KZN’S UNDERWATER ATTRACTIONS
THE West Coast of South Africa grabbed the headlines this week, because the Academy Award winning documentary My Octopus Teacher was shot there.
As the Oscar was handed directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, the loudest hurrah would have come from marine conservationists.
Not only did the film capture Craig Foster’s harmonious interaction with nature, it also brought to life the dazzling beauty of life under water.
Experts are unanimous the movie’s traction will do wonders for marine conservation.
Foster had no qualms about plunging into the icy cold waters covering the kelp forest of False Bay for his outings with an octopus over many months.
The success of the documentary also got local experts also marvelling over the undisputed beauty of KZN’S underwater world. Some remarked movie magic could also be made on the east coast, considering its divefriendly conditions.
“It’s the perfect place to make a movie,” said Judy Mann, a conservation strategist with the SA Association for Marine Biological Research. Mann said what set KZN’S coastline apart was its warm waters and richness in biodiversity.
“They filmed in really cold water. You have to be tough to dive in the Cape, whereas we have lovely warm water in KZN, making it easier for diving and snorkelling.
“While we have nutrient-poor water, it is incredibly rich in biodiversity. The range of different species that one could see in terms of corals, marine animals and fish is much more diverse than the west coast.”
Mann said if someone were to explore our rocky shores there was a good chance they could sight an octopus, without diving.
But she is also mindful that “our oceans are in great danger”.
“Oceans are the engine room of our planet’s climate. The distribution of rain and all sorts of things rely on it.
“In west coast areas on the same latitude as Durban, there is no agriculture like sugar cane because of the cold climate. But on the east coast, we have warm waters. So we are able to grow crops and have incredible biodiversity.
“Instead, on the west coast they have incredible productivity in sardines and anchovies.
“That’s an example of how oceans drive our climate and weather patterns. If they are in trouble, we are in trouble.”
Mann said we have developed some bad habits in handling of the oceans.
“We have been extracting food like we can do it forever, thinking there were plenty of fish in the sea. We have been mining fish at a rate that is unsustainable and their populations have been hammered.
“We thought the solution to pollution was dilution. So we pump everything in the ocean, like it was a dump. Also, fertilisers and pesticides were making their way into our oceans.”
She said climate change was definitely happening in the ocean as changing temperatures made it more acidic, and oil and gas extraction was another challenge.
The way forward, Mann suggested, was for people to know the importance of oceans to sustain life on earth.
“That is where My Octopus Teacher helps to build society’s desire to care for the ocean. We need the appropriate rules and regulations, and we need the political will to implement them. Then we need a knowledgeable public to hold government accountable for their actions.”
Mann said the documentary was an introduction to the wonders of the marine environment for many.
“It is like opening the door on them. We now need them to step in and see what is actually happening.”
Professor Andy Green, a geological scientist based at the University of KZN’S marine geology department, believes wild life documentaries takes people closer to the natural world. “It stirs a relationship and they want oceans to remain and they move towards preserving the status quo.
“In many places around the world, many people don’t have a tangilbe link to the ocean because of there location. They dont realise the effects of their actions.”
Green said from a geological perspective, it was “frightening” that there was not a part of the ocean without plastic in it.
“Plastic has been found in the deepest depth of ocean trenches.
“We are overriding natural processes,” said Green.