In 1987 a joint state and local government committee was formed "to consider improvements to Granite Island". The committee recommended that the island's tourism potential be maximised while protecting its environment. The committee also specifically recommended "protecting the fairy penguin population". In 1989, the island's rat and rabbit populations were subjected to
culling, with poison used to reduce rat numbers. Rats are known to raid the nests of little penguins. The island's wallaby population was also reduced, with animals relocated as far afield as
Cummins on
Eyre Peninsula. In 1990, the wider Encounter Bay little penguin population was estimated to be between 5000 and 7000 penguins. At this time, the colony's breeding season was considered to span July through January, followed by molting season January through March. In July 1991, the National Parks & Wildlife Service estimated the Encounter Bay area (which includes Granite, West and Wright Islands) population of little penguins to total 7,000 birds. A general population count conducted in early December 1991 found 571 penguins on Granite Island. Penguins were also counted on
West Island and
Wright Island, and the total number of penguins in the Encounter Bay area was more than 2600. In 1992, the island's population was believed to be stable and was estimated to total between 1000 and 1500 little penguins. Nocturnal tours of the penguin colony commenced that year as a joint initiative of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the
Victor Harbor Council. On 6 November 1992, a man counted nine dead penguins above the high tide mark while walking between Victor Harbor and Port Elliot, but was unable to lodge an official report of the discovery.
Fox predation and development concerns Anne Boulter, a local resident who made regular private counts along a limited section of the island, believed the colony to also be stable in 1994. That year, a fox killed 75 penguins on Granite Island in three days and was eventually killed. Her records of the population, which commenced in 1989, showed that the penguins were moulting later each year, and most of the penguins were breeding only once a year. In 1995, another fox crossed the causeway from the mainland and killed 17 penguins on Granite Island. At that time the population was estimated at 1500 animals and was being surveyed by the Greater Granite Island Development Company, which was also establishing new burrows to support the population. The company began the development of a Penguin Interpretive Centre on the island in 1995 and it was expected to be completed in 1996. Concerns were raised by Victor Harbor residents that construction of new infrastructure on Granite Island could disturb or harm the penguin colony, including the transportation of heavy construction equipment to the island after dark. Students of the
Victor Harbor High School were among those who expressed concern about the extent and the impact of the proposed tourism development on the penguin colony. In January 1995 a single
Fjordland penguin (a species native to
New Zealand) came ashore on Granite Island. It was relocated by Parks and Wildlife staff to
West Island so that the animal could moult away from human disturbance.
Population decline Granite Island's little penguin colony has declined dramatically since the 1990s. In 1998, the colony was considered to be "very healthy" and was estimated to contain 1800 birds. In 2001, the population count was 1,548 penguins. A count conducted in October 2013 totalled 38 penguins. In 2013 the decline prompted the mayor of Victor Harbor, Graham Philp, to begin a fundraising drive to gather funds for research into the genetics of the population and the causes of the decline. In 2015, the number had dropped to 22 birds. A December 2022 survey estimated 22 birds on Granite Island, with a different study putting the number at 26 that year. After 28 birds were counted in mid-2023, researchers are hopeful of a recovery in numbers. Some possible drivers of the decline include
New Zealand fur seal predation and
overfishing.
Flinders University intends to establish a centre at which animals can be captively studied, bred, and potentially released back to the wild. Similarly, dramatic declines have been noted nearby at
West Island and at colonies across
Backstairs Passage on
Kangaroo Island, including closely monitored populations at
Penneshaw and
Kingscote. Other colonies within Encounter Bay have gone extinct, including those at
Wright Island and Freeman's Knob (
Port Elliot). == Penguin Centre ==