This article was written and published by the Wild Life Society of SA (WESSA).
Dr Deborah Robertson Andersson received the WESSA (Wild Life Society of SA) Annual Conservation Leadership Award for Individuals.
WESSA said in a statement, this is for her contribution to the Southern African Humpback Migration Route and the “Welcoming the Whales Festivals” and Presentations that are held along its length.
The first “Welcoming the Whales Festival” was held in June 2018 at Pine Lodge, Port Elizabeth, with presentations by Lloyd and Dr. Lorien Pichegru.
Since then, presentations and festivals have been given at over 50 venues, from Gabon in West Africa to Kenya on the East African coast.
Dr. Deborah joined the route in 2023 with a distinguished career as a marine biologist and activist. She has done 69 presentations between Gansbaai and Ponto do Ouro in Mozambique. She has travelled the equivalent of going 55% of the way around the planet, just during her SA travels! Six towns have turned the initial presentations into festivals, which means 300 000 festival goers!
She will also be presenting a scientific paper on the Humpback Route at the International Conference on Coastal, Marine and Maritime Research to be held in Durban later this month.
Picture: Dr Deborah Robertson Andersson flanked by Cindy-Lee Cloete and Jannsen Davies, Chairperson of the Board of WESSA.