FIRST CALF SPOTTED IN WALKER BAYJuly 23, 2010 by dyertrustEvan Austin fromAfrican Wing Chartershas the enviable job of flying every day and witnessing some incredible sights off our coastline. This week he had the first Southern Right whale calf sighting.We first spotted him/her on Wednesday 14 July and managed to get this picture. We have spotted it on all flights since [...]
BAGS OF RUBBISH COLLECTED FROM DANGER POINT BEACHJuly 23, 2010 by dyertrustOn Friday 23rd July, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust together with the 6th Grade class from Blompark Primary hoped to make a difference and headed off to Danger Point for a beach clean up.Teams of four were formed and together with the assistance of the international volunteers from Marine Dynamics [...]
LEOPARD SEAL SIGHTINGJuly 22, 2010 by dyertrustUpdate 22 July 2010- "It has been a week now since the leopard seal was found at Die Dam. We have not seen it since and we have not had any phone calls reporting a sighting, but rumuor is that the local fishermen have seen it close to their boats. So hopefully it is feeding [...]
PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER STATION TO CREATE PERMANENT CHANGES IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTJuly 22, 2010 by dyertrustEskom has identified three sites along the South African coastline as potential plots for a Nuclear Power Station (NPS). Although not the first preferred site, Bantamsklip, just over 20kms from Gansbaai and 10kms from Dyer Island, is one of them.The proposed site for Bantamsklip is situated within [...]
DICT PLACES NESTS ON ICHABOE ISLAND IN NAMIBIAJuly 21, 2010 by dyertrustIchaboe (pronounced Itcha-boo) Island lies off the coast of Namibia, 50kms north from Luderitz, the closest inhabited town.Lawrence Green is his book At Daybreak over the Isles published in 1950, said of Ichaboe I had never dreamt of bird life in such profusion until I saw Ichaboe. This is one [...]
THE GREAT PENGUIN RESCUEJuly 20, 2010 by dyertrustDyan deNapoli, fondly known asThe Penguin Lady assisted in the largest oil spill in South Africa in 2000, that of the Treasure.This month sees the 10th anniversary of this oil spillquite profound considering the current BP oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 38,000 penguins were affected, either directly or moved out [...]
RIP ADIN STAMELMANJuly 19, 2010 by dyertrustAdin Stamelman (25 November 1976 - 7 June 2010)It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Adin Stamelman.Adin was a Ph.D. candidate, registered with theDepartment of Historical Studies at UCT. He was working on a project that re-constructs population numbers of particular sea-bird species found on the guano islands [...]
DICT HOLDS INTERACTIVE PRESENTATIONS IN HONOUR OF WORLD OCEANS DAYJune 08, 2010 by dyertrustWORLD OCEANS DAY 8 June 2010OCEAN EDUCATIONIn honour of World Oceans Day, we held interactive presentations at Laerskool Gansbaai.Marine biologists,Michelle Wciseland Katja Vinding-Petersen, led a fun and interactive educational experience about the valuable part in the ecosystem that the ocean plays.The children learnt two new termsbiotic (living creatures) [...]
A FIRST FOR AFRICA AND MARINE MAMMALS BENEFITJune 07, 2010 by dyertrustWhales, dolphins, seals and dugongs were on the agenda at the1st African Marine Mammal Colloquium (AMMC)held in Gansbaai (18-21 May, 2010). Jointly hosted by the Mammal Research Institute (MRI) of the University of Pretoria and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) at the Great White House in Kleinbaai.Participants hailed from [...]
1ST AFRICAN MARINE MAMMAL COLLOQUIUMJune 06, 2010 by dyertrustMarine mammal research in southern Africa is experiencing an exciting renaissance. There has been a striking increase in the number of research groups, students and projects starting up in the region in the last few years. Collaboration is a key factor in most modern research, allowing small teams with small budgets to generate [...]