A once-thriving population of little penguins on a tourist island off Perth’s coast has plummeted to no more than 120 birds, with plans to build a container port in nearby foraging grounds further threatening the survival of the colony.
The latest population study on Penguin Island has revealed that penguin numbers have crashed by two-thirds in the past five years, sources say.
The little penguin population, called Weedee in Noongar, has declined by 92% since 2007.
Since 2012, researchers have been sounding the alarm about the penguins, which have been ravaged by boat strikes, parasitic infections and marine heatwaves that have robbed them of their preferred prey fish.
Boats bring visitors to the island every 20 minutes between June and mid-October, unless the temperature climbs above 35˚C.
As well as human activity and the changing climate, the colony faces a new challenge in plans to relocate Fremantle’s container port to Kwinana, opposite Garden Island and extending into Cockburn Sound, where some of the Penguin Island birds forage.
To make the port big enough for container ships, parts of the sound would have to be dredged, affecting fish stocks.
The federal government has committed $33.5m towards developing the $4bn Westport project, which includes a freight road, rail and logistics operations for the port.