Maryke Musson is a self-confessed fish-nerd, who grew up with the ambition of being a dolphin. When that didn’t quite work out, she opted for a career that would see her connecting people to nature, through wonderful stories and a big smile.
National Marine Week is celebrated every year during the second week of October. To mark this initiative aimed at creating awareness around the marine and coastal environment, we chatted to Maryke Musson, an optimistic and ocean-passionate woman driven to inspire communities to care about the sea and land, to change behaviours and make a positive impact.
Petite, with a radiant and infectious smile, Maryke is, as she puts it, married to her work. With two adult daughters, Finn and Kai, who are both studying medicine, passionate about the ocean and life, and have a great sense of humour just like she does, Maryke has enjoyed an exciting year living on Point Waterfront, between the beach, the harbour and uShaka Marine World where she’s worked, up until recently, as an executive for the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) and managed Sea World. Her motto is ‘Be silly and be kind.’
“It’s amazing how many youngsters want to become marine biologists. When you ask them why, the most common answer is to work with whales and dolphins. Confession: I grew up wanting to be a dolphin. We used to visit the Wild Coast when I was very young and I loved playing in the rock pools. My dad taught me to fish, and I have very fond memories of spending time with him learning about fish and the ocean. And then of course there was the love of dolphins and whales. My parents were very supportive. My dad bought me whale sound music, which I listened to day and night hoping that I would turn into a dolphin.”
A career guidance specialist eventually recommended that she become a professional paddler and pursue a career as a marine scientist.
“This was a little bit more realistic than turning into a dolphin, but I skipped the paddling part and went straight into studying marine biology and medical physiology, which was a great combination because my work in the aquarium field and aquaculture has always required some solid medical knowledge. I further specialised in ichthyology (the study of fish), aquaculture and sustainability.”
Maryke landed her first paying job as a young marine biologist at Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town before they opened.
“I got to be part of building and stocking an aquarium, and it was an incredible introduction to caring for fish. Then I directed my attention to marine research and worked with seahorses before jumping into the aquaculture space, and eventually back into aquarium science.”
Almost 30 years later, as a Marine Scientist and Aquaculture specialist, Conservation Biologist, Physiologist, Ichthyologist, Carbon Analyst and change agent for positive environmental impact and awareness, Maryke lives for every day – in her offbeat, unconventional and unique career – that she gets to spend time with incredible ocean animals and ocean-passionate teams while inspiring the public to learn and care more.
“While most would agree, a good cup of coffee is how they start the day; I love an early morning trot and a sun rise … no matter where in the world I am.”
Although there’s no such thing as a typical day for most marine biologists, Maryke generally has her days well-planned. During her time at uShaka, she was responsible for operating the largest aquarium complex in Africa, and was well-supported by a large team of specialist animal care staff and technicians, from veterinarians and biologists to engineers, animal trainers and commercial divers. Together they managed an aquatic life support system of 22 million litres of sea water and cared for more than 8 000 animals from more than 500 different species.
“I often assisted with procedures, especially in our Sea Turtle Hospital (Maryke is a true ‘Turtlelologist’ and was instrumental in a successful sea turtle rescue, rehab and release programme in Cape Town), but I also got to have so much fun with our animals, which is a fundamental part of my day, so turtle-tickling and dolphin hugs will always be mandatory.”
The go-to info hub on all things ocean and conservation in South Africa, Maryke has adventured all over the world, from Antarctica to Japan, New York to Namibia with Canada and Europe thrown in the mix too, sharing ocean impact stories along the way.
“Japan was an incredible experience because of their deep connection with the ocean. I’ve enjoyed fantastic experiences in both Polar Regions, with Antarctica and Iceland being real highlights, which included walking around a smoking volcano and swimming in icy water. The release of Yoshi the loggerhead turtle after almost 20 years under managed care was another great highlight.”
Yoshi thrived back in the ocean after being rescued as a juvenile turtle. She was tracked for almost three years post release and travelled more than 40 000km.
“It’s been a career filled with much hard work and dedication – there’s loads of admin, lab work and research, but I get very excited about research, conservation and sustainability. We have a very strong focus on environmental education and I love how people enjoy learning about our work and committing to changing behaviours to be more planet kind.”
Outside of work, Maryke leads an ocean-linked lifestyle working with many NPOs, government departments and commercial businesses in the ocean impact space globally, including the NSRI, OceanHub Africa, various aquaculture facilities and ocean sport entities.
“I have a large network of ocean partners and my life consists of 24-hours of ocean ‘frothing’ every day. The ocean offers so much – a learning environment for us keen scientists and biologists, as well as a place that holds spiritual and cultural value, food and recreational joy for so many.”
For those keen on a career in Marine Biology Maryke says to always tackle life with passion.
“Do what you absolutely love and gain as much experience as possible, whether you’re volunteering or interning. Ask lots of questions and always give more than what is expected of you – that will take you places.”
Maryke has just left for another adventure in Iceland, where she’s leading one of the most sustainable aquaculture projects globally, and is determined to run and paddle around the entire coastline of Iceland, from lighthouse to lighthouse. It is a 5 000km journey with 104 lighthouses to see.
“I love learning, so I suppose on the few occasions I am actually sitting still, I am studying as I am currently doing an MBA. For the rest, you know where to find me, hard at work, amidst the sea life, more often than not in the polar regions, trying to make a difference in the world and on our planet.”
Details: You can follow Maryke and the work that the SAAMBR are doing on FB: saambr1 and IG: maryke.musson or sa_marine_biological_research
