Dr Ellenberg co-ordinated a 29-contributor international study on yellow-eyed penguin bycatch which was published in scientific journal Endangered Species Research yesterday.
It is the first such study and identifies the yellow-eyed penguin as one of three penguin species of "significant concern".
Set nets were the fishing gear most likely to cause penguin deaths, one study estimating 35 a year were killed this way, she said.
"And that’s a conservative estimate."
They are used by about 330 commercial boats in New Zealand, as well as by recreational fishers.
There was "a lot of under-reporting" of penguin bycatch by set nets, as only 3% of boats had observers on them, she said.
"There are a lot of anecdotal reports, but we don’t have good data."
She admitted there were many long-term reasons why the penguin numbers were declining.
"But we can’t fix things like climate change right away, that is a global issue.
"It’s really disheartening. There are things we can do, but we just aren’t doing them."
The public should also consider "whether they need that penguin selfie", as the animals needed space to survive, she said.
Yellow-eyed penguin numbers have dramatically declined in recent years, and there are only an estimated 246 breeding pairs left on the South Island.
An example of the decline could be seen on the Otago Peninsula where 20 years ago there were 400 breeding pairs, compared with 90 this year, Dr Ellenberg said.
The review recommends more observers or video monitoring on vessels to oversee bycatch, and managing set net fisheries in important penguin foraging areas to reduce bycatch deaths.
Seafood New Zealand communications manager Lesley Hamilton said there were many threats to the species including climate change, habitat degradation, disease and predation.
"We agree that fishing does pose some risk to yellow-eyed penguins and industry takes a range of precautions to limit captures and is happy to discuss what measures can be implemented to assist further."
Government observers last year focused their efforts on set net fisheries, and with about 40% of activity in yellow-eyed penguin habitat, no captures of yellow-eyed penguins were recorded, she said.
Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash said he was aware of concerns about declining penguin numbers, and asked his officials to keep him informed.
The Ministry of Primary Industries and the Department of Conservation were "working on" the issue, including commissioning further research into the effect of fishing on the species, he said.
