Deception' at a penguin conservation event has left scientists flabbergasted after the Minister used the occasion to sign controversial bunkering regulations that experts say fail to protect critically endangered African penguins, particularly the St Croix colony in Algoa Bay.

A recent event touted as a celebration of African penguin conservation champions by Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George has instead left leading scientists and conservation organisations feeling deceived and flabbergasted.

The event, held on the SA Agulhas II research vessel on 22 August 2025, was used by the minister to sign new offshore ship-to-ship (STS) bunkering regulations, which experts widely criticise as failing to protect the critically endangered African penguin and other marine life.

Adding to the frustration, at the event, George reportedly referred to the St Croix Island African penguin colony in Algoa Bay as the world's largest, a claim demonstrably false given the colony's dramatic collapse since bunkering began.

The event was themed, A Night For The African Penguin: Celebrating Our Partners In Conservation, for a special evening in honour of the champions protecting the critically endangered African penguin.

But the attendees said, "It was undoubtedly orchestrated around the minister's intention to sign the...