What better way to celebrate Shark Awareness Day (14 July) than with the news of a new shark and two rays (flatsharks) in African waters? A new species of shark and 2 rays (guitarfish/ flatsharks to be exact) have recently been described by Dr David Ebert, an ichthyologist (devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish, cartilaginous fish, and jawless fish) based in … [Read more...]
Harnessing technology to combat shark trafficking
Recognising the challenges faced by law enforcement officials, WILDOCEANS (a programme of the WILDTRUST) through their ‘Shark & Ray Protection Project’ (underwritten by the Shark Attack Campaign), the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), and TRAFFIC have put together a series of training sessions that will assist customs and law enforcement … [Read more...]
SA hake fishery impacts threatened sharks and rays
In November 2020, WILDTRUST submitted a formal Objection to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the South African Hake Trawl Fishery. MSC certification is an “eco-label” found on seafood packaging, supposedly confirming the products contained came from a sustainable fishery. In its Objection the WILDTRUST cited concerns about the fishery's impact on … [Read more...]
30% of all sharks and rays threatened with extinction
The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently released an updated Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List has become the gold standard for measuring species population stability, and it is the world's most comprehensive data source on the extinction risk of species categorising (as either extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, … [Read more...]
Fishing fleets putting livelihoods at risk in the Republic of Congo
TRAFFIC, a partner on the Shark & Ray Protection Project of WILDOCEANS, has released a new study based on the concerns of artisanal fishers in the Republic of Congo about massive over capacity of fishing fleets that have put local food security, livelihoods and shark populations at risk. TRAFFIC’s report found that Congolese artisanal fishers are increasingly turning to … [Read more...]
A call for global species conservation action
More than 300 species conservation experts at the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Species Survival Commission Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi, 6 – 9 October 2019, released a statement for urgent and effective action to address the unprecedented, unsustainable and growing impacts on wild species from human activities. In the statement the members of the … [Read more...]
Calling on Azores government to protect threatened sharks
Last year WILDOCEANS, a programme of the WILDTRUST, joined a global movement led by ‘Sharkproject International’ in a bid to put an end to shark finning. A letter was drafted and endorsed by 57 signatory parties from academia, retail, fisheries, the NPO sector and environmental government departments from all over the world. The letter was written to spread awareness about the … [Read more...]
NGO gathers data on endangered sharks in KZN
A team of dedicated volunteer advanced divers embarked on a citizen science project over December and January at Protea Banks (KwaZulu-Natal South Coast), in the hopes of gathering valuable data linked to the endangered scalloped hammerhead shark. The project, an initiative of WILDOCEANS a leading NGO, set out to count a reported aggregation of scalloped hammerhead sharks in … [Read more...]
Sea Shepherd tackles Waterfront beach mess
Each year, three times as much rubbish is dumped into the world's oceans as the weight of fish caught. In 1996 120 million tons of fish were caught, meaning around 400 million tons of rubbish is dumped in the oceans annually. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action organization, gathered on the 9th of April at 9am on the East Pier of the V&A Waterfront … [Read more...]
82% of marine ecosystems not well managed
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, yet less than 1% of these critical systems are under any form of legal protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity's Global Biodiversity Outlook indicates that the world's marine ecosystems are in peril. Along southern Africa's east coast, the dugong is one marine mammal in urgent need of protection. If we do not act … [Read more...]
Can dolphins win competition?
Creston College from KZN won first place and the prize money of R10 000 in the Collect-a-Can 2010 CAN Craze Competition for their can-stuction of dolphins playing with a soccer ball. Despite Collect-a-Can not specifying a theme for the competition there was a strong emphasis on soccer and the 2010 Fifa World Cup this year. Second place and prize money of R 7 000 goes to … [Read more...]
Whose water is it anyway?
'Whatever we do to the water bodies on this planet, we're doing to ourselves.' Both Earth and our human bodies consist of 70% water and 30% solids. 'On this planet the water cycle and the life cycle is one,' said Helen Lockart of the Two Oceans Aquarium on World Water Day. Water is our lifeline - without water we cannot survive longer than a day or two. Most people are … [Read more...]
