Cape Town - A marine biologist from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is advocating for Cape Agulhas to be declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA) because research has shown that the vicinity contains species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Distinguished Marine Biology and Biodiversity Studies expert, Professor Gavin W Maneveldt, says that the coastal rocky shores around the SANParks Agulhas National Park are so uniquely endowed with natural assets that they merit the designation.
“The Struisbaai-Agulhas area is unique. Some species occurring here cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”
Each year around National Marine Week, Maneveldt trades in his lab and lab coat for boots and shorts, or a wetsuit on the rocky beachfront at Stinkbaai in the Agulhas region.
His goal has been to support SANParks staff in advocating for an MPA in the Agulhas vicinity.
He regularly visits the area with his research students and a colleague, Dr Martin Hendricks, to educate the surrounding communities about the marine and coastal environment, attempting to promote the sustainable use and conservation of the local marine resources.
Year after year, regardless of the weather, approximately 70 people eagerly gather at 8am to await Maneveldt and his team’s outdoor lecture.
This event has become synonymous with education sessions and activities for young and old.
“The field lecture ends on the low shore where we encourage participants to turn over boulders in a rock pool while always being careful to put them back exactly how they were.
“Whenever learners attend we let them find exciting things, which always results in fascinating fact sessions. They come running with cushion stars, feather stars or rock suckers.
“It is as if a whole new world unfolds for them and the beauty of it all is when the parents join in. The learners would bring me organisms or algae that even researchers like me have never seen. So to us, this means more subjects to study and research,” Maneveldt said.
Nadier Roos, a UWC alumnus and a teacher involved with the Overberg Eco Rangers in Bredasdorp, spoke highly of the work the UWC team has been doing in the area.
“Prof Maneveldt has established a good connection and relationship with our organisation. We have been attending his programme for the past three years, and we have seen a change in attitudes in our learners.
“They have developed a love for conservation; the more they understand an animal’s role, the more you would hear them encouraging their peers not to kill animals or organisms because they now understand its role in their environment. They enjoy the learning experience, and we find an appreciation of what they have in their environment.”
