Rockingham grounded on penguin plight

Recent data showing a rapid loss of numbers among Rockingham’s black-billed, pink-footed little penguin population has prompted the local council to act.

That’s not just because Penguin Island forms part of the City of Rockingham’s culture, as Mayor Barry Sammels describes it, referencing the penguins featured on the city crest and council logo.

The loss of the little penguins – the smallest of the world’s 18 species – and ultimately visitors to the island could also significantly hamper tourism in the area.

The number of little penguins that inhabit the 12.5-hectare island off Rockingham’s coast have declined by 80 per cent since 2007, when researchers at Murdoch University began compiling an annual monitoring report.

The matter was addressed at a council meeting last month, with the purpose of advocating for further resources from the state government, along with a dedicated conservation plan and working group to govern the matter.

The state government, through the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, is responsible for managing the island. However, its management plan covers the broader Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, which is also home to sea lions, dolphins, reefs and seagrass, and shipwrecks.

Mr Sammels said a management plan specific to the little penguins was needed.

The colony, protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act, has been given the highest conservation status of the 256 little penguin colonies along the Australian coast, from Fremantle to northern NSW.

Barry Sammels says the city is working to save the little penguins. Photo: David Henry

Mr Sammels told Business News the dramatic decline in Penguin Island’s population had been caused by several human and natural factors, including boat strikes, public access to the island, and the effect of warmer marine conditions on food sources.

“That’s been really concerning for us because Penguin Island is unique to Rockingham,” Mr Sammels said.

“It brings tourism to the area … it’s part of our culture and our history.”

According to Tourism Research Australia, daytrips to Rockingham increased by 33 per cent in the 2019-20 financial year.

Even with COVID-19 restrictions encouraging Western Australians to travel locally, that number is a surprise given daytrips to other areas such as Greater Perth, Mandurah, and Fremantle declined.

Rockingham now gets more than 1 million daytrippers each year, Mr Sammels said.

And between 90,000 and 130,000 local residents and tourists visit Penguin Island annually, according to the destination’s ferry service provider, Perth Wildlife Encounters.

Therefore, any decline in the island’s amenity or penguin population could significantly dent the local sector, which Mr Sammels estimated to be worth $362 million for WA’s overall tourism industry.

“We’re known as an aquatic playground,” he said.

“This is ‘where the coast comes to life’: that’s our theme.”

A loss of Penguin Island’s appeal would not only hamper the city’s branding, Mr Sammels said, but would funnel through to the island’s associated industries such as cafes and short-stay accommodation providers, which include more than 230 Airbnbs and at least 30 hotels, inns and apartments.

Mr Sammels believes the city, by advocating for support and funding Murdoch University’s research, is doing its part to ensure this doesn’t happen.

He said the DCBA’s response, which was imminent, would determine the city’s next step.

Mr Sammels said the city was waiting to hear the response of Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson and Tourism Minister, David Templeman.

“We wait with bated breath to see what response we get from the minister, because the last three responses we got were, ‘We already have a management plan in place’,” he said.

“If it’s one of those responses … that’s when we need to work out our advocacy going forward.”

Mr Sammels said the next step for the city, if its proposal for a management plan was rejected by the DBCA, would be to hold another meeting with Premier Mark McGowan, a Rockingham local with whom Mr Sammels said he met with regularly.

In a statement provided to Business News, the DBCA said it would continue to work with the City of Rockingham, researchers, and commercial tourism providers in managing the little penguin population.

It said management strategies within the department’s Shoalwater Islands Marine Park management plan provided direction on protecting the penguins.

“DBCA works together with researchers and subject matter experts to implement these management strategies and guide best management practices,” the department said.

During the recent state election campaign, WA Labor committed to invest $3.3 million to upgrade facilities on Penguin Island, as well as build new boardwalks and viewing platforms, which the DBCA says will keep visitors further away from fragile nests and habitat.

The commitment forms part of a broader $217 million tourism package announced in February.

The department also said it had implemented seasonal closures (from early June through to mid-September) to boost breeding opportunities for the penguins and undertaken vegetation works to establish a more suitable nesting habitat.

Further efforts include the reduction of speed limits for motorboats in the area and new nesting boxes.

Mr Sammels told Business News the city wanted to work closely with the department on resolving the depleted little penguin colony.

“We want to ensure there’s a long-term sustainability of the penguin population, because those numbers are absolutely staggering,” Mr Sammels said, noting environmentalists had regularly joined council meetings to raise their concerns.

“We certainly listened to them, but we didn’t realise that the numbers have decreased so dramatically.

“Now that we’ve got it, we’ve got to react and do what we can to try and get these numbers on the increase.

“If you’re an environmentalist, you know it certainly is [an issue], but even if you’re not, everyone loves a furry penguin.

“This is the start of something that we’ve really got to act on, and we’ve got to get support from the state government.”