LITTLE PENGUINS

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation on the topic of little penguins on Granite Island and elsewhere.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: The minister would no doubt be aware of the recent media reports about the decline in the numbers of little penguins on Granite Island and, indeed, Kangaroo Island, and the delay in the breeding season. There has been some speculation as to the cause of the decline in numbers of the penguins, with blame being attributed to possible predation by fur seals, dogs and foxes, habitat loss or, indeed, disturbance by humans.

Twelve years ago, the Granite Island census indicated over 1,548 individuals, yet last year only 26 were recorded, with similar declines reported on Kangaroo Island where the owner of the Kangaroo Island Penguin Centre has indicated it may have to close in November, or possibly earlier, due to the decline in numbers there.

Media reports are that, while the City of Victor Harbor has raised $9,000 to research the causes of the demise of the penguins, current departmental regulations or requirements have forced the Penguin Interpretative Centre to actually destroy nine little penguin eggs in 2012 alone. Therefore, I ask the minister:

1. Can the minister explain why the Granite Island Penguin Centre was only granted a permit to breed two penguins a year, given the perilous state of the local population?

2. Will the minister advise what actions, if any, his department is taking to assist the centres to allow or enable an increase in the number of penguins able to be bred?

3. Has the minister sought or received advice that the little penguins be listed as vulnerable?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her very important questions and acknowledge her ongoing concern and interest in these areas of conservation. At the state and national level, the conservation status of little penguins, I am told, is secure. It is not listed as threatened under state or federal legislation. As I have said in this place previously, I understand there are approximately 90 little penguin colonies in South Australia. These colonies fluctuate from year to year in response to a number of environmental influences.

Declines in some areas are mirrored by increases in others. For example, recent management of land-based threats at Phillip Island in Victoria, I am told, similar to that being undertaken here in South Australia, has resulted in significant population increases of little penguins. Recent declines near Victor Harbor and Kangaroo Island cannot be explained simply by changing seasonal conditions, but linking the decline primarily to fur seals (as the honourable member intimated in her question that some people are doing) is not really supported by available data. When a popular native animal such as the little penguin appears to be in trouble, it is understandable that people look for quick solutions. However, removing another species, such as the New Zealand fur seal, as has been suggested in the media I understand, is, I suggest, not the answer.

Possible causes for colonies shrinking include predation by introduced species, such as dogs, foxes, cats and rats, habitat loss and disturbance by people visiting the colonies, parasites, fluctuations in the availability of bait fish and seawater flooding of nest sites during storms all play a part. It may also be that penguins are simply migrating to more remote locations where they are not being constantly disturbed by humans, and I understand that certainly in the case of Kangaroo Island there is a suggestion that human intervention, particularly by young people, has had some role to play in the situation there.

It is true that New Zealand fur seals do sometimes eat seabirds, including penguins, but they form only a minor part of the seal's diet, I am advised. Most of a fur seal's diet is made up of redbait and lanternfish, and small bait fish that have no commercial fishery in South Australia. They also eat arrow squid and leatherjackets, and I understand there is a small commercial industry around at least leatherjackets.

I am advised that New Zealand fur seals eat almost no King George whiting or giant Australian cuttlefish, as cuttlefish live on the sea floor, where fur seals rarely feed. They do not eat gummy sharks, I am advised, nor do they eat the same food as gummy sharks, which live mostly on cephalopods and a few bony fish.

I am told that it is wrong to say that New Zealand fur seals are outcompeting dolphins or sea lions, as the three species have different diets and different fishing habits. Dolphins, for example, feed mostly on anchovies, sardines, cardinal fish and cephalopods, such as octopus, calamari and cuttlefish. Sea lions feed on the sea floor, while seals mostly feed close to the surface.

Fur seals spend upwards of 90 per cent of their time at sea, fishing, I am told. Adults do most of their fishing 100 to 150 kilometres from shore, and juveniles travel further, fishing 500 to 1,000 kilometres from shore, well away from penguin colonies and most commercial fishing off South Australian shores. The seals that we see onshore around the state, including those on the beaches of Kangaroo Island, incidentally known as one of the state's major tourist attractions, are not fishing but breeding, caring for pups or simply resting after their long fishing trips.

The South Australian government does not support culling of New Zealand fur seals. It is a protected native species that is only now nearing recovery after more than 150 years of hunting. Seals are a natural part of the marine ecosystem, not an environmental pest, and the recovery of the species is already bringing significant benefits on Kangaroo Island, I am advised.

I am also advised that harassing seals, apart from presenting an animal welfare issue, would do very little to shift them. Attempts have been made overseas and interstate to relocate seals and scare them away from certain locations, but with little success. The same seals quickly return or are replaced by other seals. Fur seals can cause problems for fish farms, of course, but the industry understands that it has to find socially acceptable solutions to those problems. The reputation of the industry is central to its ability to market its produce domestically and internationally.

I understand that New Zealand fur seals are native to South Australia and have a national distribution that coincides with that of the little penguin. I am advised that this is likely to have been the case prior to European settlement, suggesting strongly that the two species have co-existed. Little penguin colonies across our state are subjected to a range of threats on land and sea. I am advised that a range of little penguin colonies in our state have stable populations, despite coexisting with large populations of New Zealand fur seals.

As I have said previously in this place, recent commissioned reports recommend current management programs at little penguin colonies, where declines have been noted, should continue to focus on threat abatement activities on land, including effective land predator control, revegetation of nesting habitats, including sometimes provision of artificial nests, and protection of nesting and burrowing habitat from coastal developments to maintain spatial extent of colonies.

I am advised that a range of these recommendations are currently being implemented. For example, revegetation and other improvements to nesting habitat and baiting of introduced black rats is ongoing. Nesting burrows at locations on Kangaroo Island have also had camera traps established at their entrances to determine the frequency of visits by potential land-based predators, for example, cats and rats.

A number of government agencies, departmental staff and volunteers are working together to investigate the extent of localised declines in little penguin colonies and factors which may be contributing to these declines. Research projects are being undertaken to gain a better understanding of the drivers of penguin colony dynamics and to determine what can be done practically to address local declines. The South Australian Research and Development Institute recently secured funds to complete a state-wide assessment of New Zealand fur seal colonies in South Australia. This survey will be completed in 2014 and involve a statewide census on New Zealand fur seal pup production, including all colonies on and around Kangaroo Island.

The department is also partnering with another South Australian Research and Development Institute research project that will examine the diets of New Zealand fur seals using DNA testing of faecal samples. This will provide information on the frequencies of little penguins and the diets of New Zealand fur seals. Monitoring of the declining colonies on Kangaroo Island and at Victor Harbor continues, and monitoring of other stable colonies on Kangaroo Island has been undertaken for comparison. I understand that a recent finding has been that the large breeding colony of little penguins on Troubridge Island, north of Kangaroo Island in Gulf St Vincent, has a strong and stable population.

I know it is tempting to grasp at short-term solutions for local problems, but it is not always the rational way to approach a complex environmental issue that has been the subject of human interference for close to 200 years. Instead, we need to consider the complex marine systems and their interactions on the science we have before us and the lessons from other jurisdictions. The government is well aware of the complexity of the issue and is working with stakeholders to arrive at a long-term and sustainable solution.

In regard to the penguin centre on Granite Island, I am advised that the facility there is not of a size that could actually hold more than the penguins that it is licensed or has a permit for.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: That's the crux of the question, so it would be good to get the answer.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I am giving you the background, the Hon. Ms Franks. You asked a very important question, and I am giving you the background so that you can understand why there are difficulties with the claims that have been made in the media and why we need to approach this very complex problem in a rational and deliberate way.

I am advised that the penguin centre facility on Granite Island is only capable of holding a maximum of 10 little penguins. The penguin centre does not have the appropriate facilities for breeding little penguins and does not meet quarantine or biosecurity standards to enable the centre to release any little penguins back into the wild. Even if the centre could meet these standards, the number of little penguins that could be bred at the facility and released would not have an impact upon the little penguin population on Granite Island.

The centre is still a very important resource for educating the public about the little penguin species and has been licensed to hold and display little penguins that are not fit for re-release for this purpose. The centre also plays a valuable role in acting as an intermediary and local penguin rescue, ensuring that any little penguins rescued in the area are transferred to appropriate facilities. For example, I understand that Flinders University has recently constructed a facility where little penguins can be held for behavioural studies.

Given that the status of little penguins across the state is stable, a broader penguin breeding and releasing program is an option that has not been pursued to this date. Again, I say that it is very tempting to look at short-term solutions for local problems—very tempting indeed—but it is not the best way to approach a very complex environmental issue.