OUR MISSION
Our mission is to do REAL conservation through compelling Research, Education, Awareness and Lobbying initiatives, which will result in lasting change. We align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and with those that share our vision. Our work motivates all people to aspire toward the long-term conservation of our oceans. We believe that at the core of the current en
vironmental crises lies humanities disconnect from Nature and that a reconnect is crucial in order to turn the tide of great environmental destruction into one of great recovery. OUR BACKGROUND
AfriOceans was founded in 2003 by Lesley Rochat, also known as the Shark Warrior, because of her passionate efforts in shark conservation. We are one of the longest-standing nonprofit organisations in South Africa focused on ocean conservation. In 2004 we launched with our Maxine, Science, Education and Awareness Programme (M-Sea), a high-profile, award-winning shark awareness campaign. It involved the satellite tagging and releasing of captive sharks from the Two Oceans Aquarium, as well as the satellite tagging of wild sharks. We are proud to be the reason that the Two Oceans Aquarium does not keep sharks in captivity their whole life, but rather tags and releases them after a period of time and replaces them with new sharks – as such our research continues. In 2007 we realised another vision, we designed, established and ran the public Shark Centre in Kalk Bay. Our legacy remains while we continued to develop numerous education and awareness programmes. Since inception we have completed 41 environmental education programmes, reaching in excess of 570 000 children, and we have completed 23 awareness campaigns, reaching millions of people worldwide. We have developed aquarium displays, produced numerous awareness videos and educational materials and continued to be the voice of the voiceless through our lobbying initiatives. In 2016 we established a self-funding initiative, Shark Warrior Adventures, a watersports and ecotourism centre based at Seaforth Beach. We provide educational and transformational wildlife encounters and ocean adventures that reconnect people to Nature. At the heart of our extraordinary adventures is our commitment to caring for the natural environment, and to the economic and social empowerment of its people. In 2021 we launched our Cool Kelp Project which includes scientific research, education and awareness. Through transformational experiences the project’s aim is to encourage all people to participate in the long-term conservation of our fragile kelp forests.
