Page 577 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

4.1 Harvest of eggs of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus)
in the Benguela upwelling ecosystem

Authors: AB Makhado, DB Tom, and RJM Crawford
Abstract:
At least 23 million eggs of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) were collected at 10 islands (2 in Namibia, 8 in South Africa) in the
Benguela ecosystem between 1871 and 1967, of which 84% were from Dassen Island. Eggs were also collected at an 11 island, for
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which no records of harvests were found. The harvests were unsustainable and led to large decreases in numbers of penguins in South
Africa in the early to mid-20 century.
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Introduction:
Large numbers of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) bred at islands around southern Africa in the 1800s and early 1990s (Kearton
1931, Shelton et al. 1984). In about 1930 there were from c. 570,000 pairs (Shannon and Crawford 1999) to c. 926,000 pairs (Crawford
et al. 2007) at Dassen Island. At that time, the Benguela ecosystem likely supported 1.5–3.0 million African Penguins aged two years or
older (Crawford et al. 2007).
African Penguin eggs were regarded as very palatable and were exploited following the arrival of Europeans in the region (Randall
1989), or earlier, until 1967 (Shelton et al. 1984). From the late 1800s until 1967, the collection and sale of penguin eggs was undertaken
by the Guano Islands division of the South African government (Siegfried and Crawford 1978).
A wall was built around the centre of Dassen Island to restrict penguins to the area outside the wall so as to facilitate collections (Rand
1963). Concrete nests were made for the penguins at the southwest of that island in a further attempt to concentrate breeding pairs
(Randall 1989).

Harvests crop, remained edible for 36 days. Refrigeration increased
these periods to 102 and 48 days, respectively (Siegfried
Records of numbers of penguin eggs collected at ten and Crawford 1978).
islands off southern Africa for some periods between 1871 From 1871–1967, the total number of penguin eggs
and 1967 were published by Shelton et al. (1984) and are recorded to have been collected was c. 23.4 million. No
reproduced in Table 1. Numbers collected at Possession information was available for 17 years in this period.
and Pomona islands off Namibia were grouped together. Dassen Island contributed 84% of the overall collection,
Eggs of African Penguins were collected at an eleventh Jutten Island 9%, Vondeling Island 3%, Marcus Island 2%,
island, St Croix in Algoa Bay, until 1936 (Rand 1963). No Dyer Island 1% and Possession, Pomona, Malgas, Bird
records of those collections were found, but reports were (Lambert’s Bay) and Seal (False Bay) islands the balance.
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made of “thousands of eggs being removed at a time” In the first half of the 20 century, eggs at Dassen Island
(Urguhart and Klages 1996). were harvested at a rate of c. 48% of those produced.
The eggs were usually collected between March and This proved unsustainable and the number of penguins
aged two years or older at Dassen Island decreased
June and marketing was facilitated by unrefrigerated whole 1.45 million in 1910 to 0.22 million in 1956 and 0.14 million
eggs lasting 96 days or more with no loss of palatability. in 1967 – a loss of > 90% (Shannon and Crawford 1999) –
Cracked eggs, which comprised from 1–10% or the annual so collections were terminated.

This view of Dassen Island shows part of the wall around the island and a road that runs through its centre (photo L Upfold)

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