Join us for Trash Bash beach cleanup - protect our Marine Protected Areas!

Shine a light on the message of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day at our next Trash Bash beach cleanup!

Hout Bay is a part of the Table Mountain National Park MPA, making it the perfect site for an MPA-focused Trash Bash. The Two Oceans Aquarium and our Dive School will be at Hout Bay Beach on Saturday, 17 August to clean up this beautiful stretch of coastline!

Marine Protected Areas Day was celebrated on 1 August all along South Africa’s coast and across the world to bring attention to the importance of protecting marine diversity. “Beach cleanups are one of the first steps towards ocean health, and the Two Oceans Aquarium Trash Bash team took this role seriously,” said Helen Lockhart, Conservation and Sustainability Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Join us to experience first-hand the vital role beach cleanups can play in ocean health inside and outside MPAs.

Event details

Date: Saturday, 17 August 2024
Time: 09h00 to 11h00
Location: Hout Bay Beach
What to bring: Weather-appropriate clothing, water (in a reusable bottle), reusable gloves (like the ones you’d use for gardening or doing dishes), and a smile!

Bring your families and friends, put on your gloves and sunhats, and join us for a fun day out that helps turtles and other marine animals. If this isn’t enough to tempt you, we’ve got some amazing prizes up for grabs in our lucky draw!

How do beach cleanups help South Africa’s MPAs?

South Africa boasts 42 MPAs that protect our country’s diverse marine environment, provide healthy ocean spaces and safe havens for our remarkable ocean wildlife, and promote eco-tourism.

If you live near the coast, you likely live near one of these crucial areas – not only are MPAs a vital refuge for marine life, but they are also a lifeline for humans. MPAs directly impact human lives by creating work and recreational opportunities, preserving natural heritage, and allowing the rejuvenation of many species that are commercially used elsewhere.

Unfortunately, due to human actions, plastic waste is a significant challenge to the continued health of our MPAs and ocean spaces. Beach cleanups are a great way to create awareness around the threats of plastic pollution and prevent pollution from returning to our oceans.

A staggering number of sea animals die each year from either ingesting plastic or becoming entangled in plastic debris. Studies have shown that millions of seabirds have ingested plastic, while plastic is found in nearly every turtle rescued and rehabilitated by our Turtle Conservation Centre. Moreover, the Marine Wildlife Management Programme regularly rescues seals, sunfish, and other marine animals from entanglement in plastic.

A first defence against plastic pollution in our oceans is to make more conscious decisions around our everyday plastic use. Some easy-to-implement suggestions are to buy fresh rather than prepacked fruit and vegetables, to pass on the balloons at your upcoming birthday party and opt for alternatives such as flags or bunting, refuse a straw for your drink or a lid for your takeaway coffee, and say no to single-use plastic bags.

You can help us protect our amazing MPAs by joining our Trash Bash in Hout Bay on Saturday! We all want to enjoy the ocean and its abundance for years to come, so let’s protect the ocean’s future (and ours) while we have the chance.