Durban South environmentalists and community picket against oil and gas exploration in the ocean
The exploration for oil and gas in the ocean affects not only the marine life but surfers, swimmers, fisherfolk and all ocean lovers.
THE South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), together with activists from the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, recently picketed against TotalEnergies Oil and Gas Exploration in the ocean at various beaches, including Cuttings Beach in Merebank.
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Janeira Reddy, SDCEA’s oil, gas and livelihoods project officer, said this comes after Barbara Creecy, the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Environmental Affairs, gave permission for TotalEnergies to sink holes in the sea between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas as part of a search for oil and gas.
“Many corporations, such as Shell, SASOL, ENI and Total Energies, are flocking to our South African coastline to explore for oil and gas. The impacts of this are immense and affect not only marine life but surfers, swimmers, traditional healers and all ocean lovers, ocean users and fisherfolk who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.
SDCEA is standing in solidarity with subsistence fishers and small-scale fishers within coastal communities whose livelihoods are most at risk from the potential negative impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The pickets were to say no to oil and gas exploration, fossil fuels and fish being killed, and yes to clean, healthy oceans,” she said.
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