According to the BBC, if we continue to abuse our oceans the way we have been, we will run out fish in 43 years time. Luckily, plans are being made to stop this abomination, and they’re starting right here in Grahamstown.
According to the BBC, if we continue to abuse our oceans the way we have been, we will run out fish in 43 years time. Luckily, plans are being made to stop this abomination, and they’re starting right here in Grahamstown. From April 14 to May 9, local charity the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), will be making waves at 15 coastal South Africa towns, all in the name of our oceans.
Partnering with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), the Samsa SEA Pledge Saldanha to Sodwana Tour will focus on education, poverty alleviation and marine conservation as the Trust runs beach activities for the public and educates mayors and public figures about the importance of sustainable seaside living.
“Samsa endeavours to promote safety at sea and curb the pollution plaguing our oceans,” said Captain Nigel Campbell, the Authority’s acting executive head centre for shipping services.
“Working with the Trust, Samsa will be able to interact with children and speak to them about careers at sea, while exposing them to the mass of opportunities that exist in helping protect our oceans.”
To aid the cause, the “Sturgeon General” herself, Dr Sylvia Earle, will be joining the tour in the Western Cape portion.
An oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, founder of numerous research foundations and chairperson of the Advisory Council for the Ocean in Google Earth, Earle is also the patron of the Trust.
Joining her will be 11 times South African free-diving record holder, Hanli Prinsloo, from the I Am Water Trust.
This will be the second tour of its kind.
The last was in 2011, when the tour made a successful stop at the COP17 conference in Durban. The 2013 tour promises to be even more inclusive, more comprehensive and enlighten more South Africans about the importance of caring for our world’s oceans, which have already been over-fished by over 85%. “Both Samsa and the Sustainable Seas Trust strive to care for and conserve our oceans, as well as assist the many South Africans dependent on our coast,” said Dr Tony Ribbink, director of the Trust. “This tour will address all of these issues, excluding no one and creating partnerships to benefit all.”
For more information, please visit the SST website or the Facebook group, the Sustainable Seas Trust and SEA Pledge.
