Dyer Island Conservation Trust: Guarding Great Whites and African Penguins at Africa's Tip

Founded in 2006 by Wilfred Chivell, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust runs marine research and rescue programmes around one of the world's densest great white shark aggregations and one of South Africa's last African penguin breeding colonies. Its African Penguin Nest Project has installed over 1,500 artificial nests across colonies, including more than 500 on Dyer Island itself, with roughly 99% occupancy by breeding pairs. The Trust's African Penguin & Seabird Sanctuary, opened in 2015, hand-raised and released 769 fledglings in its first decade, with rehabilitated adults now accounting for over a fifth of Dyer Island's breeding population. Alongside shark tagging and whale monitoring from its research vessel Lwazi, the Trust runs school education programmes for the local community.