The 2 Oceans Aquarium has worked closely with SANCCOB and NSRI for many years. Their work together was rewarded when the Aquarium gave them a 15K cheque each!
The 2 Oceans Aquarium honoured two of its long-standing partners by giving them each a cheque for R15,000.00! The best part was that they asked a representative from each party to dive into their I&J Ocean Exhibit and accept the cheque, surrounded by sharks, fish and a curious sea turtle.
“We felt that it’s good for us to get back to those organisations who are doing great work and support us in our work.” – Helen Lockhart, 2 Oceans Aquarium
Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) have their headquarters based in Cape Town. SANCCOB works to help injured and distressed sea birds while NSRI works to maintain sea safety with search and rescue.
Both organisations have worked with the aquarium to help sea creatures in danger and in need. The aquarium doesn’t only have amazing exhibits but it also runs a rehabilitation centre that rescues and releases sea creatures.
“SANCCOB, expertly driven by their Executive Director, Dr Stephen van der Spuy, has not only offered us tremendous support with regards to the management and husbandry of our own seabirds, but does world-renowned work on saving seabirds. We have a long-standing partnership with them, and we are really glad that we can support this worthy cause through a financial contribution from our conservation fund.” – Maryke Musson, Curator of the Two Oceans Aquarium
The donation to the NSRI was a direct donation from the aquarium where as the donation to SANCCOB was collected from their wishing well, online donations and from a portion of the penguin encounters.
“As is the nature of our work, we spend many hours out at sea. We have the NSRI’s emergency number permanently on speed dial and we know that, should we ever require assistance, we can depend on them 100%. We salute their dedication, bravery and the amazing respect they show towards the ocean. Our friendship with the NSRI CEO, Dr Cleeve Robertson, stretches back more than 22 years when he was a member of our very first volunteer dive team. It is with absolute appreciation that we donate funds towards this committed operation.” – Maryke Musson, Curator of the Two Oceans Aquarium
On the same day as the donation hand over, the UCT Underwater Club’s annual Diver24 event took place. The event includes 92 divers that dive for 24 hours and raise funds. They dive into the I&J Ocean Exhibit on a rotation basis for one hour at a time. All donations go directly to SANCCOB and NSRI.
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