Algoa Bay has recently been awarded a whale heritage site accolade, one of only five in the world and two in South Africa.
Algoa Bay follows in the footsteps of The Bluff in Durban, making South Africa the only country in the world with two whale heritage sites. According to the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA), whale heritage sites are a global accreditation scheme developed by the WCA and supported by World Animal Protection, that recognise a community’s commitment to respect and celebrate whales, dolphins and other cetaceans. Apart from The Bluff, Durban, Algoa Bay joins four other whale heritage sites: Hervey Bay in Australia; Tenerife-La Gomera Marine area in Southwest Tenerife, Spain and Dana Point, California US.
Conservationist, wildlife educator and marine safari specialist at Raggy Charters Marine Eco-Cruises, Lloyd Edwards, is ecstatic about this news.
“This is a huge accolade for Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and that’s really cool because tourists coming here know that they are supporting a place where we look after and protect our whales. We’ve got the communities involved; we do education and I started this project in 1992, so it has been 29 years that I’ve been at this so it’s very fitting and great,” he said.
He also told the WCA that becoming a Whale Heritage Site would ensure that visitors to the Algoa Bay marine area are contributing to destinations that celebrate natural heritage, protect marine wildlife and build a connection between local residents and sea life.
“This is in addition to the opportunity to observe sea mammals in the ocean and attend vibrant festivals and other events that celebrate the marine environment and provide education and inspiration for tourists and locals alike,” he said.
Senior adviser for Whale Heritage Sites, Dylan Walker, congratulated WCA partners, Edwards, Jake and Karen Keeton and the Baywatch Project, for their tireless efforts over many years working in collaboration with many other people to protect Algoa Bay and its cetaceans, penguins, sharks and other marine life.
Walker said that this is an amazing achievement and an extremely difficult accolade to win.
“It’s really tough to get. The stakeholders and people involved in pulling this application together for world heritage sites have to achieve a lot of things. They have to prove responsible tourism, responsible whale watching practices; they have to think about sustainability, marine conservation and engaging with communities,” Walker said.
He added that although becoming a whale heritage site is a great achievement, it doesn’t stop here. “The certification programme requires continual improvement so we can expect the community in Algoa Bay to do more and more and more great things to protect its incredible wildlife heritage.
“What a great place you guys live in; it really is fantastic. To have the largest African penguin colony in the world on your doorstep, I mean, I am hugely jealous,” Walker, who is based in the United Kingdom, said with a smile.
“I was once told that a man who tires of penguins, tires of life, so what a great thing to have on your doorstep and of course, the incredible diversity of whales and dolphins: the humpback whales, right whales, also the incredible number of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, not to mention the endangered Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins that you have there,” Walker added.
“I really hope that this brings more responsible and sustainable tourism to Algoa Bay as you all recover from the COVID-19 crisis that has hit the world.
“It was a joy to work with the people we have engaged with on this project and we hope that the Algoa Bay community goes from strength to strength in protecting its amazing whale and dolphin heritage.”
