“At night, I was dreaming about sharks, neh. I was so nervous!” says Benjamin during a conversation in the temporary container offices at Muizenberg. The glass doors brought in the current mood of the ocean, which once was only a few steps away for our beach spotters. Now, their view featured construction cranes and the […]
Where did the tags pop off? Early results from the April 2025 white shark tagging expedition, Mossel Bay
On 10–11 April 2025, Dr Alison Towner (South African International Maritime Institute) and Dr Alison Kock (South African National Parks) led a collaborative expedition with marine biologist Don Marx (Southernmost Apnea) aboard White Shark Africa’s research vessel to deploy Mini-PAT (pop-up archival) satellite tags from Wildlife Computers on white sharks in Kleinbrak, Mossel Bay. Over […]
And That’s a Wrap! Celebrating Our First Graduate Training Programme
Saying goodbye to any of our interns is never easy. They’re a valuable part of our team, often key in bringing our vision to life with energy, fresh perspectives, and new skills. But the 30th of June was different for us at Shark Spotters. After more than 700 days together, we watched our first Graduate […]
The end of my GTP journey: how hope and grit took me to the finish line
When I approached the end of my MSc, I had a sad realisation. Though I was a three-time graduate, academic qualifications alone were not enough to enter the job arena. What would make my internship-slash-job hunt difficult was my lack of practical experience and skills. Imagine my surprise when I was accepted into the Graduate […]
Protecting the Planet Together: Plastics SA Donates Waterbags to Shark Spotters
Between the Namibian and Mozambican borders, where the great desert meets the succulent Karoo, and where the Indian Ocean’s coastal vegetation creeps between countries, lies the southernmost coastline of Africa. Here, over 3,000 km of ocean thrashes against mountain cliffs, laps on sandy beaches and rocky shores, and meanders into the estuaries to meet towering coastal […]
Shark Spotters Enhances Beach Safety with Support from M&G Investments and Yamaha Marine South Africa
As South Africa’s beaches were filled with holidaymakers throughout December 2024 and January 2025, Shark Spotters played a pivotal role in ensuring ocean safety through its beach pop-up education activations. These activations, aimed at raising awareness about ocean safety and conservation, were made possible through the generous support of M&G Investments and Yamaha Marine South […]
A marine science graduates thoughts about the 7th International Marine Conservation Conference
For the first time ever the 7th International Marine Conservation Conference (IMCC7) was held in Cape Town in October 2024. Having the incredible opportunity to attend this conference it felt particularly special to me as it was the first time it was hosted on the African continent. The conference officially began on Monday, October 14th, […]
Shark Conservation with Shark Spotters
Hi! My name is Ingrid Martinson and I am the 2024 North American Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS). I recently graduated with a BS in Marine Science from California State University, Monterey Bay. As an OWUSS scholar, I have a year-long travel fellowship to explore SCUBA diving and marine conservation around the […]
A cup of pool water and gratitude: recalling the journey to my commercial dive certification
Twelve of us gathered in the Oceanography Department’s parking lot — groggy, quiet, and carrying weeks of training on our backs. It was an early Friday morning in December 2024 and, I, for one, was sleep-deprived and nervous. The soft conversations around me matched the gentle light streaming through the oak trees overhead. Three tests […]