Field Assistant Vacancy 2023
The ORCA (Ocean Research Conservation Africa) Foundation, a conservation nodeof Ocean Blue Adventures, is recruiting a reliable field assistant work experienceposition for a 6 month period, starting July 2023. Preference will be given to NatureConservation/Marine Biology recent graduates or relevant BSc graduates who areinterested to gain practical experiential training in marine mammal field research,conservation and […]
Endangered Species Day
Endangered Species Day International Endangered Species Day is celebrated every third Friday in May, and this year it fell on 19th May. Endangered Species Day is a chance for us to recognize and appreciate the conservation efforts being put in by a number of organisations, men, and women around the world working to protect our […]
May research blog!
May research blog: The elasmobranch egg case project continues to progress smoothly. Despite having dropped our surveys to only once a month, we still haven’t been able to totally process through our backlog, though we are steadily moving through it. There will be a big celebration once we have conquered the mountain of egg cases! […]
Exciting times….. March Research Blog!!!
Exciting times……. March research blog The elasmobranch egg case project has been progressing business as usual this month, although we are not able to process the egg cases fast enough to make up for the backlog of egg cases from the November to January period. In light of this, and that we have a year’s […]
Our first Research Blog for 2017!!!
Our first research blog for 2017!!! The ORCA Foundation team has hit the ground running this year, busy both outdoors and in! Despite the volunteer program being closed for a number of weeks, ORCA staff maintained the elasmobranch egg case project. Surveys were continued, and egg cases were collected. Now with the volunteer program back […]
August research Blog!!
August research blog We have exciting news on the elasmobranch egg case project! After 7 months of surveying beaches we have finally collected a different egg case! Generally, we will collect egg cases from 6 different species: Dark Shyshark, Leopard Catshark, Puffadder Shyshark, Pyjama Shyshark, St Josephs Shark, and the Twineyed Skate. Finally, we can […]
Blacktail – abundant, ubiquitous, and hermaphroditic!
Blacktail – abundant, ubiquitous, and hermaphroditic! Anglers and visitors to the underwater world in our beautiful Plettenberg Bay may be familiar with a fish called blacktail Diplodus capensis, though perhaps the name dassie or Cape white seabream is more familiar. This is an oval-shaped fish which is primarily silver in colour with a black patch […]
Mussel-ing in on our coastline!
Mussel-ing in on our coastline! Mussel is the common term for a variety of fresh and salt water clams or bivalve molluscs. Bivalves, as the name may suggest, are enclosed by two shell halves, and mussels are no different. Most of the species to which the term mussel applies have shells where the length is […]
Humpback Whales – we’re happy they’re back in Plett!
Come June, eyes are kept peeled for that elusive blow as boat trips start taking a turn off the point and further to sea searching, and hoping, for the first sighting of a Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae. Humpback Whales are large animals, measuring 13-14 m in length and weighing 30-40 tonnes. They have a big […]