UCT (and UCT-linked projects) supported and ran specific programmes and activities that encourage and sustain good aquatic stewardship (both marine and freshwater). These are programmes and activities (training, capacity building, applied monitoring, community co-design and fund-raising / rehabilitation) — not only academic papers — and they include concrete stewardship outcomes (data collection by fishers, site monitoring, habitat interventions, rehabilitation funding, community education).

1. ABALOBI - small-scale fisheries programme (UCT partnership / co-development)

Abalobi (which means fisher in isiXhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa) is a tech nonprofit that works to help the small-scale fishers who make up the bulk of the South African fishing industry but are traditionally excluded from it financially. Abalobi is a fisher-driven digital platform (app, training and market linkages) co-developed with UCT researchers and fisher communities. There are three apps at the heart of the platform. The Fishers’ app allows fishers to upload details of their daily catch to a database. The Marketplace app then shows restaurants, hotels and customers at home what is available, and allows them to buy fresh, fully traceable line-caught fish direct from the people who caught it. The Monitor app takes the data fed in by the fishers and allows scientists to better manage fisheries and fish populations.

In 2024, Abalobi continued to scale trainings, capacity-building and community data collection with small-scale fishers — activities explicitly designed to improve stewardship (better catch recording, traceability, community management and engagement with co-management structures).

Abalobi now works with more than 1,600 fishers in communities around the South African coastline, and its technology is used by partner organisations in 12 other countries, including Chile, Madagascar, Croatia and Ireland

Abalobi is not just research — it runs training, data collection and market programmes that change fishers’ practices and improve stewardship and traceability.

2.Marine Resource Assessment & Management (MARAM) - stock assessment workshops / applied management support (Dec 2024)

MARAM ran an International Fisheries Stock-Assessment / MARAM workshop in December 2024 focused on sardine, squid and horse-mackerel. The workshop convened scientists, resource managers and stakeholders to review monitoring data and assessment methods and to translate those assessments into management recommendations. Stock-assessment workshops directly support sustainable fisheries management by improving monitoring/assessment capacity and advising on harvest rules and stewardship measures. UCT provided venue, coordination and applied outputs.

3. Pathways to Water-Resilient South African Cities (PaWS) / Future Water Institute - Mitchells Plain living-lab (stormwater pond) and nature-based solutions (active 2024 work)

The Pathways to Water-Resilient South African Cities (PaWS) living laboratory in Mitchells Plain (led by UCT’s Future Water Institute with partners) ran active monitoring, community engagement and co-designed nature-based interventions in 2024 (part of the multi-year project). Activities included water quality monitoring, ecosystem rehabilitation (pond habitat), community workshops and stewardship education.
PaWS directly engaged local communities in managing and maintaining a stormwater pond ecosystem (monitoring, biodiversity and water-quality interventions), building local stewardship and demonstrating practical nature-based solutions.

The UCT team are developing a compendium of case studies, applications and processes and these will be written up into a comprehensive toolkit that will form one of the project’s main outputs. This toolkit will address some of the gaps in knowledge and practice around the implementation and scaling of nature-based solutions for water management in South African cities, and will be geared towards local government officials, consultants, technical specialists, NGOs and community groups. It will include details on how to repurpose the urban fabric; and how to plan, design, monitor and engage with repurposing of stormwater ponds.

4. Two Oceans Aquarium / UCT student & public engagement (Diver24, Research Open Days) - 2024 outreach & stewardship funding

UCT student groups (e.g., UCT Underwater Club) and UCT researchers partnered with the Two Oceans Aquarium for events in 2024 — e.g., Diver24 fundraising and the Aquarium’s Research Open Day. Funds and outreach supported turtle rehabilitation, school marine-science education, and public engagement activities that foster stewardship.
Fundraising, public education and sponsorship of rehabilitation projects are direct stewardship activities that maintain and support aquatic life and awareness.

5. MARiS / IMCC7 participation - convening conservation practitioners & knowledge exchange (Oct 2024)

UCT’s MARiS network and marine researchers took part in the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC7) (Cape Town, Oct 2024), presenting applied projects, engaging NGOs, managers and community actors, and participating in practitioner panels and learning sessions on conservation actions.
IMCC7 is a major practitioner-facing forum — UCT involvement advanced applied conservation knowledge transfer and networked stewardship programmes.

6. Student & arts outreach projects linking communities to coastal stewardship (Michaelis, public installations in 2024)

Michaelis School of Fine Art student projects in 2024 collaborated with the Two Oceans Aquarium to create public installations and programmes that raise awareness of kelp ecosystems and coastal health, engaging schools and communities. Community arts engagement projects are explicit programmes to build stewardship awareness and inspire local action for aquatic habitats.