These crew members and marine machines have all worked at the Two Oceans Aquarium for over 20 years! From those who started as a volunteer and went on to become CEO, to those who were given a chance despite never having been to an aquarium before— their stories will inspire you to take chances, go with the flow and rise above the tide.
Cape Town, South Africa (25 February 2025) — As the Two Oceans Aquarium looks forward to its 30th birthday, it also looks back on all the crew that made this milestone possible. Some are still with the Aquarium today, like marine machines, such as Msa Maseko, Bianca Engel, and Michael Farquhar, who are all some of the longest-serving crew members!
It’s no small feat to be able to say that you’ve dedicated 20 years of your life to something. For this trio (who make up some of the longest-serving staff members at the Aquarium), that something is a haven of education, conservation, awareness, and hope for the future of our oceans. And, each came to it in their own unique way.
From Volunteer Diver to CEO
Michael’s literal dive into the Aquarium began before it even officially opened back in the ’90s.
A volunteer diver and general “dog’s body”, Michael was with the Aquarium before it even officially opened. Back then, he humbly spent time cleaning the tanks and looking after the very first schools of fish that would come to the Aquarium, not knowing that one day he would become CEO.
After officially joining the crew as a staff member in 1997 as an Aquarist who cared for the famed Kelp Forest exhibition, Michael climbed upward again and again, holding titles including Senior Aquarist, Operations Manager, General Curator and eventually, CEO.
His milestone moment of note was the release of a ragged-tooth shark named Maxine that went on to kickstart the shark tagging and release programme.
“We had previously never contemplated, let alone undertaken, the removal of a 200kg shark from the exhibit,” Michael explains.
“Maxine’s release went very well, and in the succeeding five years, we tagged and released a ragged-tooth shark each year. This brought us in close contact with leading shark scientists and marine tagging experts like Dr Malcolm Smale and Mike Meyer, laying the foundation for future research work and involvement in the South African marine science community.”
Reflecting on what he loves most about what he does, Michael shares that it is the “honour of being given the opportunity to lead the most remarkable, passionate and dedicated team imaginable.”
From Kids Entertainer to Leading an Ocean Campus
Like Michael, Bianca’s journey began as a volunteer.
“I was part of the second-ever intake of volunteers to the newly constructed Aquarium,” Bianca reflects.
The genesis of her career saw her work with children where she put on puppet shows, painted excited faces and wowed the kids with crafts.
In 1998, Bianca became a member of the Education crew, which meant many different roles related to enriching and inspiring young minds. Today, she is the Deputy Head of the Ocean Campus where school groups are taught in the campus classrooms; marine sciences continues to grow as a field more young people can access!
As Michael explains, the Ocean Campus sees around 15,000 ECD groups in the I&J Play Centre every year, with 45,000 coming through the classrooms annually.
“I see the impact of the Aquarium when I meet students who have done one or more enrichment courses with us. It is wonderful to see how this has influenced their choice of career,” Bianca reflects.
Bianca adds that there have been many milestone moments from her perspective.
“My top four are the first shark tag and release I joined in Struisbaai, saying goodbye to Yoshi the loggerhead turtle after 20 years at the Aquarium, breaking ground on construction of the I&J Ocean Exhibit, and having Marine Sciences accepted as an additional subject for FET learning.”
From Never Having Been to an Aquarium to Leading a Part of One!
Today, Msa boasts over a decade of leading as Floor Manager. But back in 2004, he had never even been to an aquarium!
After the museum he worked at was closing, Msa began job hunting and took a chance at the Two Oceans Aquarium to help the crew with the festive season as an extra pair of hands.
As fate would have it, the team took him on despite his lack of aquarium experience, and weren’t they glad they did!?
Msa has been present for many big moments at the Aquarium, but the one that stands out most was in 2012.
“In 2012, the Two Oceans Aquarium hosted the International Aquarium Congress—this was the first time the event was held in the southern hemisphere and on African soil. 350 delegates from aquariums around the world visited the Two Oceans Aquarium!”
Looking back, he finds a lot of inspiration in seeing different communities supporting the Aquarium’s programmes for the environment, such as beach cleanups.
Looking forward, he notes that what excited him about the future of the Aquarium is “the endless possibilities.”
Sources: Two Oceans Aquarium
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