neither do we expect that it
will satisfy the fishing industry.
6. The specifics of this proposal were submitted by the Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to the fisheries and conservation sectors prior
to the stakeholder engagements in 2021 (I attach the document herewith). The
proposals (blue lines) represent a compromise initially established between the
fisheries and biodiversity sectors of DFFE for three islands: Dassen, Dyer and St Croix.
If we can agree to the above as an acceptable way forward, we would be delighted to draft
a joint letter to the Minister.
602
We understand that you have to further explore the level of support from other members of
SAPFIA, and that this may not be broadly supported. In that instance, we would have to
separately propose our respective suggestions to the Minister on how to move this process
forward.
We look forward to your earliest response.
Your sincerely
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
CC: Dr Morne du Plessis and Dr Luthando Dziba
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Marie Anderson
Sent: Monday, 13 June 2022 07:39
To: Mike Copeland <[email protected]>
Cc: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>; SAPFIA <[email protected]>; Mike van den Heever
<[email protected]>; [email protected]; [email protected]
Dear Mike
Our responses to the points raised in your email of 3 June 2022 are below:
1. Your motivation for reverting back to the first document tabled at the Extended
Penguin TT forum is understood. Our concern, however relates to the extent of area
closures around Dyer Island and St Croix. Both of these islands are extremely
important to the fishing industry.
In the interest of progressing this matter and finding a resolution, we are prepared to make a
concession. This concession would be to allow smaller vessels (i.e. Gansbaai Marine vessels,
and not larger vessels from the west coast) to fish in the proposed Department of Forestry,
Fisheries, and Environment closure area. As you will know, Dassen and St Croix islands were
scheduled (according to the Island Closure Experiment) to be closed to fishing this year, and
there have been no effective closures in place around any colonies since 2020. We believe that
Environment) around Dassen and St Croix islands should remain closed to all purse-seine fishing
until such time as an international review process has finalised allocation and delineations of
long-term closures around the important African Penguin colonies.
603
2. We are concerned that the recommendations from the International Scientific Review
Panel will not be available to inform new decisions for 2023. Should this transpire we
would need clear rules for action proposed, until such time as a recommendation is
available from the panel to inform new area closures.
We are of the opinion that the review should be expedited as a matter of urgency and should be
finalised for management implementation in 2023, i.e. the process needs to be concluded by the
end of this year. The main objective of the review, which should be reflected in the ToR, should
be limited to propose management measures pertaining to fishing exclusion zones by reviewing
the CAFMLR findings and documents submitted to this forum by both the fisheries and
conservation sectors. The international panel, in making its recommendations, could of course
request any further information from parties to improve their understanding of the current
situation.
3. We are concerned that the composition and TOR of this panel will not be agreed and
thus propose that these first be agreed to by all before there are any further island
closures.
Minister Creecy has tasked Mr Shonisani Munzhedzi, Chief Executive Officer of SANBI, to draft
the Terms of Reference for the international, independent review, and we assume that both the
Conservation and Fisheries Sectors will be given an opportunity to comment on the ToR and the
composition of the panel.
4. We wish that the data required to initiate MICE immediately be made available. We
can provide a list of what data is required. Hopefully we can have some results
available for the panel, should the data be provided.
This is something you need to take up with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the
Environment.
5. The importance of the 16 Mile Beach MPA to the fishing industry is not recognised.
We understand that the fishing industry's proposal to lift fishing restrictions around the 16 Mile
Beach Marine Protected Area was submitted to the Extended Task Team and CAF and that the
proposal was not supported.
Regards
Mork
Mork D. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer

604
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Mark Anderson
Sent: Thursday, 23 June 2022 11 :56
To: Mike Copeland <[email protected]>
Cc: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>; SAPFIA <[email protected]>; Mike van den Heever
<[email protected]>; Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected]>; Luthando Dziba
<[email protected]>
Dear Mike
Our responses are included below in blue.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
From: Mike Copeland < [email protected] >

Sent: Monday, 20 June 2022 10:25
To: Mark Anderson < [email protected] >
Cc: Redah De Maine < [email protected]>; SAPFIA < [email protected] >; Mike van den Heever
< [email protected] >; [email protected]; Luthando.Dziba @ sanpa rks.org
Dear Mark/Morne/Luthando,
Both SAPFIA and the ESCPA have discussed your latest proposal detailed below. Please find
our response in green.
Simultaneous with this email, we have written to the Minister to summarise the current stage of
our deliberations, but recording a willingness to continue talking, if necessary.
Sincerely
SAPFIA/ESCPA
Mike Copeland (+27 82 572 1852)
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Mark Anderson

Sent: Monday, 1 3 June 2022 07:39
To: Mike Copeland
Cc: Redah De Maine; SAPFIA; Mike van den Heever; [email protected];
[email protected]
Dear Mike
605
Our responses to the points raised in your email of 3 June 2022 are below:
1. Your motivation for reverting back to the first document tabled at the Extended
Penguin TT forum is understood. Our concern, however relates to the extent of area
closures around Dyer Island and St Croix. Both of these islands are extremely
important to the fishing industry.
In the interest of progressing this matter and finding a resolution, we are prepared to make a
concession. This concession would be to allow smaller vessels (i.e. Gansbaai Marine vessels,
and not larger vessels from the west coast) to fish in the proposed Department of Forestry,
Fisheries, and Environment closure area. As you will know, Dassen and St Croix islands were
scheduled (according to the Island Closure Experiment) to be closed to fishing this year, and
there have been no effective closures in place around any colonies since 2020. We believe that
Environment) around Dassen and St Croix islands should remain closed to all purse-seine fishing
until such time as an international review process has finalised allocation and delineations of
long-term closures around the important African Penguin colonies.
It is factually incorrect to say that there were no closures in 2021 - there were.
Perhaps more important, your proposal and the concession it offers remains very far
away from our position (it effectively closes St Croix to fishing which is unacceptable
to the Eastern Cape fishers, and has a similar impact at Dyer Island), and we are
therefore concerned that a compromise is not achievable. Nevertheless, we can
report that after consultation with our members, we are able to make the new
proposal set out in the table below.
We stated that there were no effective closures, i.e. the closures around St Croix and Dassen islands were
only seasonal in 2021. This is despite written objections to this decision submitted by seabird scientists,
including scientists at Oceans & Coasts. The closures need to be throughout the year in order for them to
protect the penguins' foraging habitat during different life-history stages: breeding, pre- and post-moult
(see Car~enter-Kling et al. 2022 which shows that waters around the island are important outside the
breeding season}. St Croix Island was scheduled to be closed this year in the ICE but there have been no
closures in place this year.
2. We are concerned that the recommendations from the International Scientific Review
Panel will not be available to inform new decisions for 2023. Should this transpire we
would need clear rules for action proposed, until such time as a recommendation is
available from the panel to inform new area closures.
We are of the opinion that the review should be expedited as a matter of urgency and should be
finalised for management implementation in 2023, i.e. the process needs to be concluded by the
end of this year. The main objective of the review, which should be reflected in the ToR, should
606
be limited to propose management measures pertaining to fishing exclusion zones by reviewing

the CAFMLR findings and documents submitted to this forum by both the fisheries and
conservation sectors. The international panel, in making its recommendations, could of course
request any further information from parties to improve their understanding of the current
situation.
The best scientific evidence that can inform a management measure on the extent, if
any, of island closures around penguin breeding sites, is that to be obtained from
ICE. This should be key to the deliberations of the International Scientific Review.
We are not asking for a review of the science, as there have been numerous scientific reviews since 2017
when the results were very similar to the current updated results and we feel there is enough evidence to
implement closures now. We agree that the latest and 'best' available science can be used by the reviewers
as background information, but the ultimate purpose of the ETT and CAF processes was to find a meaningful
compromise on island closure extents. We would like the review to assess the merits of both arguments
during CAF to formulate a sensible compromise.
3. We are concerned that the composition and TOR of this panel will not be agreed and
thus propose that these first be agreed to by all before there are any further island
closures.
Minister Creecy has tasked Mr Shonisani Munzhedzi, Chief Executive Officer of SANBI, to draft
the Terms of Reference for the international, independent review, and we assume that both the
Conservation and Fisheries Sectors will be given an opportunity to comment on the ToR and the
composition of the panel.
We have not been officially informed of this but this is noted. We have written to the
Minister with proposals for ToRs and the composition of the international panel,
requesting that we are consulted in this regard.
4. We wish that the data required to initiate MICE immediately be made available. We
can provide a list of what data is required. Hopefully we can have some results
available for the panel, should the data be provided.
This is something you need to take up with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the
Environment.
We are surprised by your response. Any intervention that could possibly point to the
main drivers in causing the decline in the penguin population, should surely be
actively and immediately supported by conservationists.
This process was agreed at the ETT to be run as a separate process under a special task team led by DFFE.
607
This has apparently not been initiated yet and shouldn't be a pre-requisite or condition for initiating
processes for long-term closures.
5. The importance of the 16 Mile Beach MPA to the fishing industry is not recognised.
We understand that the fishing industry's proposal to lift fishing restrictions around the 16 Mile
Beach Marine Protected Area was submitted to the Extended Task Team and CAF and that the
proposal was not supported.
This is factually incorrect. What CAFMLR said was that this matter was not within
their remit. It is however in the remit of the Minister and therefore part of the
package of agreements we propose.
Table 1. Industry proposal at the end of the CAFMLR process on 8 March 2022, and
a new proposal for consideration, dated 17 June 2022.
This was officially rejected by the National Marine Biodiversity Scientific Working Group's .'MPA-lsland
Closure Issues' Task Group after the request was raised by the industry during the ETT process. These were
several reasons for the rejection, including impacts on other species.
CAfMLR
Dassen Robben Stoney Dyer St Croix Bird Compromise
Guideline (300%)
CSG (drca 27 May 2022, Ors

Mome du Plessis, Mark Anderson 87.9 41 5 75.8 75 .0 44 329
and luthando Dtlba)
Industry at end of CAFMLR (8

54 95 23 20 27 9:3 312
March 2022)
Industry new propo!.al (17 June
60 100 23 20 27 93 323
2022)
Your latest proposal gives very little protection to penguins around islands where there is significant fishing
pressure, i.e. Dassen, Dyer and St Croix (and note that these are proportions of an already compromised
extent; i.e. the core areas which are mlBAs).
Regards
Mork
Mark D. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Birdlife South Africa

608
Appendix 3: Governance Forum recommendations
O&C/2021/SEP/Extended Penguin TT/01
African penguin colony closures: Finding a balance between minimizing costs to the small pelagic fishing
industry while maximizing coverage of foraging area for breeding African penguins
Janet C Coetzee, Azwianewi Makhado, Carl D van der Lingen, Zishan Ebrahim, Alison Kock, Cloverley
Lawrence, Fannie W Shabangu.
Background
The African penguin/Fisheries Synthesis Report Drafting Team met in July 2021 to consider two scientific
recommendations regarding closures around penguin breeding colonies and to develop a Departmental
compromise position in this regard. The proposals were for (i) closure of small pelagic fishing within a 20
km radius around six penguin breeding colonies for ten years, made by the Top Predator SWG (Scientific
Working Group) of the Branch: Oceans and Coasts and SAN Parks (South African National Parks); and (ii)
continuation of the current (in 2021) implemented 20 km seasonal closure around two islands in 2022
pending conclusion of further quantitative assessments to estimate the impact of the various drivers of the
penguin population decline, made by the Small Pelagic SWG of the Branch: Fisheries Management.
Given the contrasting recommendations and that conflict management requires parties to recognize
problems as shared ones and engage with clear goals and an awareness of trade-offs, the Drafting Team
first attempted to find common ground and develop guiding principles to move the discussion forward.
These guiding principles were:
• The African penguin population is in a critical state of decline, and urgent action is needed
• NEMA (National Environmental Management Act) principles of conservation, sustainable use and
the precautionary approach need to inform the proposals
• Penguin colonies identified for closure were selected based on conservation and economic criteria
• The effects of long-term closures on the penguin population are unknown but are assumed to be
larger than that observed during the short-term closures
• The small pelagic fishery is an important industry regionally and locally within the industrial
fisheries sector. Closures will have an economic cost on the small pelagic fishery that will vary from
colony to colony
At subsequent meetings, and using the guiding principles, the Drafting Team sought compromise through
the (i) prioritization of the penguin colonies in terms of their importance for penguin conservation (e.g.
carrying capacity, current status, rate of recent decline and regional representation) and (ii) in terms of the
cost of closing areas around those colonies on the small pelagic fishery at a regional level. Following this
process, agreement was reached on short, medium and long-term actions.
In the short-term (2021), there was agreement that closures as recommended and implemented by Branch:
Fisheries Management in 2021 should be continued for the remainder of 2021, i.e. Dassen and St Croix
islands are closed for six month periods, and Robben Island is closed for the whole year.
In the medium-term (2022- 2025), there was agreement that three of the six colonies should remain open
to small pelagic fishing, namely, Robben and Bird Islands and Stony Point, noting that restrictions that are
currently in place for MPAs around those three colonies, will continue to apply. Agreement was also
reached on the three colonies that should be closed to small pelagic fishing in the medium-term (2022 -
2025), namely Dassen, Dyer and St Croix Islands. However, the extent, i.e. boundaries of those closures,
would be adjusted to try and minimize the cost of closures on the small pelagic fishery while attempting to
maximize the coverage of African penguin foraging area.
In the long-term (2022- 2032), the extent of the closures could be modified based on further research and
evaluation. This research would run parallel to the medium term proposals and comprises three
_components. These are:
1. A quantitative assessment of the proportional contribution of all plausible major drivers (e.g., food
availability, predation, climate change, disease, disturbance such as seismic surveys, vessel activity, and
609
research and tourism, and competition with other predators for food as well as the availability and quality
of breeding habitat) of the African penguin population decline at relevant spatial scales. This is required to
understand their relative importance better and further develop or initiate plans where appropriate to
mitigate against them if possible. That assessment should be conducted urgently. A joint Task Team
(Oceans and Coasts, SANParks, Fisheries and other stakeholders) should oversee this assessment from the
start and specify, depending on data available, analyses methods. Given a lack of internal capacity, this
should be outsourced to an entity with no previous close involvement in this process. No cost estimates
are available at this time.
2. Rigorous cost/benefit analyses are essential and should be urgently developed to improve the estimation
of costs and benefits of closure around individual colonies through an agreed framework. This should be
expanded to include socio-economic information related to penguin-directed tourism and other
biodiversity considerations. A joint Task Team (Oceans and Coasts, SANParks, Fisheries and other
stakeholders, including appropriate economists) should oversee these analyses from the start and specify,
depending on data available, analyses methods. Given a lack of internal capacity, this should be outsourced
to an independent and objective entity, preferably with no previous close involvement in this process. No
cost estimates are available at this time.
3. A quantitative assessment (to the extent possible) of the efficacy of current management interventions
conducted to date under the APBMP (African Penguin Biodiversity Management Plan) should be
conducted. It should be a priority action of the second APBMP. Given a lack of internal capacity, this should
be budgeted for and outsourced under the APBMP to an entity with no previous close involvement in this
process. This assessment will be essential for informing adaptive management measures to mitigate
against all threats to penguins.
Determining the extent of island closures in the medium term for three of the colonies
Determining the extent of island closures for Dassen, Dyer and St Croix colonies was achieved by using
available data on catches of sardine and anchovy around the colony and African penguin foraging positions.
The Drafting Team compared penguin foraging and small pelagic catch data around Dassen, Dyer and St
Croix islands and evaluated multiple closure variants. Those variants attempted to limit small pelagic fishing
within the 75% kernel penguin FA (foraging area) and cover as many tracked GPS positions as possible. We
also sought to reduce the estimated cost to the small pelagic fishing industry to 50% of what it would have
been under a circular closure area of a 20 km radius. Shapes other than circles for closure areas were
considered to provide more flexibility and increase the chances of meeting cost and benefit targets.
Attempts were made to position the closure boundaries to increase navigational ease and for compliance
reasons.
Although simultaneously meeting both targets (closure covers the 75% FA and reduces estimated costs by
50%) could not be attained for any of the three islands, the Drafting Team developed compromise positions
on the extent and boundaries of the closures areas around these three islands. This document describes
the data used to estimate the cost to the small pelagic fishery and the benefit to the African penguin (in
terms of their foraging characteristics), and on which the compromise (trade-off) closure boundaries were
selected.
Determining the average cost of closure

The cost of closure to the small pelagic fishing industry was measured based on the average annual
percentage of the catch within the proposed closure area between 2011 and 2019. This can be scaled up
to an economic cost, but that requires assumptions about how much of the catch within a proposed closure
area is lost (lost opportunity cost) and the increased fuel cost of catching that fish elsewhere. For evaluating
trade-offs, we, therefore, calculated the percentage of catch (a proxy for cost) that occurred within the
proposed 20 km radius closed area around penguin breeding colonies and sought to reduce that by
approximately 50% by adjusting the boundaries of the closure area. This was done separately for anchovy
and sardine. However, around Dassen Island, the catch is dominated by anchovy and around St Croix Island,
it is dominated by sardine hence catches were prioritized accordingly.
The average annual percentage of the catch occurring within the proposed closure area was determined
as follows:
610
Reported catch positions, to the nearest nm (nautical mile), between 2011 and 2019 were assigned to a
lxl nm grid cell. The annual proportion of the regional catch (west of Cape Agulhas and east of 24°E) of
each species for each year within each grid cell was averaged over years in which that grid cell was open
to fishing (fishing around colonies was prohibited in some years as part of the island closure experiment).
The average proportion per grid cell was renormalized so that the proportions at a regional scale summed
to one and were expressed as a percentage. Summing the percentages of catch per grid cell for those cells
that are contained within the proposed closure area derives the cost of closure to the fishing industry. The
percentage of the catch per grid cell for the regional catch is presented in Figures 1 and 2 for sardine and
anchovy, respectively.
Determination of core foraging areas

Data collection
During the breeding (or chick-rearing period) between 2008 and 2019, one adult from pairs of African
penguins rearing small chicks was equipped with a GPS logger for one foraging trip at six of the species
major South African breeding colonies. Loggers were attached to the feathers on the dorsal midline of the
bird's lower back using TESA® tape (Beiersdorf AG, Germany) following recommended methods for
deployment on diving birds (Bonnasch et al. 1994). No bird was tracked more than once per season. The
GPS loggers were programmed to acquire a position at one-minute intervals. Tags were removed -1-4 days
ofter deployment, depending on the presence of the birds in the colonies.
Data analysis
Location data on land were removed, and tracks were split into trips between land-based events. Only
complete trips (i.e. evidence of the bird leaving and returning to the colony) were retained for further
analyses. Possible erroneous GPS locations, based on a transit speed of greater than 12.4 km h- 1 (Wilson
1985), were filtered from the data and locations were linearly interpolated at one-minute intervals. For
each colony (Table 1-3), the marine habitat use of the penguins was estimated using kernel utilization
distributions (UD; Worton 1989) using the R package adehabitatHR (Calenge 2006). A smoothing factor of
7 km was used, following the methods of Dias et al. (2018), and the 50% and 75% UD contours were
estimated for each colony to represent the penguins' core and home range, respectively. Figures 3, 4 and
5 show the individual foraging tracks and resultant foraging areas for Dassen, Dyer and St Croix Islands,
respectively.
Finding a balance
The drawing of draft boundaries took into account four spatial data inputs:
1. A grid of data-points of the percentage of the catches per one square minute(= 1 nm)
2. The initial draft closure, a circle of 20 km radius around the island
3. The area that represents the core 75% (and 50%) penguin foraging kernels
4. Penguin tracking points (GPS tag-data)
The first draft boundary was a circular 20 km radius around the island (excluding landmass). This formed
the basis of the initial cost calculation to fisheries (see above). Circular boundaries are harder to navigate
and enforce than north-south and east-west lines, and thus the Team decided to use straight-line
boundaries. Initially, draft boundaries attempted to include the entire 75% foraging kernel, using
landmarks and existing MPA latitudes or longitudes as markers. However, the cost (i.e. the sum of catch
percentage per one square nm for the closure area) to fisheries was similar to the original 20 km radius
closure cost or sometimes higher. To reduce the cost to the fishery, the Drafting Team moved the boundary
away from the 75% kernels and adjacent MPAs, but towards areas used by penguins foraging away from
their core. If the cost to fisheries was still too high, further edits moved the boundary by one nm at a time
to re-calculate the sum of costs captured under a draft area.
The proportion of the tracking points covered and the proportion of area (Albers Equal Area conical) of the
75% kernel covered by each draft was calculated . All data were tabulated for the initial circular draft and
five additional (box/square) draft closures (Table 1-3).
611
Cited Literature
Bannasch R, Wilson RP, Culik B (1994) Hydrodynamic aspects of design and attachment of a back-mounted
device in penguins. J. exp. Biol. 194: 83 - 96.
Calenge C (2006) The package "adehabitat" for the R software: A tool for the analysis of space and habitat
use by animals. Ecol Modell 197:516-519.
Dias MP, Carneiro APB, Warwick-Evans V, Harris C, Lorenz K, Lascelles B, Clewlow HL, Dunn MJ, Hinke JT,
Kim JH, Kokubun N, Manco F, Ratcliffe N, Santos M, Takahashi A, Trivelpiece W, Trathan PN (2018)
Identification of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South
Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands. Ecol Evol 8:10520-10529.
Wilson RP (1985) The Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) as a pelagic predator. Mar Ecol Prog Ser
25:219-227.
Worton BJ (1989) Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies.
Ecology 70: 164-168.
612
Appendix 4. Conservation Sector's comments on the CAFMLR process
Failed Consultative Process - Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on
recommended island closure delineations as deliberated on during the Consultative Advisory
Forum for Marine Living Resources - Special Project to Review Penguin Conservation and Small
Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR)
Date: 16 March 2022
Submitted by representatives of the Conservation Sector Group: Dr Alistair Mcinnes (BirdLife South
Africa), Dr Lauren Waller (formerly: Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal
Seabirds; currently: Endangered Wildlife Trust), Craig Smith (World-Wide Fund for Nature - South
Africa)
Executive summary
1. African Penguins are currently listed as globally Endangered by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with their populations currently decreasing by 5-10% per annum.
Regionally, in 2021, the east coast population in Algoa Bay met the IUCN Red Listing criteria for
Critically Endangered status and the population on the west coast is predicted to be functionally
extinct by 2030. Urgent conservation action is required to stem this decline. This conservation
action must take the form of addressing the primary threats to the species, of which reduced
availability of food ranks as number 1.
2. The final CAFMLR compromise proposal does not address the Minister's concerns about arresting
the decline of African Penguins. It does not meet any of the criteria (see Appendix 1 for more
details) stipulated by the Conservation Sector Group (CSG) for a biologically sensible compromise
and, as such, the final recommendation is viewed as insufficient to make a meaningful difference
to alleviate resource competition around important African Penguin colonies.
3. The CAFMLR process was flawed on several accounts (see Appendix 2 for more details) including
the following weaknesses:
a. The final recommendation submitted to the Minister was developed based on a lack of
transparent socio-economic data on the actual replacement costs to the fisheries sector
resulting from fishing closure periods during the Island Closure Experiment (this despite
numerous requests for the submission of this information by the CSG).
b. The CAFMLR proposal was informed by a compromise metric initially proposed by the
Fisheries Sector Group (FSG), and not agreed to by the CSG. This shifted the decision space
in favour of lower perceived costs to the fishing industry while preventing the CSG from
achieving important biological considerations set out to guide a meaningful outcome for
African Penguins.
c. The constitution of the CAFMLR membership, while including fisheries scientist expertise,
did not include seabird scientists which resulted in an unbalanced assessment of both the
merits of the science of the Island Closure Experiment and the subsequent adjudication
of a balanced compromise position.
4. The CSG recognises that the most recent updated peer-reviewed science on the results of the
Island Closure Experiment demonstrates a biologically meaningful effect of island closures on
population level impacts of African Penguins which will reduce the current population decline by
up to 20% per annum.
5. Proposed way forward: to the extent that there remains dispute between the scientists from the
FSG and the CSG, we would like to emphasise that, where there are threats of serious or
irreversible damage (as there clearly are in this instance), lack of scientific certainty by all parties
should not be used to delay conservation action. South African law stipulates the application of
the Precautionary Principle in these instances and to this end, considering the dire and declining
613
status of the African Penguin, we recommend that all six colonies be afforded 100% marine
Important Bird Area (mlBA) protection consistent with our original position at the end of the
Extended Task Team process.
6. We recommend that the appropriate mechanism be activated through DFFE to source the actual
socioeconomic costs from industry of the closures that took place over the 13 year period from
2008-2020 so that a clearer understanding of the real (not modelled) economic cost of closures
be calculated so that a real compromise can be found.
614
"AM38"
Subject: FW: African Penguin conservation/island closures
Attachments: Engagement between Conservation Sector and Gansbaai Marine regarding Dyer Island
closure to fishing.docx; Island closure proposals from Conservation Sector_
2022071 0.pdf
Importance: High

Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2022 12:29 PM
To: Du Plessis, Morne <[email protected] >; Yolan Friedmann <[email protected]>; Natalie Maskell
<[email protected] >; Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes
<[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Tegan Carpenter-Kling <Tegan.Carpenter-
[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Alison Kock <[email protected]>
Importance: High
Dear colleagues
See below and attached for your information.
Thanks to our scientists (Alistair and Tegan worked on the maps, and Lauren on the Gansbaai document, and I know
that the rest of the team provided inputs) for their work, some of which was done during the weekend.
I will WhatsApp Minister Creecy and tell her that I have emailed the documents to her.
Regards
Mark

Sent: Sunday, 10 July 2022 12:20_
Cc: Feroze Shaik <[email protected] >
Subject: African Penguin conservation/island closures
Importance: High
As requested by you when we met on 6 July 2022, please see the various Island Closure proposals (and notes to clarify
the context under which the proposals were negotiated) and a document about our engagement with Gansbaai Marine.
Please note that these maps have been produced by Dr Alistair Mcinnes (Bird life South Africa) and Dr Tegan Carpenter-
Kling (Bird life South Africa), with inputs from Dr Lauren Waller (Endangered Wildlife Trust, previously SANCCOB), Dr
Alison Kock (SAN Parks) and Craig Smith (WWF-SA).
One of our biggest concerns we had during both the ETT and CAF processes was that the fishing industry did not provide
information about the real replacement costs of the island closures. It is therefore important to note that the
percentage catches for sardine and anchovy reflect catches when these islands were open to fishing, and therefore we
do not know what happened to their effort and return during closed years.
1
615
It is also worth noting that the Conservation Sector's tailback proposals during the ETT processes reflect suboptimal
closures that were subject to certain conditions {this was not reflected in the report submitted to the Minister at the
end of this process).
Finally, the CAF report also reflects a suboptimal Conservation Sector proposal, as we made it explicitly clear {both
during the proceedings, which were recorded, and in our report) that the metric used in the calculations was flawed.
This is one of the reasons why we reverted back to 100% mlBAs for all six islands in our CAF report.
The report summarises the engagements that Dr Lauren Waller had with Gansbaai Marine, the recommendations
coming from those discussions and what we recently agreed as a reasonable concession around Dyer Island.
Please let me know if you need further clarification and, if necessary, I will involve one of our scientist during that
discussion (to help clarify the detail on the maps).
Regards
Mark
{the attached documents are submitted on behalf of the Conservation Sector: Bird Life South Africa, Endangered Wildlife
Trust, SANCCOB, SAN Parks and WWF-SA).
Mark D. Anderson
_)l ,
BirdLife
.Ol II \I R I (
Olt1ln11 CortHl"1fotl n Wln11•
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
http://www.birdlife.org .za
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_
BirdLife
glvlng
nature
• • a home
sappi
..-~"' TOYOTA ...,.........
- JCDecaux
2
616
Engagement between Conservation Sector and Gansbaai Marine regarding Dyer

Island closure to fishing
Background
The four islands of Dassen, Robben, St Croix and Bird were part of the Island Closure Experiment for 13
years. Given the African Penguin crisis and scientific evidence of closure benefits, the Conservation
Sector recommended that all six colonies that have >1000 breeding pairs should be closed to small
pelagic fishing to the full ml BA extent. However, the fishing company at Dyer Island (Gansbaai Marine)
has indicated that if the full ml BA closures (or DFFE Governance Forum proposal) are implemented, they
would need to close their doors. In a bilateral between Gansbaai Marine and the Conservation Sector
representative (Dr Lauren Waller), and subsequent follow-up phone calls, the Managing Director
indicated to us that he would support a complete closure (extent shown on map= CAF and ETT industry
proposals) with an additional modified closure that only allowed his vessels, excluding the larger vessels
from the west coast. He confirmed that the west coast vessels had extensive alternative fishing grounds,
while the area that his vessels could operate in was smaller (given the smaller size of his vessels and that
they are more restricted in terms of fishing days due to the weather). He further indicated that he would
be happy to participate in a formal review of the socio-economic costs of closures and the impact on
African Penguins. This closed area was proposed by Gansbaai Marine and formed part of the Industry
proposal submitted by SAPFIA during the ETT and CAF processes (refer to maps).
The real costs of closures remain unknown. Costs to industry have not been decoupled from the collapse
of the sardine stock, and·actual socio-economic losses as a result of closures have not been supplied by
the companies involved in the previous ICE spanning 13 years of data. Given the pro1(imity of the Dyer
Island colony to Stony Point, any management intervention in the proximity of Dyer Island is likely to
have an impact on the Stony Point colony and the Conservation Sector is also concerned about the
intensity of the sardine fishery that is focused in this area.
Recommendations
• Closure to all purse-seine fishing in the area which Gansbaai Marine agreed to be closed.
• The remaining extent of the DFFE original proposal be closed to the larger west coast fishing vessels.
• These restrictions should remain in place until new measures are adopted after the international
review.
• The socio-economic costs for both Gansbaai Marine and the remaining small pelagic fleet, the
change in fishing fleet behaviour and performance, and African Penguin demographics as a result of
closures be investigated both at Dyer Island and Stony Point.
Conservation Sector
10July 2022
17
African Penguin Island Closure Proposals: August 2021- March 202f
Produced by Conservation Sector Group with layers provided by SAN Parks and Birdlife South Africa
10 July 2022
Dassen Island
-32.6 -32.6
-32.8 -32.8
-33.0 -33.0
Cl) Cl)
1:1 1:1
-
:E -33.2
C-0
_.J
:E -33.2
m
_.J
-33.4 -33.4
-33.6 -33.6
-33.8 -33.8
17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude Longitude
□ DFFE 2021 original African Penguin foraging range

□ Conservation ETT (ml BA) C Conservation_CAF (ml BA)
C Conservation fallback_ETT □ lndustry_CAF
lndustry_ETT □ CAF
% % regional catch
%
!Colony Date Proposal Conditions Foraging during o 1>en years
mlBA
Range anchovy sardine
Dassen Island Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 21.0 87.9 4.36 0.38
Dassen Island Nov-21 Conservation ETT no 15.3 100.0 7.46 0.31
management of fishing effort
Dassen Island Nov-21 Conservation fallback_ETT on boundary, 100% observer 19.3 79.3 3.57 0.34
coverage
Dassen Island Nov-21 lndustry_ETT no 17.6 39.5 2.64 0.41
Dassen Island Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 15.3 100.0 7.46 0.31
Dassen Island Mar-22 Industry CAF no 8.5 55.8 1.98 0.15
NOTE: the fallback options submitted by the Conservation Sector during the ETT were subject to certain conditions
(in table). Anchovy and sardine catches reflect catches during open years to fishing during Island Closure Experiment.
Conservation ETT and CAF submissions based on following reports:
• Extended Task Team: African Penguin Island Closures. Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 2 November 2021
• Failed Consultative Process - Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on recommended island closure
delineations as deliberated on during the Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources - Special Project to Review
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR) . Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 (..,,
March 2022. V" ~ ~
Robben Island 618
-32.6 -32.6
-32.8 -32.8
-33.0 -33.0
-33.2 -33.2
Q) Q)
-
"C "C
::, ::,
:!:::
ro -33.4
_J
~
_J
-33.4
-33.6 -33.6
-33.8 -33.8
-34.0 -34.0
17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude Longitude

□ Conservation_ETT (ml BA) C Conservation_CAF (ml BA)
□ Conservation fallback_ETT □ lndustry_CAF
% % regional catch during

%
Colony Date Proposal Conditions Foraging open years
mlBA
Robben Island Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 3.6 41.3 0.00 0.00
Robben Island Nov-21 Conservation_ETT no 8.3 100.0 3.10 0.21
Conservation incentive for avoiding fishing in
Robben Island Nov-21 3.6 41.3 0.00 0.00
fallback ETT MIBA
Robben Island Nov-21 lndustry_ETT no 8.3 60.8 0.68 0.14
Robben Island Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 8.3 100.0 3.10 0.21
Robben Island Mar-22 Industry CAF no 8.0 88.1 2.82 0.17
Robben Island Mar-22 CAF no 3.6 41.1 0.63 0.06
NOTE: the fall back options submitted by the Conservation Sector during the ETT were subject to certain conditions
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR). Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 -~ t).•"' tt.J\
March 2022. '\i".;li r1- ·
619
Dyer Island
-34.4 -34.4
-34.5 -34.5
-34.6 -34.6
~
:::,
~
:::,
~ -34.7 ~ -34.7
-34.8 -34 .8
-34 .9 -34 .9
-35.0 -35.0
19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6

Longitude Longitude

□ Conservation_ETT (ml BA) □ Conservation_CAF (ml BA)
□ Conservation fallback_ETT □ lndustry_CAF/concession for Gansbaai Marine
% regional catch during

%
% open years
Colony Date Proposal Conditions Foraging
mlBA
Dyer Island Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 60.5 75.8 3.94 11.97
Dyer Island Nov-21 Conservation ETT no 54.8 100.0 12.28 32.37
Conservation management of fishing effort on
Dyer Island Nov-21 48.2 75.8 3.65 9.34
fallback ETT bounday, 100% observer coverage
Dyer Island Nov-21 Industry ETT no 11.8 20.1 0.12 0.22
Dyer Island Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 54.8 100.0 12.28 32.37
Dyer Island Mar-22 Industry CAF no 11.8 20.1 0.12 0.22
Dyer Island Mar-22 CAF no 22.1 39.2 1.28 1.26
(in table). Concession for Gansbaai Marine negotiated with Conservation Sector during CAF.
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR). Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 tJv~,
March 2022. ~ ~
620
Stony Point
-34.25
-34.30
i -34.35
.a
:.;::.
j -34.40
-34.45
:34_50
18.8 18.9 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3
Longitude
-34.25
-34.30
i -34.35
:::,
~
j -34.40
-34.45
-34.50
18.8 18.9 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3
Longitude
□ DFFE 2021 original ■ African Penguin foraging range

□ Conservation_ETT (mlBA) □ Conservation_CAF (mlBA)

%
% open years
mlBA
Stony Point Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 4.6 5.2 0.00 0.00
Stony Point Nov-21 Conservation_ETT no 79.1 100.0 0.71 6.26
larger MIBA coverage, incentive for
Stony Point Nov-21 Conservation fallback_ETT 4.6 5.2 0.00 0.00
avoiding fishing in M IBA
Stony Point Nov-21 lndustry_ETT no 4.6 5.2 0.00 0.00
Stony Point Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 79.1 100.0 0.71 6.26
Stony Point Mar-22 Industry CAF no 18.8 21.4 0.04 0.13
Stony Point Mar-22 CAF no 18.8 21.4 0.04 0.13
NOTE: the fallback options submitted by the Conservation Sector during the ETT were subject to certain
conditions (in table).
• Failed Consultative Process- Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on recommended island closure
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR). Cpnservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 ~
March 2022. ~ ~l'\
621
St Croix Island
-33.6 -33.6
-33.7 -33.7
-33.8 -33.8
Q) Q)
"C "C
.a ::s
:!::
j -33.9 j -33.9
-34.0 -34.0
-34.1 -34.1
25.6 25.7 25.8 25.9 26.0 26.1 25.6 25.7 25.8 25.9 26.0 26.1
Longitude Longitude

D Conservation_ETT (mlBA) C Conservation_CAF (ml BA)
C Conservation fallback_ETT □ lndustry_CAF

%
% open years
mlBA
St Croix Island Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 53.4 75.0 30.67 32.86
St Croix Island Nov-21 Conservation ETT no 62.9 100.0 33.81 53.63
incentive for avoiding fishing in
Conservation
St Croix Island Nov-21 MIBA, possibility of expansion 53.4 75.0 30.67 32.86
fallback_ETT
after 5 year review
St Croix Island Nov-21 Industry ETT no 36.9 57.3 30.66 28.55
St Croix Island Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 62.9 100.0 33.81 53.63
St Croix Island Mar-22 Industry CAF no 17.2 28.3 15.38 11.82
St Croix Island Mar-22 CAF no 17.2 28.3 15.38 11.82
delineations as deliberated on during the Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources - Special Project t o Review
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR). Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 t'.
March 2022. ~ "'\. f
622
Bird Island
-33.65 -33.65
-33.70 -33.70
-33.75 -33.75
-33.80 ~ -33.80
:::,
-33.85
""~ -33.85
-33.90 -33.90
-33.95 -33.95
-34.00 -34.00
25.9 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 25.9 26.0 26. 1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5
Longitude Longitude
DFFE 2021 original African Penguin foraging range

□ Conservation_ETT (mlBA) □ Conservation_CAF (ml BA)

%
% openvears
mlBA
Bird Island Aug-21 DFFE 2021 original no 42.6 44.7 0.00 0.00
Bird Island Nov-21 Conservation ETT no 92.7 100.0 0.00 4.52
Conservation expand MPA offshore, incentivise
Bird Island Nov-21 42.6 44.7 0.00 0.00
fallback ETT for avoiding fishing in MIBA
Bird Island Nov-21 Industry ETT no 42.6 44.7 0.00 0.00
Bird Island Mar-22 Conservation CAF no 92.7 100.0 0.00 4.52
Bird Island Mar-22 Industry CAF no 93.0 92.6 0.00 3.02
Bird Island Mar-22 CAF no 93.0 92.6 0.00 3.02
• Failed Consultative Process- Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on recommended island closure
Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries Interactions (CAFMLR). Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 '1,
March 2022. ~ I\'~
623
"AM39"
From: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>
To: Mark Anderson; copeland.fishconsult; Dr Mike Bergh; Riedau; Lauren Waller; Alistair
Mcinnes; Lisolomzi Fikizolo
Subject: Small Pelagic_Penguins_ 12 August meeting_outcomes
Attachments: V4_Fi nal_ToRs_Fishi ng_Closures_Peng uin_Review_ 12_August_2022.docx;
PANEL_MEMBER_LIST_THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL_Small
Pelagic_Penguins.docx
Dear Mark, Mike, Riedau, Alistair, Lauren and Lisolomzi
Thank you for inputs today, and for making the meeting on short notice.
Please find attached the final version of the ToRs. Please accept that it may not have
every input reflected as you constructed. I do however think that all of your inputs are
covered in this version. I do still need to give it a language review. The Panel may also
review.
I also attach the list of the agreed panel members as I removed this from the ToRs
document for now. If will check with contact details for the panel nominees from Newi,
Janet and Carl, but if you do have them ready at hand - please send to me.
Lisolomzi and myself will be following up with some bilateral calls on Monday and
Tuesday to get to a conclusion on the interim closure following our discussion today.
Thank you and have a great weekend.

ashley
Ashley Naidoo. Ph.D. I Chief Director: Ocean & Coasts Research

Find Annual Ocean & Coasts Science Report at:
https://www.dffe.qov.za/documents/research#oceans
+27827847131
From: [email protected]
When: 11:00 - 13:30 12 August 2022
Subject: Small Pelagic_Penguins
Location: MS Teams
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forestry, fisheries
& the environment
Department:
PROPOSED TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL

REGARDING FISHING CLOSURES ADJACENT TO SOUTH AFRICA'S AFRICAN PENGUIN
BREEDING COLONIES AND DECLINES IN THE PENGUIN POPULATION {INCLUDING
REVIEWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GOVERNANCE FORUM AND THE
MARINE LIVING RESOURCES CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUM1
CONTENTS
1. Background
2. Objective
3. Panel Process and Procedures
4. Tasks
5. Outcomes & Recommendations
6. Documents and Workplan
7. Duration
8. Additional reading
1. BACKGROUND
In the mid-2000s, a substantial decrease in numbers of adult African Penguins was observed off western South Africa.
In response to this observed decrease from 2006 and the potential impact of food competition between penguins and
fishers in the vicinity of breeding islands, a study to assess the effects of closure to purse-seine fishing around penguin
breeding colonies was initiated in 2008. Since the study required income sacrifice from the industry, this study, the
Island Closure Experiment (ICE), comprised of two parts: (i) a feasibility study (2008- 2014) during which purse-seine
fishing was prohibited in an alternating pattern around two pairs of nearby colonies and data on penguins (as well as
on small pelagic fish from the routine pelagic fish management process) were collected to determine whether an
experiment would have adequate statistical power to detect a significant effect of closure if such existed; and (ii) an
Proposed Terms of Reference for The International Review Panel for Fishing Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies - 2022
626
experimental phase (2015-2019) where these alternating island closures were continued with associated continuation
of the monitoring during the feasibility study. The results, however, led to a lengthy debate with dichotomous views.
The plans for and results of the ICE were regularly reviewed by DFFE's Small Pelagic Scientific Working Group,
informed by the advice provided from an annual review, i.e. a DFFE review meeting of wortd leading quantitative marine
resource scientists on ten occasions since 2006. Most recently, the scientific results have been debated in the peer-
reviewed literature (Sydeman et al. 2021, Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie 2022, Sydeman et al. 2022).
A Governance Forum (GF), comprising researchers and managers from the Branches: Oceans and Coasts and
Fisheries Management as well as SANParks (South African National Parks), was established in 2021. The aim was to
prepare a comprehensive Synthesis Report on the current state of knowledge relating to African Penguins, island
closures, fisheries management relevant to African Penguins and the socioeconomics of island closures and penguin-
related tourism. The Governance Forum compiled a report titled" A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating
to the Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures" (DFFE 2021) which
collated science over the last decade on penguins, small pelagic fisheries and their interactions including the Island
Closure Experiments. The Synthesis Report was further scrutinized by two independent, international reviewers who
provided extensive comments; the Governance Forum's Extended Task Team (which added fishing industry and
conservation NGO representation to the Governance Forum) and then by the Minister's Consultative Advisory Forum
for Marine Living Resources (CAFMLR). Comments on that Synthesis Report and recommendations produced by these
groups remain contested.
The Department now seeks to establish an International Panel of Experts to
(i) . Review the interpretation of the ICE
(ii) explore the value of island closures in providing meaningful benefits to penguins
(iii) review the processes and outcomes completed through the GF and the CAFMLR process
(iv) make recommendations on the implementation of island closures, including spatial delineation, time frames
and
(v) advise on further science and monitoring methods.
2. OBJECTIVES
The International Review Panel will:

a) Review the quantitative scientific analyses of the Island Closure Experiment (ICE) and subsequent publications to
evaluate whether the scientific evidence from ICE indicates that limiting small pelagic fishing around colonies
provides a meaningful improvement to penguin parameters that have a known scientific link to population
demography in the context of the present rate of population decline. Assess cost-benefit trade-off of 1) costs to
fisheries, versus 2) proportion of penguin foraging range protected during the breeding season, for different
fisheries exclusion scenarios. The losses to the fishery should be fleshed out using available economic information,
such as was used in the GF and CAF processes. The panel may also comment on the limitations of available
Proposed Terms of Reference for The International Review Panel for Fishing Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies - 2022 2 f\,
fttA
627
information and methods (data collection) to improve assessment of positive penguin outcomes as well as fishery
impact. Costs to fisheries must include an assessment of replacement costs accrued during periods closed to
fishing during the ICE.
b) Within the context of an urgent need to implement timeous conservation actions for the African Penguin and
considering the information and rationale of the various scientific reviews and associated documents of the Island
Closure Experiment evaluate the evidence supporting benefits of fishery restrictions around African Penguin
colonies to adopt precautionary measures by implementing long-term fishery restrictions.
c) If closures or fishing limitations are viewed to contribute positively to the support of the African Penguin population,
recommend a trade-off mechanism as a basis for setting fishing limitations and mapping. This mechanism must
consider potential positive return to penguins and impact on fisheries. (As a basis for discussion the Governance
Forum Approach and the CAF approach can be considered.) Consideration must also be given to current state of
observations, data and analyses (Penguin, Environmental and Fisheries Economic data). Recommendations on
these can be included under future science considerations.
a. Delineation of fishery no-take areas around six African Penguin colonies (Dassen Island, Robben Island,
Dyer Island, Stony Point, St Croix Island and Bird Island) and the duration of the closures, considering
life history traits, e.g. age when most birds start breeding, and associated duration required to signal
potential population benefits.
d) Recommendations on the scientific work that is required to evaluate the effectiveness of such n0-take areas.
e) •Recommendations about what scientific work is appropriate in the short-term to determine the dominant causes
of the rapid and concerning rate of decline of the penguin population, including recommendations about the use of
ecosystem model approaches such as MICE (models of intermediate complexity for ecosystem assessments).
a. The panel should attempt to reach consensus but if not achieved, names supporting each of the alternative views
should be noted. There should be no voting.
b. Virtual and physical meetings are not be prescribed at this stage. One option is to have one or two brief virtual meetings
to familiarise the panel with the key issues, followed by a week-long physical meeting in Cape Town to wrap it up.
Travel expenses covered by DFFE. [Panel members may opt to join the week session virtually as well.]
c. Panel members will not be paid for their time but consideration can be given to pay an honorarium.
d. Meetings may include closed meetings, meetings with protagonists separately and together.
e. DFFE will appoint Chair and Rapporteur may be elected by the panel, with support from DFFE.
f. DFFE will provide secretarial services.
628
4. TASKS
The following tasks are required from the panel (administrative and secretarial functions will be supported by DFFE):
a. Panel Members must agree to being available and accepting the draft Terms of Reference, and constitute themselves
as a Panel with the Chair.
b. Notification of stakeholders about deadlines for their submissions.
c. Drawing up of a list of attendees at plenary meetings where submissions are heard, indicating who are key participants
and who are observers (Sectors will be asked to submit names of observers to be invited.).
d. The appointed Panel Members to meet with DFFE Senior Managers to clarify their task and output.
e. Review the Terms of References and amend where required.
f. Review documents and information pertaining to proposed island closures for penguin population recovery support.
While these will initially be composed of an agreed selection (by local scientists and stakeholders) from the extensive
number of documents produced over the last 1.5 years, panel members may request any additional documents such
as scientific working group documents. Documents to be categorised into (a) those relevant to the interpretation of the
ICE results, (b) documents that propose island closures including stakeholder reports submitted during the ETT and
CAFMLR processes and (c) other related documents. This is required to facilitate the panel dividing its focus between
(i) an initial assessment of whether the analysis of ICE supports the view that island closures will benefit penguins, arid
(ii) if (i) suggests that island closures will benefit penguins, what closures should be implemented, or what are the trade-
offs involved for such closures.
g. Meet with conservation and fish_eries sector scientists and where each will be allowed to present their arguments /
interpretations of information. (At panel discretion, other scientists, experts may be invited to make presentations.)
h. Respond to objectives (a) to (e) above.
i. Prepare report on outcomes.

a) Recommend whether, based on the results from ICE and other evidence-based information, island closures are
likely to benefit penguins.
b) Describe scientific and evidence-based rationale for recommending implementing/not implementing fishing
limitation around penguin colonies
c) Make recommendations about whether% of penguin foraging range and other biological criteria (such as regional
representation, population recovery potential, monitoring and evaluation potential) provide a basis for determining
benefits from closures for penguins, and assess the merits of different proposed methods to delineate important
penguin foraging habitat.
d) Make specific recommendations on trade-off mechanism for island closures in the event that the panel finds that
the results of ICE and other evide.nce demonstrate that island closure are likely to benefit penguins, including
specific areas and durations. In addition to recommendations on trade-off mechanism, panel must preferably
Proposed Terms of Reference for The International Review Panel for Fishing Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies - 2022 4
629
advise on biologically meaningful penguin habitat extents for fishery limitations per island, recommendations must
be spatially and temporally explicit, and provided on a map. [DFFE will provide mapping capacity.]
e) Provide advice and recommendations on best estimates and uncertainties of the ratio between penguins gained
and losses sustained by industry as a result of island closures for future suggested closure options.
~ Provide advice on a well-structured analyses framework to monitor the impact of island closures, including what
penguin and fish data needs to be collected; how benefits to penguins are to be determined; and how these will
be analysed
g) To recommend scientific analyses, including but not limited to MICE, to determine the reasons for the decline in
.the penguin population.
6. DOCUMENTS
The Department will provide the Panel Members with all the required documents. Sector representatives and panel
members may request additional documents to be included. These initially will include:
1. Key documents detailing the ICE and the recent relevant analyses of the results of the ICE.
2. Key scientific peer-reviewed publications on the results of the ICE
3. DFFE Scientific Summary Report- Coetzee et al 2021. "A Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the
Decline in the African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures". To include all comments
requested and provided on this document by stakeholders including seabird conservationists and SAPFIA and other
fishing industry representatives.
4. Governance Forum Recommendations (and including Discussions Maps of Extended Task Team - these were not
finalised as formal recommendations but did move the discussion from the GF which used percentage forage areas
to percentage of Marine Important Bird Areas) and stakeholder reports.
5. CAF Recommendations and stakeholder reports.
7. DURATION AND WORK PLAN

It is envisaged that the work of the panel should be completed by the end of 2022. Potential panellists will have to be
approached and determine if this fits into their work schedule for the year, with the one-week meeting tentatively
scheduled for end of November..
(Assuming a 1 week working session in Cape Town without virtual working meetings except for one or two online
introductory pre-meetings which may allow some time-saving for the in-person week schedule.)
Document Distribution as early as possible before meeting but not less than 2 weeks before meeting.
Sector representatives will be informed as early as possible on meeting schedule with panel, including timelines for
submission of any documentation (such as presentations) that may need distribution to the panel. Ideally documents
should also be submitted to Panel at least two weeks before meeting.
DFFE (including SANParks) staff (Seabird scientists, Fisheries Scientists, GIS expert practitioners will be on standby
during Panel Deliberations.)
Invited attendees lists will be finalised a week before the meeting.
Proposed Terms of Reference for The International Review Panel for Fishing Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies - 2022 5
630
Tentative Schedule
DAY1
1. 1 Opening and brief description
1.2 Clarify ToRs and expected outcomes
1.3 Presentation by Conservation Sector
1.4 Presentation by Fishing Sector
1.5 [Other expert presentations, as may be requested by panel. Panel may determine if some questions from observers
may be heard.]
(Sector presentations will cover perceptions and interpretation of fishing limitations and penguin population success;
ICE; GF; GAF and Future Science. Sector representations can included comment on existing/published interpretations.)
DAY2
2.1 Panel Deliberations: fishing limitations and penguin population success
2.2 Panel Deliberations: ICE
DAY3
DAY4
(Possible time allocation for further engagement with Conservation/Fishing Sector reps)
DAY5
5.1 Formulate Recommendations & Report Compilation (Contents of report must include Items in Section 6 above -
OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS, Report Drafting can occur throughout the week.)
8. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL
I. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021a. A revised summary of results for the island closure
experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-
PEU41 . 5pp.
II. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2021b. A response to some queries concerning the revised summary
of results for the island closure experiment provided in FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEU41. Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report FISHERIES/2021/SEP/SWG-PEU59. 6pp.
Ill. Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2022. Comment on "South Africa's experimental fisheries closures
and recovery of the endangered_ African penguin" by Sydeman et al. (2021 ). ICES Journal of Marine Science.
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsac113. Supplementary material to this publication to be included.
IV. Makhado AB, Mcinnes AM, Hagen C, Ludynia K, Masotla M, Pichegru Let al. 2020a. Motivation for urgent
need to implement closures to purse-seine fishing around South Africa's six largest African Penguin colonies.
Proposed Terms of Reference for The International Review Panel for Fishing Closures Adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies- 2022 6
631
Report No. FISHERIES/2020/DEC/SWG-PEU126. Cape Town, South Africa: Department of Environment,

V. . Makhado A, Mcinnes A, Hagen C, Sherley R, Waller L, Pichegru Let al. 2020b. Recommendations for island
closures around African Penguin colonies. Report No. FISHERIES/2020/OCT/SWGPEU 105REV. Cape
VI. Ross-Gillespie, A. and Butterworth, D.S. 2021. Updated analysis of results from data arising from the Island
Closure Experiment. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment report
FISHERIES/2021/JUN/SWG-PEU39rev.
VII. SAPFIA, 2021. Letter to Deputy Director-General: Oceans and Coasts Ms J Beaumont dated 5 November
2021, "Re: Review of The Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to The Decline in The African
Penguin Population, The Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures, by Philip N. Trathan". 2pp.
VIII. Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J. M., Grigg, J., Horswill, C.,
Mcinnes, A., Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A., Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C. 2018. Bayesian
inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures on marine predator
IX. Sherley, R. B., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Campbell, K. J., Crawford, R. J. M., Grigg, J., Horswill, C.,
Mcinnes, A., Morris, T. L., Pichegru, L., Steinfurth, A., Weller, F., Winker, H. and Votier, S.C. 2021. Correction
to Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures on marine predator
X. Sydeman, W. J., Hunt, G. L. , Pikitch, E. K., Parrish, J. K., Piatt, J. F., Boersma, P. D., Kaufman, L., Anderson,
D.W., Thompson, S.A. and Sherley, R.B. 2021. South Africa's experimental fisheries closures and recovery
of the endangered African penguin. ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab231.
Supplementary information to made available
XI. Sydeman, W. J., Hunt, G. L., Pikitch, E. K., Parrish, J. K., Piatt, J. F., Boersma, P. D., Kaufman, L., Anderson,
D.W., Thompson, S.A. and Sherley, R.B. 2022. African Penguins and Localized Fisheries Management:
Response to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2022, 0, 1-7. DOI:
10.1093flcesjms/fsac116. Supplementary information to be made available.
XII. Trathan, P.N. 2021.Review of the Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the
African Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures. 20 September 2021, 12 pp.
XIII. Punt, A.E. 2021.Review of the Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African
Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures. September 2021.
XIV. Coetzee et 2021 . Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African Penguin
Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures.
XV. Comments by SAPFIA on "Synthesis of Current Scientific Information Relating to the Decline in the African
Penguin Population, the Small Pelagic Fishery and Island Closures"
XVI. Extended Task Team: African Penguin Island Closures. Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report.
2 November 2021
632
XVII. Failed Consultative Process - Conservation Sector Group position and proposed way forward on
recommended island closure delineations as deliberated on during the Consultative Advisory Forum for
Marine Living Resources - Special Project to Review Penguin Conservation and Small Pelagic Fisheries
Interactions (CAFMLR). Conservation Stakeholder Synthesis Report. 16 March 2022.
XVIII. Carpenter-Kling, T., de Blocq, A., Hagen, C. et al. Important marine areas for endangered African penguins
before and after the crucial stage of moulting. Sci Rep 12, 9489 (2022). https://doi.orq/10.1038/s41598-022-
12969-w
XIX. National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004) Draft African Penguin
Biodiversity Management Plan [G7061-GoN2032]
XX. Sectors will be allowed to add to documents list.
633
THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL REGARDING FISHING CLOSURES

ADJACENT TO SOUTH AFRICA'S AFRICAN PENGUIN BREEDING COLONIES AND
DECLINES IN THE . PENGUIN POPULATION (INCLUDING REVIEWING THE
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GOVERNANCE FORUM AND THE MARINE
LIVING RESOURCES CONSULTATIVE ADVISORY FORUMI
AGREED PANEL MEMBERS-12 August 2022
Professor Bob Furness

Dr Malcolm Haddon
Dr Ana Parma
Prof Andre Punt
Dr Phil Trathan
Reserves
Conservation
Dr Claire Saraux
Jefferson Hinke
Ellen Pikitch
Fisheries
Dr Eva Plaganyi
Dr Tom Curruthers
DFFE Chair Suggestion

Prof Jesper Raakjaer
634
"AM40"
Subject: RE: African Penguin conservation/island closures

Sent: Monday, August 15, 2022 7:03 PM
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Yolan Friedmann <[email protected] >; [email protected] ; Natalie
Maskell <[email protected] >; Dr Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes
<[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Alison.Kock <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: African Penguin conservation/island closures
Thanks, Lauren
We appreciate your assistance with this important matter.
Regards
Mark
From: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >

Sent: Monday, 15 August 2022 16:17
To: Mark Anderson <[email protected] >; Yolan Friedmann <[email protected] >; [email protected]; Natalie
Maskell <[email protected]>; Dr Luthando Dziba <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes
<[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Alison.Kock <[email protected]>
Importance: High
Dear Colleagues
Please see below the request from Ashley this morning, and our response. He is currently sitting with Lisolomzi and
they are going to chat to Mike after having read the Dyer one-pager. He is going to request to Redah that St Croix be
closed given that they have already achieved their quota .....
Warm regards
Lauren
From: Lauren Waller

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Importance: High
Dear Ashley and Lisolomzi
Thanks so much for the email and the opportunity to engage further.
In response to your query below, we thought it might be helpful for you to see the attached two documents in case you
have not received them already. These explain our rationale for the spatial management in terms of the different size
vessels as you requested.
1
635
The Word document is a one-pager that summarises the recommendation for Dyer Island. You can read that together
with the Dyer Island map on page 3 of the pdf. Essentially, the Red area on the right map is to be closed completely,
and the remaining area of the GF proposal for Dyer be excluded only for the larger west coast vessels (i.e. only Gansbaai
Marine are to be allowed to fish). This goes with the agreement that it is reviewed on completion of the International
Review and that "The socio-economic costs for both Gansbaai Marine and the remaining small pelagic fleet, the change
in fishing fleet behaviour and performance, and African Penguin demographics as a result of closures be investigated
both at Dyer Island and Stony Point." In my engagement with Gansbaai Marine, they made it clear that they would be
prepared to open their books and engage in a study that looked at costs of closures to them and the benefit to penguins
(they of course also want to know impact of other threats).
Ashley, I cannot in all good conscience however, not point out the tables that accompany these maps. Here we have
worked out for all the various proposals, what% of the full penguin foraging range is protected; the% of the MIBA that
is covered, as well as what% of the catch this means for industry. The imbalance is just so very clear.
Hope this helps, and do let us know if you need anything clarified. Just to note that I did clear it with Mark that I could
forward his email on before sending this on to you.
Warm regards
Lauren

Sent: Sunday, 10 July 2022 12:20
Cc: Feroze Shaik <fshaik @environment.gov.za >
Subject: African Penguin conservation/island closures
Importance: High
As requested by you when we met on 6 July 2022, please see the various Island Closure proposals (and notes to clarify
the context under which the proposals were negotiated) and a document about our engagement with Gansbaai Marine.
Please note that these maps have been produced by Dr Alistair Mcinnes (Bird life South Africa) and Dr Tegan Carpenter-
Kling (Birdlife South Africa), with inputs from Dr Lauren Waller (Endangered Wildlife Trust, previously SANCCOB), Dr
Alison Kock (SAN Parks) and Craig Smith (WWF-SA).
One of our biggest concerns we had during both the ETT and CAF processes was that the fishing industry did not provide
information about the real replacement costs of the island closures. It is therefore important to note that the
percentage catches for sardine and anchovy reflect catches when these islands were open to fishing, and therefore we
do not know what happened to their effort and return during closed years.
It is also worth noting that the Conservation Sector's fallback proposals during the ETT processes reflect suboptimal
closures that were subject to certain conditions (this was not reflected in the report submitted to the Minister at the
end of this process).
Finally, the CAF report also reflects a suboptimal Conservation Sector proposal, as we made it explicitly clear (both
during the proceedings, which were recorded, and in our report) that the metric used in the calculations was flawed.
This is one of the reasons why we reverted back to ~00% mlBAs for all six islands in our CAF report.
The report summarises the engagements that Dr Lauren Waller had with Gansbaai Marine, the recommendations
coming from those discussions and what we recently agreed as a reasonable concession around Dyer Island. ~0,
2 ~)/
636
Please let me know if you need further clarification and, if necessary, I will involve one of our scientist during that
discussion (to help clarify the detail on the maps).
Regards
Mark
(the attached documents are submitted on behalf of the Conservation Sector: Bird life South Africa, Endangered Wildlife
Trust, SANCCOB, SAN Parks and WWF-SA) .
Mark D. Anderson
From: Ashley Naidoo ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za

To: Lauren Waller [email protected]; Alistair Mclnn~s alistair.mcinnes@birdlife .org.za
Cc: lisolomzi Fikizolo [email protected]
Subject: Dyer island compromise
Dear Lauren and Alistair (Lisolomzi copied)
Hope you had some beak over the weekend. From our last week's discussion, I am
pursuing the Dyer Island and St. Croix interim closure.
Lauren, last week you mentioned that there could some allowance for smaller vessel in
and around Dyer, could you expand on this. In this option are you suggesting that
smaller vessels are allowed to fish unrestricted in and around Dyer or with some
restriction?
[My assumption is that Dassen, Robben, Stony and Bird as per GF -with the last
three as per the MPA borders, and Dassen as per draft 6 on slide 8 (table), mapped on
slide 10 separately?]
(Hoping for a reply today - but let me know what is possible.)
Thank you
ashley
3
637
"AM41"
Subject: RE: Negotaitons thus far

Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2022 8:55 AM
To: Mark Anderson <[email protected] >
Cc: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes
Subject: Re: Negotaitons thus far
Dear Mark, Lauren, Alistair and Lisolomzi
Thank you for this. While I do take your messages below, I think I will take you up on
the offer of a meeting - maybe to clarify some points below and also raise some other
thoughts - as we will not be able to meet later today. I can set up an MS teams meet
from 1100 to 1200.
Thank you
ashley
Ashley Naidoo. Ph.D. I Chief Director: Ocean & Coasts Research

https://www.dffe.qov.za/documents/research#oceans
+27827847131

--------------- --
Date: Tuesday, 16 August 2022 at 20:10
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>
Cc: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, Alistair Mcinnes
Subject: RE: Negotaitons thus far
Dear Ashley
Thank you for your email, for the various discussions we have had with you, and for seeking our input on the proposals
you are negotiating for the interim closures. Our team has considered the latest submissions from the industry and our
comments are below:
In summary, the latest industry proposals concede little catches for penguins. The proposals equate roughly to the
following:
• Dassen: <2% of catch- but anchovy (main fishery here) already mainly fished
• Robben: 3% catch - but anchovy (main fishery here) already mostly fished
1
638
• Dyer: 0.1 and 0.2% for anchovy and sardine, respectively- this is where most of the available catch will be caught
during the interim closures
• Stony: 0% -~ this area is also going to be fished more than colonies in other regions
• St Croix: 12% sardine - this is the regional proportion, and they have already caught their quota for the year.
However, we are concerned that the SPSWG is requesting an additional 3000 tons here. Anchovy is not caught in
this region - an anomaly in DFFE data as it is a regional proportion of hardly anything taken here.
Given the dire situation for the African Penguins, the proposals do not meet the minimum requirement of an adequate
response to this crisis. The Eastern Cape penguin population is Critically Endangered, yet the closure extent in this
proposal is less than that of the closure experiment, which was already insufficient. Furthermore, St Croix was closed for
three consecutive years on two different occasions during ICE. The industry did not provide any real-time evidence for
socio-economic costs due to closures during this time. There is no justification for a 27% closure.
Furthermore, industry, on the whole, has provided no evidence for actual socio-economic costs. This continues to limit a
transparent negotiation based on the best available data to weigh up costs to industry and benefits to penguins.
Another breeding season with no closures has gone by and this is the second year that the breeding foraging areas have
not been protected. We are now moving into the moult period, and a recent study has shown that closures will benefit
the non-breeding birds. Since no closures have been implemented for the last 1 ½ years, with seasonal closures the year
before, and most of the TAC already caught, implementing the Governance Forum proposals for the remainder of the
year has the most support. The Governance Forum proposals were also supported by both DFFE's Oceans & Coasts and
Fisheries branches.
The industry's concern that they don't want to support the Governance Forum closures in the interim because they
believe they may become permanent is unfounded, given that DFFE has agreed that these measures are temporary.
Given the rationale, we maintain that the strongest defensible position for interim closures is to implement the
recommendations from the Governance Forum with proposed adjustments for the Dyer and Stony colonies.
Please let us know if you want to meet tomorrow {Wed 16 August}, and note that we're available between 09h00 and
12h00.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
Chief Executive Officer, Birdlife South Africa
{on behalf of the Conservation Sector: Bird life South Africa, Endangered Wildlife Trust, SANCCOB, SAN Parks and WWF-
SA}
From: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >

Sent: Tuesday, 16 August 2022 12:17
To: Mark Anderson <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected]>
Subject: Negotaitons thus far
Dear Mark, Lauren and Alistair and Lisolomzi copied.
This is what industry is willing to agree to for interim closure from 1/09/2022 to
14/01/2023. Lisolomzi and I have been in discussions over the last 2 hours.
2
639
1. Dassen - 60 %
2. Robben - 100%
3. Stony- as per MPA
4. Dyer - 40%, as per CAF, but allowing vessel less than 24m in the areas between
this and the red no go area - need to confirm this with their stakeholders - so a
variation of the GF limits - you proposed
s. St Croix - 27% - as per CAF
6. Bird - 93 % as per CAF
So quiet departure from the GF and more closely now with the CAF. Conditions,
closures for version 2 after Jan 15 must be negotiated by end November, in parallel to
Review, just in case this is not concluded.
Lisolomzi, and myself will try to call Lauren on this, or we could set up a quick MS
TEAMS meeting on this.
Thank you
Ashley
0827847131
3
640
"AM42"
From: Lisolomzi Fikizolo < [email protected] >
Sent: Thursday, 18 August 2022 15:04
To: Mark Anderson
Cc: Ashley Naidoo; Lauren Waller; Alistair Mcinnes
Subject: RE: Recommendations to the DG and Minister
Dear Mark
Thank you for your response to my earlier email, but above all thank you for your support and guidance on this process.
I would like confirm that the proposed interim closure measures are not intended to be conveyed to the DG and the
Minister as consensus, i.e. between the Small Pelagic Fishery Group and the Conservation Group. These are simply
interim closure proposals that we could formulate based on the discussions we have had, particularly during the past
couple of days. You will kindly recall that we went further to indicate that they may not necessarily have the desired
result of making everyone happy, but still they are worthy of being considered in the interim as work in progress for
better things to come. Also, and worth mentioning is that during this proposed closure period, which we have all agreed
on, an International Review Panel {IRP) will be appointed and we have all agreed on that, there is also an agreement on
the composition of the IRP; the Terms of Reference (TOR) for their work has been concluded, and all parties involved
agreed on it. Therefore, work towards finding a lasting solution that hopefully would be acceptable to everyone
concerned will be un.dertaken and concluded. •
With regards to the sizes of vessels, you will also recall that there was an indication that Gansbaai Marine is but one of
the companies participating in the small pelagic fishery sector (SPFS), and as such Mr Copeland indicated that in the
small vessels category of the SPFS he will give us a typical overall length (LOA) of small vessels. What he provided us
with was the <26 m, and my thoughts were that 23m also falls into that category. However, all these can be validated
during the development of the next suite of closures, i.e. beyond the 14th January 2023 if that is acceptable.
Please accept my sincere apologies if there are details that came out the wrong way in my earlier email as we always
strive for a record that gives a true reflection of the discussions we hold with our stakeholders.
I would like to once again thank you immensely for your commitment, contribution, guidance and wise counsel to this
very complex process.
Kind regards,
Lisolomzi

To: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <[email protected]>
Cc: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes
<[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Recommendations to the DG and Minister
Dear Lisolomzi
1
641
Thank you for your email and for informing us about the final proposal for interim island closures that you will make to
Minister Barbara Creecy.
Please could you let us know how many vessels would meet the <26 m caveat specified for Dyer? The size limit for
Gansbaai Marine is 23 m, and so we would like to know how the stipulation of <26 m translates into potential fishing
effort for Dyer Island and Stony Point.
Please also note that we do not view the proposal as a consensus (given the extensive rationale conveyed during our
meeting with you and Ashley yesterday) and, as such, ask that you do not convey it as a consensus to the Minister.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
From: Lisolomzi Fikizolo <LFikizolo @dffe.gov.za>

To: Mark Anderson <ceo @birdlife.org.za >; copeland.fishconsult <[email protected] >; Riedau
<redah @rialfishing.co.za >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes <alistair.mcinnes @birdlife.org.za>
Cc: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za>
Subject: Recommendations to the DG and Minister
Dear Mark, Mike, Riedau, Alistair, and Lauren
Thank you for your time and inputs over the last week, which I have been part of, not to mention the last two years.
Myself and Ashley have listened and learnt a lot from our discussions. Continuing with the spirit of open engagement,
we thought that we should share our recommendations to the Minister for the interim closures. We understand that
this will not meet with your expressed preferences but hope you will receive this within the context of it being an
interim decision. Also, it is late in the fishing season, the International Review Panel (IRP) will be pursued and that we
are committed to continue listening and engaging towards finding better solutions.
It our hope that we can convey to the DG and Minister that there is a consensus, albeit - an uneasy one on this.
1. The Interim Fishing closures will be in place from the 1st of September 2022 to the 14th of January 2023. We would
also like to further emphasize that this only but an interim measure and together with all the parties concerned, as we
have done thus far, a new decision will be developed for the period starting from the 15th January 2023 onwards.
Colon~ Proeosal Proeosal Additional % % % Regional Catch

Date Measures Foraging mlBA during oeen ~ears
Range Ancho~ Sardine
Dassen DFFE 2021 August 21.0 87.9 4.36 0.38
original 2021
Robben DFFE 2021 August 3.6 41.3 0.00 0.00
original 2021
Stony lndustry_CAF; March 18.8 21.4 0.04 0.13
Point CAF 2022
2
642
Dyer DFFE 2021 · August SP Vessels 60.5* 75.8* 3.94* 11.97*
original 2021 less than
26m *Calculations
registered made
length can without
fish within <26m vessel
this allowance
boundary up
until the
inshore
marked area
as
lndustry_ETT
St. Croix lndustry_ETT November 36.9 57.3 30.66 28.55

2021
Bird Industry CAF; March 93.0 92.6 0.00 3.02
CAF 2022
Thank you once again, and wishing you a great day further.
Kind regards,
Lisolomzi
Lisolomzi A. Fikizolo, PhD

Chief Director: Specialist Monitoring Services
Branch: Ocean and Coasts
1 East Pier Building, East Pier Road
V&A Waterfront
Cape Town
8002
Telephone: +27 218192608
Mobile: +27 84 625 1333
E-mail: [email protected]
3
2/26/24, 2:34 PM Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on interim fishing closures and limitations around key penguin coloniesa,~ African G...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment "AM43"

on interim fishing closures and
limitations around key penguin colonies
• 16 Sep 2022
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has, from 1 September, declared some
areas around the major penguin colonies as closed to commercial fishing for anchovy and sardine.
These restrictions follow prolonged negotiations with the seabird conservation groups and the pelagic
fishing industry representatives. While these closures do not represent a consensus position between
the two sectors, the Department is of the view that this is the best decision we can take at this stage to
support penguin populations.
During the negotiations, both sectors were committed to discussions and offered meaningful
contributions from insights into the fishing industry and conservation science. The Department has
thanked the Pelagic Fishing Industry and Conservation organisations and their representatives for
contributing to these discussions.
The closures will be temporary to allow for an international scientific panel to be set up to review all
related science output over recent years. The review will advise the Department on the value of fishing
limitations for penguins' success, as well as the impacts such limitations will have on the fishing
industry. Both sectors have committed to abiding by the recommendations of the international panel.
The Minister will shortly release a gazette calling for nominations to serve on the international review
panel.
The sardine stock in South African waters continues to be at historically low levels. Competition for
food is thought to be one among a set of pressures that are contributing to the decline of the African
penguin population.
Other pressures include shipping traffic and the associated noise and vibrations, pollution and
degradation of suitable nesting habitats through historic removal of guano and coastal commercial and
residential developments.
The species which is endemic to South Africa and Namibia has decreased from more than a million
breeding pairs to just about ten thousand pairs over the last century. The Terms of Reference for the
science review and the panel members were established in consultation with the representatives from
the fishing and bird conservation sectors.
https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-%C2%A0-interim-fishing-closures-and-limitations 1/2
2/26/24, 2:34 PM Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on interim fishing closures and limitations around key penguin colonies~i African G...
The interim fishing limitations came into effect from the 1st of September 2022 to the 14th of January
2023 and include defined areas around Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St.
Croix Island and Bird Island. These represent the remaining locations of the larger penguin colonies.
Purse seine fishing is also not permitted in False Bay which hosts the resident Boulders Beach
penguin population.
For media enquiries contact:

Albi Madise
083 490 2871
Issued by DeRartment of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment

More from DeRartment of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
More on Environment
https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-%C2%AO-interim-fishing-closures-and-limitations 2/2
645
"AM44"
Subject: RE: Meeting to confirm the maps of closures in the Eastern Cape
From: Redah De Maine <[email protected] >

Sent: Friday, 09 June 2023 15:52
To: 'Lauren Waller' <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; [email protected]
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien {Prof) {Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected]>; 'Alison .Kock' <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Meeting to confirm the maps of closures in the Eastern Cape
Please note that this email does not come from Nelson Mandela University's email
s stem. Please be vi ilant so that ou do not fall victim to hishin attacks.
Hello Lauren,
Yes I agree fully with you that it was very good to meet with you, Alistair, Neuie and Alison and the engagement with
you concerning especially St Croix was the most positive and productive interaction we had for quite some time now,
while I certainly look forward to more positive interaction of this nature in the future.
As discussed in our meeting Lorien being based in our area should become a more regular conduit between our
Association and your entities in the interest of building a more transparent and sustainable environment not only for
birds but all the creatures in our Oceans.
I certainly feel there is much to learn from each other while such unity will only be of great benefit to our ECO system.
I need to consult to Deon and Tasneem about a day and time and get back to your soonest.
Kind Regards,
Mohammed Riedau De Maine
Chairperson
ESCPA
rt,,.o~
~ J
131 Albert Road, Walmer, Port Elizabeth I PO Box 22650, Central, 6001
Email:[email protected]
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell.· 082 855 I 457
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This message (including any attachments) contains information that may be confidential. Unle ss you are the intended recipient (or authorized to receive for the
intended recipient), you may not read , print, retain, use, copy, distribute or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have
received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail, and destroy all copies of the original message (including any attachments).

Sent: Thursday, June 8, 2023 12:49 PM
To: Redah De Maine <[email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Lorien Pichegru <[email protected] >; Alison.Kock
<[email protected]>
Subject: Meeting to confirm the maps of closures in the Eastern Cape
1
646
Dear Redah
It was really good to see you at the Panel Meetings this week, it's been far too long since we were able to all see each
other in person!
We're also enormously grateful for the manner in which you engaged with us regarding the closures at St Croix and Bird
Island. We are definitely looking forward to working more closely with you and building a positive working relationship
based on trust.
We are busy preparing the maps of the closures around St Croix and Bird Island that we agreed to on Tuesday this week.
Before we send them to you, we would like to meet with you online just to make sure that you are comfortable that the
boundaries accurately reflect what we agreed on. We thought this might be helpful to make sure that when you present
this to your constituents, you are 100% comfortable with the proposal that you have all agreed to. Your trust is critical
to us.
Could you give us some options of when you could meet up with us in the next days? We wouldn't need longer than an
hour. You mentioned that your daughter is also getting more involved in the business, and if she is available and
interested to join, she would be most welcome too!
Looking forward to hearing from you, and have a lovely weekend
With warm regards

Lauren
Dr Lauren Waller
IUCN SSC CPSG Regional Planning Coordinator
Department
C + 27 71 689 6910
E [email protected]
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2
647
"AM45"
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South)
< [email protected] >
Sent: Friday, 21 July 2023 11:31
To: [email protected]; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Lauren Waller
Subject: maps closure proposals
Attachments: Overlap of 2023 proposed closures_202306.pdf; StCroix_closure_withFishCatches_
20July2023Jpeg
Dear Redah and Tasneem,
Thanks for coming over yesterday morning and for your effort and willingness to find a way forward together.
Attached is the presentation given by the conservation sector to the Panel a few weeks ago, with the various closure
proposals. The 41% of the UD90 (UD90 being 90% of the foraging habitat of the penguins) represent the DFFE original
proposal.
I also attach a map showing all the small pelagic catches in relation with the closure proposals.
We'd be happy to meet again should you need further information or to discuss a proposal to submit to Ashley.
Kind regards,
Lorien
Adj. Prof. Lorien Pichegru,

Institute for Coastal and Marine Research,
Ocean Sciences Campus,
Nelson Mandela University,
Gqeberha, South Africa.
Honorary consul for France in Gqeberha.
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
1
Conservation Sector: closure options -
overlap calculations
Eleanor Weideman, Alistair Mcinnes,

Lauren Waller, Richard Sherley, Lorien
Pichegru, Katta Ludynia, Christina Hagen,
Craig Smith, Peter Barham, Tegan
Carpenter-Kling
0)
~
CX>
-e;..
-,,;?~
~
Dassen Island
-32.6·
0 15 30km
-32.8
Foraging habitat {UD90) = 1537 km 2
-33.0
Q)
Foraging habitat (UD90)
75¾ UD
including northern buffer
-g -33.2 ml8A (7)
i 50% UD
..J -33.4 Overlap with foraging habitat
mlBA(ARS)
-33.6
20 km closure Closures Area (km 2) (UD90)
-33.8
Area (km 2 ) Proportion (%)
20 km (ICE) 1069 10005 65
-34.0
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6 UD50 235 235 15
Longitude
UD75 457 457 30
mlBA (7) 730 730 48
-32.6
mlBA (ARS) 550 550 36
·32.8
DFFE 947 939 61
-33.0
CAFF 786 786 51
ia,
·33.2 0 Foraging habitat (UD90)
..J -33.4 8 DFFE

CAF
-33.6
-33.8 .
"\
\
O')
~
(0
-34.0
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude
~
<\
Robben Island
-32.5
-==:a
-33.0
i B Foraging habitat (UD90)
75% UD
Foraging habitat (UD90) = 1041 km 2
~
~ -33.5 : :A~:
Overlap with foraging habitat
mlBA (ARS )
20 km closure
Closures Area (km 2) {UD90)
-34.0 Area (km 2) Proportion (%)
20 km (ICE) 861 861 83
DFFE 232 232 22
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0
Longitude
CAF 232 232 22
-32.5 I *DFFE proposing

UDS0 414 414 40
-==:a
existing MPA UD75 807 78
0 15 30km 807
-33.0
mlBA (7) 568 568 55
mlBA (ARS) 419 419 40
~
~
iii -33.5
...J § Foraging habitat (UD90)
CAF
DFFE
0)
-34.0 0,
0
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0

Longitude
"'>-:-,
::s? \
.>
Stony Point
0 -- 1020km
-33.8
-34.0 Foraging habitat {UD90} = 828 km 2
(1) 75%UD
'C
::,
i
..J
-34.2
mlBA(7)
50%UD Overlap with foraging habitat
mlBA(ARS) Closures Area (km 2) (UD90)
-34.4 ' .,,-..._
20 km closure
Area (km2) Proportion(%)
--
~
I
-34.6 i 20 km (ICE) 864 651 79

I I I I I I I
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 DFFE 20 20 2

Longitude
CAF 84 83 10
0 10 20km UDS0 231 231 28
-33.8
UD75 407 407 49
-34.0 mlBA (7) 397 397 48
1-342 1
-34.4
§
DFFE
CAF
mlBA (ARS) 270 270 33
0)
-34.6 1 *DFFE proposing existing MPA 0,
~
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4

Longitude
~~
~
Dyer Island
-34.2
0 10 20km
-34.4 Foraging habitat (UD90) Foraging habitat (UD90) = 2042 km 2

Q) 75%UD
"O
-
:E -34.6
_,m
mlBA(7)
50% UD
-34.8
20 km closure Area (km2 ) Proportion (%)
-35.0 '---r-- ~ -- ~ - ~ - ~ - -~ --'
20 km (ICE) 865 865 42
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8 DFFE 1307 1244 61
Longitude
CAF 473 467 23
UD50 625 625 31
-34.2
0 10 20km UD75 1424 1424 70
-34.4 mlBA (7) 1007 1007 49
Q)
"O
~ -34.6
-
mlBA (ARS) 1007 1007 49
~ §DFFE
CAF
-34.8
0)
0,
I\.)
-35.0
L......----- - ----~------'
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8
Longitude
'""'7
~~
St Croix Island
-33.2
cr'fflltm
-33.4 Foraging habitat (UO90)
75% uo Foraging habitat (UD90) = 2004 km 2
~
::,
-33.6 mlBA (7)
:!:
_3 -33.8 50% uo
mlBA (ARS)
Closures Area (km 2) (UD90)
-34.0 20 km closure
Restricted MPAs Area (km 2 ) Proportion(%)
-34.2 ~-,-----.,---~--,---,--~~
25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2 20 km (ICE) 726 726 36
Longitude DFFE 829 827 41
-33.2 CAF 288 288 14
6 1026km
UD50 548 548 27
-33.4
UD75 1100 1100 55
~
~ -33.6 - Foraging habitat (UD90)
mlBA (7) 1117 1117 56
-
:::,
:!: DFFE
j -33.8 CAF mlBA (ARS) 975 975 49

Restricted MPA
-34.0
0)
-34.2 0,
C,,.)
25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2
Longitude
~ .
~""'
;>
Bird Island
-33.2
0 f020km
-33.4
Foraging habitat (UO90) Foraging habitat (UD90) = 1431 km2
~ -33.6 75%UD
:E mlBA(7)
j -33.8 50%UD
-34.0 20 km closure
Area (km 2) Proportion (%)
-34.2 20 km {ICE) 1019 1019 71
25.8 26.0 26 .2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0 DFFE 458 421 29
Longitude
CAF 848 844 59
-33.2 I *DFFE proposing existi ng MPA UD50
6 16 20km 365 365 26
-33.4 UD75 689 689 48
mlBA (7) 734 734 51
~ -33.6
-
::,
~
-1 -33.8 _. §
Foraging habitat (UO90)
DFFE
CAF
mlBA {ARS) 551 551 38
-34.0
O>
0,
-34.2 ~
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0
Longitude
~
-::?s;>~
~
655
Closure delineations in relation to fishing catches (2016-2019, grey dots)

-33.5
-33.6
Q)
-o -33.8
-33.7
D Foraging habitat (UD90)
-:::::,
+ :i
j -33.9
• .
-
I □ DFFE
Harbour "&'\.~ t i ~ •>.;,A.· -. ': I •• _ • • / • • • • □ CAF

-34.0
-34.1
..-·,,,' .' ... .. . . . ..... • ...
•• -... Jt
. ... . ...
,- •
••
•
••
• •
:
• •
....
•
-~ :
I ,··•=•i· " - i ,
t";. • • rJi.:,'Vi:,':
• • ' "'.ii......-1". -
•
I •
•
1/
•
D 20km closure
• .
-34.2 • • ••
25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2
Longitude
~
x~
>-
656
"AM46"
From: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, 02 August 2023 11 :04
To: Alistair Mcinnes; 'Ashley Naidoo'; 'Lauren Waller'; [email protected]
Cc: 'Janet Claire Coetzee'
Subject: RE: Update and requesting information on potential agreement for St Croix & Bird
Islands
Good Morning everybody,
My apologies for dragging this a bit but I have been having a medical problem with a sore foot that is currently being
attend to slowing down my work pace quite a bit.
For your ease of reference ESCPA has agreed to implement the 40 percent closure but we needed Zeshan to finalise that
map for us to conclude everything and my condition did not help me very much in terms of moving forward.
In our endeavour to positively ensure that the Minister is informed about our agreement we propose that the original
map of DEFFE 41% that was done between Janet and ourselves should be utilised as an interim measure until we get
Zeshan to the table between all parties involved to finalise the Maps which we would like to be implemented from the
1st September onwards.
Currently we only need Alistair, Lauren and Lorien has to concur with this email for Ashley to convey this message to the
Minister enabling her to table our agreement in the meeting on Friday.
Ashley please be so kind as to forward Zeshan's contact details in your response.
Kind Regards,
Chairperson
ESCPA
SO\J! H A~ICAN
LONGLINE
~
l
•
H~
131 Albert Road. Walmer, Port Elizabeth I PO Box 22650, Central, 6001
Telep/tone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell.· 082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]
This message (including any attachments) contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the intended recipient (or authorized to receive for the
intended recipient), you may not read, print, retain, use, copy, distribute or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have
From: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>

Sent: Wednesday, August 2, 2023 8:56 AM
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Update and requesting information on potential agreement for St Croix & Bird Islands
Hi Ashley
1
657
Lorien is going to try and meet with Redah today to see if we can come to an agreement -will revert back later today.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Tuesday, August 1, 2023 1:47 PM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau
<redah @rialfishing.co.za>
Subject: Re: Update and requesting information on potential agreement for St Croix & Bird Islands
Hi Alistair, Lauren and Riedau
Alistair, just had confirmation that the early meeting is a small courtesy meeting just
with CEOs and 2 Industry Reps (Mike/Riedau) where Minister will announce her
decisions and Panel Chair will do a brief summary of findings.
The later media briefing at 100 will be open to all - although at this one only journalists
will be able to ask questions.
A another point- is there any progress on finding agreement on the closed area
around St. Croix? I will really like to suggest this inclusion in Minister's announcement
if possible?
Thank you
Ashley
From: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo @dffe. gov.za >

Date: Monday, 31 July 2023 at 18:40
To: Alistair Mcinnes <alistair.mcinnes @birdlife.org.za >, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, Riedau
<redah @rialfishin g.co.za>
Hi Alistair and colleagues
I am desperately trying to get confirmation of who is invited to these online meetings

and will keep you updated.
Thank you
Ashley
From: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >

2
658
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected] >, Riedau
Hi Ashley
Thanks for the update. Please can you confirm if all the stakeholders represented at the panel review will be included on
the invite list for the Minister's meeting.
Many thanks and regards
Alistair

Sent: Monday, July 31, 2023 3:03 PM
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Riedau
Hi Lauren, Alistair and Riedau
The Minister is releasing the report this Friday - smaller meeting with stakeholders at
0830 and then media at 1000 - I am waiting on final invite list -which will come from
her office, but they asked me last week to alert Mark Anderson, Mike and Riedau as
well.
Thank you
Ashley
Ashley Naidoo. Ph.D. I Chief Director: Ocean & Coasts Research (he/him)
https:l/www.dffe.qov.za/documents/research/oceansandcoasts
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Riedau
Dear Ashley
Just following up on your email below. You mentioned there may be a meeting this Friday or early next week. Do you
have any idea yet when this meeting will be?
Things are filling up this week, and I need to know if I need to cancel meetings on Friday morning.
Thanks and Regards
3
659
Lauren

Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2023 10:54 AM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau
Subject: Update and requesting information on potential agreement for St Croix & Bird Islands
Dear Riedau, Lauren and Alistair
The Panel report is been through 2 edits and is currently in its final layout. The draft
report has been submitted to Minister, who received this late last week.
Minister is also away this week and early next week, so the earliest that she will be
able to meet (online) and make the report available, is late next week (possibly Friday)
or very early the following week.
Once I have this date, we will send out a meeting request.
Then the interim fishing closures will continue for August. In this matter I understand
that all of you have been discussing your (potential) agreement on the 40 or 41 % for
St. Croix, please can I ask that you finalise this and also share the map so that I can
include this in my recommendation. I will need this by Wednesday next week, now that
we have the additional week.
I think such an agreement will be an excellent achievement, and from my side I will
commit to find (reasonable) additional funding for penguin observations for St. Croix
and Bird Island to assess benefits.
Thank you
Ashley
4
660
"AM47"
< [email protected]>
Cc: Lauren Waller; Alistair Mcinnes
Subject: Closure St Croix
Attachments: Overlap of 2023 proposed closures_202306.pdf
Dear Redah,
I hope your surgery went well yesterday and that you'll get well soon.
As per our telephonic conversation yesterday, can you kindly confirm that the small pelagic fishing industry in the
Eastern Cape agreed to the DFFE proposal of fishing closure around St Croix Island (in black in the map attached), •
representing 41% of the foraging habitat of African penguins breeding on St Croix?
We can discuss the western boundary of the closure being moved slightly eastward (reaching the boundary of the CAF
proposal (in red in the map attached)),and move the eastern boundary also slightly eastward to regain the lost area. Is
that right?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
All the best,

Lorien
1
Conservation Sector: closure options -
overlap calculations
Eleanor Weideman, Alistair Mcinnes,

Lauren Waller, Richard Sherley, Lorien
Pichegru, Katta Ludynia, Christina Hagen,
Craig Smith, Peter Barham, Tegan
Carpenter-Kling
m
m
...lo.
~ ~~
i
Dassen Island
-32.6
0 15 30l<m
-32.8
-33.0 Foraging habitat (UD90)
Q) 75%UD
including northern buffer
~ -33.2
mlBA(7)
~ 50%UO
..1 -33.4
mlBA(ARS) Overlap with foraging habitat
-33.6 20 km dosure Closures Area (km 2·) (UD90)
-33.8
20 km (ICE) 1069 10005 65
-34.0
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6 UD50 235 235 15
Longitude
UD75 457 457 30
mlBA (7) 730 730 48
-32.6
mlBA (ARS) 550 550 36
-32.8
DFFE 947 939 61
-33.0
CAFF 786 786 51
Q)
1-33.2 .'
.--,
DFFE
--' -33.4
B CAF
-33.6 O')
O')
-33.8 N
-34.0
L . . . . , - - ~ - ~ - - - ~_,..._ _____
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude
-E::
-:;;> ~')
~
Robben Island
-32.5
-33.0
Foraging habitat (U090)
75%UD
!j -33.5
mlBA(7)
50%UD
m!BA(ARS)
20 km closure Closures Area (km 2) (UD90}
-34.0 Area (km 2) Proportion {%)
20 km (ICE) 861 861 83
DFFE 232 232 22
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.q
Longitude
CAF 232 232 22
-32.5 l *DFFE proposing
UD50 414 414 40
existing MPA -=
D 15 30km UD75 807 807 78
-33.0
mlBA (7) 568 568 55
mlBA (ARS) 419 419 40
-8:,
al -33.5
..J §
CAF
DFFE
0)
-34.0 0)
w
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0

Longitude
~
-,s>~
?'
Stony Point
o"""'w""2okm
-33.8

Q)
-34.0 Foraging habitat {UD90} = 828 km2
75%UD
"O
:::,
mlBA(7)
~ -34.2
....I 50%UD Overlap with foraging habitat
-34.4 mlBA (ARS) Closures Area (km 2) (UD90)

20 km closure Area (km2) Proportion{%)
-34.6
20 km (ICE) 864 651 79
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 DFFE 20 2
Longitude
20
CAF 84 83 10
o"""'ro"2okm UDS0 231 231 28
-33.8
UD75 407 407 49
-34.0 mlBA (7) 397 397 48
Q)
"O Foraging habitat (UD90)
:::,
; -34.2 DFFE
mlBA (ARS) 270 270 33
j
CAF
-34.4
0)
-34.6 * DFFE proposing existing MPA 0)
~
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4
Longitude
'""'r<-
~
Dyer Island
-34.2
0 10 20l<m
-34.4 Foraging habitat (UD90) Foraging habitat (UD90) = 2042 km 2

Q) 75%UD
"O
~ -34.6 mlBA(7)
50%UD
-'
-34.8
20 km closure Area (km2 ) Propo rtion (%)
-35.0 '-----,----~-~-~-~--~-----"
20 km (ICE) 865 865 42
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8 DFFE 1307 1244 61
Longitude
CAF 473 467 23
UD50 625 625 31
-34.2
0 10 20km UD75 1424 1424 70
-34.4 mlBA (7) 1007 1007 49
Q)
mlBA (ARS) 1007 1007 49
§
"O Foraging habitat (UD90)
~ -34.6
ro DFFE
-'
CAF
-34.8
0)
0)
0,
-35.0 '-----,---- ~ - ~
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8

Longitude
--5::.
-:s,f-
:s..
St Croix Island
-33.2
~ m
-33.4 Foraging habitat (UD90)

75%UD Foraging habitat (UD90) = 2004 km 2
i::::i -33.6-
-~ -33.8
mlBA (7)
__, 50% UD
-34.0
-34.2 '-----~~-~~~~-~---'
§ mlBA(ARS)
20 km closure
Restricted MPAs
Closures
20 km (ICE)
Area (km 2)
Area (km 2)
(UD90}
Proportio n (%)
25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2 726 726 36

Longitude DFFE 829 827 41
-33.2 CAF 288 288 14
6 10 20km
UD50 548 548 27
-33.4
UD75 1100 1100 55
~
i:::, -33.6 Foraging habitat (UD90)
mlBA (7) 1117 1117 56
DFFE
~
j -33.8 CAF mlBA (ARS) 975 975 49
Restricted MPA
-34.0
-34.2 m
m
25.0 25.2 25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2 m
Longitude
~
--,i, ~
~
Bird Island
-33.2
0 10 20km
-33.4
Foraging habitat (UO90) Foraging habitat (UD90) = 1431 km 2
~ -33.6 75%UD
:2 mlBA(7)
j -33.8 50%UD
mlBA(ARS) Closures Area (km 2} (UD90}
-34.0 20 km closure
-34.2 20 km (ICE) 1019 1019 71

' - - , - - ~- ~ - - - - ~ - - - . . - -- '
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0 DFFE 458 421 29
Longitude
CAF 848 844 59
-33.2 I *DFFE proposing existing MPA UD50 365 365 26
6 id 26km
-33.4 UD75 689 689 48
mlBA (7) 734 734 51
~ -33.6
.a
j ~33.8 §
DFFE
CAF
mlBA (ARS) 551 551 38
-34.0
m
-34.2 m
....__,_----,---~-..-------,---~- --...J
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0
Longitude
~
~f-.
>'
668
"AM48"
Subject: RE: Map on Closed Area for St. Croix

To: 'Ashley Naidoo' <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; 'Deon Van Zyl'
<[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>;
'Lauren Waller' <[email protected]>; 'Lauren Waller' <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: 'Cleverley Lawrence' <[email protected]>; 'Zishan Ebrahim' <[email protected]>; 'Alison
Kock' <[email protected]>; 'Gerhard Cilliers' <[email protected] >; 'Gcobani Popose'
<[email protected] >; 'Millicent Makoala' <[email protected] >; 'Smith, Craig' <[email protected] >
Gooday Everybody,
We had insight into the MAP and discussed same having come to the conclusion that we are happy with the new Yellow
boundaries that concludes our agreement at 42.17 % .
Kind Regards,
Chairperson
ESCPA
SQUU!Af§
LONGUNE
ic-
'-..;.
)
l
H~
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell: 082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]

To: 'Tasneem Wesley' <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >; 'Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South)' <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; 'Lauren
Waller' <[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>
Cc: Cleverley Lawrence <[email protected] >; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Kock <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>;
Millicent Makoala <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >
Subject: Map on Closed Area for St. Croix
Dear Colleagues
1
669
Zishan, has kindly worked up the latest map for the agreed closed area - taking the
boundaries to the nearest minute for ease of navigation. The is now the area marked
by the yellow boundary. The total area now enclosed is 42, 17%. This is a slight
increase from the 41 %.
Please can I have confirmation that the all of you can live with the new yellow bordered
area, or your comments by 1200 tomorrow, so that I can have this implemented
through our Fisheries Branch by Friday - 1st September 2023.
Thank you
Ashley N
https://www.dffe.qov.za/documents/research/oceansandcoasts
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
NOTICE: Please note that this eMail, and the contents thereof, is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
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"AM49"

To: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected]>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Kock <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >;
Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected] >
Subject: Re: Map on Closed Area for St. Croix
Dear Colleagues
Thank you to all of your for cooperation on this. I think we now have agreement on the
St. Croix (42, 17% to accommodate the easier navigation) and the Bird Island which
remains as is at 93%.
I will work with the my colleagues in Fisheries management to have this implement by
Friday and will update you.
Thank you
Ashley N
https://www.dffe.gov.za/documents/research/oceansandcoasts
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
~----------- -
Date: Monday, 28 August 2023 at 14:01
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >, Ashley Naidoo
<[email protected] >, Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >, Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected] >, Riedau <[email protected] >, Alistair
Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Cleverley Lawrence <[email protected]>, Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>,
Alison Kock <[email protected]>, Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose
<[email protected]>, Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>, csmith <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley
Yes, I can live with this proposal.

1
672
Thanks so much Zishan, and also to all involved that enabled us to get to this point.
Warm regards
Lauren
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected] >; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Millicent Makoala <[email protected] >; csmith <[email protected] >
Dear Ashley,
Thanks to Zishan for his work.

We are happy with this new proposal.
All the best,

Lorien

To: Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; 'Lauren
Waller' <[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Kock <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >;
Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >
Dear Colleagues
2
673
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
NOTICE: Please note that this eMail, and the contents thereof, is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela University .eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
http://www.mandela.ac.za/djsclaimer/email.htm
3
674
"AM50"
From: Alistair Mcinnes

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >
Hi Ashley
Just to confirm that I am happy with this arrangement.
Regards
Alistair

To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig
Subject: FW: Map on Closed Area for St. Croix
Hi Lauren, Alistair and Craig
I would need your approval as well, as in the beginning you are recognized as the
representatives of the Conservation Sector.
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >

Date: Monday, 28 August 2023 at 13 :26
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >, Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, 'Lauren Waller' <[email protected] >,
Riedau <[email protected] >, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected]>, Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>,
Alison Kock <[email protected]>, Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose
<[email protected]>, Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>, Smith, Craig <[email protected] >
1
675
Dear Ashley,

All the best,

Lorien

To: Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; 'Lauren
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected]>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Kock <[email protected] >; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >;
Dear Colleagues
increase from the 41%.
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
NOTICE: Please note that this eMail , and the contents thereof. is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
http://www .mandela.ac.za/disclaimer/email.htm
2
676
"AM51"
From: Smith, Craig <[email protected] >

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand
Campus South) <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Cleverley Lawrence <[email protected] >; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Millicent Makoala <[email protected] >
Hi Ashley
Island closure proposal supported for St. Croix.
Regards
Craig Smith
::Senior Manager: Marine Portfolio, WWF-SA::
1st Floor, Bridge House
Boundary Terraces
Mariendahl Lane, Newlands
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Tel: +27 (21) 657 6600 Direct: +27 (21) 657 6670 Mobile: +27 (82) 481 8600
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
Web: http://www.wwf.org.za
FOR NATURE.
Take one small step. FOR YOU.
FIND STEPS AT WWF.ORi.ZA

~
WWf'

To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected]>; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected]>; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] .za >; Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Cleverley Lawrence <[email protected]>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
1
~t"'
677
Kock <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <GCilliers@dffe .gov.za >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >;
Subject: Re: Map on Closed Area for St. Croix
Dear Colleagues
Thank you to all of your for cooperation on this. I think we now have agreement on the
St. Croix (42, 17% to accommodate the easier navigation) and the Bird Island which
remains as is at 93%.
I will work with the my colleagues in Fisheries management to have this implement by
Friday and will update you.
Thank you
Ashley N
Find Annual Ocean &Coasts Science Report at:
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Monday, 28 August 2023 at 14:01
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof} (Summerstrand Campus South} <Lorien.Pichegru @mandela.ac.za >, Ashley Naidoo
<[email protected] >, Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <twesley@ rialfishin g.co.za>, Deon Van Zyl
<Deon @afrofishing.co.za>, Lauren Waller <lauren @sanccob.co.za >, Riedau <redah @rialfishing.co.za >, Alistair
Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected]>, Zishan Ebrahim <Zishan.Ebrahim @san parks.org>,
Alison Kock <[email protected]>, Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose
<GPopose @dffe.gov.za >, Millicent Makoala <[email protected] >, csmith <csmith @wwf.org.za>
Dear Ashley
Yes, I can live with this proposal.
Thanks so much Zishan, and also to all involved that enabled us to get to this point.
Warm regards
Lauren
From: Pichegru, Lorien {Prof) {Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau
<redah @rialfishing.co.za >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >
Cc: Cloverley Lawrence <cloverley.lawrence@san parks.org>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Alison
Kock <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >;
2
678
Millicent Makoala <[email protected] >; csmith <[email protected] >
Subject: RE: Map on Closed Area for St,. Croix
Dear Ashley,

All the best,

Lorien

To: Rial Fishing Pty Ltd <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; 'Lauren
Dear Colleagues
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
3
2126/24, 3:25 PM Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on agreement prioritising foraging grounds for African penguins througl:5io/'g fishing in ...
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on "AM52"

agreement prioritising foraging grounds for
African penguins through limiting fishing in
Algoa Bay
01 Sep 2023
Agreement on prioritising foraging grounds for African penguins through limiting fishing in Algoa Bay
"The conservation sector and the fishery industry representatives for the east coast small pelagic
fisheries have reached an agreement on prioritising areas for penguin conservation around St. Croix
Island and Bird Island in Algoa Bay," says the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms
Barbara Creecy.
Conservation organisations represented by BirdlifeSA, WWF, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and
scientists from Nelson Mandela University, together with lead representatives from the Eastern and
Southern Cape Pelagic Association (ESCPA) have agreed to exclude fishing in 42, 17% and 93% of
core penguin foraging areas around St. Croix and Bird Islands respectively. These agreed areas will
be implemented from September 1, 2023.
The penguin foraging areas in Algoa are characterised by relatively large ocean spaces. The report of
the Expert Review Panel on fishing closures and limitations around key penguin colonies noted that
the scientific evidence suggests that fish catches in closed areas will be more difficult to replace
around the St. Croix and Dyer islands. These are some of the local characteristics that had to be taken
into consideration during these negotiations.
"The representatives from the various organisations are congratulated and thanked for their
investment in offering compromise and reaching consensus. All representatives found common
ground in prioritising a healthy and sustainably-used Algoa Bay ecosystem. Such stakeholder-owned
decisions are a first prize in environmental management and is welcomed," said Minister Creecy.
On 4 August, the Minister released the Report from the Science Review on information relating to the
Small Pelagic Fishery and the African Penguin. The Report recommended that penguin colony-
specific discussions take place as each colony has unique fishery and ecological dynamics, including
that fish catch dynamics and replaceability vary at different colonies.
Fishing limitations have been established for the following penguin colonies: Dassen Island, Robben
Island, Stoney Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island and Bird Island. These are to be implemented for a
minimum of 10 years with a review after six years of implementation and data collection. The transition
_,/www.go,.,a/aew,/med;a-statemeat-.st,y-lisherie&<md-em,;nmmeot""9"'8meat-paortti•ao<orag;,,.,..,,,,, t,\f, tr\ 112

2126/24, 3:25 PM Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on agreement prioritising foraging grounds for African penguins throug~i81(f fishing in ...
to implementing fishing limitations started with continuing with the interim closures established in
September 2022, while both the fishing industry and the conservation sector studied the Panel's
Report.
"As announced upon the release of the Panel's Report, any consensus on fishing limitations, will be
implemented as they are agreed. This agreement for St. Croix and Bird Islands is such an agreement,"
said Minister Creecy.
For media enquiries, contact Peter Mbelengwa on 082 611 8197
Regards,
Enquiries:
Noma Boiani
Deputy-Director: Media Liaison, Communications & Advocacy
Tel: +2712 399 9975
Cell: +2766 112 3746
E-mail: [email protected]
Issued by Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment

More from Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-agreement-prioritising-foraging-grounds
681
"AM53"
Sent: Monday, 11 September 2023 15:47
To: Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
Cc: Lauren Waller
Subject: Re: EC closures
Hi Alistair, Craig, Lorien and Lauren
Let me confirm with Johan De Goede if these are in place already, my request to him
was that these were to be implement from September 1, after I received confirmation
from all that the map was acceptable, but I need to confirm with him.
I did manage to chat briefly with Riedau this afternoon, he is working on the updated
map, and will get that to me late today. I will ask for permission to share with all of
you. I will also arrange a discussion with Riedau later this week to try to understand
where he is coming from. Then I will engage with all of you again.
Thank you
Ashley N

Date: Monday, 11 September 2023 at 14:29
To: Smith, Craig <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>,
Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: EC closures
Hi Ashley
I agree with Lorien and Craig. Please can you confirm if the permit has already gone out for the agreed closures in Algoa
Bay.
Alistair
From: Smith, Craig <[email protected]>

Sent: Monday, September 11, 2023 2:22 PM
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>; Ashley Naidoo
<[email protected] .za>
1
682
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley
I would tend to agree with Lorien that if the engagement with the fishing industry was transparent and if there was no
mistake on what was agreed upon then it cannot simply be withdrawn as this will make a mockery of any further
engagement processes, which implies that the fishing industry is not engaging in good faith. If the closed area is to be
withdrawn it now needs to be agreed upon by all parties as there are implications of going back on this decision. Also
industry would need to provide a motivation of why they want this withdrawn.
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
FOR NATURE.
C r ,~ -:i
t
FIND MJRE STEPSATWWF.ORG.1.A

~
WWF

Sent: Monday, September 11, 2023 11:01 AM
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for your response.

I am a bit surprised that there is consideration to go back on the agreement. I understood that there was a media
statement from the Minister herself about this agreement and the fishing permits were updated as of 1 st of September.
https://www.fishingindustrynewssa.com/2023/08/31/african-penguin-foraging-grounds-agreement-for-algoa-bay/
There was thorough engagement between us and Redah since June, and maps were shown 3 times at different
meetings, all including the CAF proposal, the DFFE proposal and the interim closure. He even sent himself the map
2
683
where he agreed to close to fishing, and there were other members of the fishing association present at our meeting on
the 25 th of August that supported the agreement.
I hope these are enough evidence of a fair and honest engagement process and a clear agreement between the two
parties that cannot be withdrawn that easily.
It is also important to highlight that the expert panel's report stressed that closures should encompass the birds' mlBAs.
The interim closures would therefore be biologically meaningless.
Thanks for understanding.
Kind regards
Lorien

Email: lorien. pichegru @mandela.ac.za
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
From: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za >

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien.Pichegru @mandela.ac.za>
<csmith @wwf.org.za >
Dear Lorien and Alistair, Lauren and Craig copied
Yes Riedau, did call me late on Friday the 1st of September. I was also surprised as
everybody confirmed their agreement. I am also not sure of what he meant by the 73%
- which he raised before. He asked me to send him previous maps showing the
various options including the CAF option - which I did. I also asked him to send me a
map or sketch of what his "correct" understanding is ... so that I my share this with all
of you and get a conversation going again. I did not get an updated map from him last
week, and followed up on Friday with an email. I plan to call him this week as well.
The options from here are not easy but my understanding from the Minister's decision,
is that the interim closures will be put in place if there is no agreement. While there is
no explicit direction on what is to happen in this situation where an agreement
collapses - my thinking is that the interim will return.
3
684
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Friday, 08 September 2023 at 15:00
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, Smith, Craig
Subject: EC closures
Dear Ashley,
A few days ago, Redah phoned me concerned about the size of the closure around St Croix, surprised that the 42%
agreed upon was larger than the 73% he was unsatisfied with, which was the interim closure. I do not know which 73%
he is referring to and he is also unsure himself, but he told me he'd discuss the matter with you. We can understand his
confusion, the penguin metric changed a few times over the course of the analyses. However, the map we agreed on
showed both the interim closure and the proposal he sent us, which was larger than the interim closure.
With my colleagues copied here, we are slightly worried about his misunderstanding and voicing his unhappiness to
DFFE. We assume, however, that the agreement has been settled, from the map he sent himself, from the productive
meeting we had together, also attended to by Deon and Tasneem, and from the media statement from DFFE on the 31 st
of July.
Can you kindly update us on the situation?
Thank you very much in advance.

Lorien

cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
NOTICE. Please note that this eMail, and the contents thereof, is subJect to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
http ://www.mandela.ac.za/disclaimer/email.htm
4
685
"AM54"
Sent: Wednesday, 13 September 2023 15:45
To: Ashley Naidoo
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
Attachments: Gifford-et-al_2023_JCC_NoCostClosureToFisheriesEC.pdf
Dear Ashley
Apologies for my silence on this matter, I have been attending the International Penguin Congress.
I have to communicate my utter dismay at this turn of events from Redah . Surely the department cannot be held ransom like this?
There were multiple witnesses to many of these meetings with Redah (and an official media release about the agreement by the
minister herself) - surely DFFE cannot go back on this now?
I've been meaning to ask you to clarify something regarding the interim closures decided on by the Minister, and am hoping you can
shed some light on the matter. I'll put it in bullet points to be as succinct as I can.
- The panel pointed out that the ARS MIBAs were the most scientifically defensible areas and recommended their use and that the
costs estimated by industry were overexaggerated (although by an unknown amount)
- We have followed the panel recommendation and plotted the ARS ml BA against area and costs to the fishing industry. We'd
assume that DFFE, particularly those advising the Minister, would have done the same mapping exercise in July, between the
submission of the Panel report in June and the media statement in August, in order to provide the most defensible advice to the
Minister. We have found that the ARS MIBA extents bear low cost to industry (with Dyer and St Croix exceptions), and that the
interim closure extents have extremely low cost to industry (0% catch lost in some instances!)
- As such, can you explain the process that led to that decision of retaining the interim closures? They are in no way aligned to the
Panel report recommendations (apart from non-seasonal and longer closures - although these are meaningless without meaningful
closure extents), and have very little benefit (if any) for the penguins (bar Dassen Island). On what basis are these interim closures
justifiable?
Lastly, has the department seen the latest paper regarding costs to eastern cape fishing industry as a result of closures? As you
know we have repeatedly through GF, ETT, CAF asked for socio-economic costs from industry, with nothing forthcoming. The
industry model has also been questioned by the panel, while the study in the document attached received positive comments from
Andre Punt when he reviewed the Synthesis Report. This paper, using fishery catch data provided by DFFE, shows that "neither their
catch sizes nor travel times varied significantly with fishing exclusion measures."
Thus, if the Department backs down on what was agreed to (i.e. following the Panel recommendations), again, on what basis and
evidence will this decision be made on?
Please help me/us understand the DFFE processes Ashley.
Warm regards
Lauren
From: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>.

To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected]>; lorien .pichegru@mandela .ac.za

1
686
where he is coming from . Then I will engage with all of you again.
Thank you
Ashley N

To: Smith, Craig <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >
Hi Ashley
Bay.
Alistair

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Ashley Naidoo
<[email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley
mistake on what was agreed upon then it cannot simply be withdrawn as this will make a mockery of any further •
2
687
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
FOR NATURE.
Take one small step. RJRYOU.
1n r
~
WWf
FIND M>RE STEPSATWWF.OR6.lA
From: Pichegru, lorien (Prof} (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig
<[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,

the 25th of August that supported the agreement.
3
688
Kind regards
Lorien

cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien.Pichegru@mandela .ac.za >
The options from here are not easy but my understanding from the Minister's-decision,
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
4
689
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof} (Summerstrand Campus South} < [email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected] >, Smith, Craig
Dear Ashley,
of July.

Lorien

cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
NOTICE : Please note that this eMail. and the contents thereof. is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
http://www .mandela.ac.za/disclaimer/email.htm
5
~ournal of Coastal Conservation (2023) 27:41
690
https://doi.org/10.1007Is 11852-023-00974-8
Local purse·-seine fishers' economic losses owing to endangered

seabird conservation measures - perceptions and reality
T. Gifford 1•2 • Amanda T. Lombard 1f& • B. Snow 1•3 • V. Goodall 1•4 • Lorien Pichegru 18
Received: 2 March 2023 I Revised: 5 July 2023 / Accepted: 21 August 2023

© The Author(s) 2023
Abstract
The likelihood of success of a marine protected area (MPA) is strongly dependent on stakeholders' support. A concern
often raised by local fishers is their lack of involvement iri the design or management of a MPA and their loss of income
owing to lost fishing grounds. We used Algoa Bay, South Africa, as a case study to analyse fisher's and fish-processing
factory managers' concerns and perceived economic losses from fishing closures using structured interviews. Since 2009, a
20 km-radius purse-seine fishing-exclusion zone has been tested in Algoa Bay to assess the benefit to population recovery
of the endangered African penguin Spheniscus demersus. Costs to the industry were estimated in terms of loss of catches
and additional travel time to fishing grounds with and without closures. Fisher responses to interviews revealed general
support for conservation and MPAs, but individuals interviewed did not feel that the 20 km fishing exclusion zones in
Algoa Bay would aid African penguin conservation. While they systematically raised concerns about potential economic
costs to their industry from closures, neither their catch sizes nor travel times varied significantly with fishing exclu-
sion measures. Acknowledgement and assessment of the economic concerns may aid in initiating an informed dialogue
amongst the various stakeholders in Algoa Bay1 which may increase compliance and success of the newly proclaimed
Addo elephant National Park MPA. Continued dialogue may also act as a catalyst for more integrated ocean management
of biodiversity and human uses in the bay.
Keywords Fisher perceptions • Fisheries • Marine protected area • African penguin • Endangered species • Conservation
Introduction for species and ecosystems (Grorud-Colvert et al. 2021 ;

Roberts et al. 2017) and can contribute to food security
As the number of threatened marine species increases and carbon storage (Sala et al. 2021 ). In the absence of
(Worm et al. 2013 ; McCauley et al. 2015), urgent action is MPAs, fishing-exclusion zones can protect harvested spe-
required to assess and limit anthropogenic drivers of species and support ecosystem-based management of coastal
cies' declines and prevent extinctions (Davidson and Dulvy and marine environments (Sarda et al. 2017). Historically,
2017; Duarte et al. 2020). Fully-protected and well-man- MPAs and other spatial conservation measures (such as fish-
aged marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide a refuge ing-exclusion zones) have been implemented to improve the
conservation status of ecological system components (such
as species or habitats), with less attention paid to the socio-
economic costs of the intervention (Dehens and Fanning
!BJ Lorien Pichegru
[email protected] 2018; Brander et al. 2020, although see Smith et al. 2010).
Prior analyses of MPAs have identified stakeholder engage-
1
Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela ment as a major factor in influencing the success or failure
University, Gqeberha, South Africa of an MPA (Giakoumia et al. 2018), and South Africa is no
2
Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, exception (Mann-Lang et al. 2021 ).
Gqeberha, South Africa In 2014, the South African government initiated Opera-
3
One Ocean Hub, Law School, University of Strathclyde, tion Phakisa, an initiative to develop the South African
Glasgow, Scotland oceans economy by growing various ocean-based industry
4
Department of Statistics, Nelson Mandela University, sectors, including offshore oil and gas exploration, fisheries
Gqeberha, South Africa
Published online: 29 August 2023 ~ Springer
0
f ~r\
41 Page 2 of 11
691
T. Gifford et al.
and aquaculture, marine transport and manufacturing, and 000 tons between 2008 and 2012, including catches of sar-
marine protection. Four years later, the 2018 National Bio- dine, anchovy, horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus and
diversity Assessment for South Africa identified commer- round herring Spratel/oides gracilis (Wilkinson and Japp
cial fishing as a major threat to marine biodiversity and 2018). Catches from Algoa Bay represented 40 to 70% of
ecosystems in South Africa, owing to overexploitation of national landings of sardines during our study (Coetzee et
target species, high bycatch rates, habitat destruction, and al. 2019), and are used primarily for the bait industry. Given
competition for food resources with other marine species, the potential conflict for food resources, the competition
as well as incidental seabird deaths (Majiedt et al. 2019). In between seabird species and the commercial fishing indus-
2019, twenty new MPAs were approved by the South Afri- try have been the focus of ongoing studies (Crawford 2007;
can cabinet as part of Operation Phakisa. One of the new Pichegru et al. 2009, 2010, 2012; Mcinnes et al. 2017; Sher-
MPAs is the Addo Elephant National Park MPA located in ley et al. 2018). For example, spatial analyses revealed that
Algoa Bay (Fig. 1) on the south coast of South Africa with a a significant proportion of the catches from the purse-seine
primary objective to protect the habitats of two Endangered fishing is located in the core foraging habitats of penguins
seabird species: the African penguin Spheniscus demersus and gannets (Pichegru et al. 2009).
and the Cape gannet Morus capensis breeding on St Croix As early as 2009, as part of a national experiment
and Bird Islands (SANBI and South African Department of designed by a group of stakeholders including scientists and
Environmental Affairs, 2018). Algoa Bay used to host 50% the fishing industry, 20 km experimental purse-seine fish-
and 70% of the world African penguin and Cape gannet ing-exclusion zones were implemented around key penguin
populations respectively on St Croix and Bird islands (Sher- colonies in Algoa Bay (around St Croix and Bird Islands),
ley et al. 2019, 2020, Fig. 1). Both species are endemic to and on the West Coast of South Africa (around Dassen and
Southern Africa and feed primarily on sardine (also referred Robben Islands, to assess the potential benefits of exclusion
to as pilchard) Sardinops sagax and anchovy Engraulis zones for African penguins (see Pichegru et al. 2010, 2012;
encrasicolus (Crawford 2007), which are targeted by the Sherley et al. 2018; Sydeman et al. 2021 ). Part of the exper-
purse-seine fishery. This fishery contributes to the highest imental design involved swapping the fishing exclusion
tonnage landed by fisheries in South Africa (Shannon and every three years within pairs of colonies: in Algoa Bay,
Waller 2021 ), with annual tonnage averaging around 391 the area surrounding St Croix Island was closed to fishing
25° E 25. • E 26° E

Cl) Legend
Fishing exclusion zones ADDO MPA
M
M
,---
___ 1 5 km
D Controlled
./
,- - ... 20 km
1
_ _ _, Restricted
1
I
I
4751
I
"'
581• 5812 5813 5614 5815 5810 5711 5712 5713 5714
5625 5520 5821 5822 5823 5824 5625 5620 5721 5722 5723 5724
fNDIAN OCEAN
5534 5535 5530 5831 5632 5633 5634 5635 5630 5731 5732 5733 5734
Cl) N
-<i
M
0 10 20 40 60 60
A
Fig. 1 Map of study area, showing the seabird colonies (St Croix and islands, including 5 km around Ryi Bank. The map also shows (sur-
Bird islands) in Algoa Bay, the Addo Elephant National Park Marine rounded in black) the extent of the 'Algoa Bay' area where fishing
Protected Area zonation (controlled and restricted, and the 20 km catches and travel times were considered in this study (following
radius experimental purse-seine fishing exclusion zones around the Pichegru et al. 2012)
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Local purse-seine fishers' economic losses owing to endangered seabird conservation measures - perceptions ...
692 41
Page 3 of 11
from 2009 to 2011, and again in 2015-2017, while allowed ocean management approach that considers both biodiver-
around Bird Island. Bird Island area was closed to fishing sity and human uses of the bay (Vermeulen et al. 2022).
2012-2014, and again from 2018 onward. Various param-
eters of African penguins' responses to changes in the fish-
ing exclusion regime were monitored (see Pichegru et al. Materials and methods
2012; Sherley et al. 2018). Historical fishing pressure was
much higher around St Croix Island than Bird Island, due to Structured interviews
St Croix's proximity to the harbour (Pichegru et al. 2012),
thus penguins from St Croix rapidly restricted their foraging Nine individuals were interviewed (structured interview
range to mostly within the fishing-exclusion zone, reduc- in Supplementary material) for their opinions on fishing-
ing their energy expenditure during periods when the exclu- exclusion zones. These interviews aimed to collect insights
sion zone was in effect around that colony (Pichegru et al. of pelagic fishers from a "realist perspective" (Crouch and
2010). However, evidence was provided that a larger fishing McKenzie 2006), not relying on a large sample size of a
exclusion was needed in Algoa Bay to support the declining subgroup (Daniel 2012). Through these interviews, we col-
African penguin population and prevent the concentration lected perceptions of a group with common interests and
of fishing activities at the exclusion zone boundary (i.e., active in the pelagic fisheries in Algoa Bay. We used a snow-
'fishing the line', Pichegru et al. 2012; Sherley et al. 2018). ball sampling (also known as purposive sampling), whereby
The proclamation of the Addo Elephant National Park an initial participant was identified and with their help,
MPA in 2019 was a step towards potential improved pen- the interviewer was introduced to additional potential par-
guin conservation, but the restricted zone of the MPA (where ticipants (Bernard 2017). Five individuals were fishers on
fishing is not permitted) offers poor coverage of foraging purse-seine vessels operating from Port Elizabeth harbour
habitat for African penguins, especially those breeding on and four were managers of factories (floor managers and
St Croix Island, and did not include most of the historical operations managers) that process sardine in the city. While
and current fishing grounds of the small pelagic industry the sample size was small, it did represent most of the "top-
(Pichegru et al. 2012). Nevertheless, commercial fishers tier" individuals in the small local purse-seine fishing com-
who target small pelagic fish remain concerned about the munity. Involvement in the study was voluntary, answers
loss of fishing grounds following any form of fishing exclu- were kept anonymous, and participants were assigned a
sion, and fear decreases in catch and loss of income, espe- random number from I to 9. Interviews were conducted
cially in the light of possible additional exclusions to assist face-to-face and at various locations where the participants
the recovery of African penguins. These concerns need to felt comfortable. Answers were scribed by the interviewer
be addressed if more permanent and larger fishery exclusion and no voice recording devices were used. Human ethics
zones to benefit penguins are to have any chance of success. (H18-SCI-ZOO-004) approval was granted by the Nelson
This research aimed to first understand the purse-seine Mandela University human ethics committee.
fishers' perceptions of fishing exclusion zones (be they tem- The structured interviews consisted of three main
porary or implemented as zones in MPAs) and their per- themes: marine predators, fishery-exclusion zones (and
ceived impacts of these measures on their fishery. We then MPAs more broadly), and the sustainability of the purse-
compared these perceptions with estimates of the impacts seine fishery. The questions (see Supplementary material)
of fishing exclusions on costs to the purse-seine fish- were open-ended and designed to ensure that the questions
ing industry (i.e. decrease of catches, increase of travel flowed well, were phrased suitably, and did not lead par-
times). Using structured interviews, we assessed local fish- ticipants to a particular response. An attempt was made to
er's views on marine top predator conservation status, the structure the interviews according to position in the fishery,
use of MPAs and the sustainability of fishing industries in and some questions when not applicable were omitted (e.g.
general. In parallel, we quantified the effect that the fishing- PS5, PS6, PS7 for managers, see Suppl. Mat.). Responses
exclusion zone around St Croix Island had on catch size of the participants were analysed in view of their posi-
and travel time of the local purse-seine fishery. This study tion in the fishery, fishers (n = 5, four skippers and one first
is a first step towards reconciling conservation and fishery mate) or managers (n=4), and age class: "younger" (age
goals in area-based conservation measures for endangered I 8-40 years old, n =3) and "older" (41 + years, n =6).
marine top predators in Algoa Bay. It provides insights into
stakeholders' perceptions and how these may be addressed Fishery exclusion and catches
to promote the sustainability of both the fishery and the for-
aging needs of penguins, and to enable a more integrated Catch data of the Eastern Cape pelagic purse-seine fish-
ery (2007-20 I 7) were obtained from the Department of
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41 Page 4 of 11
693
T. Gifford et al.
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Data are and a Tukey post-hoc test. Statistical tests were conducted
reported by the fishing industry to the Department in tonnes in R 4.2.0 (R Core Team, 2022).
of catches per species per trip for each vessel, with spatial
coordinates of the area of the catch, as well as time of depar-
ture from and return to the harbour, and vessel ID. We Results
quantified the effects of the exclusion zone around St Croix
Island alone (in effect in 2009-2011 and then again in 2015- Perception of fishers: marine life
2017), given that the Bird Island area was seldom fished by
purse-seiners (Pichegru et al. 2012; Mcinnes 2016) and St Participants' responses regarding interactions with marine
Croix Island was the closest to the Port Elizabeth harbour life are presented in Table 1. Marine predators like sharks
and the largest local African penguin breeding population or seals can conflict with fishers when they intercept catches
at the time (Sherley et al. 2020). In this study, we consid- or damage equipment. Penguins were not considered a nui-
ered catches in tonnes of small pelagic fish in Algoa Bay, sance because they did not steal the catch. Predators could,
as the area defined by Pichegru et al. (2012) (Fig. 1). While however, be perceived in a good light as they can be used to
movement of fishing vessels to the neighbouring harbour locate productive fishing grounds.
of Cape St Francis (80 km west) can occur, most (> 80%) Bycatch (catch of non-targeted species) had both positive
of the catches from the Eastern Cape small pelagic fishing and negative aspects according to the purse-seine fishers.
industry take place in Algoa Bay, in relatively close proxim- Some bycatch species may provide supplemental income to
ity of the Port Elizabeth harbour (Pichegru et al. 2012). fishers if it can be sold (e.g. mackerel Scomber scombrus),
The effect of the fishing-exclusion regime around St Croix with this being especially important during periods of low
Island was tested on catch sizes (as a proxy for revenue) and targeted fish catch. Alternatively, bycatch of species such
travel time (i.e., difference between vessel departure time as barbels or sharks may damage nets or take up valuable
from the port and arrival time back at port, as a proxy for space in the net and thus reduce income for fishers .
costs both in terms of fuel costs and time spent searching for Opinions about the conservation status of marine preda-
fish) for each fishing trip in Algoa Bay. A log transformation tors and the sustainability of fishing world-wide are pre-
was used for travel time in order to improve the symmetry •sented in Table 2. Opinions differed between age groups,
of the distribution of the variable to meet the assumption with an apparent division among older individuals. Most
of normality. Exclusion regimes were designated as Open participants felt that the loss of predators would negatively
1: 2007-2008, Closed 1: 2009-2011, Open 2: 2012-2014 affect the environment because marine predators are "part
and Closed 2: 2015-2017). Catch size or log travel time of the ecosystem" and the "natural balance of the sea". But
were set as the response variables in an Analysis of Vari- when examining the differences in opinions based on job
ance (ANOVA), with combinations of exclusion regime, position or age, one older fisher stated that the loss of preda-
year and vessel ID as explanatory factors. Assumptions of tors would allow for "more fish for the fishermen" while
normality and homogeneity of variance were checked using one older manager said that "the workings of the sea would
residuals. balance things out".
In addition, because vessels are limited by their hull When asked about the sustainability of fishing world-
capacity in the tonnage offish they can catch per trip (ca. 40 wide and locally, all participants recognised that overfish-
tons for vessels in Algoa Bay, but vessels can do additional ing was a serious global threat (Table 3). However, when
trips), effect of fishing exclusions was also tested on the asked specifically about the sustainability of the purse-seine
total annual catch of the fishery with a one-way ANOVA, fishery, responses were more varied. Most managers viewed
Table 1 Responses of participants regarding interactions with marine life

Negative interactions Positive interactions
Sharks (particularly Bronze whaler sharks Carcharhinus brachyurus) can Four of the five fishers have made use of marine predators to help
tear nets multiple times per year. Damaged nets are costly to repair. them find fish, while one older fisher has not. Marine life, used to
find fish, included marine mammals (whales, dolphins, finless por-
poises Neophocaena phocaenoides or Cape fur seals Arctocephalus
pusillus) and seabirds (Cape gannets Morus capensis and petrels).
Seals steal fish from the nets, although there were different opinions on Common bycatch includes: mackerel Scomber scombrus, redeye
how often and how much fish is stolen. While most participants (three Etrumeus whiteheadi, maasbanker Trachurus capensis, small
managers and two fishers) thought that seals steal minimal catch, three sharks and rays and barbels. The bycatch is sold in some cases, but
believed that seals have stolen large amounts of the catch, with two fish- participants stated that "it's not enough fish to make money". When
ers voicing the need for "seal culling". the bycatch is too damaged to sell, it is used as "chum" or "given
to workers in the processing factories, they take it home to eat".
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Page 5 of 11
Table 2 Opinions of participants on whether marine predators should be protected

Should marine predators be protected?
Older(n=6) n=3:No
n= 3: Yes. Two believe that we should only "protect what we can utilise, not what is overpopulated".
Younger (n=3) n=3:Yes
Fisher (n=5) n=3: Yes
n = 1: "but we need to consider fishermen"
Manager (n = 4) n=3:Yes
n= l: "Cape fur seal numbers are too high and don't need protection, but African penguins are under big pressure and
need protection".
n = I: some marine predators not impacting fisheries should be protected, such as the African penguin, but sharks, whales,
dolphins and seals should not be protected as "their numbers are out of control".
Is commercial fishing (world-wide and locally) sustainable?
Fisher Concerned over the Western Cape purse-seine fishery, with "vessels that are too big" and "big nets", thus a greater impact.
Overfishing is "definitely a worldwide" threat.
"Fishing allocations need to be done properly. People in charge must decide how much we take out, we just go ahead".
"Overfishing is a serious threat, YES".
Manager "First world countries with their better technology have more of an effect" because the technology has made fishing for
species easier and thus aggravated overfishing.
"Illegal fishing [causing overfishing] is the biggest threat [to the oceans] in my opinion".
"Overfishing is absolutely a threat [to the ocean globally]".
Table 3 Individual opinions of Algoa Bay purse-seine fishers and factory managers regarding the impacts of the Addo Elephant National Park
Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the environment and on the fishery
MPA and environment: MPA and environment: MPA and fishery: MPA and fishery:
Positives Negatives Positives Negatives
Fishers • "Helps the environment" • "[Addo MPA] not • "If properly • "MPAs destroy the fishing industry"
• "Helps reef fish" helping anything where enforced the sardine • "[MPA in Algoa Bay] would threaten my job"
• "Helps whales and it is, better somewhere can spawn" • "[MPAs) increase the fuel we have to use"
dolphins" else" • "No [won't affect
• "[Addo MPA] is not job)"
properly policed"
Managers • "Helps the environment" • "Feeds criminal ele- • "[MPAs] help in • "Doesn't help pelagics"
• "Reduces destruction" ment, no public eye to the long run but not • "[MPA] around Coega harbour would affect
• "Helps islands and reefs" stop poaching" right now" us for sure, 30-40% of sardine caught in Algoa
• "Refuge for species" Bay is from near St Croix Island" [the loss of
this fishing area would result in lower catches
and increased fuel costs] and "the flatter waters
[around St Croix Island] keep the quality of
fish good, ifwe go further out to sea or near
Schoenies [Schoenmakerskop], the rough sea
damages the fish"
• "[MPA in Algoa Bay] would threaten my job"
the fishery as unsustainable, while fishers were not in agree- fishing industry and get all role-players together", as well as
ment. When discussing their fishing activity around Algoa "identify what is causing the decline and control that".
Bay's islands, all nine participants stated that the purse-
seine fishing activity did not impact species present on Bird Perception of fishers: MPAs
or St Croix Islands, explaining that the boats and nets used
were "too small to have a large impact", perhaps even "give Opinions regarding the impact ofMPAs on the environment
easy meals to animals". and the fishing industry are summarised in Table 4 They
Nevertheless, the majority of the participants agreed that differed among the participants, with both positive and
top predators needed conservation measures. Interestingly, negative comments. Positive views ofMPAs were predomi-
when discussing how to conserve marine predators, multiple nantly about the environment as a whole, such as helping
methods were suggested, including "MPAs and more con- reefs or acting as a refuge for fish, or for certain species,
trol of the fisheries" and "helping pelagic stock recovery", like whales and dolphins or spawning sardines. However,
"using research and educational programs for people in the very few positives for the fishery were listed by participants.
Rather, all participants (except for one young fisher) felt
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41 Page 6 of 11
695
T. Gifford et al.
Table 4 Results of the two-way Response Fixed effect df F value 12-value Si~
ANOVAs testing the effect of a
Catch size (tonnes) Exclusion regime: 3 25.70 P<0.001 ***
20 km radius fishing-exclusion
per trip Closure 2
zone, year and boat ID around St
Croix Island on purse-seine fish- Boat ID 19 36.4 P<0.001 ***
ing vessel catch size and travel Year 6 6.06 P<0.001 ***
time (log-transformed) in Algoa Closure 2 * Boat ID 18 1.70 0.033 *
Bay, South Africa. Significance Travel time (hours) Exclusion regime: 3 57.73 P<0.001 ***
was indicated as: ns (not sig- per trip Closure 2
nificant), p<0.05 *, p<0.01 **, Boat ID 19 10.97 P<0.001 ***
p<0.001 ***
Year 6 12.86 P<0.001 ***
Closure 2 * Boat ID 18 5.00 P<0.001 ***
Boat* Year 32 1.66 0.011 *
Annual Catch Closure 2 3 7.23 0,015 *
Fig. 2 Average(± SD) of (a)

catch size (tonnes) and (b) travel "'
time (log transformed) of small
pelagic fish per individual purse-
seine fishing vessels operating boat boat
in Algoa Bay between 2007 and ,.

100
- 100
100
2017. Shaded areas represent 380 380
years with a fishing exclusion - 382
,.,
around St Croix Island, Algoa
Bay, South Africa. Note: no
40
.
- .. ,4
◄ 50
- 41(
450
- 452 - <52
fishing took place in Algoa Bay
in 2015
~
~
g
- 453 I - .1153
- ,1e
Ij - 478
-. , --- ...,.,
0 - 478 - 478
-~
.
f
- · 481
E,>
4'1
-
u E
20 -. ...
- ◄92
-"'
. ...
-- .-
- 502 - 502
505 505
-
.
506
510
513
-.
506
510
513
2007 2006 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 201~ 2016 2017 2001 20aa 2<m 2010 2011 2012 10u 201 ◄ 2015 201e 2011
that an MPA in Algoa Bay would threaten their jobs. The between 11 and 34 trips, whereas eight conducted between
concern of increased fuel costs was voiced by three of the 122 and 396 trips.
five fishers. Impact on catch size was voiced by a manager. Average catches per trip were slightly higher when the
Three participants mentioned the issue of lack of enforce- exclusion was in place, with 25.33 ± 11.97 tonnes per trip,
ment of the MPA. compared to 23.75 ± 12.22 tonnes when it was not. The
results of the AN OVA showed a significant interaction effect
Estimates of fishing exclusion impacts on fisheries' between closure regime and vessel (F= l.7;p=0.033). This
economic cost interaction effect is illustrated in Fig. 2a, showing how the
different vessels showed a different response to the closure
A total of2007 purse-seine fishing trips took place in Algoa regimes. For example, vessels 499 and 506 had their largest
Bay between 2007 and 2017, 828 of these when the fish- catches during 2010 when the island was closed to fishing,
ing exclusion was in place around St Croix Island and 1179 while other vessel's catches were lower during this period.
when it was not. The number of vessels operating in the A model including the interaction between vessel and year
region varied between years with a maximum of 14 boats was not significant and hence the interaction was removed
operating per year. Boats differed in their hull capacity and from the final model.
catches, as well as travel times (Figure SI ). Some vessels Similarly, average (± SD) travel time of fishing trips in
(N = 5) conducted only one or two fishing trips in the bay Algoa Bay tended to be slightly lower when the St Croix
during our study period. Another seven vessels conducted fishing-exclusion zone was in effect (11.15 ± 5. 71 h) than
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Page 7 of 11
when it was not (11.33 ±5.45 h) (Fig. 2b). The results of the of participants was small, interviews in this study aimed to
ANOVA for the travel time showed a significant interaction explore perceptions and insights of pelagic fishers rather
effectbetweenclosureregimeandboat(F = 5.00;p < 0.001) than 'objective facts' (Crouch and Mckenzie 2006). The
, as well as between boat and year (F = l.66;p = 0.011). perceptions and views are not generalised but remain the
Again, different vessels experienced different responses to views of the participants. Therefore, the final sample size
the closure regime, with some vessels (e.g., 499 and 485) addressed the objectives of the study (see Daniel 2012).
having their longest travel times in 2014 when the island Interviews revealed that participants from the top-tier man-
area was open to fishing. agement of the small Algoa Bay purse-seine fishing industry
However, the overall annual catches by the industry in the tend to support conservation, although their views on which
area decreased over time, regardless of the fishing exclusion species should be protected and how, varied considerably
regime (Fig. 3 and Figure S2), and the one-way ANOVA with both age and position in the fishery. Their perception
showed no significant difference in annual total catch dur- of potential impacts offishing exclusion on their livelihoods
ing open and closed periods overall (F = 1.174, p = 0.307) . was nonetheless mostly negative. There was, however, no
However, if the four levels of the closure regime were used, evidence from their catch data or travelling time per fishing
which is associated with the time sequence of the closures, trip of any measurable impact, of a 20 km fishing exclusion
a significant difference in annual catch became apparent around St Croix Island, on their industry. Rather, variabil-
(F = 7.23,p = 0.015). Catches were highest in 2007, with ity was apparent between vessels and the overall decline in
a total of ca. 10 400 tonnes of small pelagic fish caught in annual catch sizes observed here follows the recent decrease
Algoa Bay, and lowest during the last four years of our study in small pelagic fish stocks in South African waters, with the
( 1100 tonnes in 2014 and 2016, 2900 tonnes in 2017 and 0 sardine stock now considered as depleted (van der Lingen
in 2015, Fig. 3). A Tukey post-hoc test showed that Open2 2021 ).
and Closed2 both significantly differed to Openl (Figure Most participants felt that marine predators play an
S2) suggesting an overall decline in the annual catch rather important role in the ecosystem, a perception often observed
than an effect of the closures on catch size. in the fishing community worldwide (Drymon and Scyphers
2017). However, they disagreed on the need for protection
for predators, with younger participants supporting marine
Discussion predators' conservation while older participants nuancing
their statements by suggesting that only some should be pro-
Although considerable research exists on fishers' support tected. In the United States, older individuals were also less
of conservation globally (e.g., Dimech et al. 2009; Leleu inclined to aid conservation of sharks (well-known marine
et al. 2012), the South African fishing community's per- predators) (Myrick and Evans 2014). The cause for this dis-
ceptions on marine conservation methods have not been parity of opinion with younger individuals was not clear,
well-studied. This study is the first to explore the percep- but it is possible that younger people have been taught more
tion of Eastern Cape purse-seine fishers in top-tier positions about fisheries decline through schooling as awareness of
on marine conservation and the impacts of MPAs on the ocean conservation has developed over time (e.g., Lucrezi
environment and on their industry. While the sample size et al. 2019). It is unclear if that might be the case in the
Fig. 3 Total annual catches a

(tonnes) of small pelagic fish by 10 000
the purse-seine fishing industry
in Algoa Bay, South Africa,
ui' a,b
during the various fishing exclu- Q)
C
sion regimes around St Croix C 7500
Island between 2007 and 2017 _g
1/)
(Open 1: 2007-2008, Closed 1: Q)
.r:
2009-2011, Open 2: 2012-2014, r.> b
Closed 2: 2015-2017). Different
ror.>
5000
letters above box plots denote ro
::,
C
significant differences between C
ro b
periods ro
0 2500
I-
Open 1 Closed 1 Open 2 Closed 2
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41 Page 8 of 11
697
T. Gifford et al.
purse-seine fishing community in South Africa, but worth threatening their job security, a concern largely shared by
noting that it is a community dominated by older individuals fishers globally, especially if they have limited alternative
(Sauer et al. 2003 ), which may affect how likely they may fishing grounds (Rees et al. 2013 ; McClanahan et al. 2005).
accept or be willing to be involved in conservation efforts. Algoa Bay is a relatively small area in which multiple
Regardless, further studies on the causes driving different industries (long-liners, trawlers, purse-seiners, shipping,
views of the younger and older generations are needed to aquaculture, etc., see Holness et al. 2022) are active, which
improve integrated ocean management efforts that aim to may account for some of the perceived negative views of
measure the impacts of sectoral management interventions fishing-exclusion zones. Other studies have also shown that
on other sectors (for example, fishery closures on conserva- even in cases where fishers are supportive of MPAs, many
tion and vice versa). do not want the MPA in their fishing areas - referred to as
It is important to note that although participants rec- the 'Not in my Backyard' problem (Bohnsack 1993), as
ognised that overfishing was a serious issue globally and shown in this study. However, this response can also change
acknowledged that some fisheries were harmful to marine with time by implementing awareness campaigns and edu-
life, they did not feel that their fishery was a contributor. cating stakeholders on the benefits of the MPA (Bohnsack
Rather, the responsibility of overfishing threatening marine 1993; Lucrezi et al. 2019), as mentioned by a participant in
ecosystems was systematically transferred onto other par- this study.
ties. This may be an example of Hardin's Tragedy of the The negative perception of the impacts ofMPAs on fish-
Commons (Hardin 1968), a phenomenon in which an open ing catches could also be addressed if information and data
resource leads to a lack of accountability and self-preserva- can respectfully demonstrate the difference between per-
tion trumps the needs of others. The issue of overfishing is ceived concerns and reality (e.g., Anderson and Nichols
complex, and no single party is entirely responsible, but the 2007; although see Nyhan and Reifler 2010). This study had
complexity of actors involved in overfishing makes it diffi- access to the size and location of catches from the purse-
cult to identify leverage points and responsible parties. This seine fishing industry in Algoa Bay during various regimes
results in finger pointing and an absence of accountability of fishing exclusion around St Croix Island, which encom-
across all parties. Hardin proposed that this "Tragedy of the passed traditional fishing grounds (Pichegru et al. 2012) and
Commons" can be avoided through greater state governance is in close proximity to the Port Elizabeth harbour (Fig. 1).
or private control of the resource. Ostrom (1 990), instead, The exclusion was thus expected to negatively affect the
proposed that a shared resource can be responsibly managed travelling time of vessels operating from them harbour,
by its users. Either way, the inclusion of all stakeholders forcing them to fish further from the harbour, and the
for resource management and governance decisions is cru- restriction of the size of the fishing grounds accessible was
cial to ensure that affected parties' concerns are respectfully also expected to affect overall catch sizes as strongly voiced
addressed, thus enabling a greater chance of success for the in this study. None of these impacts were, however, appar-
proposed management approach. ent in our results. Similarly, other studies found no impact
Participants were aware of the various benefits that of even the world largest MPAs on the catches of the fishing
MPAs and fishing-exclusion zones can provide, including fleets (e.g., Lynham et al. 2020, Favoretto et al. 2023 ). By
benefits that did not directly influence the fishers or man- contrast, spill-over effects of even mobile species have been
agers themselves (e.g., eco-tourism). This understanding repeatedly shown to increase catches of near-by fisheries
suggests that close collaborations between MPA managers (e.g., Medoff et al. 2022). Our results therefore suggest that
and fishers could be successful in improving MPA manage- a fishing-exclusion zone around one of the largest remaining
ment and compliance (e.g., Russ and Alcala 2004; Leleu et African penguin colonies is unlikely to negatively affect the
al. 2012). However, factory managers tend to be more cog- industry, while likely being beneficial towards the recov-
nisant of MPA-related benefits than fishers, which may be ery of the African penguin population (Pichegru et al. 2010,
partly explained by the differing reliance on sardine for an 2012; Sherley et al. 2018). Fishing exclusions have been
income. Fishers interviewed in this study bad permits for identified as a "recovery wedge" in strategies to rebuild-
small pelagic fish only, while managers were able to pro- ing marine life for a sustainable future (Duarte et al. 2020).
cess a larger variety of fish at their factories. Fishers thus Given the uncertainty surrounding future climate scenarios
had fewer alternatives to withstand lower fish hauls, and this and the environment (and human-use) responses to a chang-
could reduce their willingness to support an MPA owing to ing environment, the precautionary principle (enshrined in
its perceived impact on catches. While all nine participants South African environmental law) seems prudent.
agreed that MPAs have multiple environmental benefits, An open dialogue and shift towards mutual trust between
they all felt that they, as individuals, would be negatively fishery and environmental authorities are necessary to allow
impacted by the loss offishing areas and income, potentially for concerns to be voiced and respectfully assessed. 1n the
~ Springer
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Page 9 of 11
Data Availability The data presented in this study are available on

present case, an open dialogue has been initiated to assist request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly avail-
in easing concerns regarding income loss from an MPA, able due to being part of a long-term monitoring project involving sev-
by first demonstrating that such loss was not supported by eral researchers.
objective data. While fishers may benefit from a closer rela-
tionship with scientists and managers by being re-assured of Declarations
the limited impacts offishing exclusion on their livelihoods,
Competing interests The authors declare no competing interest, either
scientists could also benefit from the wealth of knowledge
financial, nor non-financial.
held by fishers (Rochet et al. 2008). Fishers are inherently
adaptable owing to the ever-changing nature of the envi- Ethics approval Human ethics (Hl8-SCI-ZOO-004) approval was
ronment in which they work. Given ever-changing oceanic granted by the Nelson Mandela University human ethics committee.
conditions, and regular adjustments of fishing locations
and allowed catches, some fishers have developed a pro- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
found understanding of their environment, allowing them to adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format,
respond to change. Fishers' knowledge of the ocean's ecol- as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
ogy, referred to as Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) is source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate
an important key to better understanding how marine eco- if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless
logical communities function (Silvano and Valbo-Jorgensen indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not
2008; Hallwass et al. 2013 ; Sowman and Raemaekers 2015 ; included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended
Lima et al. 2017). Research on LEK is just emerging in use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted
Algoa Bay (Strand et al. 2022), but remains nearly untapped use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright
holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.
globally within small pelagic fisheries (Uprety et al. 2012). org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This study may provide a foundation from which to build
dialogue that will hopefully assist in MPA management
and marine spatial planning efforts in the future. Successful References
MPAs and more integrated ocean management approaches
require local involvement and input of stakeholders right at Anderson MH, Nichols ML (2007) Information gathering and
the start, as well as education actions, support from govern- changes in threat and opportunity perceptions. J Manag Studies
ment agencies, and active monitoring and management (Pita 44:367-387
Bernard HR (2017) Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and
et al. 2011 ; Boswell and Thornton 2021 ). quantitative approaches. Rowan & Littlefield
Bohnsack JA (1993) Marine reserves: they enhance fisheries, reduce
Supplementary Information The online version contains conflicts and protect resources. Oceanus 36:63-71
supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/sll852- Boswell R, Thornton JL (2021) Including the Khoisan for a more
023-00974-8. inclusive Blue Economy in South Africa. J Indian Ocean Reg
17:141-160
Acknowledgements A special thank you to all fishers from Algoa Bay Brander LM, Van Beukering P, Nijsten L, McVittie A, Baulcomb C,
for their involvement in the interviews and engaging conversations. Eppink FY, van der Lelij JAC (2020) The global costs and ben-
Also, thanks to Diya De Maine and Dennis Mostert for their support efits of expanding Marine protected Areas. Mar Pol 116: 103953
and assistance. Thanks to T. Wolff for assistance in data analyses. Coetzee J, de Moor CL, Butterworth D (2019)A summary of the south
african sardine (and anchovy) fishery. Cape Town. https://open.
Author contribution These authors all contributed substantially to this uct.ac.za/handle/11427 /30645
work. First author TL conducted this study during her post-graduate Crawford RJM (2007) Food, fishing and seabirds in the Benguela
study, co-supervised by all other authors. Last author, LP, was the upwelling system. J Ornithol 148:S253-S260
main supervisor and conceptualized the study. All authors contributed Crouch M, McKenzie H (2006) The logic of small samples in inter-
to some aspects the design of the study, and/or to data analyses. All view-based qualitative research. Social Sci Inform 45:483-499
authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript. Daniel J (2012) Choosing the size of the sample. Sampl Essentials:
Practical Guidelines Mak Sampl Choices 2455:236--253
Funding The authors acknowledge the National Research Founda- Davidson LN, Dulvy NK (2017) Global marine protected areas to pre-
tion (NRF) of South Africa, and the Institute for Coastal and Marine vent extinctions. Nat Ecol Evol 1(2): 1--6
Research and the Department of Zoology at Nelson Mandela Univer- Dehens LA, Fanning LM (2018) What counts in making MPAs count:
sity for funding and logistic assistance. ATL acknowledges additional the role of legitimacy in MPA success in Canada. Ecol Indic
support from the South African Research Chairs Initiative through 86:45-57
the South African National Department of Science and Innovation/ Dimech M, Darmanin M, Philip Smith I, Kaiser MJ, Schembri PJ
National Research Foundation (UID 98574), as well as Community (2009) Fishers ' perception of a 35-year old exclusive Fisheries
of Practice grant in Marine Spatial Planning (UID 110612) from the Management Zone. Biol Conserv 142:2691-2702
same source. Drymon JM, Scyphers SB (2017) Attitudes and perceptions influence
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sustainability. Mar Policy 81:153-159
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org/10. 1371/journal.pone.0219306 gia 138:622--627
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tribution oftraditional knowledge to ecological restoration: prac-
tices and applications. Ecoscience 19:225-237
~ Springer i,,
f~
701
"AM55"
Sent: Friday, 15 September 2023 15:29
To: Lauren Waller
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South);
Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose
Dear Lauren, Lorien ,Craig and Alistair (I am now including Gerhard and Gcobani who
be increasingly more involved in this process as the Science and Policy Directors
respectively- for marine species management.)
I trust all of you are well and looking forward to good weekend.
Thank you for the extra time to get back to you - all of us are in a bit of a rush to
complete several processes today before some new Treasury rules kick in. To get to
your question below Lauren, I do not have insights into the Minister's processes.
However, I can offer a view from my lower (and narrower) perspective. The Panel
Report pointed to a few key aspects/recommendations like the ARS for MIBAS, or
different ways to calculate fishery impact. These recommended actions are to occur
within the two key conclusions. One: the ICE can be regarded as concluded and two:
that closures or limitations of fishing adjacent to penguin colonies does have a positive
effect for penguins. This then required a policy decision: The use of fishing limitations
as an intervention in penguin conservation. From this policy decision there needed to
be implementation, preferably rapid policy implementation in this case - and here
there are two broad implementation avenues: 1. Interim fishing limitations continue;
unless replaced by a consensus agreement (per colony) and/or in 6 years when a
review has taken place and 2. The Panel recommendations on the science will be
implemented (within finances). •
I want to talk to the second avenue. This for me is key: it will allow for the all of the
various actions to explored: including ARS for MIBAS, fishing costs estimates etc -
and in my thinking we have six years, including with incrementally growing
observations and analyses. After six years there will be an opening to review the
extent of fishing limitations. Here the policy decision is important: fishing limitations will
be used. After 6 years with all of the updates and new analyses we may argue for
more limitations (and the fishing sector may argue for less) but not the use or
usefulness of fishing limitations. If we started refining calculations immediately after the
Panel Report (in my view again) this will have led to a number of iterations, checks and
counter checks of calculations (H factors and kernels etc). While the science has
progressed over the last decade, it is these iterations that prevented a policy
1
702
conclusion and implementation. There are strong arguments that the fishing limitations
extents are too narrow (or too wide) but there is no quick way, in a matter of weeks, to
resolve these. Additionally, there would have been the discussion of can the science
recommendations be implemented individually or sequentially, or must some, at least,
be done simultaneously - either way - all adding time to the process.
My focus now is to get as complete as possible set of observations and plan the
analyses among the DFFE researchers and with partners like yourselves (and the
fishing industry) so that we can take the next step from here i.e policy decision and first
policy implementation. (The reality here is that we will have to write some joint funding
proposals over the next few months.)
I hopes this helps with describing my thinking at least, and a happy to hear your
thoughts.
Separately, Riedau, has sent me some maps earlier today, and said that he will send
some notes later, I have asked that he includes permission for me to share with all of
you - towards setting up the next round of discussions if this is necessary.
Thank you
Ashley N
---------
Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2023 at 16:43
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>, csmith <[email protected]>,
[email protected] <[email protected]>
Hi Lauren and colleagues
Please give me until end of the week to get back to you. I am acting DOG this week,
so much of the week is taken up with admin meetings. I have not heard from Riedau
since Monday when I called and have not received updated map as yet.
Thank you
Ashley

2
703
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>, csmith <[email protected]>,
Dear Ashley
I have to communicate my utter dismay at this turn of events from Redah. Surely the department cannot be held ransom like this?
justifiable?
Warm regards
Lauren

To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected]>; [email protected]
was that these were to be implement from September ·1, after I received confirmation
3
704
Thank you
Ashley N

To: Smith, Craig <[email protected] >, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>
Hi Ashley
Bay.
Alistair

<ANa [email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >
Dear Ashley
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
4
705
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
FORNATURE.
Take one small step. RJRYOU.
0 t
FIND MJRE STEPSATWWF.OR 1J

~
WWF

Dear Ashley,

https :// www. fish i ngi nd ustry newssa. co m/2023 /08/31/ africa n-pe ng u i n-fo ragi ng-g round s-ag reeme nt-fo r-a Igo a-bay/
Kind regards
Lorien

5
706
Email: lorien.pichegru@mandela .ac.za
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) {Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien.Pichegru@mandela .ac.za >
various options including the CAF option -which I did. I also asked him to send me a
The options from here are not easy but my understanding from the Minister's decision, ·
Thank you
Ashley N
https:llwww.dffe.qov.za/documents/research/oceansandcoasts
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
From: Pichegru, Lorien {Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, Smith, Craig
<csm [email protected],za>
6
707
Dear Ashley,
of July.

Lorien

Email: lorien.pichegru @mandela.ac.za
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
7
708
"AM56"
< [email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, 21 September 2023 11 :01
To: Ashley Naidoo; Lauren Waller
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose
Dear Ashley,
Thanks for your considered response. However, you are focusing on Point 2, when the discussion in our emails has been
about Point 1.
The questions were:
1- How did the department come to the decision to keep the status quo of the Interim Closures, when the
recommendations made in the Panel Report in terms of what was most scientifically defensible (also with
minimal cost to industry) were completely different? This is in fact questioning the whole process of appointing
an International Panel to conduct a review in the first place.
2- But regarding the Eastern Cape, the question is: how can an agreement reached in good faith on the 25 th of
August, with witnesses, after repeatedly sharing very clear maps, be reconsidered? While you may have no
insights into the Minister's process on the first question, you are the one allowing Redah to think we can
renegotiate on a matter that Minister has already publicly commented on. This does not seem like a fair and
balanced process.
Regarding your Point 2, you state that: "there are strong arguments that the fishing limitations extents are too narrow
(or too wide)", but the Panel reported over-estimates of costs to the industry and my recent publication showed no cost
of the ICE to the industry in the EC. So, there are no strong argument that closures are too wide.
Importantly, you state that "we have six years, including with incrementally growing observations and analyses". Sadly,
over the past 6 years (between 2018 and 2023), we lost 40% of the South African penguin populations. The report
clearly points out the scientific limitations of ICE, which limited our capacity to scientifically determine their impact, and
the Interim Closures would just be repeating the shortfalls of the ICE that the panel identified.
We, therefore, absolutely cannot afford another 6 years of scientific debate with biologically meaningless closures for
African penguins. The species is on the verge of being critically endangered. Urgent meaningful actions are required to
prevent its extinction.
I hope you understand.
Regards
Lorien

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani
Popose <[email protected]>
1
709
respectively - for marine species management.)
implemented (within finances).
2
710
thoughts.
Thank you
Ashley N

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, csmith <[email protected] >,
[email protected] <[email protected] >
Thank you
Ashley
--~----------- - -
Dear Ashley
3
711
justifiable?
Thus, if the Department backs down on what was agreed to (i.e; following the Panel recommendations), again, on what basis and
Warm regards
Lauren

To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; csmith <[email protected] >; [email protected]
Cc: Lauren Waller < [email protected] >
Thank you
Ashley N
4
712

Hi Ashley
Bay.
Alistair
From: Smith, Craig <[email protected]>

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >
Dear Ashley
industry would need to provide a motivation of why they want this withdrawn .
..
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
5
713
FOR NATURE.
Cook 1t h r i t
i .d
~
WW,
FIND MJRE STEPSATWWF.OR61A
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof} (Summerstrand Campus South} <[email protected] >

<[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,

statement from the Minister herself about this agreement and the fishing permits were updated as of 1st of September.
Kind regards
Lorien

cell: +27 (O} 834 878 574
6
714
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien [email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] .za >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
From: Pichegru, Lorien {Prof) {Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >

<[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,
7
715
of July.

Lorien

Email: lorien. pichegru @mandela.ac.za
cell: +27 {O) 834 878 574
NOTICE: Please note that this eMail. and the contents thereof, is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
8
716
"AM57"
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose; Lauren Waller
Dear Lorien and colleagues copied
Thank you for the response. My apologies for not getting back to you earlier and if I did
not address the concerns more clearly.
On the points 1 and 2:
1. How did the Department come to decision on interim extension.

There was a submission to Minister, as is usually the case. This one was initially
drafted by myself, this follows the hierarchy for comment / amendments the DDG
(Deputy-Director General), DG (Director General) and then to the Minister. On
extending the interim closures, I did not see that the Panel made
recommendations on limitations (maps) in the Report, but offered a process and
mechanisms to look at trade-offs. Here, I will appreciate a discussion with you
and others copied if you feel that an argument can be made for other exact maps
- in the short term these could be one of the options the Panel plotted or in the
longer term these can be newly determined options. If you agree with this
suggestion I can set this up.
I thought extending the interim closures for the remainder of this year will allow
some time for all involved to look at the report. I was hoping that before January
15th next year there could be more and better agreements based on the Panel
Report, while the other work is set in motion and was trying to avoid a break in
fishing limitations while these discussions took place. This plan has been
impacted by the "re-negotiation", as the Eastern Cape Agreement will have been
a good base to encourage negotiations on the other colonies.
2. Allowing Riedau to renegotiate - this is certainly not for me to allow or not allow,
this is an initiative among yourselves as conservation representatives and the
fishing industry. I did try to help this along with the preparation of maps and
confirming agreement before implementation. I and I am sure my colleagues in
the Department will continue to assist with this where we can. The optimism here
is that both sectors can agree on some reasonable limitations for each colony,
and in parallel agree on then implementing (as per priority ranking) the science
recommendations.
1
717
Regarding point two above, Riedau has sent me (late Wednesday this week) a shape
· file of their "corrected' offer which I have sent to Zishan to replot using three
denominators; MIBA as at 2021, MIBA 2023 and UD90. Riedau's issue seems to be a
changing/ evolving MIBA. I will the pass this onto Riedau to preview (to avoid any
errors again) and ask his permission to distribute this to all of you as a basis to restart
your discussion which you may choose to do or not do.
Over the last three years I have tried to avoid partisan coordination of this process
towards keeping all representatives in the discussion, and am grateful to all of you for
your contributed time and efforts. I cannot assume malice by any contributor. If the
Industry claims that an unintended error has been made, I have no option but to look
into it. This, and with the time taken to be inclusive, of course and unfortunately, does
give the very real impression of me not being aware of the 40% decline in penguin
numbers or the urgency of the matter.
Please let me know if you are keen on an exploratory discussion of the Panel Report -
I would find this helpful.
Thank you
Ashley N

Date: Thursday, 21 September 2023 at 11:01
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>, csmith <[email protected]>, Gerhard Cilliers
<[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,
about Point 1.
The questions were:
balanced process.
2
718
Regards
Lorien

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani
s stem. Please be vi Hant so that ou do not fall victim to hishin attacks.
3
t~
~
719
thoughts.
Thank you
Ashley N

4
720
Thank you
Ashley

Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>, csmith <[email protected] >,
Dear Ashley
justifiable?
Warm regards
Lauren
5
721
Thank you
Ashley N

To: Smith, Craig <[email protected] >, [email protected] <[email protected]>,
Hi Ashley
Bay.
Alistair

6
722
Dear Ashley
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
Email: csmith @wwf.orq.za
Web: http://www.wwf.orq.za
FOR NATURE.
Take one small step. R)RYOU.
C ok h 1 nt
FIND MJRE STEPS AT WWF.ORi.l.l

~WWF

<[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,

statement from the Minister herself about this agreement and the fishing permits were updated as of 1st of September.
the 25th of August that supported the agreement.
7
723
It is also important to highlight that the expert panel's report stressed that closures sho!.lld encompass the birds' mlBAs.
Kind regards
Lorien

Email: lorien .pichegru @mandela.ac.za
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <lorien.Pichegru @mandela.ac.za >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <alistair.mcinnes @birdlife.org.za>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig
<csmith @wwf.org.za >
Thank you
8
724
Ashley N
Find Annual Ocean &Coasts Science Report at:
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) < [email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected] >, Smith, Craig
<[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,
DFFE . We assume, however, that the agreement has been settled, from the map he sent himself, from the productive
of July.

Lorien
Adj . Prof. Lorien Pichegru,

cell: +27 (0) 834 878 574
NOTICE.: Please note that this eMail, and the contents thereof, is subJect to the standard Nelson Mandela University eMail disclaimer which may be found at:
http://www .mandeta.ac.za/disclaimer/email.htm
9
725
10
726
"AM58"
To: Ashley Naidoo; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
Cc: Smith, Craig; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose; Lauren Waller
Hi Ashley
Thanks for this feedback and think we should definitely have a dedicated meeting wrt point 1.
All the best
Alistair

Sent: Friday, September 22, 2023 10:48 AM
To: Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig <[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers
<[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Dear Lorien and colleagues copied
Thank you for the response. My apologies for not getting back to you earlier and if I did
not address the concerns more clearly.
On the points 1 and 2:
1. How did the Department come to decision on interim extension.

There was a submission to Minister, as is usually the case. This one was initially
drafted by myself, this follows the hierarchy for comment / amendments the DOG
(Deputy-Director General), DG (Director General) and then to the Minister. On
extending the interim closures, I did not see that the Panel made
recommendations on limitations (maps) in the Report, but offered a process and
mechanisms to look at trade-offs. Here, I will appreciate a discussion with you
and others copied if you feel that an argument can be made for other exact maps
- in the short term these could be one of the options the Panel plotted or in the
longer term these can be newly determined options. If you agree with this
suggestion I can set this up.
I thought extending the interim closures for the remainder of this year will allow
some time for all involved to look at the report. I was hoping that before January
15th next year there could be more and better agreements based on the Panel
Report, while the other work is set in motion and was trying to avoid a break in
1
727
fishing limitations while these discussions took place. This plan has been
impacted by the "re-negotiation", as the Eastern Cape Agreement will have been
a good base to encourage negotiations on the other colonies.
2. Allowing Riedau to renegotiate - this is certainly not for me to allow or not allow,
this is an initiative among yourselves as conservation representatives and the
fishing industry. I did try to help this along with the preparation of maps and
confirming agreement before implementation. I and I am sure my colleagues in
the Department will continue to assist with this where we can. The optimism here
is that both sectors can agree on some reasonable limitations for each colony,
and in parallel agree on then implementing (as per priority ranking) the science
recommendations.
Regarding point two above, Riedau has sent me (late Wednesday this week) a shape
file of their "corrected' offer which I have sent to Zishan to replot using three
denominators; MIBA as at 2021, MIBA 2023 and UD90. Riedau's issue seems to be a
changing/ evolving MIBA. I will the pass this onto Riedau to preview (to avoid any
errors again) and ask his permission to distribute this to all of you as a basis to restart
your discussion which you may choose to do or not do.
Over the last three years I have tried to avoid partisan coordination of this process
towards keeping all representatives in the discussion, and am grateful to all of you for
your contributed time and efforts. I cannot assume malice by any contributor. If the
Industry claims that an unintended error has been made, I have no option but to look
into it. This, and with the time taken to be inclusive, of course and unfortunately, does
give the very real impression of me not being aware of the 40% decline in penguin
numbers or the urgency of the matter.
Please let me know if you are keen on an exploratory discussion of the Panel Report -
I would find this helpful.
Thank you
Ashley N

Date: Thursday, 21 September 2023 at 11:01
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, csmith <[email protected] >, Gerhard Cilliers
<[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley,
2
728
about Point 1.
The questions were:
balanced process.
Regards
Lorien

To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; csmith <csmith @wwf.org.za >; Pichegru, Lorien {Prof)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien.Pichegru @mandela.ac.za >; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani
3
729
thoughts.
4
730
Thank you
Ashley N
--------------------- -
Thank you
Ashley
- ---- - -----------------
Dear Ashley
5 fr~
vvi
731
-As such, can you explain the process that led to that decision of retaining the interim closures? They are in no way aligned to the
justifiable?
Warm regards
Lauren

Thank you
Ashley N

6
732
Hi Ashley
Bay.
Alistair

Dear Ashley
mistake on. what was agreed upon then it cannot simply be withdrawn as this will make a mockery of any further
Regards
Craig Smith
Boundary Terraces
P.O.Box23273
Claremont 7735
Fax: +27 86 535 9433
FORNATURE.
C n
\ij
AND f.lJRE STEPS AT WWF.OR61A WWf

7
733
Dear Ashley,

https ://www. fishing ind ustrynewssa. co m/20 23 /08/31/ afri ca n-pe ng u i n-fo raging-ground s-ag reeme nt-fo r-a lg oa-bay/
Kind regards
Lorien

cell: +27 (0) 834 878 574

To: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected]>
8
734
Thank you
Ashley N
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
From: Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <Lorien.Pichegru@mandela .ac.za >
Dear Ashley,
of July.
9
735
Lorien

Email: lorien.pichegru @mandela.ac.za
cell: +27 (O) 834 878 574
-- - - - ---- - - - -
NOTICE: Please note that this eMail, and the contents thereof, is subject to the standard Nelson Mandela Univer.sity eMail disclaimer which may be found at.
10
Bi~ife
~01111 \ 1 111 ( \
Glvlno COIIHIYGtton Winos

Reg No: 00 l - 298 NPO
PBO Exemption No: 9300045 l 8
2 October 2023

Honourable Barbara Creecy
By email: [email protected]
Cc'd: Ms Lee-Anne Levendal

Chief of Staff: Office of the Minister
[email protected]
Dr Ashley Naidoo
Chief Director: Oceans and Coasts
[email protected]
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC

FISHING RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING
ISLAND CLOSURES
1. I write on behalf of the Conservation Sector Group, which is convened to

address the issue of Island Closures in the interest of ensuring the survival of
African Penguin populations. The members of the group have been integrally
involved in the process undertaken by the Expert Panel to Advise on the
Proposed Fishing-Area Closures Adjacent to South Africa's Penguin Breeding
Colonies and the Decline in the Penguin Population (Expert Review Panel).
2. On 4 August 2023, you convened a meeting at which you announced the

publication of the Expert Review Panel's Report as well as your decision
regarding Island Closures (Closure Decision). The Closure Decision
contemplated, inter alia, the "fishing industry" and "conservation sector"
studying the Expert Panel's Report and seeking "agreement on fishing
limitations".
3. Our understanding of this aspect of the Closure Decision was that it

contemplated further negotiations between the "fishing industry" and
"conservation sector" to reach agreement on the nature and extent of Island
Closures, failing which the existing, interim closures would remain in place for
the next ten years (subject to a six-year review).
4. The Conservation Sector Group (including those seabird scientists engaged in

the process to date) has now had an opportunity to study the Expert Review
Panel Report. We have also, in the period since 4 August 2023, attempted to
engage with those stakeholders in the fishing industry in respect of whom \61/'l?
are to seek discussion and agreement on Island Closures in light of tl.f~
findings and recommendations of the Expert Review Panel.
5. While the Conservation Sector Group includes all key stakeholders from the
conservation sector which have been engaged with issues regarding African
Penguin population survival, the identity of all relevant stakeholders in the
"fishing industry" is not apparent - although it is clear that not all holders of
small pelagic fishing rights have been involved in discussions to date. This
information is, further, not available to the Conservation Sector Group.
6. Accordingly on 19 September 2023, Craig Smith of the Conservation Sector

Group reached out to DDG: Fisheries Management in the Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Department) to obtain the
information necessary to ensure that engagements with the fishing industry
are inclusive and that any "agreement" reached is transparent and reflective
of the interests of all small pelagic rights holders. Our request was,
unfortunately, refused and the Conservation Sector Group was directed to
file a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of
2000 (PAIA) to obtain this information.
7. Thus, in this circumstance, we find ourselves in the peculiar position that we

are faced with a process of negotiation or "reaching agreement" which has
been contemplated by the Closure Decision, but which has not been clearly
structured or facilitated by your Department and where we are unable to
obtain the minimum information required to identify the full range of parties
with whom we are to engage. We will address further correspondence to
you on this regard in due course.
8. In the interim, and in the interests of continuing to engage in good faith with
yourself, the Department and all stakeholders interested in small pelagic
fisheries and African Penguin conservation, we kindly ask that you provide
the following minimum information required to give meaningful effect to this
particular aspect of the Closure Decision:
a. A list of all vessels in the small pelagic industry fleet including reflecting the
following in respect of each vessel:
i. Length and holding capacity;
ii. Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number;
iii. Owner/sand contact details;
iv. Rights holder/s;
v. Authorized vessels to be used per right holder
vi. The proportion of the sardine and anchovy quota per rights
holder;
vii. Industry association membership;
viii. The landing sites per vessel;
ix. Factories supplied; and
b. A list of all vessels excluded from the Dyer Island Partial Closure as at the
date on which interim closures were first designated (1 September 2022) as
well as the date of the Closure Decision (4th August 2023) reflecting the
V. Industry association membership; and 738
vi. Factories serviced.
9. We would appreciate receiving the above information by no later than 9

October 2023, mindful of the short time period contemplated by the Closure
Decision for the conservation sector and fishing industry to reach agreement
on fishing limitations.
Yours sincerely,
Mark D. Anderson
Bird Life South Africa
, t1 e ll House· 7 Hunu.,:, R-ooa

D 1.,11i!c-!d WP :,, 1 Gou lpr10 2.l96.
Pii..- n te Bog X 1 6 P;r:1:•00 wrie ~ IUCNl- I.
2123 so..._,Jr1 .Afnt n Bird.Ute
1, 2 11 I d9 2,
Fa, +2710 1 7895'88
( 'JII ;elQ bug I Qrg.ro
w w ·w L,irrJ1ife (.'IQ z.o
Hono,o,y falrom : Mr, Goyno, ~up,,<I. 0, freclou• Moloi-Mon .., , . M< Marl< Shuffl. . .•otlh Mn fomela ISdftW
739
"AM60"
Subjed: RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC FISHING
RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING ISLAND
CLOSURES
From: Sylvester Pandelane <[email protected]>

Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 12:21 PM
Cc: Janine Buitendag < [email protected] >; Liesl Jacobs <[email protected] >; ltebogeng Chiloane
<[email protected] >; Buchule Mbuli <[email protected] >; Nomonde Magagula <[email protected]>;
Lee-Anne Levendal <[email protected]>
Subjed: FW: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC FISHING RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES
OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING ISLAND CLOSURES
Good day
On behalf of the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms B D Creecy, MP, I acknowledge with thanks
receipt of your correspondence, in the above regard.
Regards
Liesl Jacobs
Assistant Appointment Secretary and Administration Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
012 399 8515
066143 8859

Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 2:17 PM
To: Barbara Creecy <[email protected] >
Cc: Lee-Anne Levendal <[email protected]>; Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >
Subject: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC FISHING RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES OF
ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING ISLAND CLOSURES
Dear Minister
Please see attached correspondence regarding Bird life South Africa's request for information regarding holders of small
pelagic fishing rights for purposes of engaging in negotiations regarding island closures.
I also attach herewith our previous letter, dated 2 October 2023.
Please acknowledge receipt.
Regards
Mark
1
740
Mark D. Anderson
:}.l
BirdLife
. 111 111 \ fRI \
Ol"1n9 ConHrvoHon Wln9•

Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) 11 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
-)t
_
Bin:lLife
giving
fl.8t\,lre
• • a home -~...
sappi
TOYOTA
II r.::JCDecaux
2
741
_)) ,
BirdLife
SOUTH AFRICA
Giving ConservaHon Wings
Reg No: 001 - 298 NPO
16 October 2023

CCd: Ms Lee-Anne Levendal

[email protected]
Dr Ashley Naidoo
[email protected]
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC FISHING RIGHTS FOR
PURPOSES OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING ISLAND CLOSURES
1. We refer to our letter dated 2 October 2023 in which we requested that you provide
information regarding the small pelagic rights holders for the purposes of facilitating the
Conservation Sector Group's continued good faith engagement with the 'fishing sector'. We
understand this to have been contemplated in your announcement of 4 August 2023 regarding
next steps pursuant to the Expert Review Panel's findings in respect of appropriate island
closure design in the interests of ensuring maximum benefit to African Penguin survival.
2. In ·our letter (attached for ease of reference, marked "A") we noted that we were grappling
with the difficulty of engaging in a process of "reaching agreement" with counterparties who
are not clearly known to ourselves - and through a process which has not been clearly
structured or facilitated by your Department.
3. Noting that we have not yet received a response (despite noting the short period permitted
for "reaching agreement"), we would appreciate your intervention in facilitating the
lsdell House 17 Hume Road

Dunkeld Wast. Gauleng 2196
Private Bag X 16. Pinegowrie
2123. South Africa
Tel: •27 (0)11 789 t 122
Fax: >27 (O) 11 789 5188
Email· iofq;.Obirdlife Qrg.zq
www.birdlife.org .zq
Honorary Patrons: Mr.s Gaynor Rupert. Of Preciovs Moloi-Motsepe. Mr Mark Shuttleworth. Mrs Pamela lsdell
742
agreement process both in terms of providing the necessary clarity and structure, and in terms
of providing the information sought.
Yours sincerely,
Mark D. Anderson
lsde1I House 17 Hume Road

Dunk.eld West. Gouteng 2196
Private Bag X.16. Pinegowrie
2123. South Africa f,ut"I<. ,•~ · 't"
Tel: +27 [O} 11 789 1122 ....... .... '1 ~
Fm: >27 (O}l I 789 5188

Email: info#birdlife.org.za
www birdlife.org.za
Honorary Patrons: Mrs Gaynor Ruper#. DI Pteclous Molol•Mot!epe. Mr Mark Shuffleworlh, Mrs Pamela lsdell
743"A"
'
BirdLife
,01111 \ IHI < \
GMng ConMl'Wlfion Wlnflll

Reg No: 001 - 298 NPO
2 October 2023

Cc'd: Ms Lee-Anne Levendal

[email protected]
Dr Ashley Naidoo
[email protected]
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC

FISHING RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING
ISLAND CLOSURES
1. I write on behalf of the Conservation Sector Group, which is convened to

address the issue of Island Closures in the interest of ensuring the survival of
African Penguin populations. The members of the group have been integrally
involved in the process undertaken by the Expert Panel to Advise on the
Proposed Fishing-Area Closures Adjacent to South Africa's Penguin Breeding
Colonies and the Decline in the Penguin Population (Expert Review Panel).
2. On 4 August 2023, you convened a meeting at which you announced the

publication of the Expert Review Panel's Report as well as your decision
regarding Island Closures (Closure Decision). The Closure Decision
contemplated, inter a/ia, the "fishing industry" and "conservation sector"
studying the Expert Panel's Report and seeking "agreement on fishing
limitations".
3. Our understanding of this aspect of the Closure Decision was that it

contemplated further negotiations between the "fishing industry" and
"conservation sector" to reach agreement on the nature and extent of Island
Closures, failing which the existing, interim closures would remain in place for
the next ten years (subject to a six-year review).
4. The Conservation Sector Group (including those seabird scientists engaged in

the process to date) has now had an opportunity to study the Expert Review
Panel Report. We have also, in the period since 4 August 2023, attempted to
engage with those stakeholders in the fishing industry in respect of whom ~
are to seek discussion and agreement on Island Closures in light of ti(~ 44
findings and recommendations of the Expert Review Panel.
5. While the Conservation Sector Group includes all key stakeholders from the
conservation sector which have been engaged with issues regarding African
Penguin population survival, the identity of all relevant stakeholders in the
"fishing industry" is not apparent - although it is clear that not all holders of
small pelagic fishing rights have been involved in discussions to date. This
information is, further, not available to the Conservation Sector Group.
6. Accordingly on 19 September 2023, Craig Smith of the Conservation Sector

Group reached out to DDG: Fisheries Management in the Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Department) to obtain the
information necessary to ensure that engagements with the fishing industry
are inclusive and that any "agreement" reached is transparent and reflective
of the interests of all small pelagic rights holders. Our request was,
unfortunately, refused and the Conservation Sector Group was directed to
file a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of
2000 (PAIA) to obtain this information.
7. Thus, in this circumstance, we find ourselves in the peculiar position that we

are faced with a process of negotiation or "reaching agreement" which has
been contemplated by the Closure Decision, but which has not been clearly
structured or facilitated by your Department and where we are unable to
obtain the minimum information required to identify the full range of parties
with whom we are to engage. We will address further correspondence to
you on this regard in due course.
8. In the interim, and in the interests of continuing to engage in good faith with
yourself, the Department and all stakeholders interested in small pelagic
fisheries and African Penguin conservation, we kindly ask that you provide
the following minimum information required to give meaningful effect to this
particular aspect ohhe Closure Decision:
a. A list of all vessels in the small pelagic industry fleet including reflecting the
v. Authorized vessels to be used per right holder
vi. The proportion of the sardine and anchovy quota per rights
holder;
vii. Industry association membership;
viii. The landing sites per vessel;
ix. Factories supplied; and
b. A list of all vessels excluded from the Dyer Island Parti_al Closure as at the
date on which interim closures were first designated (1 September 2022) as
well as the date of the Closure Decision (4th August 2023) reflecting the
v. Industry association membership; and 745
vi. Factories serviced.
9. We would appreciate receiving the above information by no later than 9

October 2023, mindful of the short time period contemplated by the Closure
Decision for the conservation sector and fishing industry to reach agreement
on fishing limitations.
Yours sincerely,
Mark D. Anderson
~ae I r-louH: 1 7 HdfPf' Roo d

D un>r-ld WE:",! Goufen g 2 Yt
~
-... -
Priva te Bog .( 6 P1r ~gc wr
, 2 So In A lr,co BirdUfe
l ei • 27 (OJ' I 789 1122
rm •2710111 789 5188
=
E. QJI in IQ bktMe Q.rg .lO
oorli Jf' o,g.zo
Honoro,y ,.olrom. Mis Gorn0r1 Rupert. Dt he,c,ov, Mofoi•MobeP9-. M!t Mart: Shultfewont, Mrs ,ame1o lsdell
746
"AM61 "
Subject: MCE236902 - Letter to Mr Anderson
From: ltebogeng Chiloane <[email protected]>

Sent: Friday, November 24, 2023 10:10 AM
Cc: Janine Buitendag <[email protected] >; Liesl Jacobs <[email protected] >; Saasa Pheeha
<[email protected]>; Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >
Subject: MCE236902 - Letter to Mr Anderson
Dear Mr Anderson
Please receive the attached letter from Minister Creecy for your attention.
Kindly acknowledge receipt thereof.
Regards
ltebogeng Chiloane
Ministry
473 Steve Biko, Arcadia
Pretoria
0083
Tel: 012 399 9142
Cell: 071 5071467
Website: www.environment.gov.za
for~, fisheries
& the environment
Department:
Forestty, F1,sher1es and the Enwonment
1
747
MINISTER
Private Bag X447, Pretoria. 0001, Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Road, Tel: (012) 399 8743
Private Bag X9052, Cape Town, 8000. Tel: (021) 469 1500, Fax: (021) 465 3362
Ref: MCE236902
Mark Anderson
Chief Executive Officer: BirdLife SA
Private Bag X16
Pinegowrie
2123
By email: ceocwbirdlife.org.za
Dear Sir
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING HOLDERS OF SMALL PELAGIC FISHING

RIGHTS FOR PURPOSES OF ENGAGING IN NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING ISLAND CLOSURE.
Your email correspondence dated 02 October 2023 refers.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment appreciates the role that Bird life SA has
played together with other members of the Conservation Sector Group in the development of various
conservation and management measures aimed at protecting the vulnerable seabirds. Most
importantly, all the efforts that have culminated in the process that led to the decision to implement
fishing limitations in the waters around penguin colonies for the benefit of the African penguin. With the
review that has been set to be undertaken in six years, the Department acknowledges that there is
mammoth task ahead that requires further engagements between all affected stakeholders to ensure
that compromises and agreements are reached. You will recall that the Department has made some
undertakings that they will continue to support this process of consultation.
In responding to your correspondence, the request for information as was submitted to the Department
by Mr. Craig Smith, could not be acceded to as there are requirements in terms of the law where it
pertains to the sharing of third-party information that is in possession of the State. The Protection of
Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) which came into effect on July 1, 2021 is a data protection
and privacy law in South Africa that governs the processing of personal information and places
restrictions on the sharing and handling of personal information. One of the fundamental principles of
POPIA is that personal information may only be processed with the consent of the data subject (the
person to whom the information pertains) and when sharing such information that is considered to be
The processing of personal information by the Departmenl of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is done lawfully and not excessive
to the purpose of processing in compliance with the POPI Act, any codes of conduct issued by the Information Regulator in terms of the I.\-..,\
POPI Act and/or relevanl legislation providing appropriate security safeguards for the processing of personal information of others fl
748
DELEGATION OF POWERS IN TERMS OF SECTION 79 OF THE MARINE LIVING RESOURCES
ACT, 1998 (ACT NO. 18 OF 1998)
personal information, the Department must process it in a lawfully and reasonable manner that does not
infringe on the privacy of individuals. This includes obtaining the explicit .consent of the data subject,
unless another legal basis for processing applies. Sharing of this personal information, especially
sensitive personal information, should be done in accordance with the conditions set out in POPIA,
ensuring that the rights and privacy of individuals are protected. Under POPIA, personal information is
defined broadly and includes any information that can identify an individual, such as names, ID·
numbers, contact information, medical records, and more. Promotion of Access to Information Act
(PAIA) should also be taken into consideration when accessing and releasing this information.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the law by the Department may result in penalties, fines, and
legal consequences. Taking into consideration the relevant provisions of PAIA. as well as the POPIA, it
is for this reason that the same advice is given to Birdlife SA that the request for information should be
submitted to the Department in terms of PAIA so as th·e request can be processed in line with the
provisions of the Act. BirdlifeSA is advised to contact the Department's Customer Service Centre for
the necessary required Application forms so as you can be able to request the required information.
The Department's Customer Service Centre can be contacted on Tel: 086 000 3474 or email:
[email protected] .za
Alternatively, the industry can also be engage through the South African Pelagic Fishing Industry
Association (SAPFIA), which is a legally recognised industrial body which represents a large number of
Rights Holder in the small pelagic sector. SAPFIA can be contacted on: Tel: +27 21 425 2727 or email:
[email protected]
Yours sincerely,
~~
MS B D CREECY, MP
DATE: ·i,:>) ll \--zq,1
749
"AM62"
< [email protected] >
Sent: Tuesday, 17 October 2023 10:23
To: Ashley Naidoo
Cc: Alistair Mcinnes; Lauren Waller; Smith, Craig
Subject: RE: Planning for tehe meeting on teh 24th
Attachments: Assessment of interim closures for African Penguins_20231017 (final clean).pdf
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for your email below.

We will revert regarding next week's meeting once everyone is back from leave.
As mentioned on the phone, attached is our assessment on the closures for African penguins using the International
Panel Review Report recommended methodology, that we will send this afternoon to Minister Creecy.
Thanks again for your continued assistance in the process.
Kind regards,
Lorien

Sent: Tuesday, 17 October 2023 09:07
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; csmith <[email protected]>;
Riedau <[email protected]>
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
Subject: Planning for tehe meeting on teh 24th
Dear Lauren, Lorien, Alistair, Craig and Riedau (Gcobani and Gerhard copied)
Riedau before continuing, I should explain what this planned meeting is. After some
emails from the conservation representatives querying the interpretation and
implementation of the Panel Report, I offered an exploratory discussion so that all of
us are on the same page. From my side you are certainly welcome to join this planned
session on the 24th . (Suggested timing from 1000 to 1300?)
Then for the Conservation reps in particular my offer for agenda items are below.
Please can I ask you to edit/add to these by Friday morning when I will finalise the
agenda and send out the invite.
1
750
1. The Operations of roles of DFFE
a. DFFE (AN)
2. Interpretation of the Report - key points
a. Conservation Reps (combined or individually)
b. DFFE
3. Implementation of the Minister's Decision
a. Representation - Decision maker
4. Other
a. Engaging the DFFE and expectations
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Thursday, 12 October 2023 at 09:20
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, [email protected]
<[email protected] >, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, csmith
<[email protected] >, Riedau <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
HI Ashley
Many thanks for your email.
Just to note that I now have a commitment on 24th October from 10:00 -11:00 that I cannot shift, so if we could meet
before or after that I'd greatly appreciate it.
Key on the Agenda would be for the Department to provide the rationale and process followed for the decision made on
interim closures unless the stakeholders can come to an alternative agreement. This in the context of the
recommendations of the panel report that the department had available to inform its decision making and our
uncertainty as to why another process is needed.
With grateful thanks

Lauren
From: Ashley Naidoo <ANa [email protected] >

Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2023 9:47 AM
To: [email protected] ; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] .za >; csmith <[email protected] >;
Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected] .za >
2
751
Dear Riedau, Alistair, Craig, Lauren and Lorien (Gerhard and Gcobani copied)
Over the last week while I was away I received emails from some of you. Now that I
am back, I want to acknowledge and appreciate those emails. Please give a me a few
days to plan our engagements over the next weeks. I am hoping that these
engagements will answer/clarify the issues that some of you raised in your recent
emails.
Thank you
Ashley N
3
752
The potential for interim purse-seine fisheries restrictions to alleviate resource competition around
African Penguin colonies: assessment based on International Review Panel Report
recommendations
Alistair Mclnnes, 1•2 Eleanor A Weideman,1 Lauren Waller, 3A Lorien Pichegru, 2 Richard Sherley,5 Craig
Smith, 6 Katrin Ludynia, 4•7 Tegan Carpenter-Kling,2 Christina Hagen,1 Peter Barham, 4•9 Nicky Stander,7
Lynne Shannon 10
1 Seabird Conservation Programme, Birdlife South Africa
2 Institutefor Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University
3 Endangered Wildlife Trust
4 Department of Biodiversity & Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape,
5 Centre for Ecology and Conservation and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, UK
6
World-Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa
7 Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds
9 School of Physics, University of Bristol
10
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
17 October 2023
1. Executive Summary
1.1. In this analysis, we use the guidelines in terms of a trade-off mechanism provided by the
International Review Panel Report (IRPR) 1 to compare the benefits to African Penguins and costs
to the fishing industry for: (a) penguin foraging ranges; (b) core penguin foraging areas; (c) the 20
km closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment {ICE); and (d) the interim closures
that are currently in place.
1.2. The core African Penguin foraging area was defined using the "marine Important Bird Area
method using Area Restricted Search" (mlBA-ARS). This methodology was recognised by the IRPR
as representing the best scientific basis for delineating preferred foraging areas of African
Penguins during breeding.
1.3. Following IRPR recommendations, trade-off analyses were assessed for three colonies: Dassen
Island, Robben Island and Stony Point. We have not included trade-off analyses for St Croix and
Bird Islands as permit conditions have already been amended pursuant to the IRPR process. In
addition, the split-zone configuration of the interim closure around Dyer Island precluded us from
assessing trade-offs for this colony due to a lack of fishery cost data.
1.4. In the case of Robben Island and Stony Point, interim closures protect only 43% and 30% of African
Penguins' core foraging areas respectively. The interim closure in place around Dassen Island
excludes a critical portion of this breeding colony's northern core foraging area. Therefore, these
interim closures are highly unlikely to mitigate resource competition between African Penguins
and purse-seine fisheries.
1
Punt, A.E., Furness, R.W., Parma, A.M., Plaganyi-Lloyd, E., Sanchirico, J.N., Trathan, P.N. (2023) Report of the
international review panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin breeding colonies
and declines in the penguin population. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). ISBN:
978-0-621-51331-8.
1
753
1.5. By contrast, results of the trade-off analyses recommended by the IRPR and illustrated below
show that implementing closures around core African Penguin foraging areas (i.e. using the mlBA-
ARS approach) 2 will incur very little, and in some instances negligible, costs to the fishing industry.
1.6. Closures need to incorporate more representative portions ofthe African Penguins' core foraging
areas to be biologically meaningful. This document makes proposals to this effect and illustrates
that, in most instances, following the IRPR's recommended methodology results in closing more
representative African Penguin foraging areas with little cost to the fishing industry.
2. Introduction and Background

2.1. On 4 August 2023, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister) announced
the publication of the Report of the international review panel regarding [purse-seine] fishing
closures adjacent to South Africa's African Penguin breeding colonies and declines in the penguin
population (IRPR). 3 In the same announcement, she stated that "If there is agreement on fishing
limitations over the next few weeks or months across these sectors, these will be implemented as
they are agreed upon. If no alternate fishing limitation proposals are concluded by the start of
the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season (January 15 th 2024} the current interim fishing limitations
will continue until the end of the 2033 Fishing Season, with a review in 2030 after six years of
implementation from the start of the 2024 fishing season". 4
2.2. The interim closures were originally implemented in September 2022 around six African Penguin
colonies as a temporary measure pending the conclusion and release of the IRPR.s The scientific
basis for defining these areas has not been published or otherwise communicated by the Minister
or the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
2.3. The IRPR provided recommendations for a trade-off mechanism to help identify closure extents
that would maximise benefits to African Penguins while minimising costs to the purse-seine
fishing industry.
2.4. In this document, we provide the results of an assessment of different proposals, using the trade-
off methodology that was recommended by the IRPR. We apply this trade-off methodology to
three colonies (Dassen Island, Robben Island and Stony Point) which comprise three of the
remaining six large African Penguin breeding colonies in South Africa that were assessed in the
IRPR. St Croix Island and Bird Island colonies have amended permits in place with effect from 1
September 2023 pursuant to the IRPR process. They have therefore not been included in the
trade-off assessments. The split-zone configuration 6 currently in place as the interim closure
around Dyer Island requires updated fisheries cost data. Dyer Island has, thus, also been omitted
from the trade-off analysis.
2.5. We compare the potential for alleviating resource competition between African Penguins and
purse-seine fishing between: (a) penguin foraging ranges (see further 4.1.6 below); (b) core
penguin foraging areas using the mlBA-ARS methodology (see further 4.1.7 below); (c) the 20 km
2
Ibid.
3
DFFE (4 August 2023) Media Statement: Science Based Measures are now being implemented to protect the
critically endangered African Penguins, says Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy,
available online < https://www.dffe.gov.za/node/2001> (last accessed 5 October 2023).
4
Ibid.
5
DFFE (2022) Media Statement: Interim Fishing Closures and Limitations around Key Penguin Colonies, available
online <https://www.dffe.gov.za/lnterim-fishing-closures-and-limitations-around-key-penguin-colonies> (last
accessed 5 October 2023).
6
i.e two zones, one that restricts all purse-seine fishing and one that restricts fishing to vessels~ 26m in length.
2
754
closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment; and (d) the interim closures that are
currently in place.
2.6. For each colony we provide maps of the different closure extents in relation to African Penguin
foraging tracks (from GPS devices attached on chick-rearing African Penguins) and the foraging
range (UD90, i.e. see 4.1.6 below); calculate the proportion of the core African Penguin foraging
areas (i.e. the mlBA-ARS) within the current interim closure extents; and provide trade-off curves
which show the area of each closure versus the estimated cost to industry, following methods
recommended by the IRPR.
2.7. The decline by approximately 40% of the South African African Penguin population over the past
six years (2018 to 2023)7 highlights the urgency of implementing effective conservation measures
which maximise benefits to the African Penguin.
3. Key findings of the International Review Panel Report (IRPR)
The following key findings of the IRPR are relevant to the selection of optimal closure designs:
3.1. Decisions on closure designs should be colony-specific given the differences in African Penguin
foraging areas and costs to fisheries around each colony. 8
3.2. The Opportunity-based Model (OBM) and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) used by consultants
commissioned by the South African Pelagic Fishing Industrial Association to estimate the costs to
the fishing industry of different closure delineations, likely overestimate the actual costs but can
be used in a relative sense to rank different closure options. 9
3.3. Cof1servation actions should be spread throughout the range of the species. 10
3.4. Closures should be in place throughout the year and should be implemented for a period that can
adequately assess the impacts of fisheries restrictions on survival and recruitment. 11
3.5. Closures that reflect valuable African Penguin foraging areas will have greater benefits than those
that close less valuable foraging areas.12
3.6. Closures based on the mlBA-ARS methodology represent the best scientific basis for delineating
preferred foraging areas during breeding. 13
3.7. Closure areas should be selected based on the suitability of these delineations to evaluate the
effectiveness of alleviating resource competition on African Penguins. 14
3.8. It is desirable to identify a solution that minimizes societal costs and maximizes benefits to African
Penguins; however, an optimal solution between competing objectives is not simply obtained by
closing 50 percent of any given area. 15
7
We note that the monitoring and evaluation review period for the closures to be put in place is six years. It is
striking that within the last six-year period, population decline has been dramatic.
8
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
9
IRPR, Sec. 3.3, pg. 31; Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
lO IRPR, Sec. 4.4. pg. 36.
11
IRPR. Sec. 4.1. pg. 33.
12
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
13
IRPR, Sec. 4.3., pg. 34.
14
IRPR, Sec. 4.1., pg. 33.
15
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
755
4. Applying the trade-off mechanism recommended by the IRPR to African Penguin colonies and
assessing the suitability of current interim closures in light of the IRPR's findings
4.1. Methods
4.1.1. The IRPR outlines a trade-off mechanism, i.e. using a trade-off curve, to select closures that
minimise societal costs and maximise benefits to African Penguins. The point at which the
change in African Penguin benefits matches the change in costs to society (based on the OBM
model} is recommended as a potential reference point to guide the selection of optimal
closures.
4.1.2 . The IRPR provides examples of these trade-off curves for six of the largest penguin colonies. 16
These include various closure options proposed since 2021 and their corresponding
estimated costs to fisheries for each small pelagic fish stock relevant to each specific colony.
4.1.3. As referenced above, the IRPR notes that the OBM and SAM (which were used to estimate
the above-mentioned costs} likely overestimate costs to fishery, by an unknown magnitude.
4.1.4. The interim closures implemented by DFFE in 2022 include a mix of closures proposed by
DFFE during 2021 17 and those selected by the Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living
Resources (CAF} in 2022. 18
4.1.5. In the following analysis, we have adopted the trade-off mechanism, recommended in the
IRPR, i.e. measuring benefits to African Penguins versus relative costs to fisheries.
4.1.6. For each colony, we have compared the relative costs to fisheries against: (a} African
Penguins' full foraging range without outliers (i.e. UD90}; 19 (b} African Penguins' core foraging
area (i.e. mlBA-ARS, see further below}; (c} the interim closures; and (d} 20km closures used
during the ICE. 20
4.1.7. Core African Penguin foraging areas were estimated using methods to determine marine
Important Bird Areas (mlBA} 21 using the Area Restricted Search (ARS} methodology to align
the delineations of closures to the foraging behaviour of the penguins. 22 The mlBA-ARS
16
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 37.
17
Coetzee, J.C., Makhado, A., van der Lingen, C.D., Ebrahim, z., Kock, A., Lawrence, C., and Shabangu, F.W.
(2021) African Penguin colony closures: Finding a balance between minimizing costs to the small pelagic fishing
industry while maximizing coverage of foraging area for breeding African Penguins. DFFE Document
O&C/2021/SEP/Extended Penguin TT/01.
18
Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) (2022) Special Project Report on Penguin and Small Pelagic Fishery
Interactions by the Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources.
19
UD90 refers to ml BA using a 90% kernel utilisation distribution (see Mcinnes, A.M., Weideman, E., Waller, L.,
Sherley, R., Pichegru, L., Ludynia, K., Hagen, C., Barham, P., Smith, C., Kock, A., and Carpenter-Kling, T. (2023)
Purse-seine fisheries closure configurations for African Penguin conservation: methods and considerations for
optimal closure designs. Document FP/PANEL/WP/09 presented to the Panel in June 2023).
20
Punt et al. supra.
21
Lascelles, B. G., Taylor, P. R., Miller, M. G. R., Dias, M . P., Oppel, S., Torres, L., Hedd, A., Le Corre, M., Phillips, R.
A., Shaffer, S. A., Weimerskirch, H., & Small, C. (2016) Applying global criteria to tracking data to define important
areas for marine conservation . Diversity and Distributions, 22(4), 422-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12411;
Dias, M. P., Carneiro, A. P. B., Warwick-Evans, V., Harris, C., Lorenz, K., Lascelles, B., Clewlow, H. L., Dunn, M. J.,
Hinke, J. T., Kim, J. H., Kokubun, N., Manco, F., Ratcliffe, N., Santos, M ., Takahashi, A., Trivelpiece, W., & Trathan,
P. N. (2018) Identification of marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for penguins around the South
Shetland Islands and South Orkney Islands. Ecology and Evolution, 8(21), 10520-10529.
22
Lascelles et al. supra; Mcinnes et al. supra
4
756
method was recommended by the IRPR as the preferred methodology for delineating
important African Penguin foraging areas (see 3.6 above).
4.1.8. We have used the median cost from the OBM model (i.e. where each set could be reused
five times - refer to section 3 of the IRPR for details) to assess the relative impact of different
closure options for each colony and catch-type (see 4.1.9 below). 23
4.1.9. For each colony we provide trade-off curves for four types of catch: (a) directed anchovy; (b)
directed sardine; (c) sardine bycatch; and (d) redeye. Sardine and anchovy are the principal
prey of African Penguins, although redeye is also targeted to a lesser degree. 24
4.1.10. Identification of the point at which the change in African Penguin benefits matches the
change in costs to society could not be assessed quantitatively due to a lack of corresponding
fisheries cost data which could facilitate fitting a curve to different closure options related to
penguin tracking data.
4.1.11. We note that in respect of Dyer Island, the lack of fishery cost data for the spliNone scenario
for the interim closure around this colony prevents us from assessing trade-offs at this stage.
In respect of St Croix and Bird islands, fishing permits have been amended (pursuant to the
IRPR process). 25 Therefore, these fishing closures are reflected below without additional
analysis for the sake of completeness.
4.2. Colony assessments
4.2.1. Dassen Island

a) The existing interim closure around Dassen Island (shown as the red line in Figure 1A)
omits a significant area in the northern portion ofthe African Penguins' core foraging
area i.e. the mlBA-ARS (shown as the dark green line).
b) This northern area is critical to African Penguins from this colony. First, it forms part of
their core foraging area proximate to the Dassen Island breeding grounds. Second,
small-pelagic fishing within this northern portion of the mlBA-ARS is likely to have
downstream effects on prey availability for African Penguins in the remainder of their
core foraging area due to the southward movement of anchovy recruits between May
and August which also corresponds to the core breeding season for penguins from this
colony.
c) The interim closure is therefore assessed as not being adequately representative of

important African Penguin foraging area for this colony, as per the recommendation
of the IRPR.
d) By contrast, the relative regional cost to fisheries for anchovy, sardine and redeye is
low for both the mlBA-ARS and the interim closure options (see Figure 1B below).
23
The IRPR states that the OBM overestimates costs to the industry by an unknown amount, and that the
results of the OBM should be used to compare different closure options in a relative sense. We have used the
middle ground point estimate as reflected in the IRPR (see IRPR, Figs 4.4 & 4.5, pg. 37). •
24
Crawford, R. J. M., Altwegg, R., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Durant, J. M., Dyer, B. M., Geldenhuys, D., Makhado,
A. B., Pichegru, L., Ryan, P. G., Underhill, L. G., Upfold, L., Visagie, J., Waller, L. J., & Whittington, P. A. {2011)
Collapse of South Africa's penguins in the early 21st century. African Journal of Marine Science, 33(1), 139-156.
https:// doi .org/10.2989/1814232X.2011.5 72377.
25
Permit Conditions: Pelagic Fish Anchovy and Sardine Fisheries: 2023. Fishing Season 2023. Date of Approval:
31 August 2023. Issued in terms of section 13 of thee Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) by
the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
5
757
e) As a consequence, and following the IRPR recommendations set out in paragraphs 3.5-
3.8 above, it is recommended that the mlBA-ARS closure option be used.
Figure 1A
-32.6
15 30km
-32.8
-33.0
Q) Foraging range (UD90)

"g -33.2
Interim closure
·...Jiii"" Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
-33.4
I 20 km closure
-33.6
-33.8
-34.0
,--~-- . - . - ,,•- - : - .........-.:-•H ·<o•'~"'- - . . . - - -
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6.
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Dassen Island in relation to African Penguin fo raging tracks (thin grey lines).
Figure 1B
Anchovy Directed sardine Redeye Bycatch sardine

regional catch " 174kt regional catch = 4.4kt regional catch :a 34kt regional catch :: 8.5kt
0
0
- -, - - -
25
( " - --r-
50 75 100 0
·· -,,---- ~- .....,,
25 50 75
'I'"
100 0
....,.._~.~........,......,.
25 50
✓ 'T' -"'"'-,--
75 100 0 25
• 50
4r·,-
75
C
-·,,-
100
Proportion foraging range (UD90)
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim T 20km closure
Trade-off curve for Dassen Island showing the proportion of penguin foraging range covered by each closure option and
the associated catch loss for four different stocks as estimated by the OBM using data for 2011-2020. Catch loss is shown
as a percentage of the regional catch (west of Cape Point). Note that the IRPR states that the OBM overestimates the catch
loss and can thus only be used to rank closure options in a relative sense.
6
758
4.2.2. Robben Island

a) The existing interim closure surrounding Robben Island (shown as the red line in Figure
2A) is the existing portion of the fully restricted Marine Protected Area which already
excludes fishing for sardine, anchovy and red-eye. 26
b) The interim closure includes only 43% of the penguins' core foraging area (mlBA-ARS,
shown as the dark green line in Figure 2A).

important penguin foraging area for this colony, as per the recommendation of the
IRPR.
d) By contrast, the relative regional cost for anchovy, sardine and redeye is low for both
the mlBA-ARS closure option and the 20 km closure option (shown as the hatched
black line in Figure 2A). The comparison of the relative costs is shown in Figure 28
below.
e) The 20 km closure option includes 100% of the mlBA-ARS closure but also includes a
greater proportion (83%) of the African Penguins' foraging range which is shown as
the light green line around this colony in Figure 2A. See the comparative areas set out
in Figure 28 below.
f) Although the 20 km closure option affords African Penguins greater foraging area
benefits, it incurs a slightly greater cost to fisheries. As a consequence, and following
the IRPR recommendations set out in paragraphs 3.5-3.8 above, it is recommended
that the mlBA-ARS closure option be used.
Figure 2A
-32.5
-33.0
~
P, Foraging range (UD90)
I Interim closure
.a
j -33.5 CJ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ MPA
_ I 20 km closure
-34.0
-,-
'
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Robben Island in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
26
See National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57/2003): Notice declaring the Robben Island . A
Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the Act (GN774 in GG42478 of 23 May 2019). f\ V"''
t-{,
7
759
Figure 2B

regional catch= 174kt regional catch = 4.4kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch= 8.5kt
0
<-r---,----,----.-----r-'
0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim 'Y 20km closure
Trade-off curve for Robben Island showing the proportion of penguin foraging range covered by each closure option and
4.2.3 . Stony Point

a) The interim closure around Stony Point (shown as the red line in Figure 3A) includes
only 30% of the African Penguins' core foraging area (mlBA-ARS, shown as the dark
green line in Figure 3A). The interim closure therefore does not provide adequate
protection of important penguin foraging area for this colony. In addition, it does not
accord with the IRPR recommendations reflected in paragraph 3.8 above.
b) By contrast, the relative regional cost for anchovy, sardine and redeye is negligible to
low for both the interim and mlBA-ARS closure options as illustrated in Figure 3B
below.
c) As a consequence, and following the IRPR recommendations set out in paragraphs 3.5-
3.8 above, it is recommended that the mlBA-ARS closure option be used. This
approach, based on best-available science, would support the objective of population
recovery at this colony which is well-situated for enhanced conservation measures as
well as providing economic benefits through tourism. 27
27
IRPR, Sec. 4.5, pg. 38.
760
Figure 3A
-33.8
-34.0
Foraging range (UD90)
Q)
'O Interim closure
2
i -34.2 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
-'
MPA
I 20 km closure
-34.4
\
-34.6
,- - ,- - - - . - -
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Stony Point in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
Figure 3B
Anchovy Directed sardine Redeye Bycateh sardine

regional caich = 39kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch = 12kt regional catch = 1.4kt
15
~:2
.Q 0
:§ 1§ 10
~~
__I
'O 0
a, ·-
- 0)
~~5
~~
w O •
'-,--' - - r - •
.,.--.-----...-
_/
- ~- r - -- ~ c-r~·---r '-r---r-- -.--- --.-- -

0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim .,, 20km closure
·- .. --- ,. -··
Trade-off curve for Stony Point showing the area of each closure option and the associated catch loss for four different
stocks as estimated by the OBM using data for 2011-2020. Catch loss is shown as a percentage of the regional catch (Cape
Point to Agulhas) . Note that the IRPR states that the OBM overestimates the catch loss and can thus only be used to rank
closure options in a relative sense.
9
761
4.2.4. Dyer Island

a) The existing interim closure around Dyer Island includes two zones: (i) an inshore zone
which is completely restricted to all purse-seine fishing (shown as the solid red line in
Figure 4); and (ii) an offshore zone that only excludes purse-seine vessels ~ 26m in
. • length (shown as the hatched red line in Figure 4).
b) The costs to fisheries have not been estimated for the split-zone interim closure
scenario for this colony. It is therefore recommended that the relative costs to industry
be calculated on the basis of this scenario before assessing the relative trade-offs.
Figure 4
-34.2
-34.4
G)
P, Foraging range (UD90)
3
-0 I Interim closure (partial)
::,
-34.6 CJ Interim closure (strict)
~ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
_ I 20 km closure
-34.8
-35.0
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Dyer Island in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
The dashed red line indicates the partial interim closure that is open to vessels <26m, while the area inside the solid red
line is closed to all vessels.
4.2.5 . St Croix Island

a) The conditions of the small pelagic fishing permits for this colony have been amended
by the DFFE with effect from 1 September 2023.
b) The amended closure extent is depicted as the orange line in Figure 5.
10
762
Figure 5
-33.6
-33.7
-33.8
Q)
-0 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ -33.9
(ti MPA
...J
': I 20 km closure
-34.0 Final closure (2023)
-34.1
-34.2 ,
L .....,,,,_ - _ .. r - -
25.4 25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2
Longitude
Map showing the closure (orange line) around St Croix Island (as reflected in the permits) in relation to African Penguin
foragin tracks (thin grey lines).
4.2 .6. Bird Island

Figure 6
-33.4
-33.6

Q)
~ -33.8 MPA
I 20 km closure
Final closure (2023)
-34.0
-34.2
'
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4
~
26.6 26.8 27.0

Longitude
Map showing the closure (orange line) around Bird Island (as reflected in the permits) in relation to African Penguin
foragin tracks (thin re lines.
5. Conclusion
5.1. The interim closures currently in place have little to no benefit for African Penguins in terms of
reducing current resource pressure . By contrast, the interim closures incur low to negligible costs
to the fishing industry at the expense of protecting African Penguin populations. This is contrary
~L
~"' .
11
763
to the recommendations of the IRPR and an inappropriate trade-off to maximise benefits to

penguins while minim_ising societal costs.
5.2. It is clear that interim closures do not follow IRPR recommendations, given that they have been
shown in this report to be inadequate in their capacity to mitigate resource competition to African
Penguin survival and recruitment. As a consequence, the proposed six-year review {which is
intended to enable assessment of the efficacy of biologically meaningful closures) will not achieve
its objective. Further, this approach would be contrary to the best-available scientific
methodology and data currently available and as identified by the IRPR.
5.3. We propose a scenario for each of the three colonies assessed here that would be suitable to
evaluate the benefits of closures to mitigate resource competition to African Penguins within the
next six to ten years.
12
764
"AM63"
To: Mark Anderson
Subject: RE: POTENTIAL FOR INTERIM PURSE-SEINE FISHERIES RESTRICTIONS TO ALLEVIATE
RESOURCE COMPETITION AROUND PENGUIN COLONIES
From: Sylvester Pandelane <[email protected]>

Sent: Friday, October 20, 2023 2:10 PM
Cc: Janine Buitendag <[email protected]>; Liesl Jacobs <[email protected] >; ltebogeng Chiloane
<[email protected]>; Buchule Mbuli <[email protected] >; Nomonde Magagula <[email protected] >;
Lee-Anne Levendal <[email protected] >
Subject: FW: POTENTIAL FOR INTERIM PURSE-SEINE FISHERIES RESTRICTIONS TO ALLEVIATE RESOURCE COMPETITION
AROUND PENGUIN COLONIES
Good day
On behalf of the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms B D Creecy, MP, I acknowledge with thanks
receipt of your correspondence, in the above regard.
Regards
Liesl Jacobs
Assistant Appointment Secretary and Administration Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
012 399 8515
066143 8859

Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 3:49 PM
To: Barbara Creecy <[email protected] >
Cc: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; Lee-Anne Levendal <[email protected]>; Du Plessis, Morne
<[email protected] >; Natalie Maskell <[email protected] >; [email protected] ; Yolan
Friedmann <[email protected] >
Subject: POTENTIAL FOR INTERIM PURSE-SEINE FISHERIES RESTRICTIONS TO ALLEVIATE RESOURCE COMPETITION
AROUND PENGUIN COLONIES
Please see the attached letter and Assessment for your attention.
Regards
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
1
765
_)J,
BirdLife
:O.Ol T II \fUI ( \
011flng CottHl'Yotlo Wing•
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Fax: +27 (0) l 1 789 5188
Cell: +27 (OJ 82 788 0961
E-mail: ceo @ birdlife.org.za
Donations to Birdlife South Africa may contribute to your B-BBEE scorecard as we ore fully SED compliant in terms of the B-BBEE Act. We are
-
)it
BirdU
-
~ appi
_ l o ) ' ... TOYOTA
I JCDecaux
2
766
Bi~ife
SOlil'll l;FHICA
Giving Conservation Wings
ENDANGERED
WILDLIFE TRUST
Pflll•tlin9~-..eJ.l,;,!1,:ltl~(
NELS e N M A.NDELA
~ ~
SANCCOB"
saves seabirds
WWF"'
17 October 2023


Chief of St~ff: Office of the Minister
[email protected]
Dr Ashley Naidoo
[email protected]
RE: POTENTIAL FOR INTERIM PURSE-SEINE FISHERIES RESTRICTIONS TO ALLEVIATE RESOURCE

COMPETITION AROUND PENGUIN COLONIES
1. We write to you on behalf of the Conservation Sector Group, represented by Birdlife South Africa,
the Endangered Wildlife Trust, SANCCOB, WWF South Africa, and Professor Lorien Pichegru
(Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University). The purpose of this
correspondence is to share the attached assessment of the potential for interim purse-seine
fisheries restrictions to alleviate resource competition around African Penguin colonies
(Assessment).
2. In the period since your announcement regarding Island Closures on 4 August 2023, the
Conservation Sector Group has carefully studied the Expert Review Panel's Report as contemplated
in your announcement. We consider this Report to be scientifically robust and well balanced, and
we support its key findings of relevance to the selection of optimal closure designs and the
methodology to be employed.
3. The attached Assessment was undertaken in light of the Expert Review Panel's recommendations
and demonstrates the relative costs and benefits of the interim closures and Expert Review Panel's
recommended methodology. We share the Assessment with you in the interest of taking pro-
active steps and maintaining the spirit of cooperation with which we have engaged with your
Department and industry to date. We trust that your Department will share it with the relevant
stakeholders in the fishing industry (as well as others in respect of which the island closures have
an impact).
767
4. We flag that seabird scientists have relied on the Expert Review Panel's findings, and its
recommended approach to analysing trade-offs, to assess the suitability of three of the current
interim closures relative to the Expert Review Panel's recommended methodology. The resulting
analysis demonstrates that the interim closures (which are not based on the Expert Review Panel's
recommended methodology for closure design) do not maximise positive outcomes for African
Penguins or represent an appropriate trade-off between benefits to African Penguins and costs to
the fishing industry. By contrast, the methodology recommended by the Expert Review Panel,
when used to design closures in the specific context of each island, is shown to result in closures
which, in most instances, would have little cost to the commercial fishing industry.
5. Given the novel approach taken by the Department in determining the best methodology for
maximum species survival and its potential to set a scientifically-robust precent world-wide, we
also aim to expand this analysis for purposes of submission to a peer reviewed publication
(potentially including a wider range of scientific collaborators).
6. We look forward to engaging further with you and your Department.
Yours sincerely,
Mark D. Anderson
Chief Executive Officer, Birdlife South Africa
...-.:::-·
Yolan Friedmann
Chief Executive Officer, Endangered Wildlife Trust
~
Prof. Lorien Pichegru
Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University
Natalie Maskell
Chief Executive Officer, SANCCOB
Dr Morne du Plessis
Chief Executive Officer, WWF-SA
768
recommendations
Alistair Mclnnes, 1•2 Eleanor A Weideman,1 Lauren Waller, 3•4 Lorien Pichegru, 2 Richard Sherley, 5 Craig
Smith, 6 Katrin Ludynia, 4•7 Tegan Carpenter-Kling,2 Christina Hagen,1 Peter Barham,4•9 Nicky Stander,7
Lynne Shannon 10
3
Endangered Wildlife Trust
4 Department of Biodiversity & Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape,
6 World-Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa

10 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
17 October 2023
km closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment (ICE); and (d) the interim closures
1.4. In the case of Robben Island and Stony Point, interim closures protect only 43% and 30% of African
1
978-0-621-51331-8.
1
769
show that implementing closures around core African Penguin foraging areas (i.e. using the ml BA-
1.6. Closures need to incorporate more representative portions of the African Penguins' core foraging

2.1. On 4 August 2023, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister) announced
population (IRPR). 3 In the same announcement, she stated that "If there is agreement on fishing
the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season (January 15 th 2024) the current interim fishing limitations
colonies as a temporary measure pending the conclusion and release of the IRPR. 5 The scientific
or the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
fishing industry.
three colonies (Dassen Island, Robben Island and Stony Point) which comprise three of the
purse-seine fishing between: (a) penguin foraging ranges (see further 4.1.6 below); (b) core
penguin foraging areas using the mlBA-ARS methodology (see further 4.1.7 below); (c) the 20 km
2
Ibid.
3
available online < https://www.dffe.gov.za/ node/2001> (last accessed 5 October 2023).
4
Ibid.
5
DFFE (2022) Media Statement: Interim Fishing Closures and limitations around Key Penguin Colonies, available
online <https://www.dffe.gov.za/lnterim-fishing-closures-and-limitations-around-key-penguin-colonies> (last A,., .. .A
accessed 5 October 2023). f\ v- \
6
i.e two zones, one that restricts all purse-seine fishing and one that restricts fishing to vessels~ 26m in length. }
t
2
770
closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment; and (d} the interim closures that are
currently in place .
foraging tracks (from GPS devices attached on chick-rearing African Penguins} and the foraging
areas (i.e. the mlBA-ARS} within the current interim closure extents; and provide trade-off curves
six years (2018 to 2023}7 highlights the urgency of implementing effective conservation measures
which maximise benefits to the African Penguin .
3.2. The Opportunity-based Model (OBM} and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM} used by consultants
3.3. Conservation actions should be spread throughout the range of the species. 10
that close less valuable foraging areas.12
effectiveness of alleviating resource competition on African Penguins.14
7
8
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
9
IRPR, Sec. 3.3, pg. 31; Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
10
IRPR, Sec. 4.4. pg. 36.
11
IRPR. Sec. 4.1. pg. 33.
12
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
13
IRPR, Sec. 4.3., pg. 34.
14
IRPR, Sec. 4.1., pg. 33.
15
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
3
771
4.1. Methods
4.1.1. The IRPR outlines a trade-off mechanism, .i.e. using a trade-off curve, to select closures that
model) is recommended as a potential reference point to guide the selection of optimal
closures.
4.1.2. The IRPR provides examples of these trade-off curves for six of the largest penguin colonies. 16
the above-mentioned costs) likely overestimate costs to fishery, by an unknown magnitude.
Resources (CAF) in 2022. 18
4.1.6. For each colony, we have compared the relative costs to fisheries against: (a) African
Penguins' full foraging range without outliers (i.e. UD90); 19 (b) African Penguins' core foraging
area (i.e. mlBA-ARS, see further below); (c) the interim closures; and (d) 20km closures used
during the ICE. 20
Important Bird Areas (m1BA) 21 using the Area Restricted Search (ARS) methodology to align
16
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 37.
17
Coetzee, J.C., Makhado, A., van der Lingen, C.D., Ebrahim, z., Kock, A., Lawrence, C., and Shabangu, F.W.
18
Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) (2022) Special Project Report on Penguin and Small Pelagic Fishery
19
UD90 refers to mlBA using a 90% kernel utilisation distribution (see Mcinnes, A.M., Weideman, E., Waller, L.,
20
Punt et al. supra.
21
Lascelles, B. G., Taylor, P. R., Miller, M. G. R., Dias, M. P., Oppel, S., Torres, L., Hedd, A., Le Corre, M., Phillips, R.
areas for marine conservation. Diversity and Distributions, 22(4), 422-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12411;
Hinke, J. T., Kim, J. H., Kokubun, N., Manco, F., Ratcliffe, N., Santos, M., Takahashi, A., Trivelpiece, W., & Trathan,
22
4
772
five times- refer to section 3 of the IRPR for details) to assess the relative impact of different
4.1.11. We note that in respect of Dyer Island, the lack of fishery cost data for the split-zone scenario

a) The existing interim closure around Dassen Island (shown as the red line in Figure lA)
omits a significant area in the northern portion of the African Penguins' core foraging
colony.

of the IRPR.
low for both the mlBA-ARS and the interim closure options (see Figure lB below).
23
middle ground point estimate as reflected in the IRPR (see IRPR, Figs 4.4 & 4.5, pg. 37).
24
Crawford, R. J.M., Altwegg, R., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Durant, J. M., Dyer, B. M., Geldenhuys, D., Makhado,
A. B., Pichegru, L., Ryan, P. G., Underhill, L. G., Upfold, L., Visagie, J., Waller, L. J., & Whittington, P. A. {2011)
https://doi .org/10.2989/1814232X.2011.572377.
25
Permit Conditions: Pelagic Fish Anchovy and Sardine Fisheries: 2023. Fishing Season 2023. Date of Approval: -A--~
31 August 2023. Issued in terms of section 13 of thee Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) by f\ .,- \
the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. {,
~
5
773
Figure 1A
-32.6
15 30km
-32.8
-33.0
Q) Foraging range (UD90)

g -33.2 Interim closure
·""§ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
-33.4
I 20 km closure
-33.6
-33.8
-34.0
- .,..•.• - - ...,..,..,_ - -.· r ··· .......--•~··-·"·· ) ..,.
, - . . . . . , .- •
17.4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Dassen Island in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
Figure 1B

regional catch= 174kt regional catch " 4.4kt regional catch = 34!\t regional catch = 8.5kt
0
0
r-.,....
25
' -T~ ·•
50 75
~'-'-~''1'
100 0 25 50 75 100 0
~ ✓ '-,-----,-•-.
25 50 75 100 0 25
..,....-4'..,..-~
50 75 100
6
774

shown as the dark green line in Figure 2A).

IRPR.
black line in Figure 2A). The comparison of the relative costs is shown in Figure 28
below.
in Figure 28 below.
Figure 2A
-32.5
-33.0
Q)
I Interim closure
1-33.5 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
..J
MPA
I 20 km closure
-34.0
17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0

Longitude
v.,l ~o,J\
26
See National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57/2003): Notice declaring the Robben Island
Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the Act (GN774 in GG42478 of 23 May 2019).
7
775
Figure 28

regional catch= 174kt regional catch = 4.4kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch = 8.5kt
0
' - - r - - ~ - ~ - -- r '
0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim Y 20km closure
as a percentage of the regional catch (west of Cape Point}. Note that the IRPR states that the OBM overestimates the catch
4.2.3. Stony Point

below.
27
IRPR, Sec. 4.5, pg. 38.
8
776
Figure 3A
-33.8
-34.0
Q)
• Foraging range (UD90)
Interim closure
1-34.2 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
.J
MPA
I 20 km closure
-34.4
-34.6
,,
'
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Stony Point in relation to African Pengu in foraging tracks (thin grey lines) .
Figure 38
Ancnovy
----, ,----------
Directed sardine
--------~
Reaeye
,----------,
Bycatch sardine
regional catch = 39kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch = 12kt regional catch = 1.4kt
15
0 ' - r - --.,-- --,---- ------r--

0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim ,, 20km closure
Point to Agulhas). Note that the IRPR states that the OBM overestimates the catch loss and can thus only be used to rank
9
777
4.2.4. Dyer Island

Figure 4); and (ii) an offshore zone that only excludes purse-seine vessels ;;:: 26m in
length (shown as the hatched red line in Figure 4).
scenario for this colony. It is therefore recommended that the relative costs to industry
Figure 4
-34.2
-34 .4
Cl)
D Foraging range (UD90)
-g ' I Interim closure (partial)
~ -34.6 CJ Interim closure (strict)
t,..! Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
_ I 20 km closure
-34.8
-35.0
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8

Longitude
4.2.5. St Croix Island

10
778
Figure 5
-33.6
-33.7
-33.8
Q)
"O
::,
~ -33.9
IJ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ MPA
_ I 20 km closure
-34.1
-34.2
25.4 25.6 25.8 26.2
Longitude
foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
4.2.6. Bird Island

b) The amended closure extent is _depicted as the orange line in Figure 6.
Figure 6
-33.4
-33.6

Q)
3
"O
::,
·33.8
Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
MPA
I 20 km closure
-34.0
-34.2
- ,- ~ ~
'
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0
Longitude
foraging tracks (thin grey lines.
5. Conclusion
reducing current resource pressure. By contrast, the interim closures incur low to negligible costs
11
779

penguins while minimising societal costs.
Penguin survival and recruitment. As a consequence, the proposed six-year review {which is
intended to enable assessment of the efficacy of biologically meaningful closures) will not achieve
12
780
"AM64"

Sent: Monday, October 30, 2023 1:09 PM
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
Dear Ashley
Further to the meeting hosted by the DFFE on 24 October, we thought it would be helpful to summarise the next steps
suggested by yourself and Alison Kock to give effect to the announcement by the Minister made on 4 August
2023. These steps are rooted in the Minister stating that interim closures would continue while "both the fishing
industry and the conservation sector study the Panel's Report" and that "I/there is agreement on fishing limitations over
the next few weeks or months across these sectors, these will be implemented as they are agreed upon". While we are
happy to support the DFFE in respect of the steps below, we note that there are no formal guidelines governing this
process. We are therefore of the view that it is essential that the DFFE provide the necessary direction and guidance in
light of the purpose of the Minister convening the International Panel.
The steps are as follows:
1) The Governance Forum will be reconstituted to consider the merits of the analyses of the Panel's Report by the
"conservation sector" {already provided to you) and the "fishing industry". As we understand it, Alison's
suggestion allows for an existing forum to consider the merits of both analyses and to then provide an updated
memorandum to the Minister which applies the recommended methodology from the Panel Report. This would
build on the study of the Panel Report by ourselves and fisheries which the Minister contemplated.
2) To facilitate this process, you will circulate our Assessment to Fisheries and invite them to submit their own
assessment of the Panel Report to the DFFE;
3) If helpful to DFFE, a presentation of both assessments would be arranged (along the lines of the presentation
we gave on 24 October) to ensure the Governance Forum is fully appraised of both assessments.
4) The Governance Forum will then consider both assessments and draft a memorandum of their
recommendations to the Minister.
We appreciate your arranging last week's meeting and will await your further engagements regarding implementation
of the Panel's recommendations.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 9:07 AM
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) {Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig
<[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >
1
781
session on the 24th . (Suggested timing from 1000 to 1300?)
1. The Operations of toles of DFFE

a. DFFE (AN)
2. Interpretation of the Report - key points
b. DFFE
4. Other
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
--- ----- -- - - -------

<[email protected] >, Riedau <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
HI Ashley
2
782
Just to note that I now have a commitment on 24 th October from 10:00-11:00 that I cannot shift, so if we could meet

Lauren

To: [email protected]; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; csmith <[email protected] >;
Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
emails.
Thank you
Ashley N
3
783
"AM65"

<[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
• Subject: Re: Planning for tehe meeting on teh 24th
Dear Alistair, Lauren, Lorien, Craig and Katta
Thank you for this. I am having the same meeting as last week, with the Fisheries
Reps this afternoon. Thereafter I will get back to you with some next steps. I will also
confirm whether my reading of the next steps are identical to your summary below. I
must admit that I did not read into the Minister's decision that DFFE will try to find the
common ground here. Optimistically, I was thinking that the sectors will be able to
undertake their own discussions, much like what was attempted by the CE Os of WWF,
Birdlife and SAPFIA last year, but with a more positive outcome.
Having said that I am happy facilitate or at least clarify the Branches role and actions. I
think keeping the discussion going is important. It allows the policy actions to progress
incrementally (albeit slowly) and also keeps the urgent need to act on the boil.
Thank you
Ashley
Ashley Naidoo. Ph.D. I.Chief Director: Ocean & Coasts Research (he/him)
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Monday, 30 October 2023 at 13:08
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
[email protected] <[email protected] >, Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
1
784
Dear Ashley
Further to the meeting hosted by the DFFE on 24 October, we thought it would be helpful to summarise the next steps
suggested by yourself and Alison Kock to give effect to the announcement by the Minister made on 4 August
2023. These steps are rooted in the Minister stating that interim closures would continue while "both the fishing
industry and the conservation sector study the Panel's Report" and that "I/there is agreement on fishing limitations over
the next few weeks or months across these sectors, these will be implemented as they are agreed upon". While we are
happy to support the DFFE in respect of the steps below, we note that there are no formal guidelines governing this
process. We are therefore of the view that it is essential that the DFFE provide the necessary direction and guidance in
light of the purpose of the Minister convening the International Panel.
The steps are as follows:
1) The Governance Forum will be reconstituted to consider the merits of the analyses of the Panel's Report by the
"conservation sector" (already provided to you) and the "fishing industry". As we understand it, Alison's
suggestion allows for an existing forum to consider the merits of both analyses and to then provide an updated
memorandum to the Minister which applies the recommended methodology from the Panel Report. This would
build on the study of the Panel Report by ourselves and fisheries which the Minister contemplated.
2) To facilitate this process, you will circulate our Assessment to Fisheries and invite them to submit their own
assessment of the Panel Report to the DFFE;
3) If helpful to DFFE, a presentation of both assessments would be arranged (along the lines of the presentation
we gave on 24 October) to ensure the Governance Forum is fully appraised of both assessments.
4) The Governance Forum will then consider both assessments and draft a memorandum of their
recommendations to the Minister.
We appreciate your arranging last week's meeting and will await your further engagements regarding implementation
of the Panel's recommendations.
Regards
Alistair

To: Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig
<[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected] >
session on the 24 th . (Suggested timing from 1000 to 1300?)
2
785
1. The Operations of roles of DFFE

a. DFFE (AN)
2. Interpretation of the Report- key points
b. DFFE
4. Other
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

<[email protected]>, Riedau <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
HI Ashley
Just to note that I now have a commitment on 24th October from 10:00 -11:00 that I cannot shift, so if we could meet

Lauren
3
786
To: [email protected]; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; csmith <[email protected] >;
Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected] >
emails.
Thank you
Ashley N
4
787
"AM66"
Sent: Wednesday, 08 November 2023 17:41
To: Alistair Mcinnes
Cc: Lauren Waller; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South); Smith, Craig; Katta
Ludynia; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose; Millicent Makoala
Subject: Re: Joint Meeting on Furtherng Discussions on Small Pelagic and Penguin Interactions
Hi Alistair and colleagues (also added some DFFE colleagues now)
On point three: our discussion at the last meeting was on setting up a joint forum to
take on the work around the Panel's recommendations / the Science Plan emanating
from the Panel report. I suggested that we could use an expanded version of the
current Seabird Task Team, this will now reflect very much the previous Extended
Task Team -to avoid separate discussions at the Small Pelagic Fisheries Working
Group and the Top Predator Working Group - very happy to have further suggestions
on this.
On the doubts in point 4: my interpretation is that a suggestion could be that a new

recommendation be drafted to the Minister, this is what I am not sure about. It could be
that from the next combined discussion there are some consensus (or disputed) points
that could be raised with the Minister. The timing of this will need to be considered,
these discussions will have to reach an end by the mid - December if there is to be
implantation in Jan next year. (Janet and team are on a small pelagic assessment
cruise and Newi and Team are about to head out this week on decommissioning of the
old Marion Base and also the Prince Edward Island long-overdue summer survey -
although there are few emergencies on these that may cause some delays.)
Then on postponing the meeting, I do see your point. In the meeting th~t I held last
week with the Mike C, Riedau and Mike B - they did not think that a document will be
ready by this Friday - hence I proposed they describe what they are doing/planning. I
can check with Mike C tomorrow - if a document is being prepared and if there is
timeline.
Alistair-which email have I not responded to - I may have missed one (or more)-
apologies for this.
Thank you
Ashley
1
788

Date: Wednesday, 08 November 2023 at 11:58
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected]>,
[email protected] <[email protected]>, Katta Ludynia <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Joint Meeting on Furtherng Discussions on Small Pelagic and Penguin Interactions
Hi Ashley
We have considered your proposed meeting and think that given the intention by the fishing sector to produce their own
assessment we feel that the proposed meeting on Friday will be premature until such time as the fishing sector have circulated their
report (I presume you have circulated our report to them - please can you confirm if this is the case?). This will allow for a balanced
engagement whereby both sectors can share their interpretation of the review. It would be helpful to set a deadline for the fishing
sector to send out this report given that the year is closing in and permit conditions will need to be set by DFFE soon.
We are also confused about point 3 - please can you elaborate on what you mean by the Seabird Task Team? Further could you
please clarify the doubts expressed in point 4 - we note that you have not yet responded to our previous email.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Monday, November 6, 2023 4:05 PM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>
<[email protected]>; Smith, Craig <[email protected]>; Katta Ludynia <[email protected]>
Hi Alistair and colleagues
Tentative agenda items for your comment/review:
1. Overview of the document prepared by Conservation Sector

2. Comments on the Panel Report and outlined of planned work (and timing) on
interpreting/using the trade-off mechanism suggested - Fisheries Sector
(Fisheries sector will not have a document ready by Friday but have been
undertaking and planning some work)
3. Working arrangements - combined Seabird task Team and Membership
4. Steps from her to the of the year (i.e. Alison's suggestion does the DFFE task
team prepare summary I recommendation (not sure if this is possible) to the
Minister on the current submissions by the Conservation and Fisheries Sector.
Presumably this will by to be done by end November.
Thank you
Ashley
2
789

Date: Monday, 06 November 2023 at 14:11
Cc: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
[email protected] <[email protected] >, Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
Hi Ashley
Please can you clarify:

• If the process will follow our interpretation of the next steps as discussed in our previous email we sent you
following the 24 November meeting
• What DFFE's role will be in this process
It is not clear from the below email/meeting invite what the actual process is and we would appreciate it if you could
clarify this. Please can you also provide an agenda for this meeting. ·
Alistair
-----Original Appointment-----
Sent: Friday, November 3, 2023 8:25 AM
To: Lauren Waller; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South); Alistair Mcinnes; Smith, Craig; Katta Ludynia; Dr
Mike Bergh; copeland.fishconsult; Matt Horton; Riedau; Alison Kock; Zishan Ebrahim; Cloverley Lawrence; Gerhard
Cilliers; Gcobani Popose; Zimasa Jika; Carl David Van Der Lingen; Fannie Welcome Shabangu; Janet Claire Coetzee;
Makhudu J. Masotla; Azwianewi Makhado
Subject: Joint Meeting on Furtherng Discussions on Small Pelagic and Penguin Interactions
When: Friday, 10 November 2023 09:30-11:30 (UTC+02:00) Harare, Pretoria.
Where: MS TEAMS
Dear Colleagues
This is a first attempt at setting a date for the planned joint meeting where each sector
will provide some thoughts on the Panel Report and possibly offer some
recommendations on future work and policy considerations.
The DFFE will provide options for discussions on working arrangements for
implementation of the Panel recommendations.
Please reply to this invitation for next Friday morning so that I can determine if we
have sufficient participation to continue. (Riedau, I do recall that Fridays are not as
convenient for you and hence if you cannot have representation I can have a bilateral
with you.)
3
790
Thank you
Ashley

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Meeting ID: 387 005 310 075

Passcode: HM FM Fh

[email protected]

11

4
791
"AM67"
2
15 01 I I f!! ' ~ Q I •
f- ~ Redah Purse Se,ne ■• '-.., :

08 November 2023
Hello Lorien, I tried calling but you were

obviously busy and could not respond but
we now need to discuss that mistake tah
took place with the St Croix closure as a
matter of urgency.
Please revert to me at your earliest
convenience.
Riedau. 17:51
I am sorry i am on Malgas island at the

moment working on Cape gannets
18.2 vV
I am not sure why you think it is a

mistake? We accepted the map that you
sent
Oki Doke 18 :24
I~~~ not sure why you think 11 is a mistake?

We accepted the map that you sent
Read my email than you will understand

please.
I think we can w ith all honesty resolve this

amicably in the fashoin that we went into
our discussion about the settlement.
@ tv,essage
111 0 <
I think we can with all honesty resolve this
amicably in the fashoin that we went into
our discussion about the settlement.
18:26
Ill 0 <
792
"AM68"
Sent: Thursday, 09 November 2023 10:13
To: Riedau; Alistair Mcinnes; [email protected]
Cc: Deon Van Zyl; 'Tasneem Wesley'; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South);
Gcobani Popose; Gerhard Cilliers; Dr Mike Bergh
Subject: Planning for the combined meeting and the ml BA 90 shapefiles
Dear Colleagues {now including Mike 8, as Mike C does not seem to getting these
emails.)
I have just had a chat to Mike C. He confirmed that the Fisheries Reps are collating a
document that he can distribute within a day.
Based on this I suggest that the we postpone tomorrow's meeting to next week. This
will allow some time for reading of the document. I am available on Thursday or Friday
morning.
Noting Riedau's Friday commitment, I will reschedule tomorrow's meeting for Thursday
morning 0930 to 1130.
I also suggest then that we add Riedau's item on "correcting" the agreed map.
Riedau, I appreciate your urgency, and I will make some enquiries, in preparation for
next week, offline with you and others involved.
Thank you to all of you for your patience and contributions thus far.
Ashley

Date: Thursday, 09 November 2023 at 08:01
To: Riedau <[email protected]>, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>,
Cc: Deon Van Zyl <[email protected]>, 'Tasneem Wesley' <[email protected]>,
[email protected] <[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>,
Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: mlBA 90 shapefiles
Dear Riedau, Alistair, Mike, Tasneem, Deon and Lorien (Gerhard and Gcobani
included as well.)
I will attempt now to add this "correction" to the agenda for Friday.
1
793
However Alistair, now included in this email, has yesterday suggested a postponement
of the Friday's meeting. Alistair to para-phrase and please correct me if I got you
wrong: you and the conservation representatives would prefer responding to a
document from the fisheries representatives. Preferably this document should be
circulated a few days before the meeting to allow for some time for reviewing.
Today, I was going to check with Mike C if such a document is possible. Mike please
let us know if a document is being contemplated and if yes when will this be ready.
Then we could re-schedule the meeting around that. Alternatively we could go-ahead
with tomorrow's meeting to try to resolve Riedau's urgent issue, and then talk to the
documents and their reviews at a later date. Or we could attempt to just add Riedau's
issue to the existing draft agenda that I have previously sent to you separately for
comment.
Please let me know your preferences today. I will then try to consolidate discussion
and meeting arrangements.
Thank you
Ashley N
From: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>

Cc: Deon Van Zyl <[email protected]>, 'Tasneem Wesley' <[email protected]>,
[email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected]
<[email protected]>
Subject: RE: ml BA 90 shapefiles
Hello Ashley,
Thank you for your response which once again appears to be dodging the real purpose of our settlement agreement
that was to settle on an agreement that was acceptable to both parties.
The interim closure was not acceptable to our Industry and we had not attempted to propose a settlement agreement
at the review meetings while the proposal for a settlement agreement came from conservation with a proposal that we
close only 40% of the existing MIBA 21 that was close at 73% at the time that was not acceptable to us.
At that discussion we agreed to the 40% closure of MIBA 21 decreasing from 73% to 40% and all we were left to do was
agree on the shape of the MAPS not the size of the area with clear agreement that we should discuss same and finalise
with Lorien.
All that had to happen was that conservation had to send us shapes of the MAPS and we had to finalise these shapes
not the area or size.
2
794
Area and size was slightly shifted and increased to 42.17% for navigation purposes and no reference to any other MIBA
other than MIBA 21 that was the MIBA utilised for the interim closure.·
Yes we discussed the closure shape with Lorien according to our agreement with the decreased size of 40% s after
which only discussed this further in a meeting in your presence that resulted in us increasing that to 42.17% for practical
navigation purposes due to shifting the shape and conservation making the kind gesture that they would like to give us
the benefit of utilising our productive area in the West resulting in shifting the MAP slightly towards the East.
When the MAP was presented to us we were under the impression that this MAP relates to MIBA 21 and represents
42.17% of MIBA 21 that was the MIBA used for the interim closure not being aware of the vast movement of the South
line that drastically increased the area to more than 73%.
The MAP we proposed said 40% and Zishan proceeded with drawing the MAP and forwarded it to us but with no clear
references of what percentage closure we are looking at of what MIBA while it was kept from us that the MAP does not
fit the description of our agreement ourselves being under that impression that it refers to MIBA 21.
This only came to our attention when our members brought it to our notice that the closed area had increased instead
of having decreased to 42.17% hence our reason for bringing it to your attention but we have not made any progress
ever since.
Introducing the different other MIBA designs created all the confusion while we were specifically dealing with MIBA 21
this in our opinion is simple error that could have been rectified with all honesty and sincerity relating to our core
agreement of decreasing the closed area from 73% of MIBA 21 to 42.17% by now.
We are not satisfied with your response that appears to be side stepping the fact that the confusions was caused by
introducing MIBA that had no relation to our settlement agreement and has resulted in an area of closure that is by far
greater than the interim closure of 73% while we agreed to decreasing that closed area to 42.17%.
I am including Lorien in this email to start of our discussion about rectifying all the confusion but I certainly feel that we
cannot delay this matter any longer and it should be part of Fridays meeting Agenda.
Kind Regards,
CEO
Ria/Fishing Group
=~
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell: 082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]

Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 4:28 PM
To: Riedau <[email protected]>
3
795
Cc: Deon Van Zyl <[email protected]>; Tasneem Wesley <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: ml BA 90 shapefiles
Dear Riedau, Deon and Tasneem copied
I have had another read through the summary. I must add that in my attempt to send
avoid confusion I had sent out the "agreed map" before implementation in September
to make sure everybody was on the same page. I do take your point that the many
maps may have been confusing. While I sympathise with you, I do not think that I have
the authority to change the current decision on my own.
At the very least this map was agreed at the start between you and Lorien discussing
options, and then by the wider group, Deon, Tasneem, Alistair, Lauren and Craig. This
was developed outside the Department, with myself (with the help of Zishan) helping
with the maps and checking if there was agreement.
I am thinking of ways to assist the process from here. The Conservation Reps (Alistair,
Craig, Lauren (and Lorien now included as your initial discussion was with Lorien on
this matter)) will have to be consulted on your new preferred closure map. They could
agree to your map or offer a counter that could be discussed.
Somebody will need to start this discussion. This could be you, as you initiated the
discussion with Lorien initially, or I could start this with an email that includes
yourselves in this email and the conservation representatives. Let me know if you wish
to start this discussion with the conservation representatives or do you need the DFFE
(me for now) to start this.
I am also meeting with our legal policy advisor tomorrow afternoon to understand what
we as officials can do. I have presented this case to our other senior managers and Dr
Lisolomzi Fikizolo, who also advised that I check what possibilities do exist for us here
to act.
Finally I see this as a slightly separate process to the meeting planned for Friday
which is_ looking specifically what can be done using the Expert Panel Report in this
year and then from the start of the 2024 fishing season. (It may however offer an
opportunity to discuss the interim closures but there will need to be some give and
take on both sides.)
Thank you
Ashley N

Date: Tuesday, 07 November 2023 at 16:02
4
796
To: Riedau <[email protected] >
Cc: Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Riedau, Deon and Tasneem
Riedau, apologies for getting back to you late in the day. I have been through your
email below, but need a little more time to go through some of the history you
summarized below. I seem to understand your issue essentially being the extent of the
interim closure extent. I need to find a way to match this with the initial 42% percent
that there seemed to some agreement on.
I will need another read through this and will get.back to you tomorrow.
Thank you
Ashley
http:l/dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915.77601
+2721493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Tuesday, 07 November 2023 at 08:31
Cc: Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Subject: RE: mlBA 90 shapefiles
Hello Ashley,
Thank you for your response to which I cud not react having had another small procedure since the email but recovering
quite well back at home.
What I referred to in terms of confusion of the different MAPS was that our core focus was based on an agreement that
related to MIBA 21 upon which you increased interim closed area of 73% was based and our total objection was to have
a smaller closed area since the 73% closure really hampered and severely impacted on our fishing.
The purpose of the settlement was a have a win win situation where both parties benefit from a closure that is
acceptable to both industry and conservation that was discussed at our meeting at the review and all our views were
tabled while we objected to the current 73% interim closure having been to large and impacted negatively on our
industry.
We discussed this same area in the settlement meeting proposed by the Chairperson at the review for a settlement
where conservation downscaled their proposal to 40% closure of the existing area instead of the 73% as a settlement
upon which we deliberated and came to an agreement of 42.17%.
This 42.17% was supposed to be implemented in a map based on your 73% Map that was based on MIBA 21 no other
MAPS or MIBA's were discussed our available and relevant at the time .
5
797
But when you sent us the MAPS it created total confusion ourselves being under the impression that all the MAPS were
the same size and utilised the idea of the shape of the MAP which Zishan utilised.
I requested if the map size was the same as the 73% interim MAP utilised and Zishan replied with a yes but mentioned
another name with no clarity or explanation as if it all is the same ourselves being led to believe that we are on the right
road.
We are not sure why the other MAPS were introduced when we were suppose to have been purely focused on the 73%
MAP of MIBA 2021 that is the main cause of all the confusion.
We certainly believe that every body was aware that there was an agenda on the table which was to get a settlement on
decreasing the current interim closure of MIBA 21 form 73% down to 42.17% but nobody stopped for one second to
inform us that the draft of Zishan is much larger and does not fit the description of our agreement for a smaller closed
are.
Ashley all the confusion was created by introducing three different MIBA and MAPS in the finality of our agreement by
yourself and Zishan and we certainly failed it was a major error on your side that should be rectified by your team as
having utilised a different MAP from MIBA 21 which should not have been the case.
I do not see why we have to go back to a negotiation table for this purpose since all we have to do is rectify the error in
terms of MIBA utilise by your department erroneously.
The delay and timing of this matter is once again impacting on our fishing season with our sardine having arrived on our
coast and once again we can get to it because the fish is sitting in an even larger enclosed area.
We kindly request that you speed this matter up as matter of urgency to allow an honest and sincere settlement
agreement to take its course.
Kind R egards,
Chairperson
ESCPA
S001H Af;ICA
LONGLINE
~ N
l
H~
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell.· 082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]

Sent: Thursday, November 2, 2023 9:14 AM
To: Riedau <[email protected] >; Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
6
798
Thank you Riedau, Deon, Tasneem and Mike
I was hoping to touch on this at our meeting on Tuesday. From your previous message
you were suggesting some alternate names for the different map options to avoid
further misreading. Do you have any suggestions on this. I could also look at some
naming options and get back to you early next week.
From here I think the path will be to ask the Conservation groups formally if they will
consider your revised map for consensus. It will be great if there is agreement then the
"new agreement" can be implemented. I am at a bit of a crossroads if there is no
agreement - and will have to check internally with some of my colleagues.
Thank you
Ashley
From: Redah De Maine <redah @rialfishing.co.za >

To: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za >, Tasneem Wesley <twesley@ rialfishin g.co.za >, Deon Van Zyl
<Deon @afrofishing.co.za>
· Cc: mike.copeland @fishconsult.co.za <mike.copeland @fishconsult.co.za >
Hello Ashley,
Apologies for not attending the meeting with industry yesterday but I could not make it to attend due to unforeseen
circumstances.
I refer that we responded to your drawings by Zishan on the 23 rd October and has not had any response to date or
information as to how we and when we will be taking this matter forward with today being the 8th day that has passed
since our response.
Please be so kind as to inform us as to how and when we will proceed with this matter since our fishing season has
started and we certainly wish to have the area rectified as a matter of urgency our outlook having been to benefit from
the smaller closure than the interim closure still this year.
We look forward to your response.
Kind Regards,
Chairperson
ESCPA
SOUTH MR§ ) ~
LONGLINE l
H~
Telephone: 041-5810459/041-5810458 Cell.·082 8551457 Email:[email protected]
7
799
From: Redah De Maine <redah @rialfishing.co.za >

Sent: Monday, October 23, 2023 9:47 AM
To: 'Ashley Naidoo' <ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za >; Tasneem Wesley <twesley@ rialfishing.co.za >; deon @afrofishing.co.za
Cc: '[email protected]' <mike.copeland @fishconsult.co.za >
Hello Ashley,
Thank you for the new drawing done by Zishan in brown that appears to be inline with what we proposed.
I am confused though where the new heading of MIBA 90 shapefiles comes into the discussion because everything
negotiated and discussed was based on MIBA 2021 upon which your interim closure was based.
Maybe it will help if we get some clarity on this new phrasing that is being applied because it certainly is creatin
confusion.
Kind Regards,
CEO
Rial Fishing Group
SOl;TH
LONGLINE
MR
~01
HAKP
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell.- 082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]

Sent: Friday, October 20, 2023 10:14 AM
To: Riedau <redah @rialfishing.co.za >; mike.copeland @fishconsult.co.za ; Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected] >; Matt
Horton <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <GPo [email protected] >
Subject: FW: ml BA 90 shapefiles
Dear Redah, Mike C, Mike Band Matt (Gerhard and Gcobani copied)
Zishan has kindly compiled a set maps, now including an option taking into your
comment below.
I have included notes from Zishan below as well.
Riedau please have a look at the these maps and confirm that we are on the right
track.
8
800
If the most recent option is correct the next step will be to take this to the Conservation
representatives and also Lorien (as you have been engaging with Lorien) to seek
agreement - if at possible.
Thank you
Ashley N
Notes from Zishan
Re: The southern extent of closure proposed by ESCPA
A reminder of confusion that not using Whole Minutes may cause
The southern boundary:

position as mapped and calculated for: 33°58' (that's with zero seconds)
position quoted below: 33°57'500" (that seems to be with 500 seconds, if one didn't know better)
If I trusted a calculator output, 500 seconds would take the reading to over 34 degrees (since 500 seconds= 8 mins and
20 seconds).
I have not made calculations based on 33°57'500" (3 units: DDMMSSS), as this equates to 34°05'020")
If the position is 33°57.500' (2 units: Degrees and Minutes only), then the area-change from above 50% to
below 500/4 ("'49.85 % of the MIBA of 2023)
Note the spatial difference (between the grey dashed line and the brown line) is about 307 meters
I notice that the 40-43% range is being referred to ... I see this range being about Draft L relative to an area which is Not-
M IBA
Draft Lis the closure implemented 01 September 2023, and is 71.8% of the 2023_MIBA_ARS
Therefore the 40-43% range should not be referred to, and I do not know the origin of the 40% concept.

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, copeland.fishconsult <[email protected] >
Cc: Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected] >, 'Matt Horton' <[email protected] >, Gerhard Cilliers
<[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
Hello Ashley,
Thank you for your telecommunication and understating my situation undergoing treatment in the Hyperbaric chamber
as explained that does not leave much of the afternoon for me to try and achieve some work.
The drawing is about right on both the West and East Lines but Zishan's Southern line extends beyond our Southern line
whereas our Southern number's were based on our revised proposal as agreed on at 42.17 % of the 2021 MIBA as
33°57'500", but it appears that Zishan has applied 33 58 000 in his drawing since it definitely extend further Southward
than our proposed drawing.
9
801
I do acknowledge that we agreed to try and keep the numbers simple for navigation purposes but having increased from
40% to 42.17% has already extended our area of closure and certainly feel that instead of going to 33 58'00 it would in
this case be more acceptable to go with 33. 57'00 giving that little bit of tolerance due to our earlier acceptance having
increased from 40 % to 42.17%.
Kindly bear in mind that our proposal was purely based on the 73% implemented by yourself as the interim closure that
was based on the 2021 MIBA there not having been a 2023 MIBA at the time or even at the time when we agreed at the
review to close 40% of the St Croix area as a settlement.
Please revert to me soonest and a date when we can finalise same.
Kind Regards,
CEO
Rial Fishing Group
$001H ~ICAN
~· ,.
LONGLINE l
HA ~
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell.·082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]

Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 2:16 PM
To: copeland.fishconsult <[email protected] >; Riedau <redah @rialfishing.co.za >
Cc: Dr Mike Bergh <mike @olsps.com>; Matt Horton <[email protected] >; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >;
Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
Subject: FW: ml BA 90 shapefiles
Dear Riedau, Mike and Mike and Matt (Gerhard and Gcobani now included as well. )
Please see attached new mapping from Zishan where we tried to consolidate the
various closure options and also the various MIBAs areas (i.e the denominators that
may the issue when calculating the percentages).
I have also included the Notes from Zishan below.
Riedau, (and colleagues copied), can I please ask that you review this mapping to
check for correctness. If you agree that these are correct, we can then discuss how to
proceed. Please can I have some feedback by the end of the week. If you do need
more time to check this mapping - please let me know.
10
802
The attachment is the same as the map below which is included in the email for easy
viewing.
Thank you
Ashley
Notes from Zishan
The maps and calculations of21 September (2023) relate to the area with a southern boundary defined as exactly 33Degrees and
5 8Mins South.
• I made the assumption that the ESCPA team intended to draw their southern boundary (of what iv named Draft N) at the
exact minute-line.
• I notice that the file provided by ESCPA might have been estimated when it was created/drawn, as it is slightly north of the
exact minute-line.
• The East and West extents are the same
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Area proportion calculations for Drafts F and Hand I and Land N

• For ml BA original 2021
• For ml BAARS 2023
11
803
• For UD 90%
Where:
F = DFFE proposal 2021
H = interim closure of 2022
I = the industry's proposal during 2021
L = current closure of 202[3], effective 01 st September 2023
N = ESCPA proposal of 15th September 2023
PS. Note that the industry's calculations for St Croix are based on the mlBA of 2021
How to differentiate:
• ml BA 2021 touches Cape Recife and other shorelines
• ml BAARS 2023 does not touch Cape Recife at all
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Muckleneuk, Pretoria, South Africa
12
804
"AM69"
Sent: Tuesday, 14 November 2023 08:30
To: Lauren Waller; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South); Alistair Mcinnes;
Smith, Craig; Katta Ludynia; Dr Mike Bergh; copeland.fishconsult; Matt Horton; Riedau;
Alison Kock; Zishan Ebrahim; Cloverley Lawrence; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose;
Zimasa Jika; Carl David Van Der Lingen; Fannie Welcome Shabangu; Janet Claire
Coetzee; Makhudu J. Masotla; Azwianewi Makhado
Cc: Redah De Maine; Millicent Makoala; carl.vanderlingen
Attachments: SAPFIA Response 13 November 2023.pdf
Dear Colleagues
I attach the document prepared by our Fisheries sector colleagues.
Tentative agenda (for comment) for the meeting is as follows:
1. Overview of the Conservation Rep document (Alistair and co-authors - 30 mins?

With questions)
2. Overview of the Fisheries Rep document (Mike B and co-authors - 30 mins?
With questions)
3. Way forward from this meeting and the role of DFFE. (DFFE)
4. Future planned joint working group on the implementation of the Panel
Recommendations (DFFE)
5. Resolving the St. Croix agreement / non agreement and next steps (DFFE)
Thank you
Ashley N
When: 09:30 - 11:30 16 November 2023
Location: MS TEAMS
Dear Colleagues.
Following a few discussion threads that included some of you since yesterday - I do
need to postpone this meeting to next Thursday.
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I will send out a draft agenda early next week, but this will be similar to the one sent
out for comment earlier this week.
Thank you
Ashley
Dear Colleagues
with you.)
Thank you
Ashley

Meeting ID: 387 005 310 075

Passcode: HMFMFh

[email protected]

+ 27 21 834 1980 897968060# South Africa, Cape Town
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2
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Learn "More I Meeting options
3
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SAPFIA's initial comments and view on the International

Review Panel report and on the trade-off between the
costs and benefits of island closures.
13 November 2023
1 Summary
SAPFIA has read and taken note of the International Review Panel's report (Punt et al, 2023), and
intends to submit a more detailed written response at a later date. We note that the International
Review Panel {IRP) is critical of the basis for calculating mlBAs and also of the economic cost
estimates provided by ourselves. Both require further work and improvements. SAPFIA are of the
view that the Minister's decision on interim closures {Appendix B here) is the definitive position of
the government on closures possible with the current state of knowledge about the trade-off
between economic impacts and benefits for penguins. In SAPFIA's view, given its knowledge and
opinion of the economic impacts, and the benefits reported by Punt et al (2023) there should be
no closures.
SAPFIA's view is that the trade-off should be revisited once further work informing the nature of the
trade-off has been completed. This includes further work on the OBM and the SAM models, as well
as more work on defining mlBAs, along the lines suggest~d by the IRP. This cannot be achieved in the
short term and is only feasible in the medium term.
SAPFIA's view is also that given that the IRP has confirmed that the impact of fishing around breeding
islands is small, attention should focus on determining the real reasons for the decline of the penguin
population. Indeed the IRP report (Punt et al, 2023) makes repeated recommendations for the
development of MICE models to explore the possible causes for the decline in the penguin
population. To date two versions of MICE models have been developed (Butterworth and Ross-
Gillespie, 2023a,b). The first considers the possible role of guano harvests in the decline of the
penguin population. It concludes that guano harvesting cannot be responsible for declines in the
African penguin population over the last two decades. The second shows that changes in food
abundance cannot explain two key features in penguin population abundance (i) elevated mortalities
in the years following the MV Treasure oil spill and (ii) low adult survivorship in the recent period
compared to the 1980s and early 1990s. The relevant document suggests for (i) that the mortalities
due to the MV Treasure oil spill may have been much larger than were reported, and may have lasted
over a longer period of time. For (ii) it notes that if this is due to direct predation of penguins by
seals it would require only 0.01 penguins per seal per annum to be predated and so this possibility
cannot easily be discounted. These two documents are publicly available documents and are out for
comment.
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2 Key pertinent conclusions of the International Review Panel

In its reading of the report from the IRP, SAPFIA notes the following four areas of import regarding
the merits and extent of island closures, viz.
1. Benefits of island closures to penguins

2. The economic costs of island closures on the small pelagic fishery
3. The trade-off between benefits to penguins and economic cost to the small pelagic fishing
industry
4. Recommendations for further research
Within these four categories, the following four sections highlight excerpts from the IRP's report that
have most relevance to SAPFIA's position on the interim closures and on the preferred trade-off
point:
2.1 Benefits of island closures to penguins

"Overall, the results of the ICE for Dassen and Robben islands indicate that fishing closures around
the breeding colonies are likely to have a positive impact on population growth rates, but that the
impacts may be small, in the range 0.71-1.51 % (expressed in units of annual population growth
rate). These impacts are small relative to the estimated rates of reduction in penguin abundance for
these two colonies over recent years (section 2.3.2)."
Comments:
• SAPFIA notes that use of these results to infer the benefits at Stony Point and Dyer, St Croix
and Bird Island (Algoa Bay) would require extrapolation of results from only two West Coast
islands to the other four breeding sites which is unsatisfactory particularly given the IRP's
recommendations to make trade-off decisions specific to each breeding site/island.
• In reaching its estimates of benefits, the IRP effectively disregards the entire body of foraging
data collected during ICE and recommends that future improvements be made when
collecting and or interpreting such data.
• The IRP made recommendations to improve the foraging data so that these would in future
be admissible for considering the benefits for penguins. While the mlBA-ARS methodology is
the preferred option of the IRP to inform area closures, it is clear from the report that the
foraging data informing the area closures in the report as it stands now is not in the desired
format and thus new data going forward will need to be collected accordingly.
2.2 The economic costs of island closures on the small pelagic fishery
"Care should be taken when interpreting the estimated impacts to the fishing industry given the
OBM likely provides an over-estimate of uncertain magnitude of the loss in catch (see Section 3.2) so
the results of the OBM and hence the SAM model should be considered primarily in a relative sense
and hence used for ranking closure options. The relative ranking of a closure may, however, be
sensitive to how catches are allocated to local communities."
Comments:
• SAPFIA notes the comments in the IRP's report about the OBM methodology used by OLSPS
Marine to estimate the catches that are likely to be lost due to island closures.
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• The report contains implicit and explicit suggestions for improving the OBM estimates,
specifically addressing the question of irreplaceability.
• SAPFIA, together with OLSPS Marine are engaged in further work to investigate and improve
the OBM and to comment further on the search behaviour of the pelagic fleet and the likely
extent of irreplaceability. To this end OLSPS Marine have sourced all available AIS data for
the pelagic fleet as well as other relevant fleets in South African waters who communicate
with pelagic vessels and provide information about the presence of schooling bait fish.
These data are being analysed to further illuminate the extent of irreplaceability and lost
catches.
• OLSPS Marine are also investigating the spatio-temporal statistical properties of the location
of small pelagic shoals, including the total number of fishing days per year and per year area,
as well as weather impacts on the ability to fish.
• This work will provide greater insight into the extent of the irreplaceability of catches in
response to area closures.
2.3 The trade-off between benefits to penguins and economic cost to the small
pelagic fishing industry
"The panel recommended that analyses delineating mlBAs using ARS methods represent the best
scientific basis for delineating the preferred foraging habitats during breeding. In the future,
additional analyses would further improve understanding, especially with respect to how the spatial
scale of any given ml BA might vary by year. The panel concluded that such between-year variation is
likely to be important, as the years of the ICE, during which most telemetry data have been collected,
have been years of relatively low prey resource abundance."
"There is a trade-off amongst maximising benefits to penguins, minimising the costs to the fishing
industry, and having a reliable basis to quantify the effects of closures (including no closures) on the
penguin recovery rate. The trade-off among closure options is a policy decision related to
conservation, economic and social goals and objectives for South Africa. This report outlines some
aspects that could form part of a decision-making framework to identify the closure options that will
provide the best outcomes for penguins given some level of cost to the fishing industry."
"There are three primary trade-off axes to consider when selecting closures: (a) the benefit to
penguins of the closure; (b) the cost (economic and social) to the fishing industry and the
communities where fishing and processing operations are based; and (c) the ability to evaluate the
effectiveness of the closures (section 4.1)."
Comments:
• SAPFIA notes the IRP's comment about mlBA-ARS but since the IRP also recommended
determining an appropriate balance between the extent of closures, the benefit to penguins
and the cost to the industry, they cannot have recommended only one closure option (as
seems to be suggest in Mcinnes et al.2023). Our view is that the mlBA-ARS methodology
could provide a framework for a continuum of different possible levels of closure to form one
axis of the trade-off relationship.
• SAP FIA is also of the view that along the continuum referred to above (still to be defined),
the benefits to penguins must be defined, if necessary on an island by island basis. The basis
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for calculating these benefits has not been specified and there is thus additional work that
needs to be done before one can consider trade-offs from an improved informed position.
• The IRP states that the trade-off decision is a policy decision. By recommending the existing
interim closures the Minister has effectively made a trade-off decision based on the current
state of knowledge. SAPFIA's view is that this policy decision should be reviewed when
substantial improvements to the reliability of the trade-off calculations supporting such a
decision have been made. This is only likely to be possible in the medium term and not in
the immediate short term.
• From the results of ICE at Dassen and Robben Islands the report noted that the benefit to the
penguins is in the range 0,71-1,51% (expressed in units of annual population growth).
Given that these two islands have already been closed 50% of the time during ICE, to
interpret the effect on the entire population, the additional benefit relative to trends since
2008 benefit will be in the range 0,36 - 0,76% per annum. This equates to an increase in the
number of penguin breeding pairs (about 10 000) of between 36 and 76 breeding pairs per
annum of a population that is declining at a rate of 800 penguin breeding pairs per annum.
2.4 Recommendations for further research

"The panel recommended that further validation of mlBAs should occur, in particular using dive data
that provide objective identification of foraging locations, rather than commuting (or travelling)
locations (see also section 5.9). Such analyses could be included in species distribution models (e.g.,
Warwick-Evans et al., 2018) that could be used to identify areas of key importance. However,
important uncertainties remain, particularly if mlBAs are determined (as they have been) using
telemetry data predominantly limited to early chick rearing when breeding adults are most
constrained; further, that mlBAs may differ in the future, should prey resource abundance increase."
"If designated, closed areas to protect penguins should be reviewed at a time when results are avail-
able to investigate life-history processes such as juvenile recruitment, and adult survival, and hence
population growth rates. This may be at a time between 6 and 10 years after designation."
"Monitoring should take place irrespective of whether there is an experimental (alternating open
and closed) component to the closure program (section 4.2)."
The IRP makes repeated recommendations for the development of MICE models to explore the
possible causes for the decline in the penguin population.
Comments:
• There has been no experimental design work carried out to validate the feasibility of
detecting a meaningful benefit for penguins at the population level at the 6 - 10 year time
frame. This is concerning since it may be that very little new information can be expected,
and at this stage this is an unknown.
• To date two versions of MICE models have already been developed. The first considers
mainly the role of guano harvests in the decline of the penguin population. It concludes that
guano harvesting cannot be responsible for declines in the African penguin population over
the last two decades. The second looks more closely at the role of pelagic fish abundance in
determining trends in the penguin population and concludes that changes in food
abundance cannot explain two key features in penguin population abundance (i) elevated
mortalities in the years following the MV Treasure oil spill and (ii) low adult survivorship in
811
the recent period compared to the 1980s and early 1990s. The relevant document suggests
for (i) that the mortalities due to the MV Treasure oil spill may have been much larger than
were reported, and may have lasted over a longer period of time. For (ii) it notes that if this
is due to direct predation of penguins by seals it would require only 0.01 penguins per seal
per annum to be predated and so this possibility cannot easily be discounted.
3 Discussion and Conclusions

Appendix A summarises SAPFIA's estimates of the cost of closures to the fishing industry and to the
economy, based on Bergh et al (2016) and Bergh and Horton (2023), and further information
provided to Punt et al (2023) as requested. The range for the former is between R 30 million and R
356 million per annum, while for the latter it is between R 85 million and R 1 017 million per annum.
Based on Punt et al (2023), the benefits for penguins from ICE closures is about 56 breeding pairs per
annum for the ICE (average their upper and lower values). No estimates are available for the other
three closure options mentioned in Appendix A.
The implications for employment are in the 100s of or perhaps even more than 1000 jobs, depending
on the closure options chosen.
Even given the IRP's view that the estimates by SAPFIA of the economic impact of these closures are
over-estimates of an unspecified extent (a position which is the subject of further research by
SAPFIA), SAPFIA's view is that a worst case/lowest economic impact analysis would likely still suggest
that there are 100s of jobs under threat due to such closures.
The Minister made a policy decision about closures in response to the IRP's report, i.e. the existing
interim closures (see Appendix B). SAPFIA's view is that this is the most definitive policy position by
government under circumstances of the current state of knowledge about the trade-offs.
SAPFIA's view about revisiting this trade-off decision is that this should only be revisited once there
has been a material improvement in the knowledge base informing the nature of the trade-off,
including (a) some estimates of benefits to penguins at different closure options and (b) improved
estimates of economic impacts.
SAPFIA's view is also that given that the IRP has confirmed that the impact of fishing around breeding
islands is small, attention should focus on determining the real reasons for the decline of the penguin
population. In this effort the MICE work seems critical and recent work in this regard needs to be
used to refocus attention, which has been unduly focussed on the role of fishing near to penguin
breeding sites.
Based on Urban Econ (2023), the number of jobs lost associated with this range of options varies
from 130 to 1557 (or a range of about 2 jobs per penguin breeding pair to 27 jobs per penguin
breeding pair) - see Appendix A. The range depicted by these options should be viewed in a relative
sense. Nevertheless, the importance of choosing areas to close that will lessen the impact on the
fishing industry is clear.
4 References
Alistair Mcinnes, Eleanor A Weideman, Lauren Waller, Lorien Pichegru, Richard Sherley, Craig Smith,
Katrin Ludynia, Tegan Carpenter-Kling, Christina Hagen, Peter Barham, Nicky Stander, Lynne
Shannon. 2023. The potential for interim purse-seine fisheries restrictions to alleviate resource
5
812
competition around African Penguin colonies: assessment based on International Review Panel
Report recommendations. 17 October 2023.
Bergh, M., Lallemand, P., Donaldson, T. and K. Leach. 2016. The economic impact of West Coast
penguin island closures on the pelagic fishing industry Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment report. FISHERIES/2016/JUN/SWG-PEL/18. 92 pp.
Bergh, M.O. and M. Horton, OLSPS Marine. 2023. Estimates of the impact of closing fishing around
six penguin breeding sites on pelagic catches. 5 May 2023, Revised 11 May 2023.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2023a. A MICE approach to scoping the possible impact of
guano harvests on trends in penguin abundance. Fisheries document FISHERIES/2023/JAN/PWG-
SWG/0lrev.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2023b. (NOT FULLY COMPLETE VERSION SEEKING
COMMENTS). Exploration of a MICE approach to evaluate the impact of fish abundance on penguin
survival. FISH ERi ES/2023/NOV/SWG-PEL/25
CAFMLR, 2022. Special Project Report on Penguin and Small Pelagic Fishery Interactions by the
Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources
Minister B Creecy. 2023. Science based measures are now being implemented to protect the
critically endangered African penguins. 04 August 2023. https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-b-
creecy-science-based-measures-are-now-being-implemented-protect-critically.
Punt, A.E., Furness, R.W., Parma, A.M., Plaganyi-Lloyd, E., Sanchirico, J.N., Trathan, P.N. July 2023.
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's African
Penguin breeding colonies and declines in the penguin population. Department of Forestry, Fisheries
and the Environment (DFFE). ISBN: 978-0-621-51331-8.
Urban Econ, 2023. The Pelagic Fishing Industry: Socio-Economic Impact Assessment May 2023.
Urban-Econ Development Economists.
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5 Appendix A. Benefits to penguins and the economic costs of

island closures.
The panel report recommended that a final decision on closures is a policy decision but
recommended that this policy decision be based on a trade-off between the benefit to penguins and
the economic costs of closures.
s.1 Benefit to penguins

From the results of ICE at Dassen and Robben Islands, the report noted that the benefit to the
penguins is in the range 0.71-1.51% of the population. Given that these two islands have already
been closed 50% of the time during ICE, the additional benefit relative to trends since 2008 is in the
range 0.36 - 0.76% per annum. This equates to a relative increase in the number of penguin
breeding pairs (at a total population size of about 10 000) of between 36 and 76 breeding pairs per
annum of a population that is declining at a rate of 800 penguin breeding pairs per annum.
5.2 The economic costs to the fishing industry and to the economy
For the purposes of this report, we compare the loss from the OBM for 4 options namely ICE. CAF
(see CAF. 2022). mlBA-ARS and the Interim Closures.
5.2.1 Maps of closure options

These are as given below.
ICE
For the two western islands and the two islands in Algoa Bay, this shows the extent of the 20km
closure areas, plus the closure around Riy Bank that was in place during ICE. For completeness tt,is
has been extended to include Stony Point and Dyer Island as well
20km Proposed Closures
Dassen + Robben Island D er+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island
33.0S 33.5
34.0 S
33.5 S
35.0 S
34.0 S
□ Proposed Closures
MPAs
34.5 s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.5 E 19.0 E 19.5 E 20.0 E 25.5 E 26.0 E 26.5E
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CAF
CAF recommendations on closure options that were sent to the Minister at the conclusion of the CAF
process (see CAF, 2022).
CAF Proposed Cloaul'H

■ MPAs
33.0S 33.5S
34.0S
33.5 S
35.0S
34.0 S
34.ss _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.SE 19.0E 19.SE 20.0 E 25.5 E 26.0E 26.5E
mlBA-ARS (see Macinnes et al, 2023)
mlBA ARS Proposed Closures
Der+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island
33.0S 33.SS
33.5S
35.0 S
34.0S
□ MPAs
34.S S...,__ _ _ _~_ _ _ __,...,
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.SE 19.0E 19.S E 20.0E 25.5 E 26.0E 26.S E
Interim Closures
Note that these were the Interim Closure areas as per the revised Permit Conditions approved 26
July 2023. There have subsequently been some changes to the area around St Croix and this is still
subject to discussion.
8
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Interim Proposed Closures
Dassen + Robben Island Der+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island
33.0S 33.5S
33.5 S 34.5 S
35.0 S
34.0S
□ Outer □ Proposed Closures

□ Inner MPAs
34.5S...,___ _ _~ - - - - . . - '
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.5E 19.0E 19.5 E 20.0E 25.5 E 26.0E 26.SE
5.2.2 Overlap between ICE, Interim and mlBA-ARS closure options at Dassen and Robben
Islands
Dassen + Robben Island
33.0S
33.5S
34.0S
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E
5.2.3 · Catch losses associated with different closure options (metric tons per annum)
These are based on the OBM as reflected in various submissions made to the international panel and
as refined at their request and also subsequently calculated where necessary.
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ICE
Dassen Robben Dyer Stony St Croix Bird Riy Total

ANCHOVY 3216,7 1133,7 8604,5 310,6 18,2 0,0 3,1 13286,9
BYPIL 108,2 60,1 209,6 49,8 0,3 0,0 0,1 428,1
DIRPIL 89,3 37,9 1062,8 1049,6 1756,4 19,0 45,1 4060,1
REDEYE 169,1 44,2 829,3 162,4 2,7 0,0 0,2 1207,9
Total 3583,3 1276,0 10706,2 1572,4 1777,6 19,1 48,5 19031,5
CAF
Dassen Robben Dyer Stony St Croix Bird Total

ANCHOVY 370,8 -61,0 855,1 -33,8 0,2 0,0 1131,2
BYPIL 47,7 -16,5 14,7 -0,3 0,1 0,0 45,7
DIRPIL 87,9 -3,5 137,8 8,8 421,1 34,8 686,9
REDEYE 69,3 23,6 55,7 -0,2 -0,2 0,0 148,3
Total 575,6 -57,3 1063,3 -25,6 421,3 34,9 2012,1
mlBA-ARS

ANCHOVY 2013,7 808,6 13628,7 284,0 1,4 0,0 16736,4
BYPIL 70,7 55,2 341,8 19,5 3,2 0,0 490,4
DIRPIL 78,7 4,8 4604,6 952,6 1708,9 32,5 7382,2
REDEYE 155,3 88,8 1213,7 88,8 3,1 0,0 1549,7
Total 2318,5 957,4 19788,8 1344,9 1716,6 32,5 26158,6
INTERIM CLOSURES
Dyer Dyer
Dassen Robben (outside) (inside) Stony St Croix Bird Total
ANCHOVY 49,8 -21,5 1311,7 84,8 -26,9 1,2 0,0 1399,2
BYPIL 39,8 -13,8 70,9 0,1 -0,5 0,1 0,0 96,6
DIRPIL 114,1 -4,6 1476,9 38,5 8,6 976,7 35,1 2645,4
REDEYE 75,9 42,5 103,3 6,5 -0,1 0,8 0,0 229,0
Total 279,6 2,7 2962,8 129,9 -18,8 978,9 35,1 4370,1
5.2.4 The economic value of catch losses to the fishing industry and to the economy as a
whole
The ex-store income of the lost catch estimates outlined in the previous section to the fishing
industry can be quantified using a value per ton for sardine at R28 566 (human consumption and
bait) and R7 706 for industrial fish reduced to fish meal and oil. This reflects the "direct" lost value
per annum and is given in the table below. Application of a multiplier effect of 2,86 (see Urban-Econ,
2023) gives an estimate of the total lost revenue to the economy (direct, indirect and induced), also
included in the table below:
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Annual Economic Losses to Annual Losses to the

Closure Option the Small Pelagic Fishing economy (Multiplier =
Industry 2.86)
ICE ZAR 230,975,913 ZAR 660,591,111

CAF ZAR 29,834,753 ZAR 85,327,394
mlBA-ARS ZAR 355,570,625 ZAR 1,016,931,988
Interim Closures ZAR 88,859,113 ZAR 254,137,063
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6 Appendix B. Policy statement by Minister, DFFE of South Africa

(https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-b-creecy-science-based-
measures-are-now-being-implemented-protect-critically)
Minister Barbara Creecy on science based measures

being implemented to protect critically endangered
African penguins
4Aug 2023
The African penguin is critically endangered. If this situation is not addressed, with
current rates of population decline, science tells us these iconic creatures could be
functionally extinct by 2035.
Competition for food is thought to be one among a set of pressures that are contributing
to the decline of the African Penguin population. Other pressures include ship traffic
together with their associated noise and vibrations, pollution and degradation of
suitable nesting habitats.
The species, which is endemic to South Africa and Namibia, has decreased from more
than a million breeding pairs to just about 10 000 pairs over the last century.
Today, following the report of the Export Review Panel, I have taken a decision to
implement fishing limitations in the waters around penguin colonies for a minimum of
10 years, with a review after 6 years of implementation and data collection.
Fishing limitations are established for the following penguin colonies: Dassen Island,
Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island.and Bird Island. The transition
to implementing fishing limitations will continue with the current interim closures,
while both the fishing industry and the conservation sector study the Panel's Report.
If there is agreement on fishing limitations over the next few weeks or months across
these sectors, these will be implemented as they are agreed upon. If no alternate fishing
limitation proposals are concluded by the start of the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season
(January 15th, 2024) the current interim fishing limitations will continue until the end
of the 2033 Fishing Season, with a review in 2030 after six years of implementation
from the start of the 2024 fishing season.
Today marks the end of the complex and lengthy process of stakeholder consultations in
the quest to find science-based measures to protect the critically endangered African
penguin from extinction.
In December 2022, I appointed an Expert Review Panel, under Section 3A of the

National Environmental Management Act, to assess the science related to managing the
interactions between the small pelagic (anchovy and sardines) fishery and the
conservation of African penguins.
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The Panel is Chaired by Professor Andre Punt (USA), with members Dr Ana Parma
(Argentina), Dr Eva Plaganyi (Australia), Professor Philip Trathan (UK), Professor
Robert Furness (UK) and Professor James Sanchirico (USA). The Panel members all have
several decades experience in science to policy matters in the marine ecosystems, with
a combined science publication list of several hundreds.
The establishment of the Panel aimed to assess the appropriateness and value of fishing
limitations for penguin success. These are key discussions as the sardine stock in South
African waters continue to be at relatively low levels.
This included science outcomes and insights achieved during of the Island Closure
Experiment undertaken by the Department over the preceding decade. This experiment
aimed at understanding what, if any, benefits are derived from limiting fishing adjacent
to penguin colonies.
The Terms of Reference for the science review and the panel members were established
in consultation with the representatives from the fishing industry and bird conservation
sectors.
While the Expert Review Panel undertook their work, the Department, in September
2022 declared some areas around the major penguin colonies closed to commercial
fishing for anchovy and sardine. Although not representative on a consensus agreement,
these fishing restrictions were established after much collaboration and negotiation
with the seabird conservation groups and the small pelagic fishing industry
representatives.
A stand-out feature of the process to achieve a decision on fishing limitations, over the
last two years, has been the level of engagement from the conservation and fishing
industry sectors.
I want to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in this process. I do know that
some of you are already in discussions on reaching compromises and agreements and I
ask that you continue to find each other on this. The Department and myself will be
keen to implement any consensus you may reach - as first prize. The DD Gs Fisheries
and Oceans & Coasts will assist if you require some planned meeting time and space.
To continue the engagement, I have asked officials from the Fisheries and Oceans and
Coasts Branches to report to you at least annually on the implementation of these
closures, the expanded science plan and also progress on other non-fishery
interventions in the Penguin Management Plan. Fishing limitations alone will not be
sufficient to help the penguins recover.
In conclusion, I want to thank the Panel, Professors Punt, Furness, Trathan, Sanchirico
and Drs Parma and Plaganyi. I appreciate that you reviewed more than 200 documents
and that you undertook new analyses as well.
I believe that the Report and my policy decisions here start a new cycle of refinement
and assessment for both fisheries and penguin management. It is a material step in
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implementing our ambition on an ecosystems approach to sustainable ocean

management and dynamic marine spatial planning.
Download:
• Report of the Export Review Panel [PDF - 11.6 mb]

• Summary report in presentation format [PDF - 2.89 mb]
Media enquiries:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 6118197
Issued by:
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment
821
"AM70"
To: Ashley Naidoo; Lauren Waller; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South);
Alison Kock; Zishan Ebrahim; Cleverley Lawrence; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose;
Dear Ashley
Thank you for circulating SAPFIA's document (Initial Comments) as well as an updated agenda. The Conservation Sector
Group have considered ~oth carefully and are puzzled by the approach reflected in SAPFIA's document as well as by the
scope of the agenda which seems to include matters beyond the narrow question of closure design to persist during the
review period and which we understood would be the purpose of any follow-up discussions with yourselves and
fisheries. We also note the absence of clarity regarding immediate next steps, and an apparent focus in the agenda on
future research (which is premised on appropriate closures being in place to assess their effectiveness).
When discussing next steps at our last meeting, we understood that any meeting with ourselves, fisheries and DFFE's
would address the application of the Expert Panel's recommended closure methodology in relation to the design of the
interim closures (or alternatives). This would respond to the Minister's 4 August 2023 announcement relating to no-
take fishing zones for the period required to further assess the full extent of pressures on penguin population decline
and relative costs to industry. We provided our interpretation to yourself as well as the Minister on 17 October 2023
(our Assessment). In our covering letter to the Minister we requested that the DFFE circulate our Assessment to
fisheries. We confirmed this with you at our meeting on 24 October 2023 and also confirmed that you should circulate
the Assessment internally to relevant DFFE officials. We understood that you would invite fisheries to prepare a similar
analysis of closure extents (or a comment on our own Assessment) and that this would be the focus of any subsequent
combined meeting.
We remain willing to present our Assessment along with that offisheries to the DFFE following the Minister's 4 August
2023 announcement. However, the SAPFIA's document appear to focus on issues subsequent to determination of such
closure design i.e. the research actions to be undertaken during the review period when these closures are in place. In
addition, the SAPFIA's document present the position that no closures should be implemented (which is puzzling, given
what we understand to be the purpose of providing assessments of the Panel recommendations on closure design). We
note that SAPFIA's document indicate that a more detailed response will follow. As this is the case, it again seems
premature to meet to present our respective analyses.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 8:30 AM
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig ~~
<[email protected]>; Katta Ludynia <[email protected]>; Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected]>; copeland.fishconsult r
1
822
<[email protected]>; Matt Horton <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected]>; Alison Kock
<[email protected]>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Cloverley Lawrence
<[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>;
Zimasa Jika <[email protected]>; Carl David Van Der Lingen <[email protected]>; Fannie Welcome Shabangu
<[email protected]>; Janet Claire Coetzee <[email protected]>; Makhudu J. Masotla
<[email protected]>; Azwianewi Makhado <[email protected]>
Cc: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>; Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>; carl.vanderlingen
<[email protected]>
Dear Colleagues

With questions)
With questions)
5. Resolving the St. Croix agreement I non agreement and next steps (DFFE)
Thank you
Ashley N
When: 09:30 - 11:30 16 November 2023
Location: MS TEAMS
Dear Colleagues.
Thank you
Ashley
2
823
Dear Colleagues
with you.)
Thank you
Ashley

Meeting ID: 387 005 310 075

Passcode: HMFMFh

[email protected]

11

3
824
4
825
"AM71"
To: Alistair Mcinnes; Lauren Waller; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South);
Alison Kock; Zishan Ebrahim; Cloverley Lawrence; Gerhard Cilliers; Gcobani Popose;
Thank you for comments Alistair and to colleagues included
I will cancel tomorrow's meeting, as per your conclusion in the email below. I am not
sure how to proceed if the Conservation Reps are only willing to meet if there is a
comparable document prepared by the Fisheries Sector.
I think the opportunity missed here is that the Fisheries Sector Reps or ourselves at
DFFE were not on the same work schedule as the Conservations Reps in assessing
use of the Panel Report - trade-off method. This makes some assumptions on the
availability of resources.
Alistair, I do have the correspondence to the Minister (from the 17th of October) on the
document prepared, and asked for an extension from the Minister's office for the
preparation of a draft response - in the hope that we could together formulate options
on a way forward at tomorrow's meeting. (The next steps part of the agenda was to
focus on this, and then on process for future science work.)
(Riedau, I will contact you separately on trying to find some options on how to proceed
on your matter. First option being another agreement across the sectors.)
Thank you again to all of you for your contributions this far.
Ashley N

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected]>, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>,
[email protected] <[email protected]>, [email protected]
<[email protected]>, Katta Ludynia <[email protected]>, Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected]>,
1
826
copeland.fishconsult <[email protected]>, Matt Horton <[email protected]>, Riedau
<[email protected]>, Alison Kock <[email protected]>, Zishan Ebrahim
<[email protected]>, Cloverley Lawrence <[email protected]>, Gerhard Cilliers
<[email protected]>, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>, Zimasa Jika <[email protected]>, Carl
David Van Der Lingen <[email protected]>, Fannie Welcome Shabangu <[email protected]>, Janet
Claire Coetzee <[email protected]>, Makhudu J. Masotla <[email protected]>, Azwianewi Makhado
<[email protected]>
Cc: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>, Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>,
carl.vanderlingen <[email protected]>
Dear Ashley
Thank you for circulating SAPFIA's document (Initial Comments) as well as an updated agenda. The Conservation Sector
Group have considered both carefully and are puzzled by the approach reflected in SAPFIA's document as well as by the
scope of the agenda which seems to include matters beyond the narrow question of closure design to persist during the
review period and which we understood would be the purpose of any follow-up discussions with yourselves and
fisheries. We also note the absence of clarity regarding immediate next steps, and an apparent focus in the agenda on
future research (which is premised on appropriate closures being in place to assess their effectiveness).
When discussing next steps at our last meeting, we understood that any meeting with ourselves, fisheries and DFFE's
would address the application ofthe Expert Panel's recommended closure methodology in relation to the design of the
interim closures (or alternatives). This would respond to the Minister's 4 August 2023 announcement relating to no-
take fishing zones for the period required to further assess the full extent of pressures on penguin population decline
and relative costs to industry. We provided our interpretation to yourself as well as the Minister on 17 October 2023
(our Assessment). In our covering letter to the Minister we requested that the DFFE circulate our Assessment to
fisheries. We confirmed this with you at our meeting on 24 October 2023 and also confirmed that you should circulate
the Assessment internally to relevant DFFE officials. We understood that you would invite fisheries to prepare a similar
analysis of closure extents (or a comment on our own Assessment) and that this would be the focus of any subsequent
combined meeting.
We remain willing to present our Assessment along with that offisheries to the DFFE following the Minister's 4 August
2023 announcement. However, the SAPFIA's document appear to focus on issues subsequent to determination of such
closure design i.e. the research actions to be undertaken during the review period when these closures are in place. In
addition, the SAPFIA's document present the position that no closures should be implemented (which is puzzling, given
what we understand to be the purpose of providing assessments of the Panel recommendations on closure design). We
note that SAPFIA's document indicate that a more detailed response will follow. As this is the case, it again seems
premature to meet to present our respective analyses.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 8:30 AM
To: Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) {Summerstrand Campus South)
<[email protected]>; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected]>; Smith, Craig
<[email protected]>; Katta Ludynia <[email protected]>; Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected]>; copeland.fishconsult
<[email protected]>; Matt Horton <[email protected]>; Riedau <[email protected]>; Alison Kock '-',_,\·
<[email protected]>; Zishan Ebrahim <[email protected]>; Cloverley Lawrence 't,.' V
2
827
<[email protected]>; Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>;
Zimasa Jika <[email protected]>; Carl David Van Der Lingen <[email protected]>; Fannie Welcome Shabangu
<[email protected]>; Janet Claire Coetzee <[email protected]>; Makhudu J. Masotla
<[email protected]>; Azwianewi Makhado <[email protected]>
Cc: Redah De Maine <[email protected]>; Millicent Makoala <[email protected]>; carl.vanderlingen
<[email protected]>
Dear Colleagues

With questions)
With questions)
s. Resolving the St. Croix agreement/ non agreement and next steps (DFFE)
Thank you
Ashley N
When: 09:30 - 11:30 16 November 2023
Location: MS TEAMS
Dear Colleagues.
Thank you
Ashley
3
828
Dear Colleagues
with you.)
Thank you
Ashley

Meeting ID: 387 005 310 075

Passcode: HMFMFh

[email protected]

+ 27 21 834 1980 897968060# South Africa, Cape Town
11

4
829
"AM72"
Subject: RE: Request from ESCPA to correct closure map at St Croix

Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 2:28 PM
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr)
(Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Katta Ludynia
<[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >; [email protected]
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >; Zimasa Jika
<[email protected]>; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
Subject: Re: Request from ESCPA to correct closure map at St Croix
Dear Alistair, Mike C and colleagues included. (Underlining only denotes person/s to
whom specific questions are addressed.)
Alistair (and conservation representatives), have you had an opportunity to consider

this request from the ESCPA?
The letter presents two options and I am hoping that as conservation representatives -
you will be able to select one.
Mike C - please can you provide an update on additional work that you will be
undertaking - you alluded to this previously and Alistair requests, below in his email,
updates on this planned work. (I have underlined this request so it is easy to find
below.)
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
- --- - - -------
Date: Tuesday, 05 December 2023 at 17:19
To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected] >,
[email protected] <[email protected] >, [email protected]
<[email protected]>, Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >, Zimasa Jika
1
830
Hi Ashley
We have no problem with forwarding our email to the Fishing Representatives.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Monday, December 4, 2023 8:53 AM
(Summerstrand Campus South) <lorien. pichegru @mandela.ac.za >; Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za >; Katta Ludynia
<katta @sanccob.co.za >
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >; Kim Prochazka <KProchazka @dffe.gov.za >; Zimasa Jika
<ZJika @dffe.gov.za >; Gcobani Popose <GPo [email protected] >
Thank you Alistair and colleagues copied - for getting back to me on this.
Then on other matters raised below -
Alistair - in order to avoid additional miscommunication - could I send your email to the
Fisheries Representatives on their planned work? I am not sure if the interpretation of
the work needed and its timing is the same across all those involved. (I will copy you
in.)
(In the interim both sets of stakeholders have written to the Minister (copied me and
other managers), so our planning will also need to be aligned to these responses.)
Thank you
Ashley

Date: Friday, 01 December 2023 at 16: 16
<[email protected] >, Katta Ludynia <katta @sanccob. co .za>
Dear Ashley
We acknowledge your email sent earlier today. We will be in touch once we have had an opportunity to consider it
properly- but will likely need time beyond Tuesday. We will revert as soon as we can with our timing on this.
2
831
In the interim, we note that we have not heard further from you regarding the position ofthe closures more generally,
since our last correspondence on 15 November 2023 when you conceded that the meeting scheduled for 16 November
2023 should not proceed . We had hoped for an indication from you by now as to when both the conservation sector
group and Fisheries Sector would have the opportunity to present their analyses to the DFFE.
We have also had no indication as to when the Fisheries Sector Representatives will provide the full assessment as
anticipated SAPFIA's Comments.
We reiterate our understanding that the immediate focus needs to be on implementing the Panel's recommended
closure design methodology for the purposes of commencing the closure period during which the future
monitoring/evaluation/research work is to take place. Planning future work is naturally important, however, it is not
feasible to implement the Panel's recommendations for such monitoring/evaluation/research, if the island closures
which are to be the basis for these investigations are not ecologically meaningful for penguins. As a result. we ask that
you kindly follow-up with the Fisheries Sector representatives to establish when their analyses will be concluded,
mindful of the self-evident urgency of the issue. and that you update us the moment you receive any feedback in that
regard.
Regards
Alistair

Sent: Friday, December 1, 2023 12:44 PM
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >; Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >; Zimasa Jika
<[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
Subject: Request from ESCPA to correct closure map at St Croix
Dear Alistair, Lauren, Craig and now including Katta and Lorien as previously
requested. (Copied Kim, Zimasa, Gerhard and Gcobani)
The DFFE has received this week, a formal request from Riedau on behalf of the
ESCPA, to correct the closure area and map.
As this is an agreement among all of you, I suggested to the Heads of Branches

Fisheries & Oceans & Coasts that I need to consult with all of you. Please may I have
your thoughts by next Tuesday. If you need more time please let me know.
I have Riedau's and associates permission to share this information with you. In
addition to the letter, I also attached recent consolidated maps and media statement
as suggested by Riedau.
Once I have your initial response, I will seek to consolidate communications so that all
are on the same page.
3
832
I am including Kim, Gerhard, Zimasa and Gcobani as managers within DFFE who may
have a role to play in this discussion as well.
Thank you
Ashley
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915.77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
4
833
Eastern and Southern Cape Pelagic

Association
131 albert Road Telephone 041 5810458
Walmer Email; [email protected]
Port Elizabeth
6070
To: Department of Environment Forestry and Fishering
Att: Sue Middelton, Kim Prochazk, Ashley Naidoo, Lisolomzi Fikizolo
Re: Rectifying the permit conditions with correct MAP implemented in error or alternatively
cancellation of Agreement.
Date: 27th November 2023
Dear Colleagues,
The Eastern and Southern Cape Pelagic Association hereby wish to bring to your attention our
request to rectify the permit condition with the proper MAP attached marked Negotiation October
2023 alternatively if the permit condition is not rectified than our intention is to withdraw from the
agreement of the St Croix Island Closure in the interest of our positive and honest contribution to the
African Penguin Colony survival.
We do have an agreement in place with reference to closure of 42.17% of MIBA 21 that we agreed
upon due to its smaller enclosed area which was the core purpose of our negotiation but the MAP
that was utilised and implemented in the permit conditions were erroneous having utilised the UD
90 MAP design and values instead of only having utilised the UD 90 MAP design based on the MIBA
21 values which was agreed upon.
ESCPA only selected the MAP design of UD 90 not its size or values but somehow the entire maps
design and values was utilised of UD 90 and implemented erroneously closing a larger area than
what was agreed upon currently having a major negative impact on our fishing.
Confusion was created by introducing MIBA 23 and UD 90 into the equation and t~at was never part
of the agreement concerning the closure.
Upon investigation we discovered that the MAP utilised was the entire area and value of UD 90 and
not the shape of UD 90 as proposed to be applied to MIBA 21 based on the 73% interim closure.
ESCPA agreed to close an area of 42.17% of MIBA 21 that is much smaller than the interim closure of
73% that would have related to a total closure of 93% around Bird Island and 42.17% at St Croix both
based on MIBA 21 equating to a total closure of 135.17% which already is way beyond the envisaged
50% closure for both Islands.
834
ESCPA are happy to proceed with the agreed closure as per the Minister's press release, attached for
your ease of reference but the closure implemented and MAP design in the permit condition are
significantly larger that what was agreed upon or that of the interim 73% closure.
We conclude that the agreement was based on closing 42.17% MIBA 21 and the Minister's statement
was based on what we had agreed upon, while the current MAP utilised in the permit conditions
does not reflect what we had agreed upon and actually increased the area way beyond the interim
73% closure that was all based on MIBA 21.
ESCPA therefore propose that one of two actions take place with immediate effect as listed below.
1) that the Proper MAP attached marked Negotiation 2023 based on MIBA 21 be utilised and
that the permit conditions be rectified accordingly.
2) If this rectification is not implemented than we hereby withdraw from the agreement and
request that the interim closure of 73% be implemented as a matter of urgency as an interim
measure until we finalise a smaller enclosed area.
Kindly note that when ESCPA realised that the wrong MAP size was implemented we immediately
informed Ashley Naidoo about it, and he assured us that he would get the parties together to rectify
the situation.
For some reason or the other Ashley battled to get the Conservation Group into a meeting, with
them technically informing him that they were not prepared to open the matter for rectification
purpose, which we fail to understand.
We furthermore are not closed to open discussions around a settlement and attached our MAP for
the actual closure relating to the original agreed 42.17% for your ease of reference that we had
found upon actual calculations that it is in-fact 54-55% of MIBA 21 and not 42.17% as agreed.
We also bring to your attention that we are still prepared to contribute sardine as feed for
rehabilitation of the penguins whenever require.
Our feeling is that the dynamics of St Croix being in close proximity to the Coega Harbour has a major
impact on the penguins' demise in this area.
Our Ports are performing very poorly in South Africa and multiple vessels are anchored in Algoa Bay
close to St Croix for up to three weeks at a time and are causing a significant amount of noise
pollution while at the anchorage with the added poor water quality emanating from the Coega Port
being the main factors for penguins decreasing at St Croix.
Penguins are migrating to Bird Island where the habitat is more environmentally friendly and
acceptable to the animals hence the increase in population on Bird Island.
We kindly request that this matter be regarded as urgent since our December sardine season is in full
force with the current closure hampering our catches while the new season will be starting as early
as 15th January 2024.
Warm Regards
835
Mohammed Riedau DeMaine

836
"AM73"

Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 11:49 AM
To: Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller
<[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >; Smith,
Craig <[email protected] >; Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >; [email protected]
<[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >; Tasneem
Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Riedau and Alistair and colleagues.
Thank you for your responses, especially so late in the year when all of us are
considering some time away from work. Please give me a day to get back to you on a
proposed way forward.
Thank you
Ashley
http://dx.dol.org/10.1 3140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
~-- - - - - - - - - - - -
Date: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 11 :11
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Lauren
Waller <[email protected] >, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
[email protected] <[email protected] >, 'Katta Ludynia' <[email protected] >,
<[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >, Deon Van Zyl
<[email protected] >, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Alister,
Our agreement proposed by yourself was 40% of MIBA 2021 as explained in my previous email but the map utilised was
erroneous having not only utilised the MAP of UD 90 as proposed by ESCPA entailed the value of UD 90 and not that of
MIBA 21 upon which we agreed.
1
837
The subsequent proposal by the Panel does not feature in our agreement that materialised before that Panel had made
their final decisions that does not bear any relevance on what we are currently appealing for.
Environment proposed a settlement and we agreed to such settlement of closing 40 % of MIBA 21 but the erroneous
map area of UD 90 utilised resulted in a far greater area being closed that is not fair to ESCPA industry operators.
Agreements are based on honesty and honour and we both went into this agreement in an honourable manner to close
42.175 of MIBA 21 but now all honour appears to have flown out by the window due to an error that favours your
original sentiment of closing 100% of the islands.
Why is there suddenly a problem to rectify the MAP when there was an agreement thereon and we were all happy and
contented with our agreement.
I still feel that we should stop avoiding each other by having a meeting and look each other in the eye and resolve this
matter in an amicable fashion in the interest of both parties.
Kind Regards,
CEO
Rial Fishing Group
$0\JTHAf§
LONGUNE
~ ~ )
1
HA~
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Cell·082 855 1457 Email:[email protected]
received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail, and destroy all copies of the original message (including any ;,tt;,chments).

Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 10:40 AM
To: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo @dffe.gov.za >; lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand
Campus South) <lorien. pichegru @mandela .ac.za >; Smith, Craig <csmith @wwf.org.za >; Katta Ludynia
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <GCilliers @dffe.gov.za >; Kim Prochazka <KProchazka @dffe.gov.za >; Zimasa Jika
<ZJika @dffe.gov.za >; Gcobani Popose <GPopose @dffe.gov.za >
Dear Ashley
Thank you for your e-mail. We have considered the two options put forward by ESCPA in the attached
letter. Unfortunately, neither is acceptable, particularly as the permits (as amended) already reflect a closure extent
committed to by Fisheries which is less than that which would be in place if the method subsequently recommended by
the Panel were to be used.
Kind regards
Alistair
2
838
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <GCilliers@dffe .gov.za>; Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >; Zimasa Jika

below.)
Thank you
Ashley
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131.

lorien [email protected] <[email protected] >, [email protected]
<[email protected] >, Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >
Hi Ashley
Regards
3
839
Alistair

Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Kim Prochazka <KProchazka @dffe.gov.za >; Zimasa Jika
<ZJika @dffe.gov.za >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
the work needed and its timing is the same across all those involved. {I will copy you
in.)
{In the interim both sets of stakeholders have written to the Minister {copied me and
Thank you
Ashley

Date: Friday, 01 December 2023 at 16:16
Dear Ashley
properly- but will likely need time beyond Tuesday. We will revert as soon as we can with our timing on this.
In the interim, we note that we have not heard further from you regarding the position of the closures more generally,
2023 should not proceed. We had hoped for an indication from you by now as to when both the conservation sector
4
840
you kindly follow-up with the Fisheries Sector representatives to establish when their analyses will be concluded.
regard.
Regards
Alistair

requested. (Copied Kim, Zimasa, Gerhard and Gcobani)

Thank you
s
841
Ashley
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721493 7300
+2782 784 7131
6
842
"AM74"
Subject: African Penguin conservation/Island Closures - letter from Conservation Sector Group
to Minister Barbara Creecy

Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 1:18 PM
Cc: Lee-Anne Levendal <[email protected] >; Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >
Subject: African Penguin conservation/Island Closures - letter from Conservation Sector Group to Minister Barbara
Creecy
Please see attached correspondence for your attention.
Thanks
Mark
Mark D. Anderson
:)~
BirdLife
. ()\IH tRl t
llflng Con..n,Gllon Win••

Tel: +27 (0) l l 789 l l 22
Fax: +27 (0) l l 789 5188
Cell: +27 (0) 82 788 0961
-
)L
Birdl1te
- sappi
_,.,,,,.,.
TOYOTA
.., __ JCDecaux
the addressee and on the law as promulgated at the date of this document. No responsibility will be taken for advising on any changes to A
the iofmmalian which may ari,e a, a """" of ,ub,equenf change, to lcrw m p,octice {,, ~ ,
1
~~
843
2
844
rt..~
~'
BirdLife
SOl'TII \Fl<IC-A
Giving Conservation Wings
ENDANGERED
WILDLIFE TRUST
Prot~11,,.roor-,..105~ti11
NELS e N M .&. NDELA
~
SANCCOB-
saves seabirds
~
WWF
13 December 2023


[email protected]
Dr Ashley Naidoo
[email protected]
1. We refer to the "Report of the International Review Panel Regarding Fishing Closures Adjacent to
South Africa's African Penguin Breeding Colonies and Declines in the Penguin Population" (Report)
and your announcement on 4 August 2023 of the publication of the Report and approach to
implementing "island closures" (Announcement). We also refer to:
a. Subsequent engagements by the Conservation Sector Group representatives with
members of your Department (DFFE) as well as representatives of the Fisheries Sector.
b. The Conservation Sector Group's assessment of the Report recommendations and their
application to meaningful island closure design forwarded to your office on 17 October
2023 (Assessment).
c. Correspondence from Bird life South Africa (BLSA) addressed to your office on 2 October
2023 and 16 October 2023, in which BLSA requested that you provide information
regarding the holders of small pelagic fishing rights.
d. Your office's response to that correspondence, received by BLSA on 24 November 2023.
2. At the outset, we again emphasise that the conservation sector has sought to engage with the
DFFE and the Fisheries Sector in good faith over the past fifteen years for the purposes of providing
best available scientific input to the DFFE to ensure the conservation of South Africa's African
Penguin population and to prevent this population from declining to levels approaching functional
extinction in the near future . Concerningly, the most recent census, which is currently being
collated, and which has been carried out in collaboration with the DFFE and its Namibian
counterpart, demonstrates that African Penguin numbers have declined to levels at which this
species is likely to fulfil the IUCN criteria for its red listing to globally Critically Endangered. Working
with the DFFE, the census figures will be finalised in the new year and we will keep your office
updated as to developments, including those relevant to the IUCN red listing process. We
845
emphasise that the best available scientific data indicate that small pelagic prey availability
remains key to halting population declines in South Africa.
3. Against this scientific background, the need for the DFFE to take decisive and meaningful action to
halt the African Penguin's population decline is self-evident. Consequently, we welcomed your
convening of the International Panel (Panel) to resolve the impasse that had emerged between
representatives of the Fisheries Sector and conservation scientists regarding the necessity and
delineation of island closures as a key conservation measure. However, for reasons we elaborate
below, we are concerned that the Report's findings and recommendations are not adequately
catered for by the approach to implementing island closures conveyed in the Announcement.
4. The Report has confirmed the scientific value of island closures and presented a clear
recommendation on an appropriate trade-off methodology to design island closures that uses the
best available scientific data to ensure (a) the best possible conservation outcomes for the African
Penguin in the short-term, which is critical in terms of its threatened status, and (b) the best
possible basis for future scientific enquiry in accordance with the Report's recommendations. This
recommended closure and trade-off methodology is an important pre-requisite for enabling all
parties to implement the Report's recommendations relating to future programmes of study over
a longer period than was provided by the "Island Closure Experiment". As shown in the
Conservation Sector Group's carefully reasoned Assessment (re-attached for ease of reference),
the interim closures which are currently in place cannot achieve their intended objectives. In
contrast, a transition to closures determined according to the marine Important Bird and
Biodiversity Area method using Area Restricted Search (mlBA-ARS), as recommended by the
Report, will better achieve the Report's recommendations and come at a low to negligible cost to
the fishing industry.
5. The Conservation Sector Group has communicated its concerns regarding the interim closure
design to the DFFE representatives, as well as to those representatives of the Fisheries Sector of
which it is aware. We have done so mindful that the "agreement" which the Announcement
contemplates being reached over the fishing limitations would almost certainly not be achieved
given (a) the impasse over closures which gave rise to the Panel's appointment in the first place
and (b) the lack of incentives for the Fisheries Sector to make island closures more representative
of African Penguin core foraging areas than the interim closures. Our subsequent engagements
with the Fisheries Sector have proven these concerns to be well founded:
a. The South African Pelagic Fishing Association (SAPFIA), with whom the DFFE suggested we
engage, has adopted the starting position that there should be no island closures at all. It
is difficult to understand how the Conservation Sector Group is to engage further with
SAPFIA given this standpoint, not to mention SAPFIA'a failure to provide any meaningful
engagement with the closure methodology in favour of future research. As stated above,
it is not possible to carry out meaningful monitoring and evaluation and assessment of the
role and effectiveness of island closures if the baseline closures implemented for the
period of the 6-year review are known to be outside the parameters of ecologically
meaningful closure designs.
b. In addition to engagements with SAPFIA, the Conservation Sector Group has also
attempted to reach out directly to the Oceana Group, which is the sole listed company of
which we are aware in the small-pelagic fishing space. It is clear from these engagements
too that consensus on the fishing limitations is not going to be reached between the
conservation and fisheries sectors.
c. Finally, while our engagements with the Eastern and Southern Cape Pelagic Association l\, A.
(ESCPA), which in fact commenced prior to the Announcement, have resulted in t'~'
846
meaningful permit amendments from September 2023, these amendments have since
been undermined and reneged by the ESCPA representatives.
6. At all times, we have endeavoured to give effect to the Panel's recommendations. We have done
so by analysing the Report, preparing our Assessment (anticipating that the Fisheries Sector would
do the same), requesting that your office circulate our Assessment to the Fisheries Sector, and
repeatedly seeking the Fisheries Sector's assessment of application of the Panel's recommended
closure and trade-off methodology to island closures. To date, no such assessment has been
forthcoming.
7. In addition to asking the DFFE to circulate the Assessment to the Fisheries Sector and requesting
a comparable assessment from it: the Conservation Sector Group has made additional attempts
to engage with those rights holders who may be directly affected by island closures. It is to this
end that Mr Craig Smith of WWF South Africa attempted to procure the list of small pelagic rights
holders and BLSA addressed its letters of 2 October 2023 and 16 October 2023 to your offices. The
approach taken in the DFFE's response, which insists that the identities of small pelagic fishing
rights holders may only be obtained via a request lodged in terms of the Promotion of Access to
Information Act, 2 of 2000 (PAIA), is very unfortunate. This prevents the Conservation Sector
Group from taking proactive steps to identify the relevant stakeholders. The DFFE's response
suggests that it has overlooked its critical role in ensuring that steps are taken to protect a species
which is recognised and listed as threatened.
8. In these circumstances, it is apparent that meaningful conservation interventions for African

Penguins cannot be achieved without the DFFE's intervention and a clear indication that all of the
Panel's recommendations are to be implemented - including, most importantly, the
recommended closure design methodology. In the circumstances, we urge the DFFE and your
office to ensure that the recommendations expressed in the Report are properly considered and
implemented through the decisive imposition of redefined island closures determined in
accordance with the recommended closure design methodology. Nothing short of such measures
will ensure ecologically meaningful outcomes for this highly threatened species.
Yours sincerely,
Mark D. Anderson
Chief Executive Officer, Bird life South Africa
Yolan Friedmann
Chief Executive Officer, Endangered Wildlife Trust
Prof. Lorien Pichegru

Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University
847
Natalie Maskell
Chief Executive Officer, SANCCOB
Dr Morne du Plessis
Chief Executive Officer, WWF-SA
848
recommendations
Alistair Mclnnes, 1,2 Eleanor A Weideman,1 Lauren Waller, 3,4 Lorien Pichegru, 2 Richard Sherley, 5 Craig
Smith, 6 Katrin Ludynia, 4' 7 Tegan Carpenter-Kling,2 Christina Hagen,1 Peter Barham, 4' 9 Nicky Stander,7
Lynne Shannon 10
3 Endangered Wildlife Trust
4
Department of Biodiversity & Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape,
6 World-Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa

10 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
17 October 2023
km closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment (ICE); and (d) the interim closures
1.4. In the case of Robben Island and Stony Point, interim closures protect only43% and 30% of African
1
978-0-621-51331-8.
1
849
show that implementing closures around core African Penguin foraging areas {i.e. using the ml BA-
1.6. Closures need to incorporate more representative portions of the African Penguins' core foraging

2.1. On 4 August 2023, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment {Minister) announced
population {IRPR). 3 In the same announcement, she stated that "If there is agreement on fishing
the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season (January 15 th 2024) the current interim fishing limitations
colonies as a temporary measure pending the conclusion and release of the IRPR.s The scientific
or the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment {DFFE).
fishing industry.
three colonies {Dassen Island, Robben Island and Stony Point) which comprise three of the
purse-seine fishing between: {a) penguin foraging ranges {see further 4.1.6 below); {b) core
penguin foraging areas using the mlBA-ARS methodology {see further 4.1.7 below); {c) the 20 km
2
Ibid.
3
available online < https://www.dffe.gov.za/node/2001> (last accessed 5 October 2023).
4
Ibid.
5
DFFE (2022) Media Statement: Interim Fishing Closures and Limitations around Key Penguin Colonies, available
online <https://www.dffe.gov.za/lnterim-fishing-closures-and-limitations-around-key-penguin-colonies> (last
accessed 5 October 2023).
6
i.e two zones, one that restricts all purse-seine fishing and one that restricts fishing to vessels;?; 26m in length.
2
850
closures implemented during the Island Closure Experiment; and (d) the interim closures that are
currently in place.
foraging tracks (from GPS devices attached on chick-rearing African Penguins) and the foraging
areas (i.e. the mlBA-ARS) within the current interim closure extents; and provide trade-off curves
six years (2018 to 2023)7 highlights the urgency of implementing effective conservation measures
which maximise benefits to the African Penguin.
3.2. The Opportunity-based Model (OBM) and Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) used by consultants
3.3. Conservation actions should be spread throughout the range of the species. 10
that close less valuable foraging areas. 12
effectiveness of alleviating resource competition on African Penguins. 14
7
8
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
9
IRPR, Sec. 3.3, pg. 31; Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
10
IRPR, Sec. 4.4. pg. 36.
11
IRPR. Sec. 4.1. pg. 33.
12
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
13
IRPR, Sec. 4.3., pg. 34.
14
IRPR, Sec. 4.1., pg. 33.
15
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 36.
3
851
4.1. Methods
4.1.1. The IRPR outlines a trade-off mechanism, i.e. using a trade-off curve, to select closures that
model) is recommended as a potential reference point to guide the selection of optimal
closures.
4.1.2. The IRPR provides examples of these trade-off curves for six ofthe largest penguin colonies. 16
the above-mentioned costs) likely overestimate costs to fishery, by an unknown magnitude.
Resources {CAF) in 2022. 18
4.1.6. For each colony, we have compared the relative costs to fisheries against: (a) African
Penguins' full foraging range without outliers (i.e. UD90); 19 (b) African Penguins' core foraging
area (i.e. mlBA-ARS, see further below); (c) the interim closures; and (d) 20km closures used
during the ICE. 20
Important Bird Areas (mlBA) 21 using the Area Restricted Search (ARS) methodology to align
16
IRPR, Sec. 4.4., pg. 37.
17
Coetzee, J.C., Makhado, A., van der Lingen, C.D., Ebrahim, Z., Kock, A., Lawrence, C., and Shabangu, F.W.
18
Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF} (2022) Special Project Report on Penguin and Small Pelagic Fishery
19
UD90 refers to ml BA using a 90% kernel utilisation distribution (see Mcinnes, A.M., Weideman, E., Waller, L.,
20
Punt et al. supra.
21
Lascelles, B. G., Taylor, P. R., Miller, M. G. R., Dias, M. P., Oppel, S., Torres, L., Hedd, A., le Corre, M., Phillips, R.
areas for marine conservation. Diversity and Distributions, 22(4), 422-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12411;
Hinke, J. T., Kim, J. H., Kokubun, N., Manco, F., Ratcliffe, N., Santos, M., Takahashi, A., Trivelpiece, W., & Trathan,
22
4
852
five times- refer to section 3 of the IRPR for details) to assess the relative impact of different
4.1.11. We note that in respect of Dyer Island, the lack of fishery cost data for the split-zone scenario

a) The existing interim closure around Dassen Island (shown as the red line in Figure lA)
omits a significant area in the northern portion of the African Pel")guins' core foraging
colony.

of the IRPR.
low for both the mlBA-ARS and the interim closure options (see Figure 1B below).
23
middle ground point estimate as reflected in the IRPR (see IRPR, Figs 4.4 & 4.5, pg. 37).
24
Crawford, R. J.M., Altwegg, R., Barham, B. J., Barham, P. J., Durant, J. M., Dyer, B. M., Geldenhuys, D., Makhado,
A. B., Pichegru, L., Ryan, P. G., Underhill, L. G., Upfold, L., Visagie, J., Waller, L. J., & Whittington, P. A. (2011)
https://doi .org/10.2989/1814232X.2011.572377.
25
Permit Conditions: Pelagic Fish Anchovy and Sardine Fisheries: 2023. Fishing Season 2023. Date of Approval:
31 August 2023. Issued in terms of section 13 of thee Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) by
the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
5
853
Figure 1A
-32.6
0 15 3011m
-32.8
-33.0
Cl) Foraging range (UD90)

-g -33.2
·o5"' Q Interim closure
...J ~ Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
-33.4
_ I 20 km closure
-33.6
-33.8
-34.0
- - - r •- - ~ • ,,r ,, • ,•- - , - -••~rn•'' -T-- ~-
17,4 17.6 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.4 18.6
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Dassen Island in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
Figure 18

regional ClllCh = 174kt regional catch aa 4.4kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch ::: 8.5kt
0 25 50
~
25
- ~ ----,-- ~ -
50 75 100 0
--~--
25 50
✓ 75 100 0 25
•
50
..
-~-~~-• -Cl
75 100
6
854

.shown as the dark green line in Figure 2A).

IRPR.
black line in Figure 2A). The comparison of the relative costs is shown in Figure 2B
below.
in Figure 2B below.
Figure 2A
-32.5
-33.0

Q)
-g r I Interim closure
~ -33.5
...J
Q Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
~ MPA
_ I 20 km closure
-34.0
- ,
17.5 18,0 18,5 19,0
Longitude
26
See National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57 /2003): Notice declaring the Robben Island
Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the Act (GN774 in GG42478 of 23 May 2019).
7
855
Figure 2B

regional catch= 174kt regional catch = 4.4kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch = 8.5kt
0
',---~-~~--
0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100
4.2.3 . Stony Point

below.
27
IRPR, Sec. 4.5, pg. 38.
8
856
Figure 3A
-34.0
~
Q)
-0 Interim closure
E
'a; -34.2 Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
..J
MPA
_ I 20 km closure
-34.4
\
-34 .6
-, -...-
'
18.2 18.4 18.6 18.8 19.0 19 •2 19.4
Longitude
Map showing closure options around Stony Point in relation to African Penguin foraging tracks {thin grey lines).
Figure 38

regional catch = 39kt regional catch = 34kt regional catch = 12kt regional catch = 1 .4kt
15
0
0 25 50 75 100 0 25 50 75 100 0
__-/ 25 50 75
~......,....--,-
100 0 25 50 100
Foraging range (UD90) • Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS) ♦ Interim ,, 20km closure
-·~ ·· - · --- · -- - ....... ·-- .• ,--~·-·•--- ···~ .... - - ·-• ~---~·-··· ·····~----- - -
Point to Agulhas). Note that the IRPR states that the OBM overestimates the catch loss and can thus only be used to rank
9
857
4.2.4. Dyer Island

Figure 4); and (ii) an offshore zone that only excludes purse-seine vessels ~ 26m in
length (shown as the hatched red line in Figure 4).
scenario forth is colony. It is therefore recommended that the relative costs to industry
Figure4
-34.2
-34.4
Q)
0 Foraging range (UD90)
"O
:::, ,- I Interim dosure (partial)
i -34.6 CJ Interim dosure (strict)
...J
J...!Core foraging area (mlBA-ARS)
_ I 20 km dosure
-34.8
-35.0
18.8 19.0 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.8
Longitude
4.2.5. St Croix Island

10
858
Figure 5
-33.6
-33.7
-33.8
Q)
~ -33.9
l'O MPA
-'
': I 20 km closure
-34.1 L '
-34.2 ., -,-
25.4 '
25.6 25.8 26.0 26.2
Longitude
foraging tracks (thin grey lines).
4.2.6. Bird Island

Figure 6
-33.4
-33.6
Q)
~ -33.8 MPA
I 20 km closure
-34.0
-34.2
...-- -r- --r
25.8 26.0 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.8 27.0
Longitude
foraging tracks (thin rey lines.
5. Conclusion
reducing current resource pressure. By contrast, the interim closures incur low to negligible costs
11
859

penguins while minimising societal costs.
Penguin survival and recruitment. As a consequence, the proposed six-year review (which is
intended to enable assessment ofthe efficacy of biologically meaningful closures) will not achieve
12
860
"AM75"

Sent: Tuesday, 19 December 2023 13:08
To: Riedau <[email protected] >; Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller
<[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Prof) (Summerstrand Campus South) <[email protected] >;
[email protected] ; Katta Ludynia <[email protected] >; [email protected] ; copeland.fishconsult
<[email protected] >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >; Deon Van Zyl <[email protected] >; Rial Fishing Pty
Ltd <[email protected] >; Johannes De Goede <[email protected] >; Janet Claire Coetzee
<[email protected] >; Saasa Pheeha <[email protected] >
Dear Colleagues
After careful consideration and some internal discussion, our thinking is as follows:
1. The Minister's Decision was that the interim closures will be put in place, unless
there is agreement between the stakeholders (fisheries and conservation) to
replace this agreement with a different closure arrangement. This was
announced by Minister on 4 August 2023.
2. Subsequent to this announcement, the Stakeholders approached the
Department with a different proposed closure agreement adjacent to St. Croix
Island - this was checked with the stakeholders who agreed with the map and
this was implemented on 1 September 2023.
3. The ESCPFA now claim that an error was made and wish for the map to be
corrected and has provided 2 options in their letter of 27 November 2023. The
letter was emailed to the DFFE, and was then emailed to the Conservation
Representatives on 1 December 2023, with permission from ESCPFA. (This
correspondence was acknowledged on 1 December 2023, with an indication that
a response will be forthcoming . A follow-up was made on 11 December. A
response from the Conservation Representatives rejecting both options was
received on the 14th of December.)
4. The suggested way forward is as follows: As this was an agreement between the
two stakeholders and one stakeholder now claims that there was no valid
agreement because it acted under a mistake, there appears not to have been a
meeting of the minds as to what was agreed. Given that the agreement is now in
dispute and I or that the one stakeholder has decided to withdraw from it, the
interim closures will take effect as per the Minister's decision.
1
861
s. While the interim closure will run from 15 January 2024, the Department urges
the stakeho"lders to continue to engage with each other; and if a new agreement
is reached on specific closed areas, taking into account the Expert Panel Report,
this may be presented to the Minister with a request that the Minister grants this
indulgence so that that new agreement may be implemented in place of the
interim agreement going forward. (The current closure will remain in place until
the 14th of January as time does not allow for the permit conditions to be
changed between now and the start of the new season.)
G. Lessons learned in this process.
a. All such future agreements must be carefully reviewed by all ·stakeholders
before implementation so that unintended errors or consequences are
detected.
b. In future, such fishing closure agreements must be confirmed in writing by
both parties as binding through the signature of a short and simple written
agreement. In addition, this agreement may be implemented through
inclusion in the permit conditions, which will include conditions that
stipulate that such an agreement may not be withdrawn/varied by either
party. A review date may be included as to when agreements may be
adjusted I withdrawn from, for example on an annual basis.
I wish you well over the festive season. For queries on this in the new year please
engage with Mr Gcobani Popose and DOG Oceans & Coasts, Dr Fikizolo. (I am
moving on from the DFFE at the end of the month, and will like to thank all of you for
your many contributions to this process.)
Thank you
Ashley
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Thursday, 14 December 2023 at 12:30
To: Riedau <[email protected] >, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Lauren
Waller <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
<[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >, Deon Van Zyl ~lJ'\
2
862
<[email protected]>, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Colleagues
We have an in internal discussion, and have proposed a way forward to our Heads of
Branches (the DDGs ). I will engage with them and get back to you early next week. I
apologize for the added days here, however our internal processes must be followed.
Thank you
Ashley N

Date: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 11 :48
To: Riedau <[email protected] >, Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Lauren
Waller <[email protected]>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
<[email protected]_._za_>, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Riedau and Alistair and colleagues.
Thank you for your responses, especially so late in the year when all of us are
considering some time away from work. Please give me a day to get back to you on a
proposed way forward.
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

Date: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 11: 11
To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >, Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Lauren
Waller <[email protected],.z.a.>, [email protected] <[email protected] >,
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected] >, Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >, Zimasa Jika ~~
3
J\~
863
<[email protected] >, Tasneem Wesley <[email protected] >
Dear Alister,
Our agreement proposed by yourself was 40% of MIBA 2021 as explained in my previous email but the map utilised was
erroneous having not only utilised the MAP of UD 90 as proposed by ESCPA entailed the value of UD 90 and not that of
MIBA 21 upon which we agreed.
The subsequent proposal by the Panel does not feature in our agreement that materialised before that Panel had made
their final decisions that does not bear any relevance on what we are currently appealing for.
Environment proposed a settlement and we agreed to such settlement of closing 40 % of MIBA 21 but the erroneous
map area of UD 90 utilised resulted in a far greater area being closed that is not fair to ESCPA industry operators.
Agreements are based on honesty and honour and we both went into this agreement in an honourable manner to close
42.175 of MIBA 21 but now all honour appears to have flown out by the window due to an error that favours your
original sentiment of closing 100% of the islands.
Why is there suddenly a problem to rectify the MAP when there was an agreement thereon and we were all happy and
contented with our agreement.
I still feel that we should stop avoiding each other by having a meeting and look each other in the eye and resolve this
matter in an amicable fashion in the interest of both parties.
Kind Regards,
CEO
Rial Fishing Group
501.>IH A f ~ J
LONGLINE f
HA~
Email:[email protected]
Telephone: 041- 581 0459 I 041- 581 0458 Ce/1.-082 855 1457
intended recipient). you may not read, print, retain, use, copy, distribute or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have

Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 202310:40 AM
To: Ashley Naidoo <ANaidoo@dffe .gov.za >; Lauren Waller <[email protected] >; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr) (Summerstrand
Campus South) <lorien.pichegru@mandela .ac.za >; Smith, Craig <[email protected] >; Katta Ludynia
<[email protected] .za >; Riedau <[email protected] >; mike [email protected] .za
Dear Ashley
4
864
Thank you for your e-mail. We have considered the two options put forward by ESCPA in the attached
letter. Unfortunately, neither is acceptable, particularly as the permits (as amended) already reflect a closure extent
committed to by Fisheries which is less than that which would be in place if the method subsequently recommended by
the Panel were to be used.
Kind regards
Alistair

To: Alistair Mcinnes <[email protected] >; Lauren Waller <[email protected]>; Pichegru, Lorien (Dr)
<[email protected] >; Riedau <[email protected] >; mike.copeland @fishconsult.co.za
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>; Kim Prochazka <KProchazka @dffe.gov.za >; Zimasa Jika

below.)
Thank you
Ashley
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131

To: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >, Lauren Waller <[email protected]>,
5
865
<[email protected] >, Gcobani Popose <[email protected]>
Hi Ashley
Regards
Alistair

the work needed and its timing is the same across all those involved. (I will copy you
in.)
(In the interim both sets of stakeholders have written to the Minister (copied me and
Thank you
Ashley

Date: Friday, 01 December 2023 at 16: 16
Cc: Gerhard Cilliers <[email protected]>, Kim Prochazka <[email protected] >, Zimasa Jika
Dear Ashley
6
866
properly - but will likely need time beyond Tuesday. We will revert as soon as we can with our timing on this.
In the interim, we note that we have not heard further from you regarding the position of the closures more generally,
2023 should not proceed. We had hoped for an indication from you by now as to when both the conservation sector
you kindly follow-up with the Fisheries Sector representatives to establish when their analyses will be concluded.
regard.
Regards
Alistair

<ZJika @dffe.gov.za >; Gcobani Popose <[email protected] >
requested . (Copied Kim, Zimasa, Gerhard and Gcobani)

7
867
Thank you
Ashley
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.19915. 77601
+2721 493 7300
+2782 784 7131
8
868
"AM76"
Subject: Response to requests
From: Mike Copeland <[email protected] >

Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 3:07 PM
Cc: Ashley Naidoo <[email protected] >; SAPFIA <[email protected] >; Dr Mike Bergh <[email protected]>
Subject: Response to requests
Good afternoon Alistair,
In response to your requests in italics below, we provide some feedback.
"We have also had no indication as to when the Fisheries Sector Representatives will provide the full
assessment as anticipated SAPFIA's Comments."
We believe that the attached document provides our current thinking in terms of an assessment of the
International Review Panel Report.
''As a result, we ask that you kindly follow-up with the Fisheries Sector representatives to establish when their
analyses will be concluded, mindful of the self-evident urgency of the issue, and that you update us the
moment you receive any feedback in that regard."
As also mentioned in the attached we are busy refining the OBM which underpins the socio-economic impact.
This is a massive undertaking involving AIS data as well as environmental data and we hope to have it
concluded by the third quarter of 2024.
We trust that this provides sufficient information and answers your questions.
BR
Mike
Mike Copeland (0027 82 572 1852)

Copeland Consulting
1
869
SAPFIA's initial comments and view on the International

Review Panel report and on the trade-off between the
costs and benefits of island closures.
24 November 2023
1 Summary
The International Review Panel report (IRPR) pointed out that a final decision on closures is a policy
matter and recommended that this policy decision be based on a trade-off between the benefit to
penguins and the economic costs of closures.
The International Review Panel (IRP) is critical of SAPFIA's economic cost estimates. They conclude
that SAPFIA's estimate are likely overestimates. They give no estimate or indication of the extent of
this overestimation. Also, the benefits to penguins of closures have been estimated only for the ICE
closures, and not for other closure options. The question of how to estimate the benefit for
penguins across a range of closure options is not addressed in the IRPR. Mcinnes et al (2023) offer
no prescription for addressing these issues, which are vital for determining the cost impacts and the
benefits for penguins along an axis of increasing extent of areas closed, essential information for
conducting a trade-off analysis.
The Panel recommended that further validation of mlBAs should occur, but generally offered limited
comments regarding specifying mlBAs. The proposal in Mcinnes et al (2023) for the specific ml BA-
ARS closures they report at 3 breeding sites is motivated by qualitative arguments that do not
quantitatively trade-off costs and benefits. Mcinnes et al's proposed island closures are therefore
not the output of a quantitative trade-off exercise but involve mainly restating previous positions
which have lacked quantitative backing. Their recommendations are therefore not based on the
IRP's recommendations. Furthermore, the IRP supported mlBA-ARS as a concept, not the specific
implementation of it in Mcinnes et al (2023).
Since the completion of the IRP deliberations earlier this year, SAPFIA has carried out further work
into the question of irreplaceability of catch which is at the core of the IRP's view that the OBM
estimates of economic costs are likely overestimated. Since the concept of irreplaceability is closely
linked to the search pattern and behaviour by purse seine vessels to locate fishable shoals, this work
has involved gathering AIS data for the small pelagic fleet and other fleets with which purse seiners
communicate while searching for commercially viable shoals on which to set their nets. These data,
not available to SAPFIA at the June panel deliberations, show a larger effective daily search area than
was previously considered. While further analyses of these data are needed and will be carried out,
this new evidence of a larger scale of the search area strengthens the original OBM calculations of
irreplaceability.
At this stage therefore, SAPFIA strongly hold the view that the extent of any 'likely overestimates' in
their cost estimate is small, and that even a worst case lower economic impact estimate would still
reflect the loss of lO0's of jobs. The negative socio-economic impact of closures would therefore
clearly outweigh any positive benefits of closures to penguins.
1
870
SAPFIA also understand the Minister's decision on closures (Appendix B here) to be the definitive
position of the government on closures as guided by the current state of knowledge, and that a
formal decision based on a quantitative trade-off decision (as recommended by the IRP) is not
possible at this time given lack of finality on the cost estimate. Considerable further work informing
the quantitative estimates of some of the key inputs into trade-off calculations is required. This
includes further work on the OBM model, as well as more work on specifying mlBAs, including along
the lines suggested by the IRP. This cannot be achieved in the short (next few months) term and is
only feasible in the medium term.
SAPFIA's strongly held view includes that given that the IRP has confirmed that the impact of fishing
around breeding islands is small, attention should now rather focus on determining the real reasons
for the decline of the penguin population. Indeed, the IRPR (Punt et al, 2023) makes repeated
recommendations for the development of MICE approaches to explore the possible causes of the
decline in the penguin population {see Appendix C). To date two versions of MICE approaches have
been developed (Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie, 2023a, b). The first considers the possible role of
guano harvests in the decline of the penguin population. It concludes that guano harvesting cannot
be responsible for declines in the African penguin population over the last two decades. The second
shows that changes in food abundance cannot alone explain two key features in penguin population
abundance: (i) elevated mortalities during the first decade of this century (which may be linked to
the MV Treasure oil spill) and (ii) sufficiently low adult survivorship in the recent period compared to
the late 1980s and early 1990s to cause the penguin population to decline over those periods. The
relevant document suggests for (i) that the mortalities due to the MV Treasure oil spill may have
been much larger than were reported, with some of the consequences of the oiling of penguins
manifesting themselves only after a delay. For (ii) it notes that if this is due to direct predation of
penguins by seals, it would require only 0.01 penguins per seal per annum to be predated, so that
this possibility cannot easily be discounted. These two documents are publicly available and are out
for comment.
In essence then:
1) A policy decision ultimately requires consideration of the quantitative trade-off between

penguin benefits and industry costs. This is a recommendation from the IRPR (Punt et al,
2023).
2) The panel provided a "decision" on the penguin benefits, but not on the costs. It said only
that those presented were likely overestimates, and suggested ways to improve them.
3) This improvement is therefore essential before cost estimates can be tabled as the basis for
the trade-off evaluation required for a policy decision.
4) In the meantime, SAPFIA accepts the Minister's decision on closures (as per Appendix B)
given the considerable work that is required to inform any trade-off decision. This additional
work will only be able to be completed in the medium term, and certainly not by the start of
the 2024 season. We note that discussions relating to the closure area around St Croix are
still taking place.
5) Having carried out some further research subsequent to the IRP meeting, SAPFIA considers
the revised cost estimates (especially when expressed in terms of job losses) to be such as to
2
871
substantially outweigh the small benefits of closures to the penguins (as was acknowledged
by the IRP). On this basis SAP FIA does not consider that closures are justifiable.
6) The priority for further research is to determine the main reasons for the penguin decline -
this matter has been addressed in part by two recent MICE analyses. Further research such
as this needs to be prioritised over research such as monitoring and possibly modifying
island closure arrangements (which for the moment can continue on the basis of the
Minister's default decision), because the former clearly has a much larger potential benefit
for penguins in a situation where resources for research are limited. Furthermore, the
ENGOs' proposal for future closures remains incomplete in a number of respects (see section
2.3 below)
2 Key pertinent conclusions of the International Review Panel

In its reading of the report from the IRP, SAPFIA notes the following four areas of import regarding
the merits and extent of island closures, viz.
1. Benefits of island closures to penguins

2. The economic costs of island closures to the small pelagic fishery
3. The trade-off between benefits to penguins and economic cost to the small pelagic fishing
industry
4. Recommendations for further research
Within these four categories, the following four sections highlight excerpts from the IRPR that have
most relevance to SAPFIA's position on the interim closures and on the preferred trade-off decision:
2.1 Benefits of island closures to penguins

"Overall, the results of the ICE for Dassen and Robben islands indicate that fishing closures around
the breeding colonies are likely to have a positive impact on population growth rates, but that the
impacts may be small, in the range 0.71-1.51 % (expressed in units of annual population growth
rate). These impacts are small relative to the estimated rates of reduction in penguin abundance for
these two colonies over recent years (section 2.3.2)."
Comments:
• The IRP's rationale for and conclusions about the benefits for penguins from ICE are noted.
SAPFIA notes that the use of these results to infer the benefits at Stony Point and Dyer, St
Croix and Bird Island (Algoa Bay) would require extrapolation of results from only two West
Coast islands to the other four breeding sites. This is less than satisfactory, particularly given
the IRP's recommendations that trade-off decisions should be specific to each breeding
site/island.
• In reaching its estimates of benefits, the IRP effectively disregards the entire body of foraging
data collected during ICE and recommends that future improvements be made when
collecting and or interpreting such data. These omitted foraging data suggest that the
estimates of penguin benefits reported by the IRP for Dassen and Robben Islands are too
large.
3
872
2.2 The economic costs of island closures on the small pelagic fishery
"Care should be taken when interpreting the estimated impacts to the fishing industry given the
OBM likely provides an over-estimate of uncertain magnitude of the loss in catch (see Section 3.2) so
the results of the OBM and hence the SAM model should be considered primarily in a relative sense
and hence used for ranking closure options. The relative ranking of a closure may, however, be
sensitive to how catches are allocated to local communities."
Comments:
• SAPFIA notes the comments in the IRPR about the OBM methodology used by OLSPS Marine
to estimate the catches that are likely to be lost due to island closures.
• The IRPR contains implicit and explicit suggestions for improving the OBM estimates,
specifically addressing the question of irreplaceability.
• SAPFIA have been engaged (subsequent to the IRP) in further work to investigate and
improve the OBM and to comment further on the search behaviour of the pelagic fleet and
the likely extent of catch irreplaceability. To this end OLSPS Marine have sourced all available
AIS data for the pelagic fleet as well as other relevant fleets in South African waters which
communicate with pelagic vessels and provide information about the presence of schooling
bait fish . SAPFIA considers that these data have a bearing on the scale of the search area of
the pelagic fleet, and that they strengthen the basis for the estimates of catch irreplaceability
and hence of the economic cost estimates based on the OBM (Opportunity Based Model).
2.3 The trade-off between benefits to penguins and economic cost to the small
pelagic fishing industry
1. "The panel recommended that analyses delineating mlBAs using ARS methods represent the
best scientific basis for delineating the preferred foraging habitats during breeding. In the
future, additional analyses would further improve understanding, especially with respect to
how the spatial scale of any given ml BA might vary by year. The panel concluded that such
between-year variation is likely to be important, as the years of the ICE, during which most
telemetry data have been collected, have been years of relatively low prey resource
abundance."
2. Addressing the question of an optimal trade-off the IRP suggests that "One approach (if
curves such as those in Figure 4.6 can be created) is to find the point at which the change in
penguin benefits (by increasing closures) matches the change in costs to society".
3. "There is a trade-off amongst maximising benefits to penguins, minimising the costs to the
fishing industry, and having a reliable basis to quantify the effects of closures (including no
closures) on the penguin recovery rate. The trade-off among closure options is a policy
decision related to conservation, economic and social goals and objectives for South Africa.
This report outlines some aspects that could form part of a decision-making framework to
identify the closure options that will provide the best outcomes for penguins given some
level of cost to the fishing industry."
4. "There are three primary trade-off axes to consider when selecting closures: (a) the benefit
to penguins of the closure; (b) the cost (economic and social) to the fishing industry and the
communities where fishing and processing operations are based; and (c) the ability to
evaluate the effectiveness of the closures (section 4.1)."
4
873
5. Numerous comments are made that support the application of MICE to determine the
reasons for the sharp decline in penguin population numbers - see Appendix C here for a
summary of these comments. In particular, Table 7.1 of the IRP rates the priority for MICE
work as 'High', the highest priority which they accord to future work.
6. Island specific trade-offs: "The trade-offs between costs to the fishery and benefits to
penguins in terms of the size of an area closed will differ among islands and among sectors
within the fishery. Consequently, the benefits to penguins and costs to industry should be
considered by island (or region) and not simply at the national level (see section 4.5 for
aspects of each major breeding colony that are relevant for decision making). In addition,
given the heterogeneity within the industry, expressing costs and job losses by sector (e.g.,
for small scale operators) would also seem appropriate."
Comments:
• SAPFIA notes the IRP's comment about mlBA-ARS. mlBA-ARS is a concept, which provides
an improved basis for specifying closure areas based on separating transiting and food-
searching behaviour. The IRP's comments in this regard also need to be understood in
combination with their recommendations for improving the telemetry data and its analysis.
However, regarding trade-offs, since the IRP also recommended determining an appropriate
balance between the extent of closures, the benefit to penguins and the cost to the industry,
their endorsement of the mlBA-ARS concept does not constitute endorsement of the specific
mlBA-ARS shape files tabled in June 2023 during IRP deliberations which appears to be the
interpretation offered by Mcinnes et al (2023). SAPFIA's interpretation of the IRP statements
about mlBA-ARS is that this could provide an approach for determining a continuum of
different possible levels of best closures for each of a range of area levels that are closed.
• SAPFIA also considers that along the continuum referred to above (still to be specified), the
benefits to penguins must be evaluated, if necessary, on an island-by-island basis (point 3
above). The basis for calculating these benefits has not been specified, and this needs to be
done before one can consider trade-offs.
• The IRP states that the trade-off decision is a policy decision (point (3) above). By
recommending the existing closures the Minister has effectively made a policy decision but
has not and could not have been able to carry out the necessary (as recommended also by
the IRP) formal trade-off evalua~sm between costs and benefits. Such a trade-off calculation
is not presently possible for reasons given elsewhere in this document. SAPFIA's considers
that this (i.e., Appendix B) is a policy decision that should be reviewed when appreciable
improvements to the estimates of costs and benefits have been made. This is likely to be
possible only in the medium term and certainly not by the start of the 2024 year.
• From the results of ICE at Dassen and Robben Islands, the IRPR noted that the benefit to the
penguins is in the range 0,71-1,51% (expressed in units of annual population growth).
Given that these two islands have already been closed 50% of the time during ICE, to
interpret the effect on the entire population, the additional benefit relative to trends since
2008 will be in the range 0,36-0,76% per annum. This equates to an increase in the number
of penguin breeding pairs (currently about 10 000) of between 36 and 76 breeding pairs per
annum in a population that is declining at a rate of 800 penguin breeding pairs per annum.
874
• SAPFIA is in agreement that the pursuance of MICE approaches to try to determine the main
factors driving the decline in the penguin population is long overdue and needs to be taken
up urgently (point 5 above).
• Regarding point (6) above, SAPFIA considers that it may not prove possible to express
economic costs at an island level, but that 'regional' disaggregation may be a more realistic
target. This issue needs further deliberation.
2.4 Recommendations for further research

1. "The panel recommended that further validation of mlBAs should occur, in particular using
dive data that provide objective identification of foraging locations, rather than commuting
(or travelling) locations (see also section 5.9). Such analyses could be included in species
distribution models (e.g., Warwick-Evans et al., 2018) that could be used to identify areas of
key importance. However, important uncertainties remain, particularly if mlBAs are
determined (as they have been) using telemetry data predominantly limited to early chick
rearing when breeding adults are most constrained; further, that mlBAs may differ in the
future, should prey resource abundance increase."
2. In Table 7.1 "Prioritised summary of research and other tasks. Short-term tasks pertain to the
next 1-2 years, medium-term tasks to the next 2-5 years and long-term tasks the next 6+
years. The relative priorities and timings reflect an integrated outcome of the Panel, which
assigned priorities and timings to each task", the IRPR makes the following research
recommendation: ·
• 2. Supporting evaluation of trade-offs, including refining estimates of foraging areas,

a. Validate the mlBAs given information on foraging locations, relative priority= High,
timing= Medium
• 2. Supporting evaluation of trade-offs, including refining estimates of foraging areas,

b. Summarise between-year variation in mlBAs, Relative priority= Medium-High,
Timing= Short
3. "If designated, closed areas to protect penguins should be reviewed at a time when results
are available to investigate life-history processes such as juvenile recruitment, and adult
survival, and hence population growth rates. This may be at a time between 6 and 10 years
after designation."
4. "Monitoring should take place irrespective of whether there is an experimental (alternating

open and closed) component to the closure program (section 4.2)."
5. The IRP makes repeated recommendations for the development of MICE approaches to
further explore the possible causes for the decline in the penguin population (see Appendix
Chere) .
Comments:
• With regard to point (1) above, the IRP supported mlBA-ARS as a concept, not the specific
implementation of it in Mcinnes et al (2023).
• In (1) above the IRP are recommending that improvements need to be made to the foraging
data used in the specification of mlBAs. In (2) above they recommend that that work is a
High priority, only possible in the medium term.
6
875
• While the mlBA-ARS methodology is the preferred option of the IRP to specify area closures,
it is clear from the comment, and points (1) and (2) from the IRP report referred to above,
that the foraging data informing the mlBA-ARS area closures requires further refinements
which can only be achieved in the medium term.
• There has been no experimental design work carried out to validate the feasibility of
detecting a meaningful benefit for penguins at the population level at the 6 -10 year time
frame suggested. This is concerning since it may be that very little new information can be
expected, and at this stage this is an unknown. That experimental design work, together
with specification of the details of any monitoring data collection, is a prerequisite to any
defensible further closure arrangement.
• To date two versions of MICE approaches have been developed (Butterworth and Ross-
Gillespie, 2023a, b). The first considers the possible role of guano harvests in the decline of
the penguin population. It concludes that guano harvesting cannot be responsible for
declines in the African penguin population over the last two decades. The second shows that
changes in food abundance cannot alone explain two key features in penguin population
abundance (i) elevated mortalities during the first decade of this century (which may be
linked to the MV Treasure oil spill) and (ii) sufficiently low adult survivorship in the recent
period compared to the late 1980s and early 1990s to cause the penguin population to
decline over those periods. The relevant document suggests for (i) that the mortalities due
to the MV Treasure oil spill may have been much larger than were reported, with some of
the consequences of the oiling of penguins manifesting themselves only after a delay. For (ii)
it notes that if this is due to direct predation of penguins by seals, it would require only 0.01
penguins per seal per annum to be predated so that this possibility cannot easily be
discounted. These two documents are publicly available and are out for comment.
3 Mcinnes et al (2023), some comments

While Mcinnes et al (2023) notes the recommendations in the IRP for trade-off calculations to be
carried out to arrive at a preferred balance point in terms of area closed, they acknowledge that
they do not have sufficient information to do this:
"4.1.10 Identification of the point at which the change in African Penguin benefits matches the
penguin tracking data."
SAPFIA would add that Mcinnes et al. have also not updated the mlBA-ARS estimates based on the
recommendations of the IRP, nor do they propose any relationship linking benefits to penguins to
the area closed. Rather they rely on qualitative arguments such as:
"Dassen: This northern area is critical to African Penguins from this colony. First, it forms part ~f
their core foraging area proximate to the Dassen Island breeding grounds. Second, small-pelagic
fishing within this northern portion of the mlBA-ARS is likely to have downstream effects on prey
availability for African Penguins in the remainder of their core foraging area due to the southward
movement of anchovy recruits between May and August which also corresponds to the core
breeding season for penguins from this colony. The interim closure is therefore assessed as not
being adequately representative of important African Penguin foraging area for this colony".
This is contrary to the recommendations of the IRP and an inappropriate trade-off to maximise
benefits to penguins while minimising societal costs. SAPFIA's considers that more formal and data
7
876
driven trade-off calculations need to be carried out. None of the key quantitative estimates for
carrying out such an exercise are presently available, other than the estimate of the benefit of
closures for penguins for ICE area levels.
Mcinnes et al (2023) state that
"4.1.9 For each colony we provide trade-off curves for four types of catch: (a) directed anchovy; (b)
directed sardine; (c) sardine bycatch; and (d) redeye. Sardine and anchovy are the principal prey of
African Penguins, although redeye is also targeted to a lesser degree."
The plots referred to as trade-off curves in 4.1.9 of Mcinnes et al (2023) are not trade-off curves.
The IRP suggests considering not 'cost impact vs area closed', but rather 'cost impact vs benefit to
penguins'.
With respect to the comment 4.1.11 in Mcinnes et al (2023):
"4.1.11 We note that in respect of Dyer Island, the lack of fishery cost data for the split-zone
scenario for the interim closure around this colony prevents us from assessing trade-offs at this
stage. In respect of St Croix and Bird islands, fishing permits have been amended (pursuant to the
IRP process). 25 Therefore, these fishing closures are reflected below without additional analysis for
the sake of completeness".
These estimates are now provided here in Appendix A but note that they do require further work to
address the panels comments on potential bias in the OBM based estimates.
The statement in Mcinnes et al (2023, Section 5) that "The interim closures currently in place have
little to no benefit for African Penguins in terms of reducing current resource pressure" is not
substantiated by estimates ofthe benefit due to these closures. Nor is the claimed increase in these
benefits for the proposed mlBA-ARS closures substantiated. Ultimately a trade-off calculation
requires some quantification of these amounts as well as the associated cost estimates.
4 Discussion and Conclusions

Appendix A summarises SAPFIA's estimates of the cost of closures to the fishing industry and to the
economy, based on Bergh et al (2016) and Bergh and Horton (2023), and further information
provided to Punt et al (2023) as requested. Appendix A considers the ICE, Interim, CAF and ml BA-
ARS closures. The range for the direct cost of closures to the fishing industry is between R 30 million
and R 356 million per annum, while for the economy at large the estimates range between R 85
million and R 1 017 million per annum. Based on Punt et al (2023), the benefits.for penguins from ICE
closures is about 56 breeding pairs per annum for the ICE (average their upper and lower values). No
estimates are available for the other three closure options mentioned in Appendix A. Based on Urban
Econ (2023), the number of jobs lost associated with this range of options varies from 130 to 1557
(or a range of about 2 jobs per penguin breeding pair to 27 jobs per penguin breeding pair) - see
Appendix A.
Even given the IRP's view that the estimates by SAPFIA of the economic impact of these closures are
over-estimates of an unspecified extent (a position which is the subject of further research by
SAPFIA), SAPFIA notes that a worst case/lowest economic impact analysis would likely still suggest
that there are 100s of jobs under threat due to such closures. This position is strengthened by recent
work using AIS data which shows a large effective search area in operation for the location of catches
which strengthens the OBM's estimates of catch irreplaceability.
The Minister made a policy decision about closures in response to the IRP's report, i.e., the existing
closures (see Appendix B). SAPFIA accepts the Minister's decision as a basis for moving forward
8
877
pending the ability to make a defensible trade-off decision, which first requires cost estimates.
SAPFIA's view is that such a trade-off decision should be considered only once there has been, at a
minimum, a material improvement in the estimates of economic impacts.
SAPFIA also considers that given that the IRP has confirmed that the impact of fishing around
breeding islands is small, attention should focus instead on determining the real reasons for the
decline of the penguin population. In this effort the MICE approach seems critical and recent work in
this regard needs to be used to refocus attention which has been unduly directed at the role of
fishing near to penguin breeding sites.
SAPFIA also consider that data on penguin breeding levels per month at each colony should be made
available, since it may be possible to mitigate the economic impact of closures by focussing closures
on periods of high breeding intensity only.
5 References
Bergh, M., Lallemand, P., Donaldson, T., and K. Leach. 2016. The economic impact of West Coast
penguin island closures on the pelagic fishing industry Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the
Environment report. FISHERIES/2016/JUN/SWG-PEL/18. 92 pp.
Bergh, M.O. and M. Horton, OLSPS Marine. 2023. Estimates of the impact of closing fishing around
six penguin breeding sites on pelagic catches. 5 May 2023, Revised 11 May 2023.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2023a. A MICE approach to scoping the possible impact of
guano harvests on trends in penguin abundance. Fisheries document FISHERIES/2023/JAN/PWG-
SWG/0lrev.
Butterworth, D.S. and Ross-Gillespie, A. 2023b. {NOT FULLY COMPLETE VERSION SEEKING
COMMENTS). Exploration of a MICE approach to evaluate the impact of fish abundance on penguin
survival. FISH ERi ES/2023/NOV/SWG-PEL/25
CAFMLR, 2022. Special Project Report on Penguin and Small Pelagic Fishery Interactions by the
Consultative Advisory Forum for Marine Living Resources
Mcinnes, A.M., Weideman, E., Waller, L., Pichegru, L., Sherley, R., Smith, C., Ludynia, K., Carpenter-
Kling, T., Hagen, C., Barham, P., Stander, N., and Shannon, L. 2023. The potential for interim purse-
seine fisheries restrictions to alleviate resource competition around African Penguin colonies:
assessment based on International Review Panel Report recommendations. 17 October 2023.
Minister B Creecy. 2023. Science based measures are now being implemented to protect the
critically endangered African penguins. 04 August 2023. https:ljwww.gov.za/speeches/minister-b-
creecy-science-based-measures-are-now-being-implemented-protect-critically.
Punt, A.E., Furness, R.W., Parma, A.M., Plaganyi-Lloyd, E., Sanchirico, J.N., Trathan, P.N. July 2023.
Report of the International Review Panel regarding fishing closures adjacent to South Africa's African
Penguin breeding colonies and declines in the penguin population. Department of Forestry, Fisheries
and the Environment {DFFE). ISBN: 978-0-621-51331-8.
Urban Econ, 2023. The Pelagic Fishing Industry: Socio-Economic Impact Assessment May 2023.
Urban-Econ Development Economists.
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878
6 Appendix A. Benefits to penguins and the econom-ic costs of

island closures.
The IRPR pointed out that a final decision on closures is a policy matter but recommended that this
policy decision be based on a trade-off between the benefit to penguins and the economic costs of
closures.
6.1 Benefit to penguins

From the results of ICE at Dassen and Robben Islands, the report noted that the benefit to the
penguins is in the range 0.71-1.51% of the population. Given that these two islands have already
been closed 50% of the time during ICE, the additional benefit relative to trends since 2008 is in the
range 0.36 - 0.76% per annum. This equates to a relative increase in the number of penguin
breeding pairs (for a total current population size of about 10 000 breeding pairs) of between 36 and
76 breeding pairs per annum of a population that is declining at a rate of 800 penguin breeding pairs
per annum.
6.2 The economic costs to the fishing industry and to the economy
For the purposes of this report, we compare the loss from the -OBM for 4 options namely ICE. CAF
(see CAF, 2022), mlBA-ARS and the Interim Closures.
6.2.1 Maps of closure options

These are as given below.
ICE
For the two western islands and the two islands in Algoa Bay, this shows the extent of the 20km
closure areas, plus the closure around Riy Bank that was in place during ICE. For completeness this
has been extended to include Stony Point and Dyer Island as well
20km Proposed Closures
33.0S 33.5
34.0 S
33.5 S 34.5S
35.0 S
34.0S
D Proposed Closures
MPAs
34.ss _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.5 E 19.0 E 19.5 E 20.0 E 25,5 E 26.0 E 26.5 E
879
CAF
CAF recommendations on closure options that were sent to the Minister at the conclusion of the CAF
process (see CAF, 2022).
CAF Proposed Cloaurn
D er+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island

■ MPAs
33.0S 33.5 S
34.0S
33.5S
35.0 S
34.0S
34.s s.....,__ __ _ _ __ ____,

17.8 E 18.2 E -18.6 E 19.0 E 18.SE 19.0E 19.5E 20.0E 25.SE 26.0E 26.5 E
mlBA-ARS (see Macinnes et al, 2023)
mlBA ARS Proposed Closures
D er+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island
33.0 S 33.5S
34.0S
33.5 S
35.0
34.0 S
MPAs
34.5S.....,__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _--,-,
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.5 E 19.0 E 19.SE 20.0E 25.5 E 26.0E 26.5 E
Interim Closures
Note that these were the Interim Closure areas as per the revised Permit Conditions approved 26
July 2023. There have subsequently been some changes to the area around St Croix and this is still
subject to discussion.
880
Interim Proposed Closures
Dassen + Robben Island Der+ Ston St Croix + Bird Island
33.0S 33.55
33.5 S
35.05
34.0 s
D Outer D Proposed Closures

D Inner MPAs
34.55 ....,___ _ _~ -- -- , - '
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E 18.SE 19.0E 19.SE 20.0E 25.5 E 28.0E 26.5 E
6.2.2 Overlap between ICE, Interim and mlBA-ARS closure options at Dassen and Robben
Islands
Dassen + Robben Island
33.0S
33.SS
34.0S
17.8 E 18.2 E 18.6 E 19.0 E
6.2.3 Catch losses associated with different closure options (metric tons per annum)
These are based on the OBM as reflected in various submissions made to the international panel and
as refined at their request and subsequently calculated where necessary.
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881
ICE
Dassen Robben Dyer Stony St Croix Bird Riy Total

ANCHOVY 3216,7 1133,7 8604,5 310,6 18,2 0,0 3,1 13286,9
BYPIL 108,2 60,1 209,6 49,8 0,3 0,0 0,1 428,1
DIRPIL 89,3 37,9 1062,8 1049,6 1756,4 19,0 45,1 4060,1
REDEYE 169,1 44,2 829,3 162,4 2,7 0,0 0,2 1207,9
Total 3583,3 1276,0 10706,2 1572,4 1777,6 19,1 48,5 19031,5
CAF
Dassen Robben , Dyer Stony St Croix Bird Total

ANCHOVY 370,8 -61,0 855,1 -33,8 0,2 0,0 1131,2
BYPIL 47,7 -16,5 14,7 -0,3 0,1 0,0 45,7
DIRPIL 87,9 -3,5 137,8 8,8 421,1 34,8 686,9
REDEYE 69,3 23,6 55,7 -0,2 -0,2 0,0 148,3
Total 575,6 -57,3 1063,3 -25,6 421,3 34,9 2012,1
mlBA-ARS

ANCHOVY 2013,7 808,6 13628,7 284,0 1,4 0,0 16736,4
BYPIL 70,7 55,2 341,8 19,5 3,2 0,0 490,4
DIRPIL 78,7 4,8 4604,6 952,6 1708,9 32,5 7382,2
REDEYE 155,3 88,8 1213,7 88,8 3,1 0,0 1549,7
Total 2318,5 957,4 19788,8 1344,9 1716,6 32,5 26158,6
INTERIM CLOSURES
Dyer Dyer
Dassen Robben (outside) (inside} Stony St Croix Bird Total
ANCHOVY 49,8 -21,5 1311,7 84,8 -26,9 1,2 0,0 1399,2
BYPIL 39,8 -13,8 70,9 0,1 -0,5 0,1 0,0 96,6
DIRPIL 114,1 -4,6 1476,9 38,5 8,6 976,7 35,1 2645,4
REDEYE 75,9 42,5 103,3 6,5 -0,1 0,8 0,0 229,0
Total 279,6 2,7 2962,8 129,9 -18,8 978,9 35,1 4370,1
6.2.4 The economic value of catch losses to the fishing industry and to the economy as a
whole
The ex-store income of the lost catch to the fishing industry outlined in the previous section can be
quantified using a value per ton for sardine at R28 566 (human consumption and bait) and R7 706 for
industrial fish reduced to fish meal and oil. This reflects the "direct" lost value per annum and is
given in the table below. Application of a multiplier effect of 2,86 (see Urban-Econ, 2023) gives an
estimate of the total lost revenue to the economy (direct, indirect and induced), also included iri the
table below:
13
882
Annual Economic Losses to Annual Losses to the

Closure Option the Small Pelagic Fishing economy (Multiplier =
Industry 2.86)
ICE ZAR 230,975,913 ZAR 660,591,111

CAF ZAR 29,834,753 ZAR 85,327,394
mlBA-ARS ZAR 355,570,625 ZAR 1,016,931,988
Interim Closures ZAR 88,859,113 ZAR 254,137,063
883
7 Appendix B. Policy statement by Minister, DFFE of South Africa

( https://www.gov.za/s peec hes/mi nister-b-c reecy-science-based-
m eas u res-are-now-bei ng-i m plemented-protect-critica Ily)
Minister Barbara Creecy on science-based measures being

implemented to protect critically endangered African penguins
4 Aug 2023
The African penguin is critically endangered. If this situation is not addressed, with
current rates of population decline, science tells us these iconic creatures could be
functionally extinct by 2035.
Competition for food is thought to be one among a set of pressures that are contributing
to the decline of the African Penguin population. Other pressures include ship traffic
together with their associated noise and vibrations, pollution and degradation of
suitable nesting habitats.
The species, which is endemic to South Africa and Namibia, has decreased from more
than a million breeding pairs to just about 10 000 pairs over the last century.
Today, following the report of the Export Review Panel, I have taken a decision to
implement fishing limitations in the waters around penguin colonies for a minimum of
10 years, with a review after 6 years of implementation and data collection.
Fishing limitations are established for the following penguin colonies: Dassen Island,
Robben Island, Stony Point, Dyer Island, St. Croix Island and Bird Island. The transition
to implementing fishing limitations will continue with the current interim closures,
while both the fishing industry and the conservation sector study the Panel's Report.
If there is agreement on fishing limitations over the next few weeks or months across
these sectors, these will be implemented as they are agreed upon. If no alternate fishing
limitation proposals are concluded by the start of the 2024 Small Pelagic Fishing Season
(January 15th, 2024) the current interim fishing limitations will continue until the end
of the 2033 Fishing Season, with a review in 2030 after six years of implementation
from the start of the 2024 fishing season.
Today marks the end of the complex and lengthy process of stakeholder consultations in
the quest to find science-based measures to protect the critically endangered African
penguin from extinction.
In December 2022, I appointed an Expert Review Panel, under Section 3A of the

National Environmental Management Act, to assess the science related to managing the
interactions between the small pelagic (anchovy and sardines) fishery and the
conservation of African penguins.
The Panel is Chaired by Professor Andre Punt (USA), with members Dr Ana Parma
(Argentina), Dr Eva Plaganyi (Australia), Professor Philip Trathan (UK), Professor
Robert Furness (UK) and Professor James Sanchirico (USA). The Panel members all have
15
884
several decades experience in science to policy matters in the marine ecosystems, with
a combined science publication list of several hundreds.
The establishment of the Panel aimed to assess the appropriateness and value of fishing
limitations for penguin success. These are key discussions as the sardine stock in South
African waters continue to be at relatively low levels.
This included science outcomes and insights achieved during of the Island Closure
Experiment undertaken by the Department over the preceding decade. This experiment
aimed at understanding what, if any, benefits are derived from limiting fishing adjacent
to penguin colonies.
The Terms of Reference for the science review and the panel members were established
in consultation with the representatives from the fishing industry and bird conservation
sectors.
While the Expert Review Panel undertook their work, the Department, in September
2022 declared some areas around the major penguin colonies closed to commercial
fishing for anchovy and sardine. Although not representative on a consensus agreement,
these fishing restrictions were established after much collaboration and negotiation
with the seabird conservation groups and the small pelagic fishing industry
representatives.
A stand-out feature of the process to achieve a decision on fishing limitations, over the
last two years, has been the level of engagement from the conservation and fishing
industry sectors.
I want to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in this process. I do know that
some of you are already in discussions on reaching compromises and agreements and I
ask that you continue to find each other on this. The Department and myself will be
keen to implement any consensus you may reach - as first prize. The DDGs Fisheries
and Oceans & Coasts will. assist if you require some planned meeting time and space.
To continue the engagement, I have asked officials from the Fisheries and Oceans and
Coasts Branches to report to you at least annually on the implementation of these
closures, the expanded science plan and also progress on other non-fishery
interventions in the Penguin Management Plan. Fishing limitations alone will not be
sufficient to help the penguins recover.
In conclusion, I want to thank the Panel, Professors Punt, Furness, Trathan, Sanchirico
and Drs Parma and Plaganyi. I appreciate that you reviewed more than 200 documents
and that you undertook new analyses as well.
I believe that the Report and my policy decisions here start a new cycle of refinement
and assessment for both fisheries and penguin management. It is a material step in
implementing our ambition on an ecosystems approach to sustainable ocean
management and dynamic marine spatial planning.
885
Download:
• Report of the Export Review Panel [PDF-11.6 mb]

• Summary report in presentation format [PDF - 2.89 mb]
Media enquiries:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 6118197
Issued by:
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment
17
886
8 Appendix C. A summary of references to MICE in the IRP, and

support for their application to determine the drivers of penguin
population declines.
1. Section 6.3 "Understanding and mitigating reasons for the decline in African penguins due to
factors other than fishing near breeding colonies: The effects of several drivers could be
explored by developing an integrated ecosystem model, such as a MICE (Model of
Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem assessments) (Plaganyi et al., 2014; Collie et al.,
2016), or so-called MRMs (Minimum Realistic Models- Punt and Butterworth, 1995)1".
2. Page 42: "Section 1.3.2.1 summarises information related to the potential for changes in the
biomass of prey species to affect population parameters, in particular the effect of sardine
biomass on penguin adult survival. Further evaluation of such relationships could involve (a)
the development of a new MICE that addresses all the major penguin colonies off South
Africa, and (b) exploration of the consequences of using the current OMP to set catch limits
for anchovy, sardine and round herring".
3. Section 6.3.2: "Past guano harvesting is recognised as an important possible contributory
cause to the penguin decline because of its impact on optimal breeding habitat (see section
1.3.2.2). The impact of reductions in guano as nesting habitat is confounded to some extent
with other changes in the system, but could be incorporated in a MICE, expanding on local
efforts currently underway."
4. Section 6.3.3: "This is an impact that could usefully be investigated using a MICE both in
terms of direct and indirect predation effects, but also to compare the responses of other
predators in the system to changes in pelagic fish abundance. Though known to occur, the
incidence of predation of penguins by Cape fur seals, is unlikely to have led to the penguin
population changes observed. Data on seal diet and changes in regional seal abundance
would be particularly informative as inputs to models to quantify the relative contribution of
seal predation (and possibly competition) to penguin mortality".
5. Section 6.3.6: Given recognition of the impact on African penguins of a continued eastward
shift (i.e., from the west to the south coast) in the distribution of anchovy and especially
sardine (van der Lingen, 2023), this is an important factor to include in a MICE.
6. Section 6.3.6: "A MICE should ideally use and fit to all available penguin survival data. By
explicitly representing the ages of tagged penguins as well as other confounding sources of
mortality, such as due to oiling events and predation, an integrated MICE could assist in
separating the alternative sources of mortality. This then provides an objective integrated
framework for quantifying and correctly attributing the relative role of different drivers in
causing the decline of the penguins. Given an improved understanding -validated to the
extent possible - of the relative contributions of each driver to the penguin decline, a MICE is
then a useful tool for testing the efficacy of alternative management strategies through
forward projecting the effect of future mitigation measures, either on their own or in
combination".
7. Section 7.5. "Sections 1, 4 and 6 summarise hypotheses related to aspects other than fishing
near island breeding colonies leading to resource competition, that could explain past and
ongoing declines in African penguin populations. Section 6 identifies data sources and
analysis methods (including the use of Models of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem
Assessment - MICE) that could assist in understanding the effect of these aspects and how
they can be mitigated". (\_
8. "Table 7.1. Prioritised summary of research and other tasks. Short-term tasks pertain to the ~
next 1-2 years, medium-term tasks to the next 2-5 years and long-term tasks the next 6+ ~
18
887
years. The relative priorities and timings reflect an integrated outcome of the Panel, which
assigned priorities and timings to each task. Understanding and mitigating reasons for the
decline in African penguins due to factors other than fishing near breeding colonies. a.
Develop a MICE/integrated ecosystem model High Medium".
9: "APPENDIX F: OUTLINE OF MICE AND THEIR USE TO ASSESS DRIVERS OF THE DECLINE OF
AFRICAN PENGUINS" - extensive references to MICE.
19

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15

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA

BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA First Applicant

SOUTH AFRICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE Second Applicant

THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND First Respondent

THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: FISHERIES Second Respondent

THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL: OCEANS Third Respondent

THE SOUTH AFRICAN PELAGIC FISHING Fourth Respondent

EASTERN CAPE PELAGIC ASSOCIATION Fifth Respondent

ALISTAIR MC INTYRE MC INNES

do hereby make oath and state that:

1. I am an adult marine ecologist and the Seabird Conservation Programme

Manager at Birdlife South Africa, the first applicant (BLSA).

2. I am duly authorised to depose to this affidavit on behalf of BLSA. The relevant

resolution is attached as "AM1". I also attach as "AM2" and "AM3":

Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), which

authorises this litigation; and

2.2 the supporting affidavit of Dr Katrin Ludynia, who is authorised to bring

this litigation on SANCCOB's behalf.

Cape Town in 2016. My PhD research focused on "Fine-scale drivers of African

foraging ecology". Subsequently, I worked as apost-doctoral fellow in the Marine

and Dyer Island, including developing tools to inform marine ecosystem

management. I held this position until mid-2019 when I took up my current

position at BLSA, which entails overseeing projects concerned with mitigating

threats to seabirds within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone.

representatives, which advice I accept to be true and correct.

6. In addition to this affidavit, the applicants rely on the expert affidavits of Dr

Richard Sherley of Exeter University, attached as "AM4"; and Ms Eleanor

Weideman, attached as "AMS". Confirmatory affidavits have been provided by

to "AM9". The applicants have filed this application in the absence of

filed before the hearing of this matter.

7. The first applicant is BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA (BLSA).

7.1 BLSA is registered as a non-profit organisation and public benefit

organisation in terms of the laws of South Africa. Its principal place of

business is at lsdell House, 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West,

greater harmony, more equitably and more sustainably, while its

mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and biodiversity through,

inter alia, scientifically-based programmes and supporting the

sustainable and equitable use of natural resources. A copy of BLSA's

constitution is attached as "AM10".

7.3 BLSA is recognised as a member of the Conservation Sector Group

(CSG) concerned with African Penguin conservation by the

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (the DFFE)

(alongside SANCCOB, EWT, WWF-SA and NMU) and has been a

participant in the processes and fora with which this application is

8. The second applicant is the SOUTH AFRICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE

CONSERVATION OF COASTAL BIRDS (SANCCOB).

8.1 SANCCOB is registered as a non-profit company, non-profit

organisation and public benefit organisation in terms of the laws of

South Africa. Its registered address is at 22 Pentz Drive, Table View,

8.2 SANCCOB's primary objective is to conserve seabirds, the African

Penguin being the flagship species of focus, as well as other

complementary marine species. A copy of SANCCOB's memorandum

of incorporation is attached as "AM11 ".

8.3 SANCCOB is recognised by the DFFE as a member of the CSG

concerned with African Penguin conservation and has been a

participant in the processes and fora with which this application is

environment in terms of section 32(1)(e) of NEMA.

by virtue of having taken the decision which is subject to review in these