Dragging his kayak onto the rocks – with a tray of plants and a perlite nest box neatly balanced – the ripe smell of salty penguins hits Paul Martin like a sledge hammer. It's not glamorous, just another day in the office for Council's invasive species officer and long-time steward of Snapper Island.
"We've planted over 400 native plants" says Paul.
"Our penguins are picky about where they nest, so we're replacing invasive weeds with the native plants – like lomandra, saltbush and poa – they love."
Alongside revegetation, Paul has help from colleagues and student volunteers install new artificial burrows, which are now lighter and vandal resistant compared to the old concrete ones.
"The good news is, our upgraded perlite burrows have an 80 percent occupancy rate, that's huge!" says Paul, adding "But we still do get the odd penguin bite when checking burrows".
Though the overall population is stable, breeding numbers have decreased by 20 percent this season.
"Last season's breeding numbers were unusually high, so that may skew the data. But human disturbance is also a contributing factor, we've even had a few vandals destroy nest boxes. If they feel too unsafe there's a risk penguins might even abandon the colony altogether.
"Everyone can help simply by respecting the 100-metre boat exclusion zone and not stepping foot on the island."
- This story was first published in Council's quarterly newsletter for residents, Living in Eurobodalla. A printed edition is delivered to Eurobodalla's 26,000 households.
