Centre for in situ Observational Oceanography

Penguin Species Management Plan


Why the BMP ?


The African Penguin is an indicator species. An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition. Indicator species can signal a change in the biological condition of a particular ecosystem, and thus may be used as a proxy to diagnose the health of an ecosystem. For example, the presence or absence of African Penguins can reflect changes in abundance and localisation of fish stocks, thus reflecting the health of fish populations.




The Penguin SMP is a South African project intending to monitor initially 4 populations of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). The aim is to gather data regarding their reproductive biology in order to develop ways to prevent the extinction of this species.



This inaugural BMP five year term ended 31st October 2018. The draft 2nd Biodiversity Management Plan was released 18th October 2019 for public comment. In conjunction, the draft National Norms and Standards relating to the Management of Seabirds in Captivity was also released for public comment. These documents are available to download on the links below.


Documents available to download :

Draft Biodiversity Management Plan for the African Penguin
Draft Norms and Standards Relating to the Management of Seabirds in Captivity
Gazette Notice for Draft BMP for the African Penguin (Public Comment) - 18 October 2019
Gazette Notice for Draft N&S for Seabirds in Captivity (Public Comment) - 18 October 2019



Penguin Colonies



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