The 30th of September and 1st of October saw the celebration and grand opening of two community resource hubs in northern KwaZulu-Natal, namely Mabibi and KwaDapha. The hub construction and establishment forms part of the Oceans Alive iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area (MPA) Project driven by WILDOCEANS, a programme of the WILDTRUST, in partnership with iSimangaliso Wetland … [Read more...]
Science guides smart decisions about ocean protection
A new peer-reviewed study published in Science provides a novel scientific framework to consistently understand, plan, establish, evaluate and monitor ocean protection in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Authored by 42 marine and social scientists from 38 institutions across six continents, The MPA Guide: A Framework to Achieve Global Goals for the Ocean enables the global … [Read more...]
African youth unifying for ocean protection
In the first-ever virtual event of its kind on the continent, a youth driven marine group called Youth4MPAs in partnership with WILDOCEANS, and supported by World Surf League PURE, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Oceans 5 has launched an African Youth Summit focusing on unifying youth across Africa, engaging with global marine experts and amplifying their young voices to advocate … [Read more...]
A new shark and two rays for Africa
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...]
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...]
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...]
