The discovery of coelacanths in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park at the end of 2000 by recreational divers led to the development of the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP). The programme was initiated in March 2002 with an expedition using the FRS Algoa and the German submersible Jago. ACEP is a multidisciplinary project of South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, the Comoros, the Seychelles and Madagascar, that uses science to explore the deep unknown and develop sustainability, and ultimately to benefit people.

The African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme was launched in 2002 after the discovery of a colony of coelacanths in the shallow waters of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Read more about the history of the coelacanth discoveries and find out more about ongoing research read more...		ACEP has successfully undertaken two expeditions per year since 2002. One expedition takes place in South African waters, and the other goes to many of our partner countries in the western Indian Ocean. Find out more about the aims of the cruises and the exciting activities that take place read more...		The programme has a focus on capturing the imagination of the public and encouraging the youth to enter the sciences. The education section has resources for educators as well as fun stuff for kids read more...
ACEP draws together a large team of people with diverse expertise from 25 disciplines, 70 partner organizations in 11 countries. Find out more about people read more...		Research into the ecology of deep marine ecosystems is a focus of ACEP. Find out more about the marine ecology, oceanography, socio-economic, GIS, and genetics studies that take place read more...		Find out more about Latimeria chalumnae, the living coelacanth read more...
Find out more about the ACEP Geographic Information System, view and download maps read more...		A comprehensive archive of ACEP reports read more...		Take a tour into the world of the coelacanth read more...