Coastal Communities Celebrated World Oceans Day 2021
Communities and activists in the Northern Cape celebrated World Oceans Day on 8 June. They also took to the beach in Hondeklipbaai to call for more protection for our oceans, which are being destroyed by oil and gas drilling.
Small-scale fishing communities of Saldanha Bay celebrated Oceans Day on 8 June by creating awareness and calling on fellow South Africans to support them in keeping all our beaches clean for everyone to enjoy and give back to the ocean, which is a key source of food.
On Oceans Day on 8 June, small-scale fishers in Langebaan on the West Coast held a protest against Karpowerships, which they believe is a threat to the health of the ocean and to the livelihoods of coastal communities. The protestors are calling for protection of all marine life, on which they depend, but also want to ensure that they leave behind healthy oceans for future generations.
A local community from Knysna did a beach clean-up on World Oceans Day. They say, “When the community stands together, we can make a change. Our ocean is our life source.”
Barend Fredericks from Knysna says, “Our team heard the plight of the ocean and the aqua marine life, therefore we do what we must to preserve our precious natural resource.”
With the beach clean-up they did on World Ocean’s Day at Umngazi Beach in Port St. Johns, small-scale fishers and coastal communities want to draw attention to Section 24B of the Bill of Rights which says that everyone has a right to an environment that is not harmful to our wellbeing, and that includes the ocean.