Join us as we call on our political leaders to help save our little penguins

They’re every bit as Rockingham as the Swinging Pig pub. But can you imagine Penguin Island with no wild little penguins?

Well, that’s the direction we’re headed in unless serious action is taken now by our political leaders including local member for Rockingham Magenta Marshall and WA Environment Minister Matt Swinbourn, Tourism Minister Reece Whitby who is also the local member for Baldivis and Premier Roger Cook

Sadly, the little penguins of Penguin Island are in serious trouble. In just 18 years, data shows that their numbers have plummeted by 95% from an estimated 1800 penguins in 2007 to just 97 penguins remaining at the Sep-Nov 2024 population estimate. 

These little Aussie battlers are one of the most northern populations of Little Penguins in Australia – a very special grouping that is thought to be genetically unique. As our climate heats impacting the availability of their food sources, their breeding patterns and the vegetation they need for their nesting sites on Penguin Island, they need all the help they can get.

But the managers of Penguin Island and the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park – the WA Government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) - appear to have given up on this population.

They say the plummeting numbers is all down to climate change and there’s little they can do. But this is not true – many of the penguin deaths are completely preventable and we think the government can do better and do plenty. Will you join us in our call to improve the management of Penguin Island and surrounds, so our Little Penguins are protected properly, and their population is able to recover and grow?

We need to see DBCA urgently implement a major revamp of the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park management plan. This plan was supposed to be updated in 2017, but we are still waiting. We need this new plan to properly address the ongoing threats to little penguins including watercraft strikes, over development of the island and human disturbances. In fact, we’d like to see a dedicated, science-backed recovery plan for little penguins developed and implemented that states the threats, recovery measures, targets and timeline. 

The Penguin Island Management plan is also 22 years out of date!

If you agree, join us in urging the WA government to take action by signing then sharing this petition.

Sign now to help stop this devastating decline of our local battlers!