A celebratory World Oceans Day event, hosted by WILDOCEANS and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), was held at uShaka Marine Worlds’ Aquarium on the evening of the 8th of June. The event, which featured a key note address from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Deputy Director General Judy Beaumont – celebrating South Africa’s oceans and … [Read more...]
High seas fishing would go broke without ‘massive’ subsidies: study
Fishing on the high seas would be an unprofitable business, but for the billions of dollars in government subsidies that keep an often destructive industry afloat, international researchers said Wednesday. The high seas refers to areas beyond nations' territorial waters, where species like tuna tend to be overfished and migratory sharks - 44% of which are considered … [Read more...]
Bring Your Own Bag campaign aims to keep the seas trash free
Every year South Africans use approximately 8 billion plastic bags, and less than 1% are recycled. Most end up in landfills or the ocean. With the support of A Rocha “Christians in Conservation,” South African Churches have launched a campaign to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags. At the launch, Rethink The Bag campaign founder Hayley MacLellan shared stories of the … [Read more...]
Threatened fish will find sanctuary in new marine reserve
South Africa’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) footprint is currently sitting at 0.4% compared to a global average of 11%. “0.4% is simply not enough, and so we’re excited about the announcement of 5% expansion of our marine protected areas, following the commitments made by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA),” said Dr Jean Harris of WILDOCEANS. “We recently launched … [Read more...]
Keeping our Cape tidal pools safe for human and marine life
Cape Town’s coast is dotted with 19 tidal pools, beautiful man-made seawater pools that allow for safe, family-friendly bathing. Dalebrook and St James, on the False Bay coast, are two of the most popular spots. Here, kids splash in the shallows, people swim lengths and regulars enjoy daily submersions in the chilly water. The pools also serve as sanctuaries for numerous sea … [Read more...]
BP drilling offshore Nova Scotia: the next Gulf Coast disaster?
Nova Scotians are expressing alarm at news that BP commissioned rig West Aquarius is now en route to drill offshore, despite not having final approval from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB). “This is the height of regulatory capture,” says John Davis, Director of Clean Ocean Action Committee. “It is costing BP $260,000 a day to move this rig, why would … [Read more...]
Cape Town’s first desalination plant delivers drinking water
Cape Town's Strandfontein desalination plant is up and running. Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson was given a taste of the first 3 megalitres (ML) being produced there as rainwater dripped off his nose at the beachfront site on Monday. "If you want it to rain, build a desalination plant," quipped Neilson as a squall swirled around the delegation inspecting the plant built near the … [Read more...]
Plastic bags found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench
Scientists have confirmed that plastic bags litter the very depths of the Earth's oceans inside the Mariana Trench. The findings highlight a polluted region of the ocean often ignored: the very bottom. Scientists from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and the United Nations were able to determine that "plastics are ubiquitous even at depths … [Read more...]
Study reveals massive ‘dead zone’ in the Arabian Sea
A massive "dead zone" in the Arabian Sea is the largest in the world, a new study reveals. Dead zones are oxygen-starved ocean regions where few organisms can survive. They emerge in ocean depths ranging from 650 to 2,600 feet (200 to 800 meters), when influxes of chemical nutrients — typically from human pollution — spur algae growth, which sucks up oxygen. A significant … [Read more...]
Why marine animals can’t stop eating plastic
Plastic doesn’t just look like food, it smells, feels and even sounds like food. In a recent interview about Blue Planet II, David Attenborough describes a sequence in which an albatross arrives at its nest to feed its young. “And what comes out of the mouth?” he says. “Not fish, and not squid – which is what they mostly eat. Plastic.” It is, as Attenborough says, … [Read more...]
New coastal current discovered off Madagascar
Like many good scientific discoveries, Heriniaina Juliano Dani Ramanantsoa’s was made somewhat by accident. While studying the variability of a coastal upwelling, in which deep, cold, nutrient-rich water rises towards the surface, nourishing marine wildlife and fisheries off the south-west coast of Madagascar, he stumbled across an unknown coastal current. This warm, salty and … [Read more...]
Finding solutions to marine pollution with recycled furniture
Highlighting the solutions to issues of marine and land-based pollution in South Africa this week were national industry body for PET plastic recycling, PETCO, and the African Marine Waste Network. Extrupet, Africa’s leading PET and HDPE bottle recycling company, joined forces with PETCO, the industry body responsible for PET recycling in South Africa, and the Kenton-based … [Read more...]
Ocean plastic-cleaning machine to tackle Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Scientists are preparing to launch the world's first machine to clean up the planet's largest mass of ocean plastic. The system, originally dreamed up by a teenager, will be shipped out this summer to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, between Hawaii and California, and which contains an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic. It will be the first ever attempt to tackle … [Read more...]
