Local environmentalist and founder of Surf4Earth, Daniel Patrick, organised a nationwide paddle-out protest on Sunday (6 February), including one at Strand Beach.
As a highly passionate nature conservationist and ocean activist, he aims to create awareness and support from the surfing community at large on all marine conservation issues in South Africa.
The protests were held in solidarity against seismic survey activities on the West Coast of South Africa and the unsustainable development of oil and gas operations on the country’s coastlines. The paddle-out protests also took place in Cintsa, Port Elizabeth, Muizenberg and Langebaan.
Patrick stated that surfers paddled out together and formed ‘paddle-out ceremonies’ on the backline. These paddle-out ceremonies have historically been used as memorial ceremonies for surfers as opposed to traditional style funerals.
He said: “The paddle out protests on Sunday were done in order to unite the surfers of South Africa on this important issue and signify the ‘death’ of marine ecosystems if the seismic surveys are allowed to continue on our coastlines. The paddle-out protest on Sunday was the first of many paddle-out protests to come.”
According to Patrick, surfers spend a huge amount of time in the oceans and most surfers are conservation minded. He hopes to unite the surfers of South Africa under one formidable voice of power in opposition to many of the different environmental and conservation issues currently taking place on SA’s coastlines.
The paddle-out protest was followed by a mini beach protest with local ocean activists Lisa Starr from Helderberg Ocean Awareness and Maddie Rasmussen from Oceaneers and members from their communities creating awareness on the issue for all those walking past on the beach.
The beach protest was accompanied by a drumming session from Drumba Rhythm and local musician Riku Lätti.
And all this was not in vain, for on Monday (7 February) the Cape Town High Court ordered the Searcher Geodata seismic survey to be halted until Monday 7 March, when an urgent interdict application will be heard. This is the result of an urgent interdict application from 13 small-scale fishing communities and the civic organisation We are South Africans.
Said Patrick: “Monday’s ruling is a great first step in stopping the seismic surveys on the West Coast. There is, however, still a lot of progress that needs to be made on the issue. The best way in which you can support this cause is to join any future protest actions, sign the relevant petitions and make it publicly known that you are opposed to the development of coal and gas operations on South Africa’s coastlines”.
For more information on upcoming protest actions and how to get involved, follow @surf.4.earth on instagram or @surf4earth on facebook.
