New protection for South African waters

From canyons in the depths to submarine mountains and deep-water corals, many of the proposed MPAs are located offshore. It is these regions of the deep ocean that scientists have identified as being the least protected in South Africa.

From institutions across the country, they worked for over a decade to determine which areas would make up the proposed network. The resulting map of MPAs drew on research from a five-year-long Offshore MPA project led by Dr Kerry Sink from SANBI, while an MPA technical team aligned ocean protection goals with South Africa’s planned focus on developing its ocean-based economy. Anyone interested in the MPAs can now browse an interactive website, diving into realms seldom visited to look through the lens of ocean science at some extraordinary ecosystems. The Agulhas Mud MPA, for instance, would protect the Agulhas sole, a flatfish targeted by trawlers (and beloved by seafood connoisseurs).

At 2,200–4,100 metres (7,218–13,451 feet) deep, the Agulhas Front MPA would be one of the deepest, and furthest offshore, playing host to the Endangered leatherback turtle. Where yellowwood forests stood tall a hundred million years ago, the Namaqua Fossil Forest MPA now incorporates the coral-encrusted remains of trees that have fossilised on the sea floor. Research into the country’s existing MPA network has shown that MPAs can protect ocean life; one of these studies, in the Goukamma MPA on the country’s southern Cape coastline, featured in Save Our Seas #5 for its success in protecting the brightly coloured roman seabream. A host of research projects are already under way in the new, proposed network and their insights are documented on the website.