You will recall from previous newsletters that critically endangered Pipefish are found in both the Kariega and Boesmans Estuaries. Dr Louw Claassens and her team began researching our Pipefish in 2019. One of the offshoots of her work is, together with Estuary Care, working on the development of a sign which hopefully will be in place by December. Dennis Dallas, a member of the Estuary Care Committee has been working with Louw on this project. He says:
Estuary Care has once again been involved in working alongside Dr Louw Claassens, a Science Officer and Researcher from the Palau National Marine Sanctuary and her team, in designing appropriate signage regarding Pipefish that are found in both our Boesmans and Kariega Estuaries. The Estuarine Pipefish is a threatened endemic species with a high risk of going extinct due to the continued decline of habitat quality, being small in population as well as their restricted range.
The new signage information on the Pipefish has been designed to be user friendly and will assist in the education of residents as well as those friends/tourists visiting Kenton on Sea and Boesmansriviermond. Once completed, the signs will be erected at the Boesmans, Kariega and Marina slipways.
Everybody together with Estuary Care can help protect our Estuarine Pipefish by raising its profile as an iconic species