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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

Endangered Population of LittlePenguins (Eudyptula minor) atManlyThe following information isprovided to assist authors of SpeciesImpact Statements, development andactivity proponents, and determiningand consent authorities, who arerequired to prepare or reviewassessments of likely impacts onthreatened species pursuant to theprovisions of the EnvironmentalPlanning and Assessment Act 1979.These guidelines should be read inconjunction with the NPWSInformation Circular No. 2:Threatened Species Assessment underthe EP&A Act: The ‘8 Part Test’ ofSignificance (November 1996) andwith the accompanying “ThreatenedSpecies Information” sheet.

Proponents, consent and determiningauthorities should also note that arecovery plan for the Little Penguinpopulation was approved in October2000. The recovery plan requires thatany developments or activities will beassessed in accordance with therecovery plan and theseenvironmental impact assessmentguidelines. Development proposalsmust assess direct and indirectimpacts on the penguin populationand its habitat. Direct impacts caninclude harm to individual penguins,loss/damage to nesting habitat andrestriction of access to nest areas.Indirect impacts can include increasesin noise and light around nestingareas as a result of the proposeddevelopment and/or its construction.

Additionally, on 20 December 2002,the Minister for the Environmentapproved the declaration of CriticalHabitat for the Little Penguin

population. A full description of thearea declared critical habitat and thesupporting regulations that prohibitsome activities within the area, can befound at www.npws.nsw.gov.au.

In accordance with Section 77(3)(d1)of the EP&A Act, any developmenton land that is, or is part of, criticalhabitat must be accompanied by aspecies impact statement.

A breeding pair of Little Penguins (Eudyptulaminor) in a burrow, Sydney Harbour. P. Glass.

SurveySurvey for development assessmentpurposes should target areas ofpotential habitat and should beperformed by a suitably qualified andexperienced person. Potential habitatcan be identified by the presence ofnesting and/or moulting burrows.Searches to identify active breedingburrows should be carried out fromAugust through February. It should benoted that Little Penguins at Manlyutilise a range of burrows such asunder rocks on the foreshore, rockfalls, under seaside houses, garages,under stairs, in wood piles and underoverhanging vegetation. Activeburrows can be identified by thepresence of penguins, bird faeces, eggshell, feathers and soil compaction

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within or just outside the burrow. Aburrow should be classed as breedingonly when chicks or eggs are present.Details of the monitoring program forthe Manly population can be obtainedby contacting the NPWS.Limit of known distributionPotential habitat for the endangeredpopulation of Little Penguins atManly occurs on the foreshoresbetween Stuart Street and CannaePoint in North Harbour (NSWScientific Committee 2000). This isthe only known breeding populationon the mainland in NSW.

Life cycle of the speciesLittle Penguins at Manly exhibitbreeding behaviour (nest building,attracting mates, breeding, raisingyoung and moulting) from Julythrough February, although this canvary between seasons.A breeding pair may rear twoconsecutive clutches, known asdouble-brooding, which is morelikely to occur when the first clutchcommences early in the season. Thisbehaviour often occurs at the Manlypopulation.Adult penguins generally do notdisperse far from their colonies andtheir daily foraging range is usuallybetween 10 – 30 km (Margus 1985;Cullen pers. comm.). Studies inVictoria (Dann and Cullen 1989)estimated a feeding range of 20 kmfor Little Penguins during the chickrearing period when adults were onlyaway from the nest during daylight.Once young have hatched, however,the adult’s foraging range is greatlyreduced.

Fledged young birds are not againseen at their natal colony for about ayear when they return to moult(Reilly and Cullen 1982; Stahel andGales 1987). They repeat this patternyear after year until they are ready tobreed at about 3 - 4 years of age

(Reilly and Cullen 1982; Margus1985).

Some Little Penguins are found attheir colonies all year but, outside ofthe main breeding season, relativelyfew birds come ashore (Margus 1985;Klomp and Wooller 1991). Studies byReilly and Cullen (1982) found thatadults in south-east Australia seemedto remain centred on their breedingcolony throughout the year althoughthey may leave for 2 - 3 monthsduring the non-breeding season.

Threatening processesThe “Clearing of native vegetation” islisted as a key threatening process inSchedule 3 of the TSC Act 1995 andhas been identified as potentiallyaffecting the Little PenguinPopulation at Manly.

A major threat to the Manlypopulation is the loss of suitablehabitat. Predation from foxes anddogs, is also a major threat, as well asdisturbance around nesting habitat.Noise, light and movement fromhuman activities can delay penguinsaccessing burrows to feed chicks andmay also deter penguins from nestingin nearby potential habitat (NPWSRecovery Plan 2000).

Pollution may adversely impact thecolony. Stormwater runnoff andrubbish dumping can damage nestinghabitat and may expose penguins topollutants. There have beensuggestions that commercial fishingin Sydney Harbour may be having adetrimental impact on the food sourceof Little Penguins. Currently thereare no data available to support thisclaim.Viable local populationThe current monitoring program aimsto provide information to assess thepopulation’s viability. Monitoring ofthe population has been undertaken

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since 1998 and it appears that theManly population is viable.

Significant area of habitatThe amount of available breedinghabitat seems to be a main factorlimiting the distribution of the LittlePenguin population around NorthSydney Harbour. Therefore, allknown or potential breeding habitat isconsidered significant.

The population currently occupiessuitable habitat on the western side ofSmedleys Point around to the easternside of Manly Point, the eastern sideof Spring Cove and QuarantineBeach. All of these sites areconsidered significant to thepopulation and have now beenincluded in the declared CriticalHabitat area. Any alteration ordestruction of this habitat should becarefully assessed during anyenvironmental impact assessment.

The importance of foraging habitat iscurrently being investigated and mayidentify areas of Sydney Harbour thatare important foraging areas. Onceidentified, these areas will need to beconsidered during any environmentalimpact assessment for the population.Isolation/fragmentationThe population at Manly is the onlymainland breeding colony in NSW.The closest island breedingpopulations are at Lion Island on themouth of the Hawkesbury River andFive Islands near Wollongong. Theinteractions between thesepopulations are not clear and furtherresearch is needed to clarify therelationship between the colonies.

Adequacy of representation inconservation reservesApproximately 22% of viable nestsites occur in Sydney HarbourNational Park and 21% onCommonwealth owned lands. Theremaining 57% occur on lands thatare either freehold or administered by

Manly Council above the mean highwater mark, or the NSW WaterwaysAuthority below the mean high watermark. Therefore, it is considered thatthe population is not adequatelyrepresented in conservation reserves.

Critical habitatThe Minister for the Environmentdeclared Critical Habitat for thepopulation on 20 December 2002.

The area has been identified basedupon the biological requirements ofthe population and the potentialimpacts of known and/or suspectedthreats.

The Critical Habitat area includesknown nesting burrows, possibleforaging habitat and identifiespotential nesting areas. Thedeclaration includes two areas ofCritical Habitat (Areas A & B) andalso areas of potential habitat.

Area A starts from west of CollinsBeach and extends to the northernside of Cannae Point and includesCollins, Store and QuarantineBeaches to the northern side ofCannae Point. The terrestrial criticalhabitat boundary in Sydney HarbourNational Park includes ridgetophabitat where penguins currently nestand areas of other potential ridgetopnesting habitat.

Area B starts at 11A Oyama Avenueand extends around Manly Point to 26Addison Road. The land side of thecritical habitat boundary includes thearea from the mean high watermark,up the rocky foreshore slope to thebeginning of the ridgetop inresidential areas (ie the rockyforeshore upslope to the boundary ofthe formed backyard is included ascritical habitat, but the backyard andresidential area is not included). The critical habitat includes aquaticareas (extending 50m out from the

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mean high water mark) to facilitateun-restricted access for penguins tocurrent and potential nesting areas.Parts of this zone include seagrassareas which are likely to be importantforaging areas, especially during therearing of chicks when LittlePenguins are known to forage closerto nesting areas. It is considered that the protection andmaintenance of these areas in NorthHarbour are essential to thepopulation’s survival and thereforeconstitute Critical Habitat for thispopulation.

Potential nesting areas have beenidentified as Dobroyd Head, CannaePoint and parts of Little Manly Point.

Mitigating impactsThe basic principles of protectingthreatened species is to:1. avoid direct impacts and retain

habitat;2. minimise impacts wherever

possible;3. mitigate or ameliorate impacts;

and as a last resort4. compensate or offset for any

unavoidable impacts.

In regards to Little Penguins, whereactivities or developments areproposed on or in the immediatevicinity of habitat occupied by theLittle Penguin population, wherepracticable and appropriate thefollowing mitigating measures shouldbe adopted:

• Fully informing any person/scontracted to undertake suchworks (ie, contractor and sub-contractor) about how to minimiseimpacts.

• Restricting public and privateaccess to penguinnesting/moulting areas or penguin

access points to and from thewater.

• Maintenance and/or promotion ofvegetation around nesting habitatwhich shades the burrows andprovides some protection frompredators.

• Avoidance of works that causeany permanent change to thecurrent structure ofnesting/moulting areas, e.g.changes to vegetation or rockyareas.

• Undertaking any major works thatmay disturb penguins and/or theirhabitat outside the breedingseason (ie, between 1 March to 30June). (NB: This is only anapproximate date. In some areas,penguins will already becommencing nesting activities inMay/June).

• Any works to cease shouldpenguins return to nesting areasprior to 30 June and the NPWSThreatened Species Unit, Centralcontacted.

• Undertaking any minor workswithin or adjacent to criticalhabitat during daylight hours(7:30am – 4:30pm) during thebreeding season.

• All works areas within or adjacentto Little Penguin habitat to befenced to prevent penguins fromentering the work area.

• Installing devices to preventrunoff and to controlsedimentation impacting onpenguin habitat.

• Directing any lighting away fromthe water’s edge, penguin burrowsand access routes between thewater and penguin burrows.

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• Negation or reduction of predatorimpact. Predators such as foxesand dogs pose a significant threatto Little Penguins. Control ofthese predators should be carriedout where necessary. Dogs inparticular have the potential toimpact on Little Penguins at theinterface between natural andurban areas especially if dogs arepermitted into areas wherepenguins are known to nest/moult.Responsible pet ownership insuch areas, and in some casesrestrictions on pet ownership,should assist in reducing thepotential for conflict.

• Assessment of any proposed weedremoval for its impact onpenguins and their habitat. Ifweed removal is required, careshould be taken to do thisgradually and preferably usinglow-impact techniques causingminimal disturbance (e.g. manual

removal) so as to leave cover forpenguins and should only beundertaken during the non-breeding season. Suitable nativevegetation should be planted toreplace the weeds and provideshelter for penguins. Follow upwork should be carried out.Should penguins arrive to beginnesting prior to 30 June, all worksshould cease and the NPWSThreatened Species Unit, Centralcontacted.

• The removal of terrestrial rubbishshould be assessed for its impacton penguins and their habitat (e.g.it may be providing shelter) and ifremoval is necessary, should onlybe undertaken during the non-breeding season.

• Minimising and removing marinepollution such as fishing line,hooks, nets, and other rubbish thatcould impact on penguins.

For further information contactLittle Penguin population Recovery Team Co-ordinator, Threatened Species Unit, CentralDirectorate, NSW NPWS, PO Box 1967, Hurstville NSW 2220. Phone (02) 9585 6678 or visit ourwebsite www.npws.nsw.gov.au.

References

Dann, P. and Cullen, J.M. (1989) The maximum swimming speed and theoretical foraging range ofbreeding Little Penguins Eudyptula minor on Phillip Island, Victoria. Corella 13: 34-37.Klomp, N.I. and Wooller, R.D. (1991) Patterns of arrival and departure by breeding Little Penguinsat Penguin Island, Western Australia. Emu 91: (1): 32-35.

Margus, K (1985) Ecology of Fairy Penguins Eudyptula minor in South Eastern Australia.Unpublished report to NPWS.NSW NPWS (2000) Recovery Plan for the Endangered Population of Little Penguins (Eudyptulaminor) at Manly. NSW NPWS, Hurstville.NSW Scientific Committee (2000) Final determination to list the opopulation of Little Penguins ofthe Manly Point area, as an endangered population on Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the ThreatenedSpecies Conservation Act 1995.Reilly, P.N. and Cullen, J.M. (1982) The Little Penguin Eudyptula minor in Victoria III Dispersal ofchicks and survival after banding. Emu 82: 137-142Stahel, C. and Gales, R. (1987) Little Penguin – Fairy Penguins in Australia. UNSW Press,Kensington.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERThe NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the editor expressly disclaim all liability and responsibility to any person,whether a purchaser or reader of this document or not, in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any person inreliance upon the contents of this document although every effort has been made to ensure that the information presented inthis document is accurate and up to date.