Alongside the quarterly seminars, CMR has also hosted additional seminars which captures the research done by CMR members or collaborators.
2023
Ms Nina Faure Beaulieu
In this seminar (2023 Marine Protected Area (MPA) Day), Ms Nina Faure Beaulieu has presented on the findings from her recently published article “A systematic conservation plan identifying critical areas for improved chondrichthyan protection in South Africa”. Owing to the wide ranging distributions of many sharks and rays as well as a lack of occurrence data, they are often overlooked in MPA design. Ensemble models were developed for 87 species' distributions, which informed a systematic conservation planning analysis The current representation of sharks and rays in South Africa's current network of 41 MPAs were assessed and priority areas for protection were identified.
Ms Faure Beaulieu joined the WILDTRUST team as a research assistant on one of their shark and ray protection projects after completing her Masters degree in 2021. This is where she started working on building a shark and ray conservation plan for South Africa under the guidance of Professor Mandy Lombard. This work involved collaborating with a wide network of shark and ray scientists across the country, developing distribution models for these species and then using these spatial data for a conservation plan.
Tuesday, 1 August | 13:00 - 14:00
Topic: Developing a Shark and Ray Conservation Plan for South Africa
Ms Beaulieu's presentation is available via this link. Please click here to access the recording of her presentation.
2022
Prof Rose Boswell
Event organized by the SARCHI Ocean Cultures and Heritage Programme and the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research (CMR) (Four Seminars)
Heritage is often perceived as the tangible artifact and legacy of culturally defined groups within a nation state. However, cultural heritage can be intangible, multiply situated and implicated in macrosocial and macroeconomic processes. Heritage is also diversely located. Our research thus far locates cultural heritage in institutional cultural practices, underwater, in natural sites, everyday coastal objects and food. The findings suggest that more holistic and decolonial approaches are needed for heritage conservation and management. Rapid and extensive coastal development have also drawn our attention, the construction of ports, mega ports and other urban infrastructure is impacting on coastal communities and heritage. In the following we offer brief presentations and reflections, as well as insight into our research and findings thus far, indicating the importance of social science in global ocean strategy and research.
Thursday, 22 September | 11:00 – 12:00
Seminar 1 - Theme: Ports, Mega Ports and Services
Please click here to access the recording of seminar 1.
Thursday, 22 September | 13:00 – 14:00
Seminar 2 - Theme: Underwater Cultural Heritage, Heritage in Maputo and Heritage in Namibia
Please click here to access the recording of seminar 2.
Friday, 23 September | 11:00-12:00
Seminar 3 - Theme: The Senses
Please click here to access the recording of seminar 3.
Friday, 23 September | 13:00-14:00
Seminar 4 - Theme: Capacity Building and Learning in Cultural Heritage Research
Please click here to access the recording of seminar 4.
Prof Erik Franckx
19 September, 13:00-14:00 via Zoom and Venue (Hybrid event)
This talk intends to substantiate this general observation by looking more closely at how the introduction of science in the definition of the continental shelf started a long and tortuous journey for courts and tribunals trying to determine how best to cope with these scientific aspects when deciding the many maritime delimitation cases that were subsequently submitted to them by States wanting to settle, once and for all, particular maritime boundary disputes existing between them. Subsequently, the experience of the Advisory Body of Experts on the Law of the Sea (ABE-LOS), an organ created by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, which consisted precisely of a mix of scientists and lawyers and whose task it was to provide advice on the IOC’s role in relation to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, will be the focus of this contribution. In both instances, the relationship between science and law will be explored.
Prof Franckx's presentation is available via this link. Please click here to access the recording of his presentation.
Dr David Kaplan
18 August, 12:00-13:00 via Zoom and Venue (Hybrid event)
"Reducing plastic waste and other negative environmental impacts from drifting fish aggregating devices (dFADs) used by tropical tuna purse seine fisheries."
Tropical tuna purse-seine fishing vessels use an estimated - 100,000 drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) per year worldwide to aggregate tunas and facilitate their capture. These man-made drifting objects are associated with a number of negative environmental impacts, including capture of juvenile tunas, higher bycatch rates, potential for ghost fishing and contribution to marine plastic debris and abandoned, lost or discarded (ALD) fishing equipment that can beach in sensitive coastal habitats such as coral reefs.
In this presentation, Dr Kaplan reviews work that colleagues, collaborators and himself that finds viable solutions to these issues with a particular focus on reducing marine debris.
Dr Kaplan's presentation is available via this link. Please click here to access the recording of his presentation.