On World Oceans Day on the 8th of June 2018, a coalition of organisations including WILDOCEANS (a programme of the WILDTRUST), Ocean Unite, WWF South Africa, Centre for Environmental Rights and the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), united to advance the protection of the oceans around South Africa within Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) and … [Read more...]
Bluefin tuna on the brink of extinction
Pacific bluefin tuna has unique worldwide status as one of the most awe-inspiring remarkable creatures on the planet. They grow to 12 feet and 1,500 pounds and live up to 35 years whilst swimming super-fast, crossing the entire ocean in 21 days. They are the essence of nature’s wonderful creativity and beauty. Unequivocally, the bluefin’s days are numbered, almost guaranteed … [Read more...]
Oil and gas prospecting reveals bleak future for SA oceans
How will our oceans cope with the oil and gas prospective plans? We may boast sustainable fisheries, but oil & gas prospecting is revealing a bleak future for our oceans. South Africa’s coastline is in high demand. It has become increasingly clear to the government, as well as large corporations, that there is money to be made from our coasts. Operation Phakisa was … [Read more...]
Threat of running out of oxygen due to warming oceans
Falling oxygen levels caused by global warming could be a greater threat to the survival of life on planet Earth than flooding, according to researchers from the University of Leicester. A study led by Sergei Petrovskii (pictured), Professor in Applied Mathematics from the University of Leicester’s Department of Mathematics, has shown that an increase in the water … [Read more...]
An uncertain future for our living blue planet
A new report on the health of the ocean finds that the marine vertebrate population has declined by 49 percent between 1970 and 2012. WWF’s Living Blue Planet Report tracks 5,829 populations of 1,234 mammal, bird, reptile, and fish species through a marine living planet index. The evidence, analyzed by researchers at the Zoological Society of London, paints a troubling … [Read more...]
Scientists alarmed about ‘seismic blasting’ in the Arctic Ocean
Firing seismic airguns to find new oil reserves in the Arctic Ocean is ‘alarming’ and could seriously injure whales and other marine life, according to a new scientific review. The oil industry is increasingly looking towards the region as climate change melts large areas of Arctic sea ice. A Norwegian company operating off east Greenland recently began firing airguns that … [Read more...]
Join SA’s first marine eradication program – European shore crab
Do you want to be part of the first marine eradication programme in South Africa? Carcinus meanas, commonly known as the European shore crab, is an alien crab that has large populations in Table and Hout Bay harbours in Cape Town. Marine biologists at Stellenbosch University are undertaking a trial eradication in Hout Bay and are looking to employ a dynamic eradication … [Read more...]
Save the oceans, feed the world
What's a marine biologist doing talking about world hunger? Well, says Jackie Savitz, fixing the world's oceans might just help to feed the planet's billion hungriest people. In an eye-opening talk, Savitz tells us what’s really going on in our global fisheries right now — it’s not good — and offers smart suggestions of how we can help them heal, while making more food for … [Read more...]
