July 25, 2019 Dyer Island Conservation Trust The Dyer Island Conservation Trust’s shark biologists Alison Towner and Oliver Jewell are co-authors on a ground-breaking new study published in the science journal Nature. The work confirms that sharks have very limited spatial refuge from industrial longline fisheries in open oceans, worldwide. This is one of the most substantial collaborative datasets between shark [...]
June 24, 2019 Dyer Island Conservation Trust “Our mind is a limitless sky and we can only be an albatross flying in the vast expanse to occasionally discover the joys of sublimity!” - Avijeet Das Every so often we get a call to assist with a large seabird. If you know your birds, you will know that “large seabird” is not [...]
June 21, 2019 Dyer Island Conservation Trust A canary in a coal mine is an advanced warning of some danger. The metaphor originates from the times when miners used to carry caged canaries while at work; if there was any methane or carbon monoxide in the mine, the canary would die before the levels of the gas reached those hazardous to [...]
February 19, 2019 Wilfred Chivell of Marine Dynamics and founder of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust was ecstatic to receive a R50 000 donation from International Marine Volunteer Susy Alexandersen. This money will go to the Dyer Island Conservation Trust’s conservation and community efforts. Norwegian based Alexandersen had this to say, “In 2013 I went to Gansbaai for the very [...]
February 02, 2019 Pinkey Ngewu World Wetlands Day (WWD) on 2 February is a key environmental day on the calendar. This global movement was established in 1971 in order to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet. World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the first time in 1997 and has grown remarkably since then. The Theme [...]
January 31, 2019 Pinkey Ngewu Ralph Watson, Ph.D. Candidate at Rhodes University, and a marine biologist guide at Marine Dynamics was the speaker at the latest Marine Evening held by Marine Dynamics/Dyer Island Conservation Trust. Ralph was born in Johannesburg but raised in the Netherlands. From a young age, it was clear his interests lay in the natural world around [...]
January 07, 2019 Black and white dress was the order of the day at the second March for the Penguins held at the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) in Gansbaai. This family friendly event held on the 21st December attracted over 180 participants. The event held two objectives – critical fundraising and awareness of the African Penguin and its endangered [...]
December 18, 2018 The Dyer Island Conservation Trust’s Environmental Education Programme known as DEEP works with dedicated groups of young learners and runs for three years to monitor and evaluate the impact and growth of each and every individual learner. Our aim is to expose these young learners to the field of science and conservation and serve as a forerunner for [...]
December 18, 2018 White shark experts from across the globe came together to map out the priorities for future research on the species. Our shark biologist, Alison Towner, contributed to this critical paper, as did her PhD supervisor Dr Malcom Smale, and past students affiliated with the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. “White sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, are often described as elusive, with [...]
November 28, 2018 What does a real African penguin patron do for Christmas? He commissions an artist to do a painting of his beloved penguins, he uses it on his personal Christmas cards and he then donates the original painting along with a number of the Christmas cards to the African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary to raise some much needed funds. [...]
