2ND INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN PENGUIN CONFERENCE

The 2^ndInternational African Penguin Conference, organized by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, took place from the15-18^thApril 2009inGansbaai,Western Cape,South Africa.The conference brought together 80 delegates, both local and international, including conservation managers, research scientists, conservationists and seabird rehabilitation experts. Participating organizations included: Cape Nature, South African National Parks,OverstrandMunicipality,RobbenIslandMuseum,UniversityofCape Town, Marine and Coastal Management (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism), University of Bristol (UK), SANCCOB, BirdLife SouthAfrica, Penguins Eastern Cape, SAMREC, Two Oceans Aquarium, Bayworld, the US SPP Program, and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust.The conference focused on the continued decline of the African penguin population and aimed to consolidate the links and strategies needed to address this dramatic decline.

This report provides a brief summary of some of the highlights of the Conference.Scientific proceedings, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, will be published later this year.To register for acopy click here

Numbers continue to decline at alarming rate

Recent data collected from the breeding colonies of the Western Cape of South Africa confirm that the number of African Penguins continues to decline at an alarming rate.

According to Professor Rob Crawford of Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marine and Coastal management Directorate, there were 147,000 breeding pairs of African Penguins in 1956 while by 2006 there were only 36,000 pairs.

(Kemperet al2007)