Bicheno Penguin Tours resume after suspension over declining numbers

BICHENO Penguin Tours has resumed their tours in a limited capacity after suspending operations due to declining Little Penguin numbers.

The recent decline in Little Penguin numbers on the East Coast prompted the local tour operator to suspend their tours earlier this year to protect the chicks.

In the past few days numbers have increased and Bicheno Penguin Tours has resumed its operations, but with fewer people. 

The situation has also has prompted authorities to further investigate potential threats to the iconic bird.

Typically, about 50 penguins cross the beach to reach their chicks in bur rows in the dunes each night. 

However, anecdotal evidence suggested this number dropped to less than 10 in December and early January. 

The Department of Natural Resources spokesperson said its Marine Conservation Program was aware of reports of penguins not returning to Bicheno. 

“The breeding season is protracted, and adult numbers can fluctuate, particularly at this stage of the breeding season," an NRT spokesperson said. 

“Little penguins are not a threatened species and are protected under the Natural Conservation Act.

“We are working with other state government agencies to understand potential threats to little penguins. 

“The Little Penguin Survey and Monitoring Toolkit provides survey and monitoring techniques that community groups and land managers can apply to help us understand population trends and the distribution of little penguins in Tasmania."

But the Bob Brown Foundation pointed the finger at a rise in ocean temperatures and the depletion of food supply. 

“The news of a rapid decline in little penguins is yet another example of the environmental crisis in Tasmania’s waters," Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation said. 

“With only one per cent of Tasmania’s waters fully protected as marine reserves, the Tasmanian Government must rapidly increase protected areas. 

“Currently, all the Tasmanian Government is doing is purposely destroying our waters with industrial fish farms, new proposed industrial sardine fisheries and failing to man age invasive species such as the long spined sea urchin," Mr Allan, who is a Greens candidate at the next Federal election, said.