Local Port Elizabeth based Marine NGO, Ocean Messengers, teamed up with Walmer based Masifunde Learner Development to highlight the dangers of plastic in Algoa Bay. "Plastic is the oceans and our environments worst enemy! That plastic bottle that you drink water out of and throw away will take longer than your lifetime to 'decompose' - 450 years in fact. BUT, plastic does not decompose like a leaf or other animal matter - it just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles which animals … [Read more...] about Ocean Cleanup – #MustSeeinPE
ocean messengers
Will Coega Become a Haven for the Dirty Oil Rig Cleaning Industry?
A second Oil rig berthed within the Nqura harbour at Coega this past weekend. Since the controversial first "repair and cleaning" of an Oil rig many questions and queries were posed to Coega and Portnet which were never satisfactorily answered in detail. And now the authorities have allowed what appears to be a second rig to enter the Nqura harbour! The entry of any oil rig into Algoa Bay raises many environmental questions as oil is harmful to the marine environment. The movement of the … [Read more...] about Will Coega Become a Haven for the Dirty Oil Rig Cleaning Industry?
Is Algoa Bay’s Environmental Capacity Being Reached?
Have you wondered what is happening to Algoa Bay as a possible future heritage site? Have you wondered if Algoa Bay is able to sustain over 60 Chokka Boats, 15 container and coal ships per day as well as oil rigs and oil cargo ships operating from 2 harbors? Have you ever wondered where your waste and toilet water goes? Have you wondered about the possible effect that this could have on the lives of marine animals and your own? Penguin numbers are decreasing, dolphins and whales now swim … [Read more...] about Is Algoa Bay’s Environmental Capacity Being Reached?
Fancy a Captiva or Dive Course to Instructor Level?
Underwater photographers entering the Chevrolet Ocean Messengers Algoa Bay heritage photo competition are spoiled for choice for the next few days. They will have plenty of opportunities to dive on some of the Bay's best sites during the Noordhoek Dive Fest, which takes place this weekend, June 16 to June 19. The judges are looking for photos of underwater landscapes, animals, plants and scenes, says Rainer Schimpf of Ocean Messengers. First prize for the winning underwater photo is a … [Read more...] about Fancy a Captiva or Dive Course to Instructor Level?
Manganese Smelter Plant for Coega
Kalagadi Manganese is investing R4.2 billion for the construction of a smelter plant with an annual production capacity of 320 000 tons of High Carbon Ferromanganese (HC FeMn) in the Coega IDZ, Eastern Cape. The spending related to the construction of the smelter would result in direct, indirect and induced output of R7.3 billion in the Eastern Cape. It is expected that about 1000 jobs in the Eastern Cape Province would be required during the construction phase of the project. It is also … [Read more...] about Manganese Smelter Plant for Coega
Cape Receife to Bird Island
Recently I joined Rainer from Ocean Messengers on a flight over Cape Receife to Bird Island in a quest to see if we could spot the start of the Sardine Run in Algoa Bay. Rainer had spotted the sardine run off of the Tsitsikamma coast 3 weeks before and reckoned we could start seeing the sardine run here soon. Our flight took us out towards Cape St Francis and back along the Rij Banks towards Bird Island before swinging back home. Flying at an average of 900 feet above the ocean we … [Read more...] about Cape Receife to Bird Island
One More CITES Endangered Animal Lost
This past weekend another Whale Shark was washed up on Maitlands beach, almost a year after the last Whale Shark was killed in the Port Elizabeth Harbour. These magnificent creatures represent no danger to man as they eat plankton and are common worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Here in Port Elizabeth we seem to be sending the message to Whale Sharks that they must come to our shores during February and March and expect to die. The sight of a beached Whale Shark at Maitland is … [Read more...] about One More CITES Endangered Animal Lost
Can You Even Begin to Imagine This Rhino’s Pain?
On Friday morning my old mate, Mike Holmes rushed off to Kariega Game Reserve, just outside Kenton-on-Sea, accompanied by Ocean Messengers founder, Rainer Schimpf. The site that greeted their eyes was horrific and heart rending. I am sure that the thoughts of African barbarism, peddled by former colonialists in Africa, of babies being held aloft by the ankle over a raging fire only to be smashed against rocks once their brains had cooked flashed through many an observers mind as they … [Read more...] about Can You Even Begin to Imagine This Rhino’s Pain?
