T The Saldanha State of the Bay monitoring programme is designed to provide an annual assessment of the state of Saldanha Bay, Langebaan Bay and surrounding ecosystems.


  • Direct monitoring of a number of important ecosystem indicators was initiated by the SBWQFT in 1999, including water quality (faecal coliform, temperature, oxygen and pH), sediment quality (trace metals, hydrocarbons, total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen) and benthic macrofauna.
  • The range of parameters monitored has expanded since then to include surf zone fish and rocky intertidal macrofauna (both initiated in 2005) and led to the commissioning of a “State of the Bay” technical report series in 2006.

A detailed State of the Bay report is produced every year that summarises all available data and information on:

  • Activities and discharges affecting the health of the Bay (residential and industrial development, dredging, coastal erosion, shipping, and sewage and other wastewaters, and fish effort),
  • Water quality in the Bay itself (temperature, oxygen, salinity, nutrients, and pH),
  • Sediment quality (particle size, trace metal and hydrocarbon.
  • As well as Ground Water, Benthic Macrofauna, Rocky Shore, Fish, Birds and Alien Species

A Anchor Environmental is an independent consulting firm based in Cape Town, South Africa. They offer ecological and economic expertise to inform management and decision making regarding the use and conservation of natural resources.

Anchor has conducted the “State of the Bay” Monitoring programme for Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon annually since 2008.

These reports presents data on parameters monitored directly by the SBWQFT as well as those monitored by others (government, private industry, academic establishments and NGOs).

Their main areas of interest are biodiversity and ecology, hydrological and oceanographic monitoring, ecosystem services, socio-economic studies, environmental and resource economics, conservation policy, strategy and planning, environmental flows, environmental monitoring and natural resource management problems in general.

The staff are associates of the University of Cape Town and have produced more than 200 technical reports and have published over 75 scientific papers and regularly participate in international conferences.

SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON WATER CATCHMENT AREA

State of the Bay Report Archives

10/11/2022

State of the Bay 2022 – Technical & Abbreviated Reports

We have uploaded the State of the Bay 2022 Technical Report plus the abbreviated “glossy” version. These files are in PDF format for online viewing or downloading to your own computer for later reading.
10/11/2022

State of the Bay 2022 Presentations and Videos

We have placed the various Presentations from the State of the Bay 2022 in PDF format on the website. If you would like to view the actual videos of the presentations, SBWQFT has their own […]
01/10/2022

Have you booked yet for the State of the Bay 2022?

The State of the Bay 2022 presentation will be held on 4 November 2022 at 08h30-13h00 at Club Mykonos. Please book online now as seating is limited.
16/11/2021

State of the Bay 2021 – Technical Report

THE STATE OF SALDANHA BAY AND LANGEBAAN LAGOON 2021 Technical Report October 2021 Barry Clark, Ken Hutchings, Aiden Biccard, Jane Turpie, Jess Dawson, Kirti Gihwala, Cheruscha Swart, Safiyya Sedick, Amy Wright, Kevin Schmidt, Joshua Weiss, […]
26/10/2021

State of the Bay 2021 Report & Open Day Slide Presentations

30/09/2021

SBWQFT Open Day and State of the Bay Report: 22nd October 2021

The West Coast Biosphere and the SBWQFT will have a joint Open Day on 22 October 2021 to celebrate the 20th birthday of the West Coast Biosphere. International guests will attend.