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Tracking the Lost Years: A second release in the Agulhas Current
In January, a collaborative team of researchers from the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and Upwell motored out into the swift Agulhas Current and released 12 tiny loggerhead turtles, each fitted with a satellite tag on their carapace.
Three reasons African penguins face extinction – and three ways you can help.
Happy World Penguin Day! Today, we are celebrating a penguin close to our hearts: the African penguin. This charismatic seabird is endemic to South Africa and Namibia – an iconic species and a special sighting at Boulder’s Beach and Betty’s Bay. However, their numbers are declining dramatically. Unless we do something about it, the African penguin will be functionally extinct by 2035. Thanks to the #NOOW African penguin campaign, here are three reasons the African penguin faces extinction and three ways YOU can save them.
Meet Sage, a rare olive ridley turtle at the Turtle Conservation Centre
When our Turtle Rescue Network received a call about an injured turtle stranded in the De Hoop Marine Protected Area, we did not expect that the turtle in question would be a rare olive ridley - a species not often seen by the rehabilitation team at the Two Oceans Aquarium!
Swimmers complete 11km ocean crossing to help endangered turtles – and their journey isn’t over
A group of determined open-water swimmers successfully completed an extraordinary 11km ocean crossing from Robben Island to Granger Bay on 25 April 2026, raising vital funds and awareness for endangered sea turtles at our Turtle Conservation Centre.
Tracking our Turtles: Nori visits the waters near St Helena island
Nori, a green turtle who was in rehabilitation at the Turtle Conservation Centre for about two years, was released into the crystal clear waters of De Hoop Marine Protected Area in November 2025.
Birdmouth wrasse
Birdmouth wrasses are small, elongated fish that display strong sexual dimorphism (males and females look different). Males are vivid blue-green with yellowed fins. Their snouts grow disproportionately long, often with bulbous protrusions. Females are significantly smaller, with comparatively drab colouration. They are yellow-brown with white underparts. Their snouts are also elongated, but more slender than the male’s. Birdmouth wrasses use their elongated snouts, which have small mouths on the end, to prey on small invertebrates in cracks and crevices. They are abundant around Indian Ocean reefs, particularly on the African coast.Short-spined urchin
Short-spined urchins are large, well-rounded sea urchins, completely covered in short, white spines. Long tube-feet extend well beyond their spines.They inhabit beds of seaweed, where they use their tiny tube-feet to camouflage themselves by holding straps of seaweed, rocks or other debris over their bodies (as pictured). This behaviour gives them their international name of “collector urchin”.Short-spined urchins are opportunistic feeders, and feed voraciously on algae, seagrass and bacterial mats. Their behaviour is unaffected by the day-night cycle, and this is unusual amongst urchin species. This unusual behaviour has made short-spined urchins useful for rehabilitating coral reefs which have been infested by alien seaweed species.These urchins are nutritious and edible – regularly preyed upon by humans, octopuses and puffer fish.Boxfish
The yellow boxfish may be small, but it packs a punch! This little fish is the type species for the genus Ostracion – this means it is the “base” species for the boxfish family and is permanently the first association with the genus. Ostracion means “little box” and describes its cube-like body. Its species name, cubicum, refers to its boxy shape.
Cape knifejaw
The Cape knifejaw is a dark, oval shaped fish that can grow to almost a meter in length. Their colouration is generally a dark grey, with lighter coloured mouths and underparts. Juvenile Cape knifejaws are bright yellow, with black, vertical bands over their eye and in front of their tail. The knifejaw’s teeth are fused to form a beak-like structure. They are omnivores and feed on a variety of food sources around near-shore reefs. Their beak is used to break up sea squirts, sponges and red algae. Cape knifejaws become territorial when they mature and form pairs that hunt together. The Cape knifejaw is endemic to South Africa, ranging from False Bay to Thukela. Cape knifejaws are on the SASSI Red list.Jacopever
The Jacopever is a distinctive fish, its colour is highly variable, usually with pink-red blotches and irregular dark patches that form excellent camouflage in deep water. Their short, but stock bodies are protected by sharp spines along their dorsal fins and pectoral fins. It is an ambush predator that uses its cryptic colouration and the darkness of the depths at which it lives to ambush smaller fish and invertebrates that swim past it. Its spines contain venom that is used to protect the jacopever from larger predators. Venom is known to be harmful to humans. This fish lives at great depths on sandy continental slopes, ranging from 50m to over 1km in water depth. Jacopevers are widely distributed throughout the Atlantic, ranging from South Africa to Venezuaela, Iceland and the Mediterranean Sea. The jacopever is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Due to its procurement as bycatch of unsustainable trawling methods, this is a SASSI Red listed species in South Africa and should not be eaten.Baardman
The baardman, sometimes called the slender baardman, is a dark brown fish, with a curved dorsal fin and short barb on the bottom of its chin. As a juvenile it displays large white patches on its dorsal surface that darken with age. The baardman hunts invertebrates, such as polychaete, worms on sandy sea floors. The baardman inhabits the western Indian Ocean, feeding on ocean-floor invertebrates. It is a resident species, rarely venturing far from its home territory – it often establishes a home cave in limestone or sandstone reefs. The baardman is on the WWF SASSI Red list.Barred flagtail
The barred flagtail is a small species, with five characteristic dark stripes on its forked tail that can sometimes be traced across its silver body. It has two small spines on its gill covers which deter some predators from eating it. It is common in the waters of KwaZulu-Natal where it feeds on small crustaceans and small fish. Juvenile flagtails can sometimes be seen in shallow tidal pools. This fish forms tightly packed shoals that regularly travel in lagoons and brackish water. Barred flagtails are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN.