• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Near Threatened	A2bce+3bce+4bce; B2b(v)
2018	Vulnerable	A2bce+3bce+4bce; C2a(i)
2016	Vulnerable	A2be+3bce+4bce; C1+2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	A2be+3bce+4bce;C1+2a(i)
2010	Vulnerable	A2b,e; A3b,c,e; A4b,c,e; C1; C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	A2b,e; A3b,e; A4b,e; C1; C2a(i)
2005	Vulnerable
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	85,500 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	7,100,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	608 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	12500-50000 mature individuals	good	estimated	2019
Population trend	decreasing	good	suspected	2002-2037
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	20-29%	-	-	-
Generation length	11.6 years	-	-	-

Population justification:

Previously, the population has been estimated at c.5,500-7,000 mature individuals (Mattern 2013, Long 2017). More recently, population counts across parts of the species’s breeding range (Southwestland, Milford Sound, Stewart Island) suggest a considerably higher population number (Mattern and Wilson 2019). Due to the cryptic breeding habit and resulting difficulty of surveying the species, previous surveys have almost certainly underestimated the true population size considerably (Mattern 2013). Extrapolating from recent data, Mattern and Wilson (2019) suggest that the Fiordland penguin population more likely ranges between 12,500-50,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: At some sites numbers appear to have declined, while increasing numbers have been reported from others, making it difficult to identify clear species-wide population trends (Mattern 2013). Previous estimates of Fiordland penguin numbers were based on a series of surveys conducted in the early 1990s which mainly involved observers with little to no experience in searching for cryptic breeding seabirds (McLean and Russ 1991). At Open Bay Island, there was an apparent decline of 33% between 1988 and 1995 (Ellis et al. 1998) but the question has been raised whether this apparent decline might have been a result of intensive research activities at that site (Mattern 2013). Patchy monitoring data obtained in the 1990s and early 2000s by the New Zealand Department of Conservation was recently used to model population trajectories; an annual population decline between 1.2 and 2.6% has been suggested (Otley et al. 2018), which would equate to a reduction of 34-60% over three generations.  However, the study by Otley et al., (2018) was based on nest-chick data, and due to the cryptic breeding behaviour of Fiordland Penguin, this traditional method of surveying populations is not thought to yield reliable data for this species (Mattern & Wilson, 2019). Additionally, these rates of decline stand in contrast to results of population surveys in South Westland and Milford Sound that found regional penguin population sizes to be much greater than those estimated since the areas were last surveyed in the early 1990s (Mattern and Wilson 2019). At Harrison Cove in Milford Sound, breeding pair numbers have remained stable since annual monitoring commenced in 2014 (Mattern and Ellenberg 2018). On Stewart Island, an August 2019 survey of parts of the coast tentatively estimated “between 300 and 800 breeding pairs” on Stewart Island (Robin Long, unpublished report) where previous surveys had recorded “a total of 32 penguins” (Studholme et al. 1994). Deriving a population trend is difficult, but overall, this species is suspected to be experiencing declines. Although Otley et al., (2018) suggest a high rate of decline, other studies have shown population increases. Therefore, the overall suspected rate of decline is tentatively placed here in the range of 20-29% over three generations (c.35 years).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	native			yes
New Zealand	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
New Zealand	Awarua Point
New Zealand	Breaksea Sound
New Zealand	Cascade
New Zealand	Chalky Preservation Inlets
New Zealand	Charles Sound
New Zealand	Doubtful Sound
New Zealand	Dusky Sound Wet Jacket Arm
New Zealand	Fiordland - West Coast South Island (South) (offshore)
New Zealand	Heretaniwha Point Waterfall Creek
New Zealand	Hope River
New Zealand	Jackson Head
New Zealand	Martins Bay
New Zealand	Milford Sound Piopiotahi
New Zealand	North Coast Rakiura
New Zealand	Open Bay Islands
New Zealand	Port Adventure
New Zealand	Rakiura (offshore)
New Zealand	Solander Islands
New Zealand	Southern South Island (offshore)
New Zealand	Southern Titi Muttonbird Islands
New Zealand	Whakapohai
New Zealand	Whenua Hou Codfish Island
New Zealand	Yates Point

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Temperate	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 30 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Gallirallus australis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela erminea	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Trichosurus vulpecula	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic species/disease of unknown origin - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Fiordland Penguin Eudyptes pachyrhynchus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/fiordland-penguin-eudyptes-pachyrhynchus on 25/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 25/11/2024.