"SAVE OUR SEABIRDS WEEK" - 03.11.2008 - 08.11.2008

BirdLife South Africa's Albatross Task Force works to reduce the number of seabirds caught in our fisheries each year. The force spends time out at sea, runs workshops for observers and industry, tests experiments to try to reduce the number of birds caught and also educate and raise awarnes among both fishermen and public. They are holding a Save Our Seabirds Week at the beginning of November. The week will involve school education programmes in conjunction with the Two Oceans Aquarium, public talks and will end with a gala dinner and auction event at the Two Oceans Aquarium. BirdLife SA is launching a national SAVE OUR SEABIRDS week from 3 - 8 November 2008, as part of the Save the Albatross Campaign. In collaboration with the Two Oceans Aquarium, SANCCOB and WWF’s SASSI and Responsible Fisheries programmes, there will be a week of public engagement and outreach.

THE PLAN

During this week, the main focus will be a school programme that will involve students visiting the Two Oceans Aquarium. Learners will have an opportunity to interact with and learn about the marine environment, specifically focusing on our seabirds and the need to conserve them. In addition, educators will be visiting schools along the Western Cape coastline, using the Two Oceans Aquarium Outreach education van, crammed with living examples from our coastal environment. The week also involves taking lessons into the classrooms of schools along our coast.

On 7 and 8 November, instructors from the Albatross Task Force together with the Cape Bird Club, will be hosting two separate days of sea scoping. Guides will be available to assist people in learning about our seabirds whilst viewing them from Cape Point Nature Reserve. This is a great opportunity to view pelagic seabirds that rarely seen, such as Shy Albatrosses and White-chinned Petrels. The only cost of this great opportunity is the entrance into Cape Point Nature Reserve. To book a place, or for more information on the sea-scoping events, contact The Albatross Task Force on (021) 419 7347 or albatross@birdlife.org.za.

On Wednesday evening, 5 November, at the Two Oceans Aquarium Auditorium there will be presentations on seabird conservation. Meidad Goren will describe at-sea conservation issues and the role of the Albatross Task Force. Dr. Ross Wanless, the newly appointed Global Seabird Programme Coordinator for Southern Africa, will give a presentation on one of the Southern Ocean’s most spectacular places, Gough Island, and on the conservation problems facing seabirds that breed there. The evening is open to the general public, and there is no entrance fee.

The week culminates with a gala dinner and wine & art auction at the Two Oceans Aquarium, with I&J’s predator tank setting the scene in the background. It will be a sit-down dinner with a keynote address by the highly acclaimed author, photographer and seabird conservation biologist Prof Peter Ryan. In addition to live entertainment there will be a range of items up for auction, including collectable artwork from some of Cape Town’s top, award-winning artists. This is the first time that this exciting annual event is being held, and we hope to raise R100 000 to support Albatross Task Force activities in southern Africa. Tickets cost R500 pp (or R5000 for a table of 10).

MORE INFO

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the BirdLife SA marine programme office: (021) 419 7347; albatross@birdlife.org.za or visit www.birdlife.org.za