A large boat seen sailing just off the coast of Onrus from Friday had many people speculating about the reason for the vessel’s presence so close to the shoreline.
The ship was identified as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment’s (DFFE) scientific research vessel, the Ellen Khuzwayo.
Peter Mbelengwa, DFFE’s Acting Chief Director of Communication and Advocacy, confirmed that the vessel is actively involved in a routine West Coast rock lobster tagging survey that also covers the Overstrand area.
“During this cruise, West Coast rock lobsters are being tagged to facilitate the calculation of growth rates required for assessments of the WCRL resource.”
The RV Ellen Khuzwayo is a DFFE SA research vessel with a primary focus on investigating commercially important inshore resources, such as West Coast rock lobster, sharks and linefish. Additionally, she conducts research on offshore tuna and pelagic sharks.
Mbelengwa added: “Due to bad weather over the weekend the vessel had to seek shelter close to shore and so was seen closer to the shore than usual. The vessel has been at sea since 9 August and is anticipated to return to Cape Town on Tuesday (29 August). While more rock lobster tagging in the same area will be carried out in the future, no one can tell when the weather will be bad enough for the vessel to shelter in this area again.”
