Cape RADD — Marine science field station & dive training, South Africa

Cape RADD is a marine field station on the shore of False Bay at Simon's Town, Western Cape, that serves as a platform for researchers and as a training provider for people who want to learn to do science underwater. Its own statement of mission: to advance marine science education, promote conservation, and provide hands-on marine field experience and citizen science experiences.

It is organised around three ideas it names explicitly — conservation, research and adventure — and it brings together regional and international collaborators from many disciplines to support marine conservation research and education across the False Bay ecoregion, and to train the next generation of field scientists.

False Bay sits where the cold Benguela current meets the warm Agulhas, and the collision produces an extraordinary concentration of life: kelp forests fed by nutrient-dense upwellings, rocky reefs, shipwrecks and open water, with over 3,500 endemic species in the surrounding waters. Cape RADD highlights the seven-gill cowsharks, endemic sharks, nudibranchs, mud snails and urchins that make the bay a hotspot of endemism.

Simon's Town itself is 40 km from Cape Town city centre, with beaches and a mountainous backdrop — close enough to be practical, far enough to be a field station rather than a city dive shop.

Marine Science Field Course — the core programme, an immersive course for students, graduates and dive professionals interested in marine biology, conservation and scientific diving. Participants gain practical experience in research methods working alongside field biologists, developing technical dive skills alongside certified training in scientific data collection, underwater survey techniques and marine research methodologies. Cape RADD positions it as a way to complement academic study with real fieldwork and strengthen a CV.

Marine Conservation Divemaster Program — in Cape RADD's words, “not just about creating qualified Divemasters — it's about developing ocean ambassadors who understand marine ecosystems, can educate others, and can actively contribute to conservation outcomes.” Trainees gain both the technical competence expected of SSI Divemasters and the scientific grounding.

Marine Conservation Volunteer — the conservation and community pillar, focused on citizen science research, community awareness, conservation projects and educational outreach.

University field trips and research group accommodation — hosted programmes for visiting academic groups.

SSI training — the centre delivers SSI SCUBA courses and specialties, with freediving training alongside scuba.

Cape RADD runs ongoing long-term research projects in False Bay and publishes. Recent output listed on its own publications page includes Schulte, H. C., & Lucrezi, S. (2025), “Is kelp monitoring on kayaks a viable form of marine science tourism?”, Journal of Ecotourism, 1–17, and work by Lucrezi, Barron and d'Agnessa (2025) on the impacts of participation in scientific activities on marine tourists' engagement and individual learning.

Public-facing citizen science activities include Snorkel for Science (R900) and SCUBA for Science (R2,000), where participants help deploy underwater cameras, look for the “Marine Big 5” and sample for microplastics; a marine research expedition open to the public (R2,000); and a Kayak for Science kelp forest monitoring adventure. An Adopt a Shark scheme (R100–R500) funds research, and there are Pyjama, Leopard and Puffadder supporter tiers named after local shark species. Sardine Run expeditions are also offered.

Cape RADD states that its dive boats are certified and inspected annually by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). For some diving activity it works with Impact Divers, a Simon's Town–based partner team, and it publishes a partners page and annual impact reports.