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The Save our Seabirds Festival will be held once more in Cape Town, South Africa this month.

“Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds in the world, with almost one-third of all seabird species threatened with extinction.  Most of the majestic albatross species that roam the Southern Ocean have rapidly declining populations and, closer to home, our iconic African Penguin

Spheniscus demersus is now classified as Endangered. The annual Save Our Seabirds (SOS) Festival aims to raise awareness about the plight of seabirds and celebrate the beauty of marine life. The 2013 programme includes the popular Marine Conservation Lecture Series at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town. Speakers this year include Professor George Branch, a world-renowned marine scientist and author, and Mike Gunton, creative director at the BBC Natural History Unit, who has produced and directed many memorable documentaries.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, phot0graphed by Rowan Treblico

A highlight of the festival is the Oceans of Life photographic competition, which offers the world’s biggest prize for marine photography – the ORYX award, a trip for two to Spitsbergen, Norway, from One Oceans Expeditions and ORYX Worldwide Photographic Expeditions, valued at up to US$15 000.  The top 50 photographs from the competition will be on display at the Iziko South African Museum."

For more details about the SOS Festival, visit www.sosfestival.co.za.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 October 2013