Growing up, I realised that the people in my community rely on the ocean. Many people in the village did not have the opportunity to receive education and do not have other livelihood options. Fishing is their opportunity to put food on the table for their families. This, and my parents’ passion for nature, inspired me to dedicate my time to making the ocean healthy.
In 2017, I started working with WWF in community projects that taught me more about the ocean, marine species and fisheries. At the same time, these projects gave me the opportunity to serve my community. Working with small-scale fishers, I gathered and analysed data that contributed to research on overfishing and illegal fishing in the Kogelberg region. These activities threaten the livelihood of my community as well as the ecosystems.