Little penguin (Eudyptula minor) population, Manly Point area - endangered population listing
The Scientific Committee, established by the Threatened Species Conservation Act, has made a Final Determination to amend Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Act by omitting reference to the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, population at Manly Point and inserting the Little Penguin, Eudyptulaminor, population in the Manly Point Area. Amendment of the Schedules is provided for by Part 2 of the Act.
NSW Scientific Committee - final determination
The Scientific Committee has found that:
1. A population of the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor at Manly Point, is currently listed as an Endangered Population in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act. New information obtained since the original listing in January 1997 indicates that the population occupies an expanded area in the Manly Point Area and the Scientific Committee considers that amendment of this matter in Part 2 of Schedule 1 is now warranted.
2. The Little Penguin colony in the Manly area was formerly more extensive, with nesting burrows occurring at Manly Point, Spring Cove, Store Beach and Cabbage Tree Bay.
3. Currently nesting burrows are restricted to suitable habitat on and near the shoreline from Cannae point generally northward to the point near the intersection of Stuart Street and Oyama Cove Avenue, and extending 100 m off shore from that shoreline .
4. Recent surveys indicate that the original population estimate in 1996 of 35 adult birds was underestimated. Numbers and fledgling success have since fluctuated greatly with at least 60 pairs recorded in late 1999.
5. The decline of Little Penguin populations in the Sydney region has been attributed to habitat destruction and predation from domestic and introduced animals. There is evidence that predation by dogs has been a significant factor in the decline of the Manly population. Other possible threats include habitat loss from development and disturbance, reduced food, oil spills, disturbance by jet skis and powerboats, and restriction of access to nesting habitat by haul netting procedures.
6. The population is of significant conservation value given its disjunction from other populations and its occurrence in Sydney Harbour.
7. The Scientific Committee is of the opinion that, despite the population being larger and more variable than previously thought, the numbers of Little Penguins in the population in the Manly Point Area (being the population in the area described in point 3), have been reduced to such a critical level that the population is in immediate danger of extinction and it is not a population of a species already listed in Schedule 1.
8. In the light of 5, 6 and 7 above, the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, Population in the Manly Point Area satisfies the requirements of Section 11 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act and that in view of the expanded area occupied by the Population, the listing in Part 2 of Schedule 1 be amended to refer to the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, Population in the Manly Point Area.
Proposed Gazettal date: 27/10/00
Exhibition period: 27/10/00 - 1/12/00