Rockhopper penguin is one of the world’s most numerous penguin populations, it is estimated that the population declined by some 30 percent over the final 30 years of the 20th century. The cause of this decline is mainly unknown, but scientists have speculated that humans are involved, mostly by commercial overfishing, oil exploitation, and pollution. Recent research has shown that rockhopper penguin population declines with changes in ocean surface temperature, indicating a direct impact from climate change. These activities have depleted much of the rockhopper penguin’s food supply and raised the sea surface temperatures, and because this species is geographically isolated to
Northern rockhopper penguin drop in the population at Gough Island has been described as equivalent to the loss of 100 birds every day since the 1950s. A study published in 2009 showed that the world population of the northern rockhopper had declined by 90% since the 1950s, possibly because of climate change, changes in marine ecosystems and overfishing for squid and octopus by humans. Other possible factors in the decline include disturbance and pollution from ecotourism and fishing, egg-harvesting, and predation and competition from subantarctic fur seals ("Arctocephalus tropicalis"). Surveys show that the birds are at risk of infection by goose barnacles. House