Cape Marine Research and Diver Development

Over the last decade or more, there has been an enormous increase in efforts to protect the oceans and their inhabitants. We have become more aware of plastic pollution and the gross overfishing of ocean resources worldwide. In South Africa, we now have 42 declared Marine Protected Areas, some of which are as far afield as the Prince Edward Islands in the Southern Ocean. The need to grow our understanding of the ocean's ecosystems and inhabitants has become a priority not only to those passionate marine scientists but, more often, citizen scientists who happen to be spending time in the ocean daily. Yet we still know more about the moon than what's happening in the ocean.

Cape RADD – Cape Research and Diver Development is the brainchild of Mike Barron and Dylan Irion. The company is based on their previous work experiences at other worldwide marine research and conservation organisations. As Cape RADD, they wanted to create something with tangible take-home skills and knowledge focussing around early career marine scientists looking to gain hands-on experience and apply their SCUBA diving skills uniquely and purposefully. "We intentionally created a Field course program, a more structured and academically beneficial course rather than a volunteer internship style. Which is, perhaps, a little more relaxed and opportunistic in the day-to-day experiences", explained Mike.

After 12-18 months of researching the needs, writing course material and location reconnaissance, they based themselves in Simons Town, Cape Town. Not only was this a perfect destination for marine research, with a thriving diving community and access to the relatively sheltered and incredibly biodiverse waters of False Bay. There seemed to be a gap between a local marine research station and field scientists' training facility.

"It was only later that we realised we needed to be better at communicating about the science and the plight of the local marine ecosystems that we decided to start our outreach programs and Eco-tourism focussed experiences", said Mike, "their idea was to educate and inspire the local community and to further promote the area as such a special, vibrant and important area of environmental importance on the international stage as well".

"We wanted to include the community in our work, so we created our snorkel/SCUBA for a science experience whereby recreational divers could get involved and learn about the Kelp forest ecosystem in more detail whilst directly contributing to local marine research and conservation by assisting our team of marine biologists in collecting shark photo ID data." This has turned out to be a flagship project with growing popularity.

The goals of Cape RADD are twofold. Firstly, it creates a platform for marine research and conservation in the scientific field. By collaborating with local and international scientists, they offer a comprehensive training facility for the next generation of marine field scientists and divers.

The second goal is to create educational materials and experiences to increase awareness and interest of recreational divers in the kelp forest ecosystem. "We believe this will inspire and promote protection through community buy-in and local 'ownership'. This is done through our scientific communication outreach and eco-tourism program."

Future Plans
Cape RADD has many projects which they are currently working on. From gathering data on endemic benthic shark population to monitoring kelp forest health through kelp grazer density and distribution surveys. Our general focus is on measuring the biodiversity of the local marine ecosystems and providing baseline monitoring datasets for historical records. These will provide a reference point for changing variables over time and space.

They also collaborate with various local and international Universities on projects from monitoring microplastic density in False Bay to public perceptions of sharks and the benefits of 'Citizen Science' as contributors to conservation using social science aspects. Other projects include shark behaviour and movement, beach profiles, sand erosion/dumping, and macroinvertebrate monitoring surveys.

Researcher, Volunteer or interested divers
Cape RADD offers different programs that people can get involved with, depending on their level of interest, time and budget. The SCUBA or Snorkel for science is a short 2-3 hour program that introduces guests to the area as a biodiversity hotspot and their work. Participants are explained how they can assist in spotting and identifying endemic shyshark species during the dives, contributing towards the primary dataset for population estimates. They are guided by trained marine biologists who offer insights into the intricacies of the kelp forest and point out things otherwise the untrained eye may not notice. All whilst having lots of fun in the water.

The Marine Biology Field course offers a more intense program, which is 2-4 weeks of developing new skills and knowledge that give a much deeper insight into field biologists' necessary skills and challenges. This involves scientific diving and freediving workshops, measuring biodiversity and GIS mapping lectures, and lots of involvement in other research projects such as kelp density and distribution, fish and shark surveys, and much more. This course focuses on early-career scientists and students or keen conservationists who want to learn more about marine science. The SCUBA diver who wants to use their diving skills to assist with research and build a deeper foundation of understanding of marine ecosystems is more than welcome to sign up for this program as well.

"We also have a hybrid program which offers insight into the marine conservation work with Cape RADD alongside training people to SCUBA dive from open water beginners to professional instructor level with our sister company Impact Divers. This is an excellent way to develop your diving skills and certification and gain some insight into the marine conservation side of the industry at the same time", explained Mike.

Dive and Diver Safety
As soon as you take the focus away from just the SCUBA diving and towards other tasks in the water such as sampling, data collection or photography work, it increases the risk of distracting divers from the basic safety precautions.

"We must be very aware of this and ensure safety comes first. Our team are very experienced in what they do, from in-depth safety and dive objective briefings to well-planned and executed dive plans and extra eyes in the water", insists Mike. He also reiterated that they dive to industry standards and never do dives that guests or students are not qualified to do. "We also have DAN cover and well-trained first aid staff should the worst happen."

About Mike Barron
Mike Barron is a United Kingdom-born Marine Biologist. "I am originally from the UK but haven't lived there for over 12 years. I studied at Bangor University in North Wales before heading to Mosselbay to study Great White sharks", said Mike. He completed his Master's degree by research through the University of Pretoria, studying White Shark Deterrent Behaviour while based in Mossel Bay. He spent a brief 2-year spell working in Australia, on the Great Barrier Reef and the Ningaloo Reef on the West coast, as a marine biologist and Dive guide with Whale Sharks. He is also a qualified scuba instructor and commercial diver.