About 10% of SA’s endangered Cape cormorants have died in an avian flu outbreak along the Cape coast, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) said on Tuesday.
The loss represents about 5% of the global Cape cormorant population, with no end in sight of the outbreak that has also affected other coastal bird species.
The Cape cormorant has been particularly badly affected as the outbreak coincides with its breeding season, with huge numbers roosting together and transmitting the virus.
The birds are also more susceptible to avian flu due to malnutrition caused by a sardine shortage. The implosion of this fishery is also affecting other marine species, among them seals and penguins.
“The Cape cormorant is already listed as endangered, so losing another 10% in just a few weeks is absolutely dramatic for the species,” said Sanccob research manager Katta Ludynia.
“It will be that much harder for the species to recover because it is already struggling with a food shortage.”
Ludynia said the first avian flu cases were reported in April and had increased to about 500 a day, with Dyer Island in Overstrand the current epicentre.
So far, coastal birds such as pelicans and penguins have been relatively unaffected. But of particular concern is the little-known bank cormorant, of which only about 150 breeding pairs remain in SA, Ludynia said.
Conservationists are calling for fishing exclusion zones to be established around bird breeding sites such as Dyer Island, off Pearly Beach.
The Western Cape government on Tuesday confirmed a daily death toll of about 500 birds on the island.
“By far the majority of the dead birds reported during the outbreak are Cape cormorants,” said Anton Bredell, MEC for local government, environment and development planning.
Other affected sites include the Berg River Estuary, St Helena Bay, Stony Point and De Mond, according to CapeNature.
To date, there has been no confirmed link between the avian flu outbreak and an as-yet unexplained mass die-off of Cape fur seals.
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