How Napier Port's penguin sanctuary could help them survive plastic threat

John Cockrem at the penguin sanctuary at Napier Port. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Napier Port little penguin/kororā penguin sanctuary is helping scientists better understand the birds' behaviour and how to help them meet environmental challenges threatening the species.

Professor of comparative endocrinology in the School of Veterinary Science at Massey University John Cockrem has worked with all sorts of penguins around the world, but for the last 10 years he's been focused on the country's smaller species.

One of the things most concerning has been the amount of plastic which he finds in penguin nests - everything from discarded twine and plastic coffee cup lids to a $5 note which he still has.

"Mana Island [off the coast of Porirua] is several kilometres off the coast but we find whole coffee cup lids in their nests and all sorts of random pieces of plastic.

"The presence of plastic in penguin nests on an offshore island shows the importance of reducing the use of disposable plastic."

Penguins take bits of waste plastic they find washed up on the shore and use them in constructing nests.

While he wasn't sure why they did this, he thought it might be because they looked like shells.

The danger of this is that "plastic straps and cord in nests bring risks of penguin adults or chicks becoming tangled in the plastic," he said.

He said the health of penguin colonies like the ones around Napier Port were reflective of overall health of the marine environment.

The penguins in Napier seemed to be faring better, in part thanks to the sanctuary, he said.

While there is only one breeding pair currently, the sanctuary provides a safe enclosed space for up to 50 breeding pairs away from the public where dogs and cats can pose a danger to the 30 or so penguins which live in Ahuriri.

"We've got lots of little penguins around here."

The sanctuary also allows Cockrem to study the penguins' behaviour with the port, and is also sponsoring his research in other locations like Mana Island.

Part of this research has also involved tracking the penguins which led to him finding that many are swimming much further in search of food.

This results in abandoned nests and more chick deaths because parents can't get enough food for their young - like the 82 dead chicks recently found in Wellington.

He suspects this may be linked to warmer sea temperatures, which can affect the food chain and the availability of food sources.