A research study has discovered that the already endangered African penguin is being driven from its natural home off the east coast of South Africa by the noise from ship refuelling.
The study revealed that since South Africa began to permit ships in the region to refuel at sea, a practise known as bunkering, six years ago, the number of African penguins on St Croix island in Algoa Bay, previously the world’s largest breeding colony of the birds, has drastically decreased.
Southern right whales can be seen frolicking in the sheltered waters of Algoa Bay, which is located in a major shipping channel on South Africa’s east coast.
Lorien Pichegru, acting director of the Coastal and Marine Research Institute at Nelson Mandela University, who oversaw the study, told Reuters on Tuesday, ‘We found the noise levels, which were previously high, to have doubled.’
Scientists have discovered that noisy environments have an impact on marine species’ capacity to locate and capture prey, communicate, or navigate appropriately.
A embargo on new permits has been in effect since August 2019, and it won’t be lifted until port authorities have finished their environmental impact assessment. According to a SAMSA source, the examination is anticipated for next year.
The study from Nelson Mandela University estimated underwater noise from ships as a proxy for underwater ambient noise in the area using data from vessel-identification tools.
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