Yellow-eyed penguins 'drowning' in sea nets, scientists warn

Thursday, 30 November 2017

A sharp decline in the yellow-eyed penguin population on the Otago Coast prompted the establishment of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust in 1987.

Academics are calling for urgent Government action to help save the yellow-eyed penguin from extinction.

In a world-first review of penguin bycatch, the endangered bird, known as hoiho in te reo Māori, were identified as one of three penguin species of significant concern.

A yellow-eyed penguin that was caught in a net. MPI says it didn't see any captures of the birds when it observed 25 per cent of all commercial set net activity off Southland and the southern part of the East Coast over the past 12 months.

University of Otago PhD graduate and New Zealand penguin scientist Dr Ursula Ellenberg, who initiated the global review, said the research identified set nets as the fishing gear causing most penguin deaths.

These walls of fine nylon mesh are used to catch fish by the gills.They are used by about 330 commercial fishing boats in New Zealand waters, as well as by recreational fishers.

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Yellow-eyed penguin foraging areas around New Zealand's mainland.

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'Diving birds like penguins are unable to see the fine mesh underwater, and become entangled and drown,' she said.

'In the past 20 years, yellow-eyed penguins have declined by 76 per cent at previous population strongholds. We have reached the point where every bird counts.'

There are only 246 breeding pairs left on the South Island.

'NO QUICK FIX'

Local community groups, tourist operators, and researchers collaborate with governmental agencies to control predators, restore breeding habitat, and manage visitors around breeding colonies.

But Ellenberg said conservation measures on land weren't enough.

'It's the threats at sea we are most concerned about,' she said.

'Whereas there is no quick fix for climate change or marine habitat degradation, there is one thing we can do immediately to improve their chances of survival. We can stop drowning them in set nets.'

Forest and Bird's seabird advocate Karen Baird said The Ministry for Primary Industries had previously assessed the risk from fisheries bycatch to mainland yellow-eyed penguins but had failed to act to protect penguins, or threatened marine mammals, from commercial fishing.

The review recommended a number of actions to tackle the problem, including the presence of fisheries observers or video monitoring on vessels to monitor bycatch, and managing set net fisheries in important penguin foraging areas to reduce bycatch deaths.

'But for the yellow-eyed penguin, the situation is so urgent that we also need to immediately establish set net closures in important yellow-eyed penguin foraging areas,' Baird said.

Ellenberg said set netting would benefit other penguin species and marine mammals, such as Hector's dolphins.

'The aim of such management is to make sure that nets are not set in areas that are important foraging hotspots for threatened species. Setting the nets at night can considerably reduce the bycatch of penguins since these are visual hunters and mostly forage during daylight hours,' she said.

'We are losing yellow-eyed penguins across their entire breeding range. Breeding areas which I remember as buzzing and noisy with penguin life during my PhD research 10 years ago have now become silent and overgrown with only the odd pair hanging on.'

'NO OBSERVED CAPTURES'

Scientists had observed in recent years an increasing number of 'loners on empty nest bowls, penguins that wait and call for their partners that have been lost at sea and will never return'.

'It's really disheartening,' Ellenberg said.

'MPI needs to act urgently and work with the fishing industry to tackle this problem, before we lose yellow-eyed penguins from the mainland altogether.'

The other at-risk species identified in the review were Humboldt and Magellanic Penguins, both found in South America.

Stuart Anderson, Director Fisheries Management at MPI said: 'We have already increased observation of set net fishing in the range of the Whenua Hou population, and most of the mainland yellow-eyed penguins. Over the past 12 months we have observed 25 per cent of all commercial set net activity off Southland and the southern part of the East Coast, with no observed captures of yellow-eyed penguins.'

Anderson said MPI is 'absolutely committed' to managing the impact of fishing on all seabirds and that set netting within four nautical miles of land is already prohibited in much of the Southland Fisheries Management Area. Approximately 75 per cent of the yellow-eyed penguin population live in areas like the Auckland Islands, where there is no set net fishing at all,' he said.

'We are working with the Department of Conservation, fishers, and NGOs to understand the impact of fishing and other risks for this iconic species. This includes setting up a comprehensive research programme focused on fishing risks. That will help us understand what impact fishing might be having, and identify ways to reduce it.'