The City of Cape Town is urging mense to leave whales and dolphins alone.
The City says it is against the law to approach any whale or dolphin within 300m of the shoreline.
This reminder stems from the high number of complaints received last week of people approaching whales within a few meters on a number of Cape Town beaches.
The City, along with the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment will be actively enforcing these laws.
“In the past week, we have received eleven complaints of people harassing whales and dolphins. We are also aware of social media posts of people purposefully approaching whales on kayaks and surf skis, boats and even swimming out to them. Such acts disturb these sea animals. It can affect their feeding patterns and is especially impactful on moms with calves. Let us please respect our environmental laws,” said Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews.
The City has a variety of whale species that occur along its coastline all year round. This year has seen very high numbers of humpback whales close to shore, both in False Bay and along the Atlantic Seaboard.
A number of Southern Right Whale mother-and-calf pairs are also being seen in places like Fish Hoek.
The laws that prohibit interacting with or harassing environmental species fall under the Threatened or Protected Species Regulations under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMBA).
You can lodge complaints or report sightings of people harassing marine life, by emailing Gregg Oelofse, Manager: Coastal Management, Environmental Management on Gregg.Oelofse@capetown.gov.za
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