~ Ralph Watson, Marine Biologist, Marine Dynamics/Dyer Island Conservation Trust On the 28th of January, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) received a report of a whale stranding near Pearly Beach. Dickie Chivell and Ralph Watson were sent out to investigate and arriving on-site it became clear this was no ordinary stranding. The whale was a long-finned Pilot whale (Globicephala melas) , [...]
Celebrate with us. There is a reason the March for the Penguins, held annually at the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary, occurs on the 21st December. This date just happens to be the birthday of Dyer Island Conservation Trust founder, Wilfred Chivell. In the new virtual world you can take part in the March for the Penguins on any day [...]
The Benguela Current Convention (BCC) under the flagship of the Department of Environment Fisheries and Forestry’s (DEFF) have partnered with Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) and the Overstrand Municipality hosted a beach clean-up on Romansbaai beach in the Gansbaai area on the 18th of December. A Clean Ocean My Responsibility The event hosted 80 students from the schools of Masakhane and [...]
The year 2020 has zoomed in and virtually changed our world. With due concern for the coronavirus pandemic, the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary’s fourth annual 5km March for the Penguins will now be VIRTUAL. Be part of the movement - 21 December 2020 to 5 January 2021 How to join the March Register on our March for the Penguins, RaceOne [...]
The Dyer Island Conservation Trust team had a rather unusual, and noisy, guest these past few months. There are occasional strandings of sub-Antarctic fur seals and one was reported as coming ashore in Cape Agulhas. The seal was under weight and had a long gash on the shoulder. Xolani Lawo and Trudi Malan of the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary responded [...]
Worldwide Marine Month is celebrated every October and the theme for 2020 is: “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean”. In South Africa we use this time to create awareness of our marine and coastal environment and the benefit that our oceans bring for the livelihood of our nation. The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust [...]
It is being reported that nurdles are washing up along the coastline so please keep a look out. Should you find any, please separate from other waste and place in a separate bag or container with details of where found and drop off at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust office at the Great White House, or at our key project, the [...]
The work of the environmentally conscious students of Global Leadership Adventures has given the Marine Dynamics/Dyer Island Conservation Trust team time to reflect on our penguin conservation projects and the reasons we built the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary. Over the past blogs we have tackled the issues of historical impacts on our African penguin populations, as well as marine pollution [...]
International Coastal Clean Up Day is a global movement started over thirty years ago by the Ocean Conservancy. This is a day when the concerned citizens of the world gather to clean the coastline of human generated trash. This trash and debris are documented for statistics to help identify the type of litter, possible sources, and motivate suggested changes for manufacturers [...]
In the third part of our student projects from Global Leadership Adventures, we touch on the topic of stranded penguins. These projects are designed to see how the students interpret the information and teach them new skills. Dyer Island Conservation Trust / Marine Dynamics are part of the Overberg Stranding Network and in Gansbaai are often the first port of call [...]
