Plettenberg Bay named South Africa’s third Whale Heritage Site!

The World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) has announced in May 2023 that Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape has been awarded Whale Heritage Site status. The town on South Africa's Garden Route joins The Bluff in Durban and Algoa Bay, a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, as the third Whale Heritage Site in South Africa, and one of only seven fully accredited Whale Heritage Sites worldwide.
The Whale Heritage Site programme is an initiative created by the WCA and supported by World Animal Protection, which recognises destinations around the world where coastal communities work together to protect, respect and celebrate cetaceans and their habitats.

Plettenberg Bay, situated between the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area and the Robberg Marine Protected Area, supports a wide diversity of ocean wildlife, including iconic species like Humpback Whales, Southern Right Whales, Bryde’s Whales, Killer Whales (Orcas) and Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins. The area is well known for its terrestrial and marine diversity surrounded by the Tsitsikamma Mountains, Indian Ocean coastline, indigenous forests and endemic fynbos vegetation.

Durban: The Bluff has been named a Whale Heritage Site!

Durban's The Bluff, which is one of the main enclosing elements of Durban Harbour from the Indian Ocean and forms the southern quayside of the Port of Durban, has been awarded Whale Heritage Site (WHS) status by the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA). The WCA, which has established the initiative, defines a Whale Heritage Site as follows: "A Whale Heritage Site is an outstanding location where cetaceans (whales, dolphins, or porpoises) are embraced through the cultural, economic, social, and political lives of associated communities, and where people and cetaceans coexist in an authentic and respectful way". The Bluff is the only Whale Heritage Site in Africa and shares the status globally only with Hervey Bay in Australia.