FEARS OF CATASTROPHE: Sardine deaths threaten Algoa Bay’s endangered African Penguins

While government departments are still investigating the cause of the mass sardine die-off along the South African coastline, conservationists fear that the main food supply of the critically endangered African Penguin is disappearing.

As reports of dead and dying sardines spread along the Eastern Cape coast, experts in Nelson Mandela Bay have voiced their concerns over the impact this could have on dwindling African Penguin numbers.

And while the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are still awaiting test results to confirm the exact cause of the mass mortality among these fish in recent weeks, the Algoa Bay Conservation group believes the department’s surveys in October or November to determine the scale of sardine losses should be brought forward to preserve the penguin population.

Meanwhile, reports of sardines washing ashore seem to be steadily spreading further west, with the latest report coming from the Wild Coast and Buffalo City Municipality, and officials warning residents not to pick up or consume the dead fish.

The department’s investigation into the mass mortality incident began early last month after it received reports of large numbers of dead sardines washing ashore along the West Coast, between Saldanha and Gansbaai.

This came after dead sardines from the Namibian coast were sent to South Africa to test for pilchard herpesvirus (PHV). This is currently believed to be the cause of the mass mortality after some of the samples tested positive for the disease. Other possible environmental factors are also being investigated.

In the following weeks, more sardines were found along the coast near Tsitsikamma, and last week beaches in Nelson Mandela Bay were littered with thousands of dead fish.

Over the past weekend, the Buffalo City Municipality also issued a notice for residents to avoid masses of dead sardines on their beaches.

“The DFFE recognises the concerns raised by conservation organisations. The Small Pelagic Scientific Working Group will meet on 4 September to review the latest findings and consider their implications for fisheries management. This assessment will inform advice on whether additional management measures are warranted. The scale of mortality remains uncertain, and the October/November hydroacoustic survey will provide essential information on the post-event sardine stock status,” the department said in its latest statement.

However, environmental scientist and director of Algoa Bay Conservation (ABC) Ronelle Friend says the penguin population in Nelson Mandela Bay cannot wait for the department’s surveys and has called for more urgent action.

“We have seen thousands of sardines wash up on the shore all over the country, and the ones we see are just the tip of the iceberg. How many more are dead and floating around in the ocean that we don’t know about?”

An ABC statement said marine scientists and pathologists were increasingly confident that PHV was the leading cause of the mass mortalities.