Cape Town: Robben Island to be declared a Marine Protected Area! [update]

update (01 August 2019): The Robben Island Marine Protected Area came into effect today.

update (24 May 2019): Robben Island, as well as 19 other areas in South Africa, has been declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA) on 23 May 2019! [src.] [src.] The proclamation comes into effect on 01 August 2019.

Robben Island, the island in Cape Town's Table Bay where former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid, will soon be declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). According to the Robben Island Museum, the DEA is currently in process of finalising the Gazette as part of the process.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are areas of coastline or ocean that are specially protected for the benefit of people and nature. They contribut to growing South Africa's marine eco-tourism sector by providing undisturbed natural habitat for whales, sharks, seals, dolphins, turtles and seabirds for international and domestic tourists to experience. 

South Africa approves 20 new marine protected areas! >>