Cape Town’s Boulders Beach is famous for its once thriving, endemic African Penguin colony. But of the million breeding pairs that existed a mere hundred years ago, a staggering 2% remain. To highlight this demise, the 10,000 breeding pairs documented in 2023 have already dropped to under 8000 pairs in 2024. The stark reality remains: African Penguins are faced with extinction before 2035 should this decline continue. The penguins’ main food source, sardines, and anchovies are being depleted by commercial fishing, while other man-made factors like habitat destruction and pollution also take their toll. At Ocean Pledge the team believe in the power to create meaningful change by using their voices, so join this October and take a moment to #rememberThePenguins by signing the petition through the link in @birdlife_sa @sanccob

Ocean Pledge have recently concluded their Voice of the Oceans Programme, where 9 new Ocean Pledge ambassadors have recently graduated and are already making positive strides in impacting positive change within their communities. These ambassadors are trained to be the voice for the creatures of the ocean who cannot speak for themselves. On the 27th September, the recently graduated students joined forces with the Little Optimist and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in removing plastic from the Waterfront canals on International Coastal Clean Up Day.

In a world in which our connection to devices and social media is increasingly stronger than our connection to nature, Ocean Pledge wanted to teach our future leaders the power of harnessing social media for good. On world Ocean Day, June 8th, the Ocean Pledge ambassadors gathered to learn from social media influencer and marine biologist, Danel Wentzel, the power of using social media to portray a strong on-line voice in protection of our oceans. The event forms part of an ongoing mentorship program which aims to empower a growing network of ocean ambassadors with the toolkit to lead positive ocean change within their communities.

On 22nd June three of the Ocean Pledge ambassadors completed their High School volunteers course led by the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. During the course they learnt about the delicate marine ecosystems and explored the rocky inter tidal zones of the cape peninsula. Hats off to these students who dedicated their time post-exams, to study further on their holiday break, and who are now able to be the #voiceoftheoceans by teaching others while volunteering at the Two Oceans Aquarium.