Sharks, a paddle out and much more at Scottburgh this weekend
Among the variety of activities, yous can look forward to various beach activities including a treasure hunt, sand art and snorkelling lessons, as well as adaptive surfing demonstrations and surfing competitions.
THIS weekend boasts many activities in celebration of 2018 Shark Weekend to be held at Scottburgh beach.
Consisting of talks, clean-ups, surfing competitions and a variety of beach activities, Shark Weekend has a number of interactive activities planned which are suitable for the entire family.
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Starting with a ‘Healthy Ocean’s Talk’ and a beach clean-up on Friday, June 8, at 3pm, the conservation celebration is set to continue on Saturday from 8am with a ‘Paddle Out for Sharks’ ceremony at Scottburgh beach and backline.
Among the variety of activities, attendees can look forward to various beach activities including a treasure hunt, sand art and snorkelling lessons, as well as adaptive surfing demonstrations and surfing competitions.
“The seventh Paddle Out for Sharks, in conjunction with Word Ocean’s Day on June 8, gives us a chance to highlight the impact of human actions and how we can positively turn the tide for shark conservation and good health of our oceans,” said Jess Escobar, Shark Weekend organiser, marine biologist, shark researcher and member of Shark Angels.
“For me, the annual Paddle Out for Sharks celebration has become an opportunity for all the different ocean-users to stand together and show their support for shark and ocean conservation. It is reaching more and more people every year, converting the misguided fear around sharks into a respect and willingness to protect them. I am so happy and excited to see such a great support for our sharks and ocean conservation in our area.”
Paddle Out for Sharks started in 2012 after several sharks were killed in nets along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline.
The diving and marine conservation communities converged to protest against the nets in support of shark conservation. This tradition has continued every year with more voices calling for protection of sharks, a creature that forms a crucial part of the oceanic ecosystem.
Forming an integral part of the Shark Weekend programme will be an address by renowned ocean activist and founder of the NPC, Breathe, Sarah Ferguson, on Saturday, June 9 at 3pm. The former national swimmer took to ocean swimming six years ago and decided to do something more meaningful with her swimming.
“I decided to start a foundation centred on ocean conservation, so I established Breathe,” recalled Ms Ferguson. “I then started training to become the first African woman to swim the Kaiwi channel in Hawaii which I successfully completed in July 2017.”
Her 30-minute talk, entitled ‘Swimming to Fight Plastic Pollution – Live Deeply & Tread Lightly’ outlines her passion for swimming and the global epidemic of plastic pollution.
“We cannot ignore this issue,” said Ms Ferguson. “They recently found a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench – the deepest part of the ocean. Education is critical to change behaviour and create awareness about this relevant and growing epidemic. Change starts with the individual and needs to come from the public as well as at government level. Together, we can all change the statistic that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.”
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