The Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in partnership with Marine Dynamics, is proud to be hosting the 2021 6th Southern African Shark & Ray Symposium from 17-19 November with the theme of “Catalyst for Change: Post-pandemic research on Southern African Chondrichthyans.”
“As we emerge from the pandemic the 6th SASRS will offer the chance for the African shark and ray research community to engage and share information on the status of their different projects. As usual it will include a wide range of disciplines from spatial, physiological, molecular biology, to conservation and socio-economic studies.”
The SASRS attracts marine biologists, researchers, students, conservationists, government officials, and tour operators and companies from predominantly sub-Saharan African countries, including Mozambique, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa.
The 6th Southern African Shark & Ray Symposium invites delegates from diverse disciplines and interest groups to participate to ensure meaningful and robust discussions which will deliver outcomes beneficial to chondrichthyan species, marine ecosystems and human communities. Changes in some SA shark species distributions and/or numbers have highlighted the fact that collaborative chondrichthyan research has never been more urgent. Furthermore, the global pandemic has resulted in many pressures, limiting, or preventing ongoing field work, such as travel restrictions, lab closures, research that is dependent on eco-tourism, or government departments that were locked down for months.
The Dyer Island Conservation Trust, based in Gansbaai, has since 2006 supported marine research, conservation, and education. A key objective through the research is to protect the long-term future of the local marine species, by translating knowledge into evidence-based conservation initiatives and legislation. The S vessels have provided a critical observational platform as well as operational and financial support to various projects including observational, environmental, and telemetry based shark research.
