Oil Disaster Threatens Penguins. (20 November, 1996)

The oil pollution on the Eastern Cape coast has been a disaster for Algoa Bay's threatened African penguins, a local nature conservation official said yesterday. The oil is believed to come from the Panamanian cargo ship Cordigliera, which sank off the Transkei coast last week. Dup du Preez, manager of the Woody Cape reserve which includes the penguin's island homes in Algoa Bay, said twenty oil-soaked birds had been airlifted off the Bird Island group on Monday, and 35 more had been collected since then.

His staff estimated that another 70 still had to be caught for treatment. The 89 000 penguins of the Bird and St Croix islands' breeding colonies make up about 60% of the world's total African population, also known as Jackass penguins. Their numbers, threatened by oil pollution and shrinking fish stocks, are declining every year. Mr du Preez said his staff took a great deal of trouble when even one oiled bird was discovered. 'If we start talking about 150 birds it's definitely a disaster,' he said. The birds are to be flown to Cape Town for rehabilitation.

Chairman of the Southern African National Foundation for Conservation of Coastal Birds, Chris Gardner, said the penguins would be dealt with at emergency facilities set up at Ysterplaat air force base in the city. National and Eastern Cape environment experts are to meet today to decide what to do about the oil. Spokesman for the Environment Department's Sea Fisheries division, Irma van der Vyver, said the coastline from the Bushman's River mouth to Mpekweni, near the Fish River, appeared to be worst affected. The oil was still very liquid and bulldozers would be needed to scrape it into heaps for removal. Ecna. Courtesy of the Pretoria News.