African Penguin, Boulders Beach, South Africa, 2022 (photography)

African Penguin, Spheniscus demersus, Boulders Beach, Simon's Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Overfishing and climate change corner the African penguin When the African penguin leaves its colony for the first time, it travels thousands of kilometers to reach areas of the ocean rich in plankton and fish on which to feed. One of their favorite destinations is a strip of the South African coast that has historically been one of the most productive marine ecosystems, with an abundance of sardines and anchovies. The temperature changes that are taking place due to climate change and the overfishing of these species have significantly reduced the number of fish, putting their survival at risk. Decades of overfishing in Namibia have drastically reduced the sardine population, while warming water temperatures and increased salinity have changed the routes of sardines and anchovies, which have traveled hundreds of kilometers to the east. Likewise, fish and plankton no longer always appear together, as they did in the past. Juvenile penguins that arrive in the degraded ecosystem of Benguela (Angola) often die. Breeding rates are now 50% lower than a few years ago.