Page 189 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

on roofs of buildings, girders of the radar tower and high Seal Island Provincial Nature Reserve in 1988 (Province
rocks (Rand 1963). Penguins nested under boulders (Rand of the Cape of Good Hope 1988) and is administered by
1963). Ten sections of asbestos pipe were deployed at the CapeNature.
island on 1 October 1991 to increase nesting habitat and Species and numbers breeding: Cape Gannet formerly
nine of these had been occupied by penguins by 6 Novem- bred at the island but have not done so since 1956 or ear-
ber 1991 (Crawford et al. 1994). lier (Crawford et al. 1983). About 250 pairs of African Pen-
Seabird guano was collected at Seal Island in 32 years guin nested at the island in 1956 but only 44 pairs bred in
between 1897 and 1949, the total quantity removed from 2019. Over the same period the number of Bank Cormo-
the island in that period being 10,077 metric tons (Tom et rants breeding decreased from 88 to two pairs. Numbers of
al.2024). In 1873 and 1874, 11,000 African Penguin eggs pairs of different seabirds nesting annually are shown on
were harvested at the island (Makhado et al. 2024). the following table.
Conservation status: It was gazetted as the False Bay

African Great White Cape Cape Bank White-breasted Kelp
Year
Penguin Pelican Gannet Cormorant Cormorant Cormorant Gull
1687 √
1930 √
1931 22 √ 1
1933 √
1950 200 15 c. 25 10
1951 26
1954 √
1956 250 25 0 88
1960 √
1971 0
1976 min. 5
1977 24
1978 50 0 12
1979 82 0 19
1980 0
1981 0
1982 0
1983 0
1984 0
1985 0
1986 0 28
1987 83 0
1988 0 19
1989 0
1990 0
1991 82 0
1992 95 0 5
1993 0
1994 0
1995 65 0 5
1996 90 0 13
1997 0 6
1998 79 0 5
1999 0
2000 0 54 13
2001 0 13 4
2002 0 2 11 4
2003 0 16 12
2004 84 0 15 4 1
2005 76 0 18 7 1
2006 48 0 23 1 1
2007 83 0
2008 60 0

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