The Organization for the Conservation of Penguins, in partnership
with the Chilean, Argentine and British governments, has established a penguin monitoring programme in Chile and Argentina. The programme monitors the effects
of tourism, and compares penguin populations in Chile and Argentina, where commercial fishing is now banned, with those in the Falklands, where
commercial fishing close to penguin breeding sites still occurs. Comparison with data from the Falkland Islands,
highlights the problems faced when food resources are diminished
by commercial fishing boats, operating within 30km of Magellanic
penguin breeding sites.
HOW FALKLANDS PENGUINS COMPARE WITH ARGENTINA & CHILE (2009): Fishing within 30km of Penguins: CHILE
no ARGENTINA no FALKLANDS yes
Population: CHILE increasing ARGENTINA increasing FALKLANDS 90% decline over 20 yrs
Breeding Success (chicks per pair):
CHILE 1.1 ARGENTINA 1.0 FALKLANDS 0.5
Foraging Duration (time required to catch food for chicks): CHILE 18 hours ARGENTINA 18 hours FALKLANDS 34 hours
Fledging Weights: CHILE 3.3 kgs ARGENTINA 3.0 kgs FALKLANDS 2.6 kgs
Fledging Survival: CHILE high ARGENTINA high FALKLANDS very low
Full Reports:
1. Bingham (2002) The decline of Falkland Islands penguins in the presence of a commercial fishing industry - Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 75: 805-818
2.
Bingham M (2020) Magellanic penguin (Spheniscidae) monitoring results for Magdalena Island (Chile) and Cabo Virgenes (Argentina) 2000 - 2019.
Anales Del Instituto De La Patagonia, 48(1), 27-35.
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click to enlarge
Our population studies of Magdalena Island (CHILE) record a penguin population of around 65,000 breeding pairs, an increase of around 6% over the last 8 years. Our studies of Cabo Virgenes (ARGENTINA) show a population of 120,000 breeding pairs, an increase of over 30% over the last 10 years. These are the colonies in Chile and Argentina closest to the Falklands, and their increases have taken place as Falklands penguin populations have declined by 90%. The reason is that Argentina and Chile protect penguins from commercial fishing, and the Falklands do not. Click on the links below for examples of survey maps and data in English and Spanish:
PENGUINS
, GULLS
, BIRDS
, HABITAT
PINGUINOS,
GAVIOTAS,
AVES,
VEGETACION
Where commercial fishing is allowed within
the 30km foraging range of breeding penguins, the abundance of fish
and squid is obviously reduced. This means that adults seeking food
for chicks take much longer finding food (34 hours in the Falklands,
but only 18 hours in Argentina and Chile). Chicks therefore receive much less
food, so much fewer chicks survive (only 0.5 chicks per nest in
the Falklands, but 1.1 chicks per nest in Chile and 1.0 chicks per nest in Argentina).
The main cause
of chick mortality in the Falklands is starvation, and those chicks
that do survive to the point of fledging are malnourished (average
weight only 2.6 kgs in the Falklands, compared to 3.3 kgs in Chile and 3.0 kgs in Argentina).
This lower body weight means that even successful chicks have a
lower chance of surviving their first year, which is what we see.
You can support our work to protect penguins by adopting a penguin.
Visit our Adopt-a-Penguin page
for further details.
In addition to our research on Magdalena
Island, we are also training Chilean government
staff in seabird monitoring techniques, so that eventually the host
country will be able to continue the seabird monitoring programme
on a long-term basis. This work was funded by the British government,
through the Darwin Initiative Programme.
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Adopt and name your penguin,
and we will send you reports and photos of your penguin's progress. We
will even send you a map to show you exactly where your penguin lives,
in case you ever want to visit. (Visitors are welcome).
Learn
More
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The Falklands Regime by Mike Bingham
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We are always pleased to receive donations
in support of our work. If you would like to make a donation, click
here. |
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