Draft:Ocean Conservation Namibia 2

Ocean Conservation Namibia (OCN) is an African marine conservation organization focused on the rescue of at risk seals and other marine animals. Founded in 2020 by Naude and Katja Dreyer, OCN is based in Walvis Bay, Namibia and supported by a team of dedicated activists. The group's primary focus is the rescue of Cape fur seals who have become entangled by discarded fishing equipment and sea trash.

Conservation Efforts
Ocean Conservation Namibia's primary efforts focus on helping the large fur seal population at Pelican Point on Namibia's coast. Through survey and spotting equipment, OCN identifies animals in distress and executes rescue operations consisting of containing seals with custom made nets and working to free seals from entanglements in fishing wire, ghost nets and other debris. The team records the details of every entanglement from a rescue, including retaining the materials removed from animals, a photo record of the entanglement material and rescue related details that are stored in a database the organization maintains for research.

OCN's dedicated team has rescued over 3,000 seals since starting their work.

Beyond animal rescue, OCN focuses on education and awareness of plastic pollution and ocean trash. The organization sponsors beach and desert clean-up efforts to remove debris from land before it has a chance to enter the ocean.

Methods to Support
The organization is registered as a charitable trust in Namibia and is funded through private donations and the sale of OCN branded merchandise. In the United States the organization is registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit under the name Ocean Conservation International allowing contributions to be tax-deductible.

Social Media Presence
Ocean Conservation Namibia has a prominent social media presence on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube. OCN's YouTube channel as of July 2023 has over 1500 videos documenting rescue efforts and 1.48M subscribers.