Fishing associations are unhappy with
The association's chairperson, Mohammed Riedau de Maine, said the fishing industry had been tasked with reaching a compromise with environmental organisations regarding the type of fishing limitations to be implemented. Creecy said competition for food was thought to be one among a set of pressures contributing to the decline of the African penguin population.
De Maine said the fishing industry in Nelson Mandela Bay was willing to settle for a more than 40% closure around St Croix and Bird islands but a compromise could not be reached because the organisations still wanted 100% closure. "It is actually just the right size for the penguins. It is not like the penguins have no food at all.
The director of the Coastal and Marine Research Institute, Professor Lorien Pichegru, said the areas that they suggested for closure was based on the penguins' foraging habits.