Aussie council calls to close popular island to tourists: 'We need to do something'
The West Australian mayor Deb Hamblin told Yahoo authorities are open to 'absolutely every option' to protect penguins on the island visited by 130,000 people annually.
The council is considering the closure of Penguin Island after a shocking decline in its penguin population. Source: Penguin Island
A popular Aussie island could be closing its doors to the public for good as conservationists and the local council push to protect the native penguin species living there.
Estimates suggest the little penguins have suffered a 94 per cent decline in their population since 2007 on the aptly named Penguin Island, situated off the Perth coast, approximately 660 metres from Shoalwater on the mainland. It's believed just over 100 penguins now remain on the tiny island.
Mayor of the governing City of Rockingham, Deb Hamblin, confirmed to Yahoo News a notice of motion was recently set by the council and it is "doing the very best" to safeguard the native species.
"Our penguin numbers are really diminishing... we need to do something about it," Hamblin told Yahoo News, confirming she has recently written to Western Australia's Premier and the Minister for the Environment to notify both of the issue.
Authorities 'grasping at straws' to protect native penguin species
A board of advisors, which Deb Hamblin is on, is due to meet at the end of the month and discuss what can be done to protect the little penguin species. Many locals and members of the council hope the decision will be made to close Penguin Island off to tourists and the wider general public.
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"I think we really need to look at absolutely every option," Hamblin said. "The advisory group, which has scientists from across the entire country, are ready to come back with recommendations around not just access to the island, but breeding patterns, and looking at their food sources, a whole range of those things. I think people are just grasping at straws so they'll try anything at the moment."
More than 130,000 people visit Penguin Island every year.
It's believed there are approximately 114 little penguins left on the island. Source: City of Rockingham council
Push to close off Penguin Island not supported by everyone
Others believe closing off the island to the general public will not be the solution people hope, with Corey Bradshaw — a Flinders University Professor who specialises in extinction risk in small populations — previously telling Yahoo News unless people are physically touching the animals, it's unlikely closing access will help.
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"[Banning tourists] might help reduce disturbance somewhat, [but it] depends how close they're allowed to get," he said. "It won't reverse trends, [and] unless the tourists are actually handling penguins, or disturbing breeding sites, their impact is likely minor."
He suspects overfishing and prey changes from climate change are instead responsible.
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