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ocean scienceslatest news & developments
Professor Lynnath Beckley and Investigator

International Indian Ocean expedition

Historical maritime voyage

Peter Manyara, the regional project co-ordinator for the IUCN’s Marine Plastics and Coastal
Communities (Marplasticcs) programme. (Photo: Heather Dugmore)

The marine plastic pollution crisis

The cost in damage to the marine ecosystems is $13-billion each year

Painting by Maggie Newman reflecting the lives of humans on the southern Cape Coast dating back 164 000 years. (Photo: Maggie Newman)

Coastal link in the origins of human awareness

Shells and shellfish were used for decoration and nutrition by early humans

Rendering of REV I, the largest, most advanced marine research platform in the world, currently being built. (Photo: REV Ocean)

World’s most advanced ocean research vehicle

The state-of-the-art vessel will accommodate 60 scientists and 30 crew

Maasai woman and man on the beach in Zanzibar. (Photo: Professor Rose Boswell)

Indian Ocean Africa

To understand the oceans, you must understand the people who live next to them

FishFORCE training on Fisheries Crime Law Enforcement in South and East Africa, led by Professor Hennie van As and attended by Kenyan and South African officials and universities

Combatting fisheries organised crime

It should be addressed under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, with severe penalties of 25 years to life

Humpback whale breaching. (Photo: Dr Stephanie Plön, Ocean Health Unit, Earth Stewardship Science Research, Nelson Mandela University)

Era of marine spatial planning

It brings together everyone who has an interest in South Africa’s oceans

Professor Mike Roberts and ecoSUB – a new generation marine research robot

Big thinking, big science

Millions depend on the Western Indian Ocean, but it is warming fast

Electron microscope image of a microplastic fibre (long piece) with marine plankton. These microplastic fibres originate from synthetic fabrics and are released into wastewater every time we wash our clothes. (Photo: Professor Andy Cundy)

Tackling the ocean plastics problem now

A key focus at the IIOE-2 and SANOCEAN conferences was the issue of marine plastics

Nelson Mandela University.

Maritime engineering and naval architecture

New degree in Engineering Technology in Marine Engineering

Above: Green sea turtle with a plastic bag, which can be confused with jellyfish. The bag was removed by the photographer before the turtle had a chance to eat it. (Photo: Troy Myne/WWF)

Vehicle tyre particles a major marine polluter

Every set of tyres releases 6kg of toxic plastic into the environment

Professor Leslie Petrik

Sewage and contaminants in Cape Town sea

Wastewater contains many dangerous contaminants, which are now being measure

An experienced Kenya Wildlife Service ranger helps a non-swimmer experience coral reefs for the first time for the Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM) Project in Mombasa Marine Park.
(Photo: Jennifer O’lear)

Life below water from Zanzibar

Advancing science and conservation in the West Indian Ocean

Professor Patrick Vrancken is the co-editor of a seminal 800-page book published in 2017, titled The Law of the Sea — The African Union and its Member States

One Ocean Hub

Integrating research across disciplines and sectors, and at different scales

Dr Nick D’Adamo, director of the Australian node of the IIOE-2 joint project office

No single nation has the capacity

‘The oceans are a global savings account from which we keep making only withdrawals’

Mouth of the Sundays River Estuary, Eastern Cape. (Photo: Dr Tor Næsje)

Collective Ocean Action

Solutions for the conservation and sustainable development of the oceans are urgently required

Prof Peter Burkill and Dr Satheesh Shenoi, Co-Chairs of the IIOE-2 steering committee, at the IIOE-2 conference at Nelson Mandela University in March this year.

Why the Indian Ocean?

The Indian Ocean hasn’t been studied much, but it has a big impact on the world

Common dolphins in Algoa Bay. (Photo: Lloyd Edwards)

IUCN Marine Mammal Task Force includes SA

Five important marine mammal areas have been identified locally