Marine Conservation with Sharks, Whales and Penguins
- South Africa
- Cape Town
About Program
This multi-faceted Marine Conservation project allows those with a love of the ocean and its inhabitants, to gain experience with not only Whales, Dolphins, Sharks and Penguin research and monitoring but also community education, environmental issues, ecology and ecotourism with a skilled team of experts, including marine biologists, in the field- both on land and on sea.
The Marine Big 5:
• Shark – The Great White, Bronze Whaler, Blue, Broadnose SevenGill and Mako.
• Whale – Southern Right, Humpback and Brydes’
• Penguin – African
• Seal – Cape Fur
• Dolphin – Bottlenose, Common and Humpback
Areas volunteers may get involved in:
Support guests and operational support on the whale watching (seasonal) and shark cage diving boats.
Cleaning, fish preparation and assisting at feeding time at the penguin rehabilitation facility.
Assembling, cleaning, and monitoring of fishing line bins.
Shark egg collection
Data capturing
Environmental education
Beach clean-ups
Lectures
Video and Photos
Impact
Ethical Impact
Program Highlights
- Assist the onboard marine biologist on the whale or research boat with monitoring and data capturing of Southern Right and Humpback whales during the annual migration period from June to December
- Get involved with data capturing and research on the shark boat and while cage diving. This is one of few projects whose marine biologist is permitted to tag Great White sharks
- Help with the rehabilitation of injured, oiled and sick African Penguins and birds brought in for care and recuperation at a state-of-the-art facility. Penguin feeding takes place twice a day.
- Taking part in lectures of White Shark biology and research, African Penguins, marine mammal species, company and conservation overview, rocky shores ecology, boat safety and more.
- The area has lots of fun things to do in your free time, visit a predator sanctuary, go shopping in Hermanus, visit wine farms, go beer tasting or hike the fantastic shorelines
Questions & Answers
Location
Cape Town is a port city, the legislative capital of South Africa, the most southern city in all of Africa, and referred to as the "Mother City". It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa.
