We had a fantastic week last week with some special visitors making their way past Plettenberg Bay, and only one boat full of passengers were lucky enough to see them! I am talking about a pod of 7 orcas, or killer whales, which were sighted roughly 4 nautical miles from the coast – what an READ MORE
No one likes to arrive at the beach to find a layer of sea foam on the shoreline, in the waves, or further out behind the breakers – especially if it is a disconcerting brown or yellow colour! Foams, however, are global in their presence in the aquatic natural environment including on streams, rivers, lakes, READ MORE
Probably made famous by the deep-thinking and entertaining Will and Bill from Happy Feet Two, krill are small shrimp-like crustaceans that play a big role in our ecosystems. Euphausids, or krill, comprise a group of about 85 species worldwide, and though there are many species in southern Africa it is unfortunately not common to see READ MORE
Water covers 71% of the worlds surface, and 97% of that water is in the oceans. Oceans, while appearing infinitely large, are not an infinite resource. Oceans provide many important services and functions, most of which people may be unaware of, such as: nutrient recycling, primary production, provide shelter to many marine species, provide food READ MORE
It is surely now widespread knowledge that at the base of Robberg Peninsula on the protected bay side there is a very large breeding colony of cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus. They are a charming species, whose antics in the water and on land can keep me entertained for hours, despite being noisy and READ MORE
While most people excitedly anticipate the arrival of the humpback and southern right whales sometime during June or July their migration from sub-antarctic waters, many may forget or overlook our near shore resident species, the Bryde’s whale Balaenoptera brydei. Both the humpback and southern right whales are bigger in size, personality, approachability, and visibility than READ MORE
While doing some research on fish occurring in local waters, I came across a most fascinating and odd looking species that I had to know more! The poenskop Cymatoceps nasutus looks like it could play the role of a gnome or troll in a movie as it does not age well! Poenskop is the Afrikaans READ MORE
Mussel is the common term for a variety of fresh and salt water clams or bivalve molluscs. Bivalves, as the name may suggest, are enclosed by two shell halves, and mussels are no different. Most of the species to which the term mussel applies have shells where the length is longer than the width giving READ MORE
If someone mentions abalone, it brings to mind one specific marine gastropod mollusk (sea snail) species Haliotis midae, also known as perlemoen. In fact, in Plettenberg Bay, there are 3 abalone species living in intertidal and subtidal waters. The most well-known abalone species is perlemoen, while the species most often found washed up on beaches READ MORE
Anglers and visitors to the underwater world in our beautiful Plettenberg Bay may be familiar with a fish called blacktail Diplodus capensis, though perhaps the name dassie or Cape white seabream is more familiar. This is an oval-shaped fish which is primarily silver in colour with a black patch at the base of the tail. READ MORE