SASC is pleased to welcome our colleague, Katie Gledhill, aboard!

The SASC team met up with Katie for the first time in June for our World Oceans Day events. On her way home to Australia to pursue her PhD degree, Kat decided to spend a few months with us in Hermanus. We extend a warm welcome to her & can't wait for our shark friends to meet her. Kat ha s an impressive CV with loads of experience working on shark projects aroung the World. Her fascinating Bio can be read below:

Growing up in Australia, a huge part of life has been spent by the ocean. Since I can remember, my favourite activities involved going to the beach, swimming, snorkeling, diving, investigating rockpools and marveling at the natural beauty and creatures of the sea. I remember clearly one of my first shark encounters was while fishing with a friend. A small Port Jackson shark was fouled hooked on a friends fishing line. Holding the animal to dehook the shark to return to its home, I was fascinated by the beauty and sheer strength of the animal and since that moment my passion for sharks began. I decided to focus this adoration into doing something positive for the oceans and its inhabitants. I graduated from University Technology Sydney with a BSC in Environmental Biology with a major in Marine and Coastal Ecosystems. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I completed an Honour thesis on the demography and behaviour of Abudefduf species, a small tropical damelfish, in the Sydney region. I have been a committee member and councilor on various non-profit and government organisations, including the Australian Marine Science Association Council, Christine Baltzer Parks Foundation and Sydney Water Customer Committee. I was heavily involved in the consultation process and outreach effort to conserve the critically endangered Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharius taurus) on the East Coast of Australia and the creation of Marine Protected Areas to protect critical habitats of the species, as well as the successful ‘Save Ningaloo Reef’ campaign for several years to protect the area from overdevelopment and conserve the area for whale shark and tiger shark populations.

From then I travelled to various locations around the world assisting with marine research and conservation efforts. After working on a research project on marine turtles and coral reef fishes in the Yuctan Peninsula in Mexico and diving with sharks in Belise and Honduras, I pursued my dream of conducting scientific research with sharks with Dr. Samuel Gruber at the world renowned Bimini Biological Field Station. I assisted in numerous research projects and was ultimately given the position of Station Manager for almost four years. Here I was given the opportunity to be involved in the research of several elasmobranch species including lemons, tigers, bulls, blacktip, sharpnose, nurse, carribean reef sharks and the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish in Bimini. Additionally, I have worked on projects with lemon sharks and bull sharks off the coast of Jupiter, Florida for three seasons; Marquesas Keys, Florida; Tiger Beach, Bahamas and a short longline survey with Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and spent some time in the genetics lab at Stoneybrook University working with Dr. Demian Chapman on a genetics project on Blacktip sharks (C.limbatus) in Bimini, Bahamas.

I travelled to Southern Africa a few months ago to get a feel for the elasmobranch research and conservation efforts are being conducted in the region. I also got to live out a lifelong dream of mine to swim with Great Whites and Whale Sharks in South Africa and Mozambique! I assisted the South African Shark Conservancy (SASC) with an inspiring Oceans Day event in which hundreds of local school children and members of the community attended, pledging to conserve the oceans. I was then given the opportunity to assist SASC with a bull shark (Zambezi shark) tagging and tracking research trip to the beautiful Breede River, where the world’s largest bull shark was caught by SASC in 2009. During these experiences, I was inspired by Meag and SASCs conservation and outreach efforts. Now I am here to assist SASC with their outreach, research and conservation efforts. I am so excited to helping out here for the next few months!

Sharks have been around for approximately 400 million years and play such an important role in the ocean ecosystem. Little is known about the status and biology of many species and studies show that shark populations continue to become threatened in regions throughout the world. It is our duty to contribute to the understanding and conservation of these special animals. There is so much work to be done and the more people we can inspire and educate, especially from a young age, to magnificence of these creatures and their importance in our oceans, the greater chance we have of conserving shark populations for generations to come.

Hundreds of Overstrand children attend World Oceans Day

On June 8^th thousands of individuals around the world gathered in celebration of our Blue Planet. World Oceans Day – recognised internationally by the United Nations – provides an opportunity for coastal and inland communities to celebrate our personal connections to the sea, acknowledging the importance of the global oceans in our daily lives irrespective of our distance from the closest coastal shoreline.

The South African Shark Conservancy (SASC) and the Overstrand Conservation Foundation (OCF) celebrated World Oceans Day in style, bringing together community members from Betty’s Bay to Kleinbaai. To commemorate this year’s theme, “Oceans of Life – pick your favourite, protect your favourite”, 200 children from Overstrand schools paraded through town dressed as their favourite sea creature, chanting “Go with the motion, save our oceans!” from Swallow Park along Marine Drive to the Whale House at the Old Harbour Museum. Given the blustery Cape winter’s day, such a turnout of young Ocean Warriors no doubt illustrated just how passionate the youth of the Overstrand are about Walker Bay and the surrounding beautiful blue ocean – a sure sign that us adults, the current custodians of our seas, must continue to act to ensure the preservation of our wild spaces for the coming generations.

Following this incredible display of support for our seas, Overstrand youth and concerned community members gathered at the Whale House to partake in a community pledge led by Mayor Beyleveldt and his wife, Marianne. Mr. Beyleveldt gave an impassioned speech to the World Oceans Day participants, encouraging everyone in the Overstrand to act on both an individual and societal level to conserve species and spaces through tangible action. As a people greatly influenced by the oceans – whether through the provision of employment or through the intrinsic ecstasy felt when witnessing a Southern right whale breach – it is undeniably fantastic that our Municipality wholeheartedly supports conservation and sustainability in our marine realm. The pledge, a book of over 100 children’s handprints, including that of our Mayor, can be viewed at the SASC facility in the Old Harbour.

A life-size whale shark – the largest fish found in the sea and currently listed as an internationally endangered species – will be permanently displayed at the SASC facility, serving as a constant reminder of the fragility of our global oceans, and the importance of each and every sea creature in maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems.

The day’s exciting events were followed by lectures by renowned conservationist Mr. Monty Guest of Underwater Africa, and internationally celebrated Professor Charles Griffiths of the Southern African Census of Marine Life and the Marine Biology Research Institute at the University of Cape Town. Highlighting the beauty and diversity of our seas while addressing the very real issues facing our oceans today, both gentlemen succeeded in inspiring all attendees to action.

The many generous donations given to us for World Oceans Day made our events such a success, and SASC and the OCF would like to extend a sincere thanks to the following: Greg Tutt, Mike Gray, HIK Abalone Farm, the Old Harbour Museum and its staff, Overberg Reinforcing, Sharklady Adventures, White Shark Ecoventures, Great White Shark Tours, Percy Tours, Gateway SuperSpar, White Shark Projects, and Lize van der Walt. A special thanks to the schools that went out of their way to make the day so special and to the Mayor, Hermanus Traffic Department and volunteers who made the day possible.

Mark June 8^th 2011 – World Oceans Day - in your calendar, for this annual event will no doubt continue to be an exciting and interesting celebration of our inherent link with one of the most important ecosystems on this, our Blue Planet.