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! >>

South Africa approves 20 new marine protected areas! [update]

update (24 May 2019): On 23 May 2019, 20 new or extended marine protected areas (MPAs) were declared by law in South Africa in terms of the Protected Areas Act. [src.] The proclamation comes into effect on 01 August 2019.

South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has confirmed that the country's cabinet has approved a network of 20 (22?) new marine protected areas (MPAs) along the South African coast. This increases MPA coverage around South Africa from 0.4% to 5%. The MPAs contribute 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. They are also essential to maintain eco-certification of the South African deep-sea trawl fishery as the marine protected areas provide safe spaces in which fish can breed undisturbed.

For more information on MPAs visit: https://www.marineprotectedareas.org.za/ >>

Prince Edward Islands declared South Africa's first offshore Marine Protected Area

South Africa's Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has declared the Prince Edward Islands the country's first offshore Marine Protected Area (MPA). According to the Minister, "the new MPA is intended, among other things, to contribute to the protection of unique species, habitats and ecosystem processes. It will also provide scientific reference points that can inform the future management of the area and to be able to understand better the impacts of climate change on the whole Southern Ocean. It will also contribute to integrated and ecologically sustainable management of marine resources of the area."
The Prince Edward Islands are two island in the Southern Ocean located about 1,800km south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa. Marion island, the larger of the two, is about 25km long, 17km wide and has a coastline of some 72km, while Prince Edward Island is only about 10km long and 6.5km wide. The only human inhabitants on the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island.


View Prince Edward Islands declared a Marine Protected Area in a larger map

The marine diversity of the area around the Prince Edward Islands is of significant global importance. They are home to various species of seals (three species), penguins (four species) and Albatross (five species), as well as to several species of whale, especially orcas which prey on penguins and seals.

The new Prince Edward Islands MPA will comprise of three types of zones:

• A 12 nautical mile sanctuary (no take) zone
• Four restricted zones, in which fishing effort is limited
• A controlled zone, linking the four restricted areas. This zone is to be managed as a low impact zone that links the four zones spatially.

The rationale for the zonation is that the Prince Edward Islands MPA will have a 12nm sanctuary zone for the preservation of the unique island ecosystem. The new MPA has a total size of about 180,000km².

Mozambique approves Africa's largest marine protected area

The southern African country of Mozambique has created Africa's largest coastal sanctuary. The Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, a chain of 10 sparsely inhabited barrier islands and two coral reef complexes, has been declared a marine protected area by the Mozambican government. The archipelago, which is covering more than 1,040,926 hectares, includes the most robust and diverse coral community in the country. It is rich in mangroves, marine life, deep underwater canyons and large seagrass beds. Due to cold nutrient-rich upwellings, the archipelago is spared coral bleaching, a common problem in other coral-rich areas, making these some of the most globally productive and important reefs on the planet.

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The Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean near the coastal city of Angoche in Mozambique's northern Nampula Province. The islands lie in two groups along the western side of the Mozambique Channel.

The new Amathole Marine Protected Area is South Africa's 21st marine protected area

The three separate marine areas Gxulu, Gonubie and Kei, which are located around East London in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, are forming the new Amathole Marine Protected Area (MPA), which got declared as such last week by Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Mrs B.E.E. Molewa. The MPA is the 21st marine protected area along South Africa's coastline.


View Amathole Marine Protected Area in a larger map

According to the governmental gazette, the purpose for declaring the Marine Protected Area is:

• to protect and conserve the marine environment and marine biodiversity in the Amathole region
• to provide a sanctuary for species impacted by boat-based exploitation
• to provide benchmark areas for scientific research and monitoring aimed at the protection and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems
• to control activities in the Marine Protected Area to reduce the risks of habitat degradation.

Shore-based angling, spearfishing and bait collecting activities will still be allowed although this will be more strictly controlled as the shore-line up to the high water mark falls within the MPA.