Perth’s vulnerable penguin population could starve if a container port in Kwinana goes ahead without extreme caution, researchers say.
The warning comes after the State Government announced plans to dredge Cockburn Sound to build a new container port in Kwinana, called Westport, that will replace Fremantle Port as it nears capacity.
Murdoch University ecologist Joe Fontaine warns that while Fremantle waters and roads will become less congested, the penguin’s main feeding grounds, off the Rockingham coast, will clog.
“If you’re a little penguin and you’re cruising around fishing and then you lose a portion of your day or your night to getting out of the way of a big vessel, that is a problem because it may well be that you need all of that time to get enough fish to feed yourself and your chicks,” Mr Fontaine says.
Rockingham’s little penguins, Eudyptula minor, are already on the brink of extinction, with a decline of 80 per cent since 2007 leaving the population at just 300 birds.
All of the little penguins on Garden Island and most on Penguin Island use Cockburn Sound to hunt for food. Picture credit: Chrissy H
But as an already industrious zone, officials say Kwinana affords a safer, bigger option than Fremantle Port for container movement, with better routes for transporting goods.
A Westport spokesman said that planners have invested $13.5m to partner with marine scientists to avoid impacting the penguins.
The $4b project will undergo the highest level of environmental assessment – a Public Environmental Review – in 2025 by WA’s independent environmental watchdog. It will then be up to the minister to approve the project.
“Westport is actively using the science …about methods to minimise impacts on Little Penguins, to inform design, construction and future operation of the port in a way that avoids or minimises impact on marine species to the greatest extent possible.”
The port is expected to take 15-years from concept to construction and is touted to be the most sustainable in the nation.
University of Western Australia penguin expert and ecologist Dr Belinda Cannell says this type of construction work is likely to impact both the ability of the penguins to see and the amount of fish in the area.
“Construction is certainly going to be problematic throughout the whole dredging campaign, or has increased likelihood of being problematic, through its impact on fish availability in the area,” Dr Cannell says.
Dr Cannell is working with the WA Marine Science Institute to report on environmental impacts of the project.
Dr Cannell said to prevent penguin starvation, dredging must occur outside penguin breeding periods and devices need to be installed to attract fish colonies outside dredging zones.
Mr Fontaine said any extra pressure, such as increased activity, could lead the local little penguin population to extinction.
