Stranded marine animal workshop plots way forward

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Deceased, distressed or just chilling?

This was the topic hotly discussed at a first ever, all-inclusive workshop regarding marine animal stranding response along the Garden Route, hosted at the Dias Museum this week.

After dedicated planning for almost a year, the workshop had a notable turnout of 64 attendees comprising all roleplayers involved in the stranding of marine animals, which seems to be a fairly regular occurrence lately.

Attendees included volunteers from S.M.A.R.T., students and staff of Oceans Research in Mossel Bay, members of the NSRI in both Wilderness and Mossel Bay, the Plettenberg Bay stranding network, Nature's Valley Trust members, as well as representatives of SanParks, CapeNature, the Department of Environmental Affairs and local concervancies.

National stranding coordinator of the South African National Stranding Network, Meredith Thornton, facilitated the workshop. Dr Greg Hofmeyr, a marine specialist at Bayworld in Port Elizabeth and police explosives specialist, Captain Johan Ehlers, were among the guest speakers who dealt with specific topics under discussion.

'Action is needed'
Local conservation activist Fred Orban, who attended the opening of the workshop, said he was absolutely thrilled that the workshop took place. Orban said he had been lobbying for environmental issues for 35 years and that the workshop was a first of its kind.

According to Orban it was a much-needed step in establishing a solid network to deal with eventualities.

He said a primary outcome of the workshop should be taking definite action towards the effective dissemination of information to the public. He pointed out that a shortfall was often not equipping the public with scientific knowledge regarding environmental issues.

He said that the public needs to buy into the notion of a stranding network, which will ultimately contribute towards its success. Orban concluded that the discussion should not remain inhouse; it necessitated public discussion.

Programme
A lively discussion was had among the participants as part of a SWOT analysis to kick off the programme. Thornton then proceeded to lead the workshop, focusing on topics including the stranded animal, euthanasia, waste disposal, safety and security, the various roles at a stranding, professionalism and cohesiveness, communication and the stranding response protocol.

Since its establishment, S.M.A.R.T. has dealt with 450 stranded sea turtles of various species. The organisation also dealt with 750 seals. In 2014 alone, 430 seal pups passed through their hands.

Dr Hofmeyr, a recognised expert in the seal species, along the coast and surrounding ocean of Southern Africa, said there is no set protocal in dealing with stranded seals as yet.

He said that this offered an ideal opportunity for those along the coast of the Garden Route to develop a protocol. He spoke on the various species of seals that washed up along local shores and shared these statistics. Hofmeyr emphasised that mass strandings are rare, but generally the result of a natural event, such as seals being washed off their islands in foul weather. He lauded S.M.A.R.T. for its work during seal standings that have occurred in the past.

Capt Ehlers, in his talk about euthanasia, explained why the preferred method for large cetaceans such as whales, is implosion.

Much groundwork done

Dr Hofmeyr lauded the locals for the ground work they have already done in terms of dealing with stranded marine animals. He said that formerly, the resident marine scientist at the Dias Museum, Dr Amand Human, had been instrumental in laying the groundwork.

With Oceans Research in Mossel Bay, along with professional collaborators from S.M.A.R.T., such as Dr Frans de Graaff, he said there was no shortage of expertise in Mossel Bay.

Dr Hofmeyr was of the opinion that there were successful networks along the Garden Route that could share their best practice experiences, but that the uniqueness of each area should be considered in terms of formalising a marine stranding network and protocol.

Spokeperson of S.M.A.R.T., Tersia Marais, who acted as the convener of the workshop, said she was tremendously pleased with the turnout and was excited about the way forward and grateful for the successes in terms of dealing with marine strandings thus far.

National stranding coordinator of the South African National Stranding Network, Meredith Thornton, facilitated the workshop.