You too may have seen this image which went viral on social media and whose “popularity” fuelled justified anger from National Geographic. This image was stated as the winner of The National Geographic Photo of the Year – which obviously was untrue. I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Nat Geo when they said that it is sad that a computer-generated [...]
How does tourism impact on local communities? Sometimes it has a beneficial influence, sometimes I feel it has a diluting impact on local traditions and behaviours. But for today, we will focus on the positive impact. Let’s take a look now at how the Shark Cage Diving Industry has influenced the local community of Masekhane in Gansbaai, Western Cape. Masekhane [...]
Here at White Shark Projects we fly our responsible tourism flag high and we take pride in our social and environmental roles. We have a firm belief in conservation through education and aim to turn everybody into a shark and ocean ambassador. Therefore, we ensure that we share as much information as possible with our clients, informing them of the plight of [...]
There’s a silent, serial killer on the loose and it drifts along streams and coastlines, gobbling up oxygen, suffocating and killing aquatic life. “Dead zones” are the consequential killers, borne from our agricultural systems. Dead zones are basically areas of water with decreased oxygen levels, in which practically nothing, except bacteria can survive. Dead zones can fluctuate in size and [...]
Our oceans and marine life are being choked by a continuous supply of plastic; from plastic bags and bottles, to straws and microbeads. 80% of marine plastics come from land-based sources, which are then blown or washed into the ocean. Plastic travels well and ends up on shorelines, in the stomachs of ocean life, and as giant floating islands, thousands [...]
In our previous episode, you were introduced to 5 simple steps/choices to reduce your single-use plastics, as well as the repercussions of said plastics. In this episode, I will be showing you how your food choices can help save some lives – no, don’t worry, I am not jumping on the vegan band-wagon! Read below for more tips on how [...]
In the previous two episodes, we discussed ways in which we can reduce our plastic footprint and in so doing, become Ocean Superheroes and save some Marine lives. Today, in the final episode of this trilogy, we take a closer look into our cupboards and see how a change in our personal products can turn us into Ocean Superheroes. 1. [...]
Save our Seas! Save our Sharks! These words may have been echoing through social media platforms and you may have seen it a hundred times, but have you ever wondered “what’s the big deal with sharks?”. Why do we need to save them? Why are they SO important? Well, there are numerous reasons why sharks need saving and even more [...]
On Saturday the 16th of September, White Shark Projects’ Crew and Volunteers were joined by Gansbaai Tourism, La Pentola Crew, Gansbaai locals and the Cape United Soccer Team to clean up the coastal town of Gansbaai. For this year’s International Coastal Clean-Up Day, we decided to focus on prevention and chose to clean the town centre of Gansbaai, preventing all the litter from blowing into [...]
Responsibly Green: Eco-Tourism. Responsible Tourism. Sustainable Tourism. We’ve all heard the lingo, but do we know, or more frankly, do we care what it means? In short, responsible tourism is about creating better places to live in and better places to visit. The order of that sentence is key though. Its purpose is to educate the traveller on various levels; [...]
White Shark Projects featured on InfoHub.com + GIVEAWAY!!! Dear friends! Today we are thrilled to announce that one of our projects – White Shark Volunteer Project – has been chosen as an Unordinary Trip of the Month by InfoHub.com , the #1 travel portal on the Internet specializing in the out-of-ordinary , special interest vacations. Although it might seem a bit unusual for a volunteering project to be featured as [...]
I’ve just read an article in a local South African newspaper, which at first made me smile so broadly with delight but then, a few paragraphs later, made me fall into a deep despair. Allow me to explain my bipolar-like reaction to this article: The heading reads: “Plan in place to safeguard our whales” and the article kicks off with [...]
What a great day at the White Shark Projects! All of us volunteers went on the boat and shared this wonderful trip. It all started with a sighting of a Humpback Dolphin whilst getting the anchor and wetsuits ready at the bow. It was a brief sighting, as we only saw the back twice before it was gone, but it [...]
Sharks as Apex predators play an important role in the health of our oceans. A recent study conducted by the University of Western Australia, highlights yet another important impact sharks have on their ecosystems. So, we are all aware of the role sharks play in protecting seagrass beds, corals and shellfish populations by controlling or influencing the behaviour of turtles, [...]
While nearly half of the world's human population lives within 50 miles of a coast, all of us depend on the ocean and the resources it provides, whether it be for the food we eat or the oxygen we breathe. The ocean provides invaluable benefits and services: Here without any further ado, is the top 10: Food: More than 3.5 [...]
Since the 31st of August, we’ve had the pleasure of diving with Bronze Whaler Sharks, also known as Copper Sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus). Even though Bronze Whalers frequent our waters, when we have Great White Sharks hanging around the boat, we don’t normally see the Bronze Whalers at all – they prefer to stay clear of the bigger fellas. Due to [...]
Photograph of abalone (Haliotis midae) – Photo © Rob Tarr ǀ aquarium.co.za If you get a chance to visit the beautiful fishing village of Gansbaai you may notice one of the most common words here is “abalone”. When I first came to South Africa over 7 years ago I wasn’t really sure what an abalone was. So [...]
White Shark Projects is a renowned global research organisation which was founded in 1989 and is dedicated to Great white shark conservation. During this time we have had the pleasure of meeting many of these ocean predators. Some of which we have come to recognise as they have visited the Gansbaai area on multiple occasions over the years. One of the [...]
Living in Gansbaai (The Great White Capital of the World) we see more of these animals than pretty much anyone else on the planet. Great white shark sightings are common and every year thousands of tourists flock to the area to cage dive with these legendary apex predators. Gansbaai is very special in this respect, as very few places in [...]
Photograph looking over the picturesque bay of Kleinbaai. Last month White Shark Projects hosted their annual blue initiative campaign called 21 Days of the Ocean for the fifth year running. The objective of the campaign is to raise ocean awareness for communities in the Overstrand area. White Shark Projects were showing how some of our daily activities, [...]
White Shark Projects are currently hosting their annual 21 Days of the Ocean campaign. The idea of the campaign is to show people the small changes they can make to their lives that can help make our oceans healthier. One of the main topics during the campaign is plastic shopping bags as they are one of the biggest causes of plastic pollution [...]
Written by Georgie Pendell Gansbaai holds a very special place in my heart as it has one of the most unique marine ecosystems in the world. Gansbaai is rich in biodiversity and we are lucky enough to have a variety of animals including the infamous Great White Shark within a short boat ride away. It is important that these [...]
At the commission's December meeting in Bali Indonesia, the European Union, with the support of many Pacific nations and the United States, proposed a rule that would have required all fins to remain attached to the bodies until a vessel docked. But that proposal was knocked back by several countries including Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, which is disappointing, [...]
Is it my imagination or is this year just accelerating at a manic pace? It feels as if I’ve only just recovered from the Reindeers and singing Santas, only to have my New Year’s resolutions accosted by defiant chocolate bunnies around every corner! But the chocolate bunnies are also an indication that winter is on its way and that means Shark Season! Blessed as we [...]
