A South African court issued a landmark order on Tuesday, barring commercial fishing near key African penguin breeding sites for a decade.
The decisive action aims to protect the endangered birds facing extinction partly due to dwindling food supplies.
Conservation groups celebrated the Pretoria High Court settlement as a crucial victory for the iconic black-and-white seabirds.
The court order prohibits sardine and anchovy fishing around six vital breeding colonies.
These protected zones include Robben Island, Dassen Island, and the Stony Point nature reserve, offering a sanctuary for the struggling penguins.
BirdLife South Africa hailed the ruling as “an historic victory” in the fight against the African penguin’s extinction.
Listed as critically endangered by the IUCN in October 2024, the African penguin population has plummeted by 97 percent.
Experts warn that the species could vanish from the wild by 2035 without intervention.
Nutritional deficiencies, stemming from overfishing, are a primary threat, causing breeding abandonment.
Breeding pairs dwindled from over 15,100 in 2018 to approximately 8,750 by the end of 2023.
Tuesday’s court order mandates the environment minister to implement the fishing ban at the six sites within two weeks, offering a beacon of hope for the imperiled African penguin.