It was caused by unusually high amounts of ice late in the season, meaning adults had to travel further for food.
It is the second bad season in five years after no chicks survived in 2015.
Conservation groups are calling for urgent action on a new marine protection area in the east Antarctic to protect the colony of about 36,000.
WWF says a ban on krill fishing in the area would eliminate their competition and help to secure the survival of Antarctic species, including the Adelie penguins.
WWF have been supporting research with French scientists in the region monitoring penguin numbers since 2010.
The protection proposal will be discussed at a meeting on Monday of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
The Commission is made up of the 25 members and the European Union.
Penguins die in 'catastrophic' Antarctic breeding season
14 October 2017
Read: 1135
All but two Adelie penguin chicks have starved to death in their east Antarctic colony, in a breeding season described as "catastrophic" by experts.
