sardine
1Min
South Africa
Dec 8, 2025
A new study has revealed that more than sixty thousand African penguins starved to death along South Africa’s coastline after sardine stocks collapsed, raising fresh alarm about the future of the already endangered species and the health of the country’s marine ecosystem.
A devastating new study has confirmed that more than sixty thousand African penguins died from starvation after a dramatic collapse in sardine stocks along South Africa’s coastline. The findings have intensified concerns about the long term survival of the species, which has already been listed as endangered due to sharp population declines over the past century.
Marine researchers say the deaths occurred between 2021 and 2023, a period marked by unusually low sardine availability along the west and south coasts. Sardines form the primary food source for African penguins and their disappearance triggered what scientists describe as one of the most severe mass starvation events recorded for the species.
Experts warn that the loss of sardines is linked to a combination of climate change, shifting ocean temperatures and long standing pressure from commercial fishing. Warmer waters have pushed sardine populations away from traditional feeding grounds, leaving penguins with long foraging distances that many could not survive.
Conservationists say the crisis is not only a blow to penguin numbers but also a warning about the health of South Africa’s marine ecosystem. African penguins are considered an indicator species and their decline reflects deeper problems in the ocean’s food chain.
The Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment says it is reviewing the findings and will consult scientists on possible restrictions for the commercial purse seine industry, which targets sardines and anchovies. Environmental groups have renewed calls for the creation of larger no fishing zones around key penguin colonies such as Boulders, Stony Point and Robben Island.
Researchers caution that without urgent intervention African penguins could face functional extinction in the wild within the next two decades. For many scientists the latest study marks a turning point and a clear signal that South Africa must take stronger action to protect its marine resources.
