SOAP
Our regular State of Antarctic Penguins (SOAP) report is a key document that helps stakeholders of Antarctica understand the important changes in penguin populations around the continent.
SOAP 2024 highlights that the five Antarctic penguin species total 6.1 million breeding pairs nesting at 740 sites across the entire Antarctic continent. In part, the continent-wide increase in Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica), and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) penguin nests reflects counts from new breeding sites that have been added in the last two years to the MAPPPD database. However, removing these new counts and focusing solely on sites known in SOAP 2022, reveals that chinstrap and Adélie penguin populations have stabilized or increased slightly between 2022 and 2024, and gentoo penguins continue to increase at surprising rates in the Antarctic Peninsula (CCAMLR Areas 48.1 and 48.2). Adélie penguins continue to increase in the Ross Sea (CCAMLR Areas 88.1, 88.2 and 88.3), and Eastern Antarctica (CCAMLR Areas 58.4.1 and 58.4.2).
