Today we celebrate World Whale Day!So why whales and why today? February 17, 2017 Meredith Thornton Well, the annual celebration was founded in 1980 in Maui, Hawaii, in order to honour humpback whales, which are found in big numbers just off its coast. Whale Day is the main showcase of the Maui Whale Festival. Crowds stream to the island every year [...]
International Marine Volunteers help with Ragged tooth shark dissection February 01, 2017 Alison Towner By Alison Towner Marine Biologist, Dyer Island Conservation Trust On the 31st of January we had a rare opportunity to dissect a Ragged Tooth shark, Carcharias taurus. The shark had washed up dead in Franskraal earlier in the month and was collected by Wilfred Chivell to be [...]
A Token of Appreciation February 17, 2017 Pinkey Ngewu After DICT and APSS received a generous donation of R6000.00 from the eager students of Okkie Smuts Primary School in Stanford, the day has finally arrived to take them on a marine adventure with Dyer Island Cruises. This will be a token of appreciation for the generous and great work they are [...]
Retrieve and re-deploy the listening stations behind Dyer Island. December 8, 2016 Brenda du Toit Monday the 8th of December, as Kleinbaai harbor is bustling with busy with holiday makers, our biologists and volunteers launched the DICT research boat Lwazi in order to retrieve and re-deploy the listening stations behind Dyer Island. We had been waiting for a clear weather gap [...]
Chick Season at the Afican Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary November 16, 2016 Anwynn Louw It’s that time of the year again. The APSS team in conjunction with CapeNature removed abandoned penguin chicks from Dyer Island. So, why take penguin chicks away from the island? Well each year the African penguin goes through a molting process, which takes place after the breeding [...]
Schools Donate to The African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary November 28, 2016 Pinkey Ngewu OKKIE SMUTS PRIMARY SCHOOL PENGUIN DONATION DICT was once again invited by Okkie Smuts Primary school in Stanford to receive a donation on behalf of the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary - APSS. As part of the school’s social development programme, the principal and learners started a [...]
Marine Month Competition November 01, 2016 Pinkey Ngewu THINK BLUE - THINK OCEANS - THINK MARINE BIG 5 Dyer Island Conservation Trust in partnership with CapeNature and the Overstrand Municipality ran a competition with the schools in the Overberg area, from Hawston to Gansbaai. October month was a national marine month. This competition ran in three different categories with exciting prizes! [...]
DICT Environmental Education Programme Camp October 11, 2016Pinkey Ngewu The Dyer Island Conservation Trust has always been involved with local school groups and earlier this year we launched project “DEEP” (DICT Environmental Education Programme). DEEP envisions that environment education should reach all children before the age of 12 years in order to ensure that the ethos of conservation and respect for [...]
MARINE EVENING WITH GIBBS KUGURU - HAMMERHEAD SHARKS AND GENETICS September 26, 2016 Brenda du Toit Passionate conservationist and accomplished speaker, Gibbs Kuguru was the recent speaker at the Marine Dynamics marine evening on the 27th September. Gibbs Kuguru is a final year candidate for his MSc in Genetics from Stellenbosch University. His research is primarily focused on the smooth hammerhead sharks [...]
Whale Festival 2016 October 04, 2016 Anwynn Louw The Hermanus whale festival started 25 years ago. Residents and visitors from all over the world visit the coastal town of Hermanus to see the Southern Right whales and other marine wildlife. This festival focuses on ocean-themed activities, exhibitions and fun for all ages. It is the only eco-marine festival in South Africa. [...]