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Online SGA Talk – 18 November 2021 – Saving Ocean Wanderers

19 November 2021

The South Georgia Association is pleased to present another online talk on Thursday 18 November 2021.

Who and What:

Saving Ocean Wanderers – why Japan is important in the fight to save South Georgia albatross, with Steph Prince and Yasuko Suzuki.

Richard Phillips, Seabird Foodweb Ecologist at the British Antarctic Survey will compere and ask your questions.

Steph Prince is the High Seas Programme Manager for the BirdLife Marine Programme, leading projects to reduce seabird bycatch in global tuna fisheries around the world. She was previously a Zoological Field Assistant for the British Antarctic Survey, wintering at both Bird Island and King Edward Point.

Yasuko Suzuki is the Japan Marine Programme Office for BirdLife International, leading engagement work with the Japanese fishing industry, government, the tuna supply chain and the Japanese public to reduce seabird bycatch in distant water High Seas fleets.

Despite protections being put in place to stop albatrosses and other seabirds being accidentally killed in South Georgia waters in the early 2000’s, albatross populations continue to decline to this day. Since 2004 BirdLife International have been working to reduce albatross bycatch on the High Seas, where less protection for seabirds has been in place. Tracking studies have shown where conservation efforts need to be concentrated, and which fleets pose the greatest risk. Japan is one of the countries that has the potential to make the biggest difference to albatross conservation and so Yasuko is working to engage the fishing industry and public to make the oceans safer for South Georgia albatross.

The SGA supported this project with our Initiative Fund. More details HERE.

REGISTER HERE

Where: The Comfort of your own Home, via Zoom

When: 1930 GMT on Thursday 18 November 2021

Cost: Free

Registration Details will be distributed to members by email nearer the time, after which they will be posted here and on our FaceBook page.

Cover of the GSGSSI Protect Sustain Inspire Document 2021

GSGSSI Consultation: Developing Criteria for Monitoring the Implementation of the ‘Protect Sustain Inspire’ five-year plan.

12 November 2021

UPDATE: The Deadline has been extended to 24 November 2021.

South Georgia’s government (GSGSSI) recently published ‘Protect, Sustain, Inspire’ (PSI), their five-year framework for managing the territory over the next few years. They are now developing a system of Milestones and Success Criteria, by which their progress in implementing the aims of the framework can be gauged.

GSGSSI have published a four-page document describing a preliminary set of milestones they have identified, and inviting your views on other milestones that might be appropriate, and their relative priorities, or indeed any of their milestones that might not be appropriate. Deadline for submission via the online form is 24 November 2021 (extended from 12 November).

CLICK HERE

to see the PSI document, the consultation document, and to take part in the online survey on the GSGSSI website.

Morag Husband Campbell Medal 2022 – Call for Nominations

28 October 2021

The South Georgia Association is inviting nominations for the award of the Morag Husband Campbell medal for the fifth year.

MHC Medal
The Morag Husband Campbell Medal

The Medal has been made possible by a generous bequest from a long-standing and enthusiastic supporter of the Association, Miss Morag Husband Campbell.

It comprises a Sterling silver relief medallion, 60mm in diameter. The name of the recipient and the year will be inscribed on the reverse. It is intended to award the Medal every year or every other year depending upon nominations.

Morag Husband Campbell
Morag Husband Campbell

The Association has agreed that the Medal should be awarded to individuals who have contributed significantly to the understanding, appreciation and promotion of South Georgia. This would encompass

  • i) scientific studies as well as in the arts and humanities including culture, history, heritage, artistic endeavour etc.,
  • ii) adventurous travel and “exploration”, or
  • iii) activities which enhance the wider appreciation of South Georgia (e.g. in the media or through administrative functions).

Nominations (self-nominations are not permitted) should be made on an official Nomination Form available below and from the Secretary of the Association. to whom they should be sent no later than 31 December 2021.

The award would be made in 2022 at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. Given present uncertainties regarding Covid-19 in the UK the AGM may be either delayed or conducted by video streaming.

Professor David J Drewry
Chair SGA

Download the Nomination Form Here:

Morag Husband Campbell Medal Nomination Form 2022 (36 KB)

Pathway to Protection – GSGSSI Announces Terrestrial Protected Area Management.

28 June 2021

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has released details of its strategy for managing the territory under the banner ‘Pathway to Protection’.

This will be a two-phased approach, involving the declaration of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and will treat two areas differently.

South Georgia and its surrounding islands will be managed so as to balance access with protection, very much along the lines of what already happens. The South Sandwich Islands will be closed to visitors, although there are already very few anyway, to preserve its even more unspoilt nature.

The Pathway to protection will be implemented in two phases. In phase I, the South Sandwich Islands will be closed to most visitors, and South Georgia will carry on much in the way it already does. Phase II will consist of information gathering and consultation, to gather the information needed to determine the need for, and the methods of implementing, more localised management plans.

An advisory group will be convened to help with this, including, we hope, representatives of the South Georgia Association.

Click Here to see More Information on the GSGSSI Website

Online SGA Talk – 12 August 2021 – The Shackleton Crossing by a Repeat Offender

12 August 2021

The South Georgia Association is pleased to present another online talk on Thursday 12 August 2021.

Who and What:

The Shackleton Crossing by a Repeat Offender: Since taking part in the IMAX film ‘Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure’ in 2000, Stephen Venables has followed Shackleton’s route from King Haakon Bay to Stromness no less than four times, with a fifth crossing scheduled for 2022. He will describe the route and some of the peaks he has climbed along the way. His pictures will also highlight drastic changes to the landscape since 1916.

The Crossing in its setting: Following Stephen’s graphic description of following in Shackleton’s footsteps, Bob Burton will describe the hazardous arrival of the crew of the James Caird at South Georgia and their landing in Cave Cove. He will then take up the story again as Shackleton, Worsley and Crean arrive at Stromness and recover from their ordeal.

Where: The Comfort of your own Home, via Zoom

When: 1930 BST (1830 GMT/UTC) on Thursday 12 August 2021

Cost: Free

Click Here to Register for the Talk

Registration Details have been sent by email to SGA members. If you have not received that, you can click this button.

Sealing Archaeology talk is online

28 June 2021

We recorded the online talk on sealing archaeology by Marcus Britain and Bob Burton that we held on 20 May 2021.

Click Here to see the talk.

Morag Husband Campbell Medal 2021 – Awarded to Bob Headland

6 October 2021
MHC Medal
The Morag Husband Campbell Medal

The South Georgia Association is delighted to announce the award for the Morag Husband Campbell Medal for 2021 to Bob Headland, “For outstanding and sustained contributions to the history and knowledge of South Georgia and to extending the wider appreciation of the island“. The medal will be presented to Bob at the next live event, but a virtual presentation was made at the online AGM on 7 May 2021.

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Morag Husband Campbell Medal 2021 – Awarded to Bob HeadlandRead More »

Online SGA Talk – 20 May 2021

22 May 2021

The South Georgia Association in association with the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) are pleased to present another online talk on Thursday 20 May 2021.

Who: Marcus Brittain from the University of Cambridge will tell us about the recent SGHT Archaeology Expedition to the island to investigate the historic sealing sites. Bob Burton from the SGHT will also be there to tell us a little about what the fur seals were used for, and why they were hunted so far away.

Where: The Comfort of your own Home, via Zoom

When: 1930 BST (1830 GMT/UTC) on Thursday 20 May 2021

Cost: Free

REGISTER HERE for the talk

April 2021 Newsletter Published

28 October 2021

The South Georgia Association’s April 2021 Newsletter has been published. Attached are the 2021 audited accounts summary and a cut-out-and-make model of the RRS James Clark Ross, which features in the Newsletter.

Members’ copies will be in the post soon and we will send you an email link for the digital version.

Older issues are free for anybody to download from the newsletters page of this website. (Now including last April’s Newsletter)
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