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In the underwater world, the only things keeping you down are your weights
Learning to scuba dive or freedive unlocks this secret hidden world of natural beauty, making it accessible to so many people. And it doesn't take much to get started - some basic skills, which you can learn at our Dive School, a few items of equipment like Bright Weights to help you stay below the surface and a wetsuit to keep you warm, and a keen sense of adventure. Let's take a look at some of the underwater experiences our visitors have had during this past year.
Clothing and its danger to our oceans (and how to prevent it)
We all wear clothing. It is an essential item that is produced, sold, and bought on a large scale. However, have you ever considered that your relationship with clothes could have a negative impact on our oceans and marine animals? Well, it can and it does! There are several ways that our relationship with clothing contributes to the threat that our oceans are currently facing - but they are quite easy to prevent with a few simple actions we can take.
Time to throw away the "throw away" culture
Until now, our spending behaviour is quite linear – we buy; we use; we throw away. This might be the most convenient way to go about it, but the billions of tons of waste generated are quickly coming back to haunt us!
Plastic enemies of our oceans
The festive season is here, and the celebrations are well underway – and where there are celebrations, there are usually gifts, balloons, and decorations to bring it all together. It is important to remember that while you’re having fun and letting loose, the items and materials we use can be extremely damaging to our ocean and marine life.
69 endangered sea turtles returned to the ocean after successful rehabilitation
The sea turtle rehabilitation team of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation released 69 rehabilitated turtles approximately 45 nautical miles south of Hout Bay or 12 December 2022. The turtles were all rehabilitated at the Two Oceans Aquarium over the last year after being found stranded on Western Cape beaches. The group that was released included 65 hatchlings, one hawksbill, and three green turtles.
Meet Jemma and Harper: Our new ragged-tooth sharks
The Two Oceans Aquarium prides itself on ethically collecting and releasing many of our animals - and our ragged-tooth sharks are no different. We recently welcomed two new ragged-tooth sharks, who arrived at the Aquarium after being safely collected and transported by our collections team. We are excited to introduce you to Jemma and Harper, who are now housed in the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit.
Following the turtle travels of Turbo - in partnership with Greenfish
Turbo is one of our recently-released released rehabilitated sea turtles. Turbo was released as part of a cohort off of the Cape Peninsula on 12 December 2022.
Turbo is a sub-adult green sea turtle, fitted with a satellite tracker tag sponsored by Greenfish. Before his release, we carefully attached the SPOT tag from Wildlife Computers to Turbo's carapace using steel putty, epoxy, fibreglass and an anti-fouling spray. Careful effort was made to ensure that the tag was perfectly attached and secure - but as time goes on, the tag is planned to fall off as Turbo sheds the outer layers of his shell during growth (just like your skin).
We're very excited to be able to track Turbo, as turtles of this young age aren't as well-studied as their older counterparts, so this could reveal information about their migration paths that are poorly understood!
Tiger reef eel
Tiger reef eels are found in reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans | Two Oceans Aquarium
Sea anemones
Sea anemones are carnivorous, stinging polyps that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the sea floor or on coral reefs.
Sea pens
Sea pens are so named for their resemblance to an old-fashioned quill pen.
Sea fans
Sea fans are composed of numerous polyps that grow together in a flat, fanlike pattern.
Blue-ringed octopus
The blue-ringed octopus is renowned for being one of the world’s most venomous marine animals, despite reaching a maximum of 10 cm in size.