WILDOCEANS, a programme of the WILDTRUST, is causing quite a stir on social media with the launch of their WE DON’T NEED OUR OCEANS campaign. The environmental non-profit hopes to show South Africa (and the world) what life would be like without our oceans, and subsequently place a spotlight on just how much we depend on them, as well as mobilise a regional movement for … [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...]
NPO’s take a stand to halt offshore oil drilling
WILDOCEANS is one of several organisations including Oceans Not Oil, South Durban Community Environmental Association and Green Connection, who have submitted comment opposing the proposed offshore exploration drilling and associated activities by oil company TOTAL. There are procedural, climatic, socio-economic and ecological concerns that WILDOCEANS have raised linked to … [Read more...]
Conserving sharks and rays in the Indian Ocean
At a press conference held in Johannesburg recently, the issue of overfishing and overuse of ocean resources was unpacked with a specific focus on the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). WILDOCEANS, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and TRAFFIC collaborated on a presentation given at the conference with a specific focus on overfishing linked to sharks and rays. Rhett Bennett, … [Read more...]
Enlightened self-interest needed to protect the ocean and climate
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Crysophere in a Changing Climate reveals the extent of the crisis facing humanity as the ocean and its services begin to show signs of collapse. Although the ocean is inextricably linked with the climate, the two working together to make planet Earth habitable, this is the first time that … [Read more...]
Celebrating the expansion of SA’s Marine Protected Areas
A Marine Protected Area (MPA) Celebratory Dinner was held at the dockside, next to the WILDOCEANS’ Research Vessel Angra Pequena in Durban on Tuesday evening 16 April, to celebrate the announcement of 20 new and expanded MPAs by South Africa’s Cabinet at the end of last year, and to honour all those who played a role in the expansion. The event, hosted by WILDOCEANS (a … [Read more...]
Marine protection expansion project moves towards 10% coverage
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...]
Join thousands around the world for the Great Nurdle Hunt
Wild Oceans is excited to be taking part in what will see more than a thousand people spanning 6 continents joining in on a worldwide search for tiny plastic pellets (nurdles) in the first Great Nurdle Hunt taking place from the 8th till the 17th of February. The hunt is taking place on 6 continents in over 16 countries, with more than 60 organisations and 170 individual … [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...]
Expanding our marine conservation impact into the Comoros
September 2018 will see the start of an exciting project funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) into the Comoros Archipelago. The Comoros coral reefs are an unrivalled marine paradise, with the highest concentration of coral marine species within a small area, in the world. Comoros offers one of the world’s largest coral atolls which parades hundreds of fish … [Read more...]
Seismic surveying of the ocean floor poses serious risk to whales
Whale populations around the world have been spouting their thanks to the dedication of conservationists who brought them back from the brink of extinction. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) have recognized that through the deployment of the Revised Management Procedure (RMP), some whale populations have actually begun the process of recovery. This new found … [Read more...]
Save the oceans, save the world
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...]
