Estelle van der Merwe has more than 25 years’ experience working on marine environmental issues, both nationally in South Africa, and internationally. These mainly focussed on oiled wildlife response and rehabilitation, IUU fishing and the protection of Antarctica.
Estelle has consulted as an advocacy specialist for several international non-governmental organisations including WWF International at the Cape Town Agreement and the Pew Environment Group during the four Technical Consultations on the Port States Measures Agreement (PSMA) at the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). She also consulted for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and at the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP).
In the course of her career, Estelle worked closely and successfully with the South African government and governments in Africa, especially as a member of the Africa Group at the FAO, at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and at the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
OCEAN – Ocean and Coastal Empowerment and Action Network – was founded by Estelle in 2020. OCEAN’s mission is to protect and conserve our oceans and coasts while assisting vulnerable coastal communities and small-scale fishers through skills development, the creation of employment opportunities and awareness campaigns.
Estelle is passionate about the protection and health of our oceans and all living beings who depend on it. Our vulnerable coastal communities are dependent on the ocean and need to be given every opportunity to protect their ocean to ensure that they can continue to benefit from its riches.