National Marine Week raises awareness about the need for conservation of the ocean and coastal environments

THIS year’s National Marine Week, themed ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean’, explores the tourism benefits of South Africa’s coastline and scientific ways to conserve the oceans.

Among the innovative developments under the National Ocean and Coastal Information Management System (OCIMS) are the Decision Support

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Tools that use satellite information – collected by the South African National Space Agency – for conservation.

One of these is the Integrated Vessel Tracking tool which allows law enforcement agencies to monitor vessel activity through real-time satellite data within the full Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of South Africa, as well as the Prince Edward and Marion Islands.

This enables fisheries’ authorities to monitor vessels in South African waters, as well as vessels that enter inshore and offshore Marine Protected

Areas (MPAs). Where violations occur, compliance officers and vessels can be deployed.

The tool to monitor Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) along the country’s 3 800km coastline is crucial to the aquaculture industry.

Algal blooms are a natural phenomenon but can lead to mass mortalities of entire marine communities, including that of rock lobsters.

These events can have major environmental and societal implications, with knock-on effects on coastal economies.

This week the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) is sharing information with KZN communities about other technological advancements used to count populations of marine species; tracking and monitoring of the red tide, and monitoring of sea water quality.

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