A new study led by the University of St Andrews has found that critically endangered African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are significantly more likely to forage in the same areas as commercial fishing vessels during years of low fish abundance, increasing competition for food and adding pressure to a species already in crisis.

Published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the research introduces a novel metric called “overlap intensity” which for the first time measures not just the extent of shared space between penguins and fishing vessels, but how many penguins are actually affected by this overlap.

The African penguin population has plummeted by nearly 80% in the past three decades, in part due to competition with the local fishery targeting sardines and anchovies, a key prey for the penguins.