Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

10 April 2025

3 minute read

Dive into a story of passion, perseverance and ocean-sized impact with young Zoe Prinsloo, an environmental powerhouse and founder the organisation ‘Save a Fishie!’

On noticing the litter on our beaches, Zoe took an initiative and started cleaning up beaches on her own at the tender age of 10, joining other cleanup groups she met along the way. Joining a girl guides group at 16, she then went on to form her own organization after she picked up a bag full of seawater that had a fish swimming about in it on her local beach.

“People don’t want to believe the problem is there,” says Zoe, until they see for themselves the pollution that is destroying our oceans. As the organization grew, more people who noticed the plastic litter on the beaches and those who “want to make a difference” joined her cleanup operations.

Cleaning over 380 beaches and collecting more than 37 tonnes of litter, Zoe has received international recognition at the United Nations Youth Climate Summit in New York and was listed in the top 100 of Africa’s Youth Conversation Leaders. Her work has been acknowledged by the Mayor of Cape Town, Rotary International, and newspapers across the country.

From maths homework to car parts and furniture, and everything else you can think about, Zoe has found many usual and unusual items on her beach cleanups. The worst thing they find is the large number of used needles, says Zoe, as these pose a threat to people, and especially children who play innocently on the beach.

Zoe holds the record for the longest endurance beach cleanup which lasted 27 hours. She was excited to “give the beach a full sweep” and took her time, making sure she did a good job, with her mum along to motivate her. Zoe mentioned that the night shift was the most challenging part of the operation because of the dark and cold, but they focused on microplastics during those hours and pushed through.

Zoe is heading to Korea at the end of April to represent South Africa at the 10^th Our Ocean Conference as a speaker. When she returns, ‘Save a Fishie’ will be undertaking their coast-to-coast cleanup along the beaches in South Africa.

“Perseverance” and learning not to give up are the most important lessons she’s taken away. Although she sometimes gets discouraged, Zoe says that the thing that keeps her going is that “every little piece of litter that is picked up is saving a fishy.’

Educating kids who are enthusiastic about making a difference and seeing people at the beach accepting that there is a problem that can be fixed, noticing them “change little things in their lives,” is what keeps Zoe Prinsloo dedicated to ‘Save a Fishie!’

Listen to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim.