10 - 16 October 2011

The Proudly South African band, Freshlyground, delivered a flashmob style performance at the V&A Waterfront on the 15th October 20011. View here

It was in support of Birdlife South Africa & the Save Our Seabirds Festival.

BirdLife South Africa's Seabird Division is at the forefront of seabird conservation, nationally and globally.  Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds in the world - almost one third of all seabird species are threatened with some extinction risk.  We risk losing iconic birds such as the African Penguin and the majestic albatrosses that roam the southern oceans.  But we need to step up our efforts to protect seabirds because the current losses for many species are not sustainable.

To raise awareness and funds for seabird conservation, the Seabird Division holds an annual event called the "Save our Seabirds Festival" which aimes to educate people about the threats seabirds face and inspire them to help BirdLife South Africa make a difference.  The funds raised go into the Save our Seabirds (SOS) Fund, which supports the Seabird Division's conservation work.

This year BirdLife South Africa has formed partnerships with DEA (Department of Environmental Affairs), Iziko Museums, the City of Cape Town and the V&A Waterfront. The Save our Seabirds Festival 2011 promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Save our Seabirds (SOS) Festival Programme of Events

• Free lectures from top speakers in the field of Seabird and Marine Conservation. Click here for details
• An ‘Oceans of Life” photographic competition, with all the finalists’ images displayed at Iziko South African Museum for the duration of the Festival
• Bird-scaring lines display- come and see how these are made and how they are used to prevent accidental seabird deaths in fishing gear
• Free tours of I&J fishing vessels- Ever wondered what it was like on a commercial fishing vessel or how your fish are caught? Now is your chance to participate in an informative tour on a working vessel in Cape Town. Come and see how fishermen live, how fish are caught and processed and how the fishery minimises their capture of seabirds. Tours will happen daily on Irvin and Johnson vessels just next to the V&A Waterfront. A maximum of 8 people will be accommodated per tour. There will be two tours daily (10am and 2pm), lasting approximately 30 minutes. Tours subject to vessel availability. Booking details below.
• Promotion of the SASSI (South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) at restaurants in the V&A Waterfront.  See below for more details.

Photographic competition 

The top 50 finalists' photos from the Oceans of Life photographic competition will be on display at the Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town until 20 November 2011.

Themes for the SOS Festival

This year, the SOS Festival tackled the issues of overfishing, pollution and habitat loss.
Click HERE for our list of Top 5 essential videos and websites on each of these issues.

For more information about the SOS Festival, please contact BirdLife South Africa's Seabird Division:

Tel: 021 419 7347
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thank you to our partners and sponsors: