NGOs and scientists welcome stakeholder engagement on fishing restrictions around important African Penguin colonies

Johannesburg and Cape Town, 10 August 2021: The African Penguin is in crisis and, without urgent management intervention, Africa is in danger of losing its only penguin species, one of only 18 penguin species globally. Read more

World Albatross Day – Ensuring Albatross-Friendly Fisheries

Johannesburg, 17 June 2021 – Join BirdLife South Africa and the world to celebrate World Albatross Day on Saturday 19 June. This year’s theme is “Ensuring albatross-friendly fisheries” which seeks to draw attention to the threats faced by albatrosses as they interact with fisheries. Read more

First release of African Penguins at De Hoop Nature Reserve

Cape Town, 15 June – The attempt to re-establish an African Penguin colony on the south coast of South Africa took a big step forward this week with the release of 30 juvenile penguins at the De Hoop Nature Reserve. BirdLife South Africa, CapeNature and SANCCOB have partnered together in this ambitious attempt to help save the Endangered African Penguin. Read more

 

2022

Crawford RJM, Sydeman WJ, Tom DB, Thayer JA, Sherley RB, Shannon LJ, McInnes AM, Makhado AB, Hagen C, Furness RW, Carpenter-Kling, T, Saraux C. 2022. Food limitation of seabirds in the Benguela ecosystem and management of their prey base. Namibian Journal of Environment 6: 1–17. http://nje.org.na/index.php/nje/article/view/volume6-crawford

Carpenter-Kling T, de Blocq A, Hagen C, Harding C, Morris T, Pichegru L, Roberts J, Ryan PG, Wanless RM, McInnes A. 2022. Important marine areas for endangered African penguins before and after the crucial stage of moulting. Scientific Reports 12: 1–13. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-12969-w

2021

Potts, WM, Mann-Lang, JB, Mann, BQ, Griffiths, CL, Attwood, CG, de Blocq, AD, Elwen, SH, Nel, R, Sink, K, Thornycroft, R. 2021. South African marine citizen science – benefits, challenges and future directions. African Journal of Marine Science 43: 353–366. PDF available here.

Conway AM, Durbach IN, McInnes AM, Harris RN. 2021. Frame‐by‐frame annotation of video recordings using deep neural networks. Ecosphere 12:  e03384. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3384

Grace MK, Akçakaya HR, Bennett EL, Brooks TM, Heath A, Hedges S, Hilton‐Taylor C, Hoffmann M, Hochkirch A, Jenkins R, Keith DA, Long B, Mallon DP, Meijaard E, Milner-Gulland EJ, Rodriguez JP, Stephenson PJ, Stuart SN, Young RP, Acebes P, Alfaro-Shigueto A, Alvarez-Clare S, Andriantsimanarilafy RR, Arbetman M, Azat C, Bacchetta G, Badola R, Barcelos LMD, Barreiros JP, Basak S, Berger DJ, Bhattacharyya S, Bino G, Borges PAV, Boughton RK, Brockmann J, Buckley HL, Burfield IJ, Burton J, Camacho-Badani T, Cano-Alonso LS, Carmichael RH, Carrero C, Carroll JP, Catsadorakis G, Chapple DG, Chapron G, Chowdhury GW, Claassens L, Cogoni D, Constantine R, Craig CA, Cunningham AA, Dahal N, Daltry JC, Chandra Das G, Dasgupta N, Davey A, Davies K, Develey P, Elangovan V, Fairclough D, Di Febbraro M, Fenu G, Fernandes FM, Fernandez EP, Finucci B, Földesi R, Foley CM, Ford M, Forstner MRJ, García N, Garcia-Sandoval R, Gardner PC, Garibay-Orijel R, Gatan-Balbas M, Gauto I, Ghazi MGU, Godfrey SS, Gollock M, González BA, Grant TD, Gray T, Gregory AJ, van Grunsven RHA, Gryzenhout M, Guernsey NC, Gupta G, Hagen C, Hagen CA, Hall MB, Hallerman E, Hare K, Hart T, Hartdegen R, Harvey-Brown Y, Hatfield R, Hawke T, Hermes C, Hitchmough R, Hoffmann PM, Howarth C, Hudson MA, Hussain SA, Huveneers C, Jacques H, Jorgensen D, Katdare S, Katsis LKD, Kaul R, Kaunda-Arara B, Keith-Diagne L, Kraus DT, de Lima TM, Lindeman K, Linsky J, Louis Jr. E, Loy A, Lughadha EN, Mangel JC, Marinari PE, Martin GM, Martinelli G, McGowan PJK, McInnes AM, Mendes ETB, Millard MJ, Mirande C, Money D, Monks JM, Morales CL, Mumu NN, Negrao R, Nguyen AH, Niloy NH, Norbury GL, Nordmeyer C, Norris D, O’Brien M, Oda GA, Orsenigo S, Outerbridge ME, Pasachnik S, Pérez-Jiménez JC, Pike C, Pilkington F, Plumb G, Portela RDCQ, Prohaska A, Quintana MG, Rakotondrasoa EF, Ranglack DH, Rankou H, Rawat AP, Reardon JT, Rheingantz ML, Richter SC, Rivers MC, Rogers LR, da Rosa P, Rose P, Royer E, Ryan C, de Mitcheson YJS, Salmon L, Salvador CH, Samways MJ, Sanjuan T, dos Santos AS, Sasaki H, Schutz E, Scott HA, Scott RM, Serena F, Sharma SP, Shuey JA, Silva CJP, Simaika JP, Smith DR, Spaet JLY, Sultana S, Talukdar BK, Tatayah V, Thomas P, Tringali A, Trinh-Dinh H, Tuboi C, Usmani AA, Vasco-Palacios AM, Vié J-C, Virens J, Walker A, Wallace B, Waller LJ, Wang H, Wearn OR, van Weerd M, Weigmann S, Willcox D, Woinarski J, Yong JWH, Young S. 2021. Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact. Conservation Biology: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13756

Makhado AB, Braby R, Dyer BM, Kemper J, McInnes AM, Tom D, Crawford RJ. 2021. Seabirds of the Benguela Ecosystem: Utilisation, Long-Term Changes and Challenges. In: Mikkola HJ (ed), Birds-Challenges and Opportunities for Business, Conservation and Research. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96326

2020

Sherley, RB, Crawford, RJM, de Blocq, AD, Dyer, BM, Geldenhuys, D, Hagen, C, Kemper, J, Makhado, AB, Pichegru, L, Upfold, L, Visagie, J, Waller, LJ, Winker, H. 2020. The conservation status and population decline of the African penguin deconstructed in space and time. Ecology and Evolution 10: 8506–8516. PDF available here

2018

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. PDF available here.

2017

Sullivan BJ, Kibel B, Kibel P,  Yates O, Potts JM, Ingham B, Domingo A, Gianuca D, Jiménez S, Lebepe B, Maree BA, Neves T, Peppes F, Rasehlomi T, Silva‐Costa A & Wanless M. 2017. At-sea trialling of the Hookpod: a ‘one-stop’ mitigation solution for seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries. Animal Conservation 21: 159–167. PDF available here.

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 RB, Steinfurth A, Suazo CG, Yorio P, Tamini L, Mangel JC, Bugoni L, Jiménez Uzcátegui G, Simeone A, Luna-Jorquera G, Gandini P, Woehler EJ, Pütz K, Dann P, Chiardia A, Small C. 2017. Tangled and drowned: a global review of penguin bycatch in fisheries. Endangered Species Research 34:373–396. PDF available here.

Pre-2016

Silva MC, Matias R, Wanless RM, Ryan PG, Stephenson BM, Bolton M, Ferrand N & Coelho M. 2015. Understanding the mechanisms of anti-tropical divergence in the seabird White-faced Storm-petrel (Procellariiformes: Pelagodroma marina) using a multi-locus approach. Molecular Ecology 24: 3122–3137. PDF available here.

Wanless RM. 2015. Seabirds; a review of status, distribution and interaction with fisheries in the Southwest Indian Ocean. Chapter 10: 351-364. In: Van der Elst RP and Everett BI. 2015 (eds). Offshore fisheries of the Southwest Indian Ocean: their status and the impact on vulnerable species. Oceanographic Research Institute, Special Publication, 10. 448pp

Wanless RM & Maree BA. 2014. Problems and solutions for seabird bycatch in trawl fisheries. Animal Conservation 17: 534. PDF available here.

Maree BA, Wanless RM, Fairweather, TP, Sullivan BJ & Yates O. 2014. Significant reductions in mortality of threatened seabirds in a South African trawl fishery. Animal Conservation 17: 520–529. PDF available here.

BirdLife South Africa has developed a number of position statements to assist staff, bird clubs, council members and indeed all members, to align themselves with the organisation’s viewpoints on a range of important matters. These statements are intended to summarise and demonstrate a clear stance on specific viewpoints. All the Position Statements can be found here but those relating to seabirds and the marine environment are listed below.

Position Statement on Tracking of Birds

Position Statement on Avian Influenza

Position Statement on Invasive Species

Position Statement on Aquaculture

Position Statement on Birding Code of Ethics

Position Statement on Island Restoration