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Marine Anti-Poaching Unit

Marine Anti-Poaching Unit (MAPU) is registered as a Non-Profit Company (NPC), Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO).

We are dedicated to share our passion for protecting our marine life. Our focus is on Marine Conservation (Environmental Awareness, Environmental Education, Poaching Prevention, Marine Polution and Sustainability), Youth Development and Poverty Relief. We aim to achieve our goal through utilising all resources available to us.

The largest ecosystem on earth, the ocean, provides in excess of 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs harmful carbon dioxide, reduce climate change impacts, provide protein we eat, etc.

The health of our oceans determine the future of those we love.

Over the last decade poaching of marine life has become a source of wealth that meant that, at its peak price, a person could earn four times the average monthly income for just two hours of work. As a result, South Africa coast transformed from a network of small fishing communities, to outposts of international organized crime battling for the opportunity to harvest and export marine life, causing irreparable harm to our most valuable eco system – the ocean.

Marine Anti-Poaching Unit (MAPU) will be operating in cohesion with South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), Cape Nature, SANPARKS, Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), TRAFFIC (Wildlife Trade Specialists), Interpol (Environmental Crime), other law enforcement agencies and Community Organisations focusing on marine conservation.

A sustainable approach is possible through creating awareness, community involvement and consistent monitoring of the South African coastline. Support from volunteers will ensure the operation is active until such a point where donations will ensure employment of full time resources. This will expand our monitoring and recording of area activity, fauna and flora progress recording and marine conservation.


We need your help to accomplish our goals and save our marine life!

You can help us in any of the following ways:


Report suspicious activity to us via our contact page.

If you stay in the Coastal Area, you can volunteer to be part of our monitoring units.


Latest news

THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT ANNOUNCES THE WEST COAST ROCK LOBSTER TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH (TAC) AND TOTAL APPLIED EFFORT (TAE) FOR THE 2023/2024 FISHING SEASON

The Deputy Director-General: Fisheries Management (DDG: FM), acting under authority delegated by the Minister, has, in terms of section 14 of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 […]

Organisation Cooperation – Impact comparison October 2017 – 2019

Above graph is an extract from the MAPU data base showing the poaching related complaints received between October 2017, October 2018 and October 2019 for the Kogelberg Biosphere in South […]

Abalone Recovered – Gordons Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

On Saturday, 5 October 2019, at 11:00 Marine Anti-Poaching Unit (MAPU) received a call from public regarding a bag found at Bikini Beach at Gordons Bay. With support from a […]

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Get Involved

We need your help to accomplish our goals and save our marine life!

You can help us in any of the following ways:

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