SeaKeys project - 2015 Marine Monitoring in South Africa

The SeaKeys project is a large, collaborative three year marine research project (2013-2016) funded by the National Research Foundation through the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme. The project aims to collate, increase and disseminate marine biodiversity information and support the application of this knowledge in monitoring, decision making and maintaining benefits from marine biodiversity for South Africans.

In addressing the multiple objectives of the project, one aspect was to collate information about marine monitoring initiatives underway in South Africa’s exclusive economic zone. A SeaKeys monitoring workshop was held in November 2015. Participants were invited from several key national departments, institutions and organisations within South Africa that engage in some level of marine ecosystem and/or species monitoring. Participants were requested to represent long-term monitoring initiatives that are in existence or planned for in the near future within their organisation. A simplified metadata template was distributed prior to the workshop with the request that participants source the relevant information from their colleagues about each appropriate monitoring initiative and submit, with position information, prior to the workshop.

The objectives of the SeaKeys Monitoring Workshop were to:

• Share information about marine monitoring initiatives in South Africa
• Advance spatial mapping of monitoring projects
• Identify and enable new collaborations, synergies and opportunities Two products resulted from this workshop:
• A SeaKeys Monitoring Workshop report providing information on ± 34 projects/initiatives, including what is monitored, where it is monitored and how often. The final section of the report lists a) known monitoring initiatives that were not represented at the workshop but are underway in South Africa and b) current, identified gaps in South Africa’s marine monitoring.
• A Spatial project representing each monitoring project.