- In the week of the gunnery firing drills, dolphins, Bryde's whales and humpback whales were sighted in False Bay.
- There's still no agreement in place between SANParks, which manages the False Bay Marine Protected Area, and the Navy regarding alternative testing grounds.
- A different site has been proposed, but all parties have to agree first.
- For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future.
The SA Navy conducted above-water firing exercises in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Cape Town's False Bay last week, even after a ministerial directive said in January that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the Department of Defence had agreed that explosives drills must be moved.
South African National Parks (SANParks) and the DFFE "continue to engage with the Department of Defence and the Navy to find alternative sites away from the Marine Protected Area for testing purposes for both above- and under-water firing exercises as per the directive," Peter Mbelengwa, spokesperson and chief director for communication and advocacy at the DFFE, said in an emailed response to questions.
The decision reached in January between the two ministries came after weeks of protests about underwater explosives exercises, but it failed to prevent the SA Navy from carrying out its plans. Then, on 8 March, the Navy said it would be carrying out a gunnery firing exercise from 10:00 to 14:00 from 11 March to 15 March and gave the coordinates for a fair-sized swathe of False Bay, requesting all vessels to keep clear due to the danger of the drills. It also noted for air traffic control purposes that the danger height was 10 000 feet, or about 3km.
Dave Hurwitz, a naturalist, whale and dolphin expert and owner of the Simon's Town boat company, said he saw and heard the firing of the Navy's cannons last week.
Not only does False Bay encompass an MPA, it's also a Mission Blue Hope Spot. Dr Sylvia Earle, the founder of Mission Blue and one of the world's best-known oceanographers, visited Cape Town in February. She said in a post that "False Bay is special to the world, the effects of two great oceans coming together, where kelp forests, octopuses, southern right whales, and people thrive. Above and below it's a treasured place."
SANParks has engaged the SA Navy regarding above-water firing exercises in the past, according to Mbelengwa. This has resulted in the Navy making adjustments, which include the timing, to avoid the time of year when whales may be affected, as well as the testing direction, to avoid affecting the African Penguin colony on land, he said.
Dolphins, whales and endangered penguins at risk
The endemic African penguins are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's red list and noted as endangered. They're expected to be functionally extinct in the wild by 2035 and they don't confine themselves just to their nests at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town. Rafts of penguins can often be seen swimming far out to sea.
Apart from the penguins being at risk, "plenty of dolphins and Bryde's whales plus a few humpback whales" were seen passing through False Bay last week, according to Hurwitz. Whales are spotted around the Cape Peninsula at almost all times of the year and many pods of dolphins of various species live in False Bay.
In a response to a question from a DA member of Parliament earlier this month, DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy said no agreement is in place between SANParks, which manages the MPA, and the Navy regarding alternative testing grounds.
However, she said, the South African National Defence Force, the SA Navy, the DFFE and SANParks had agreed to work together to find an alternative site away from MPAs and the endangered African penguin colony.
"An alternative testing site has been proposed and will be made public once it is formally agreed upon by all parties," she said, without giving an indication of when the Navy would stop using explosives in False Bay.
