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How we tag the turtles for release at the Turtle Conservation Centre
At the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation's Turtle Conservation Centre, our dedicated team rescues, rehabilitates, and releases five of the world’s seven turtle species. Tagging is an invaluable tool for this work, providing us with incredible insight into the post-rehabilitation movements and lifestyles of our turtles.
Meet our research team at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation
At the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, we are proud to support a thriving multidisciplinary Research team.
What the Two Oceans Aquarium learned from 2025's United Nations Ocean Conference
This month, the ocean took the global stage at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), which took place in France from 9 – 13 June 2025. Our Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Dr Judy Mann-Lang, Executive of Strategic Projects, avidly followed the conference’s proceedings and shared her thoughts with us.
Join our Rocky Shore Explore on 2 August 2025!
Join us for our Rocky Shore Explore on Saturday, 2 August 2025, in celebration of Marine Protected Areas Day.
The sardine run is underway, but where have all the fish gone?
The sardine run is one of the ocean’s most extraordinary events. Every year, the ocean community flocks to South Africa’s east coast to witness this stunning display of abundance and biodiversity.
Building community conservation success: A collaboration between the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California, USA, recently facilitated a social science training workshop hosted by the Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town. The workshop guided participants in creating rigorous and scientifically valid community perception and evaluation studies.
This World Shark Day, a collaborative acoustic tagging project is shining a light on elasmobranch movements
The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s research team is thrilled to announce a marvellous new partnership to address key knowledge gaps in marine research, particularly in the field of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). What better way to celebrate World Shark Day?
Creatures & Creators: A winter workshop of wonder, collaboration, and discovery
Cape Town Creative Academy (CTCA) recently co-designed and co-developed Creatures & Creators in partnership with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. This cross-disciplinary winter workshop brought together design, science, and storytelling in an inspiring, hands-on learning experience.
Our Ocean Campus hosted the Wildlife Forensics Academy for a two-day workshop
This past week, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Ocean Campus hosted several Wildlife Forensics Academy (WFA) interns for a two-day workshop aimed at introducing these bright young minds to the work of the Two Oceans Aquarium and its Foundation.
Orbicular batfish
The orbicular batfish is a large, disc-shaped fish with a flattened dusky silver body. Its anal and dorsal fins are symmetrical, giving the adult batfish a spade-like appearance. Its dorsal, anal and tail fins are translucent yellow with black margins, and its pectoral fins are yellow. It has two prominent vertical black bars, a thick one behind the head that crosses the gill cover, and a narrower bar though the eye. Some sub-populations have small black spots on their sides.The adult orbicular batfish very closely resembles the longfinned batfish, and distinguishing between the two is understandably difficult. The longfinned batfish has dark blotches under its pectoral fin and on the bottom edge of its anal fin which are absent on the orbicular batfish.The juvenile orbicular batfish relies on its long fins to mimic a dead leaf by flopping onto its side and allowing the current to take it. It has a great affinity for brackish coastal environments, particularly mangroves and lagoons and can change its colour to a rusty brown to more closely resemble a leaf.As it grows larger, it takes on a silver colouration more closely resembling the longfinned batfish. Gradually its fins become shorter until it takes on the characteristic spade shape of other members of its family.The adult will move out of its sheltered coastal habitat to reefs where it will feed primarily on algae, but will snack on small fish if given the opportunity. Perhaps its strangest dietary quirk, the orbicular batfish will often follow sea turtles around to eat their faeces.It ranges from Knysna in the Western Cape to the Red Sea, Australia, Polynesia, Japan and Alaska. Invasive populations are also present in the Caribbean.Bluefin gurnard
Bluefin gurnards are a common bottom-dwelling fish throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their colouring may seem drab and unimpressive, camouflaging them will with the seafloor - until it spreads its brilliant blue pectoral fins, from where it draws its name.Just in front of these fins, you might notice that it appears to have a set of little “legs” that helps it creep along. These are not actually legs, they are modified rays of its fins, which the gurnards use to stir up the sand to find prey – small crustaceans. They are predators that feed on small crabs and shrimp.Gurnard's bodies are long and compact, with armoured, bone-plated heads.Sergeant major
The sergeant majors are small, oval damselfish. It has a grey body with a yellow dorsal area. Most notably, they have five vertical blue-black bars across their bodies.Although they sometimes form schools, the pair up during breeding. Breeding pairs have a preferred territory and will fight other fish to protect it. Once the eggs have been laid, the male will remain to guard and aerate them - this fierce behaviour is where they get their name "sergeant major" as well as their scientific name Abudefdul, with "abu" meaning father or guardian in Arabic.They are omnivores and will opportunistically feed on algae and small invertebrates.Juvenile sergeant majors are commonly found in tidal pools, while adults prefer rock and coral reefs on South Africa's Indian Ocean coasts. Globally, they occur throughout the Indo-Pacific, ranging from South Africa to the Red Sea, Japan and the Pitcairn Islands.