author
Cecil von Bonde
1895–1983
Best known for bringing marine science into the practical world of fisheries, this South African zoologist wrote with the eye of a researcher and the urgency of someone thinking about the future of the sea. His books and papers helped shape early marine biology and fisheries work in South Africa.
1 Audiobook
Dissection of the Platana and the Frog
by J. D. F. (John Dow Fisher) Gilchrist, Cecil von Bonde
About the author
Born in Cape Town in 1895, Cecil von Bonde trained in zoology at what became the University of Cape Town. He earned advanced degrees there, including a PhD on the distribution of flatfishes, and later spent time at the University of Liverpool studying oceanography while also lecturing in zoology.
His career moved between university life and public service. After teaching zoology and briefly acting as head of the department at the University of Cape Town, he became Director of Fisheries and Government Marine Biologist in South Africa in 1928. In that role, he was closely involved in marine surveys, fisheries research, and the development of the fishing industry, especially work connected with pelagic fish.
He also wrote extensively, producing scientific papers as well as student texts and later books such as So Great Thy Sea (1956). Accounts of his work describe him as strongly practical in outlook: deeply interested in marine life, but equally concerned with how scientific knowledge could help manage and protect the sea as a national resource.