New Marine Protected Areas proposed for KZN

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Toko
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New Marine Protected Areas proposed for KZN

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http://southcoastherald.co.za/61857/mpa ... next-year/

Protea Banks considered for marine protected area Currently, 97 percent of the South African territorial ocean space is used for various recreational and commercial activity, or has mining prospecting rights assigned to it.

Shona Aylward | 24 October 2014 10:00


PROTEA Banks, off Shelly Beach, has been preliminarily identified in a proposed marine protected area (MPA) network, together with Tugela Banks, and the expansion of the Aliwal Shoal and iSimangaliso MPAs.
In a recent report released by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, these areas were also identified as important for protection in the 2011 National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, which highlighted the inadequate protection of our marine environment.
MPAs are an important component of marine spatial planning, and aim to ensure protection of species and habitats in no-take as well as areas zoned for particular uses.
They can benefit fisheries, by protecting spawning and nursery areas and result in spill-over of fish from healthy populations inside no-take zones.
The marine environment of KZN is heavily used for many different activities such as tourism (diving, swimming, boating), recreational fishing (such as spearfishing, ski-boat fishing and rock and surf angling) and commercial fishing (line and trawling).
More recently new formal uses are emerging. The newly published national small-scale fishing policy aims to provide access to previously marginalised subsistence fishermen, and there is now strong interest in mining the sea-bed for minerals, as well as oil and gas exploration and production.
Currently, 97 percent of the South African territorial ocean space is used for various recreational and commercial activity, or has mining prospecting rights assigned to it.
Only 0.4 percent of this is currently conserved within a marine protected area. This falls far short of the 10 percent protection of the oceans to which SA has committed internationally. As a step towards this it has been proposed that SA establish a national network of viable representative MPAs to achieve a milestone of five percent protection by 2016.
To this end 21 important areas across the South Africa Exclusive Economic Zone have been proposed for inclusion in a network of marine protected areas designed to protect a representative proportion of the different marine bioregions and their associated unique biodiversity.
The recent focus meeting held with the local fishing groups was in order to obtain inputs and gather comments on a proposed MPA within the Protea Banks region.
The meeting formed part of a larger engagement process where all interested and affected parties will be given an opportunity to give inputs and provide comments.
The aim of these preliminary consultations is to obtain information from local experts to be used in preparing the marine protected area proposals that are planned to be published in the Government Gazette in March 2015 for public comment.
The key stakeholders being consulted at this time are therefore being given an opportunity to help in shaping the proposal, and to highlight any critical issues or impacts a protected area might have (both negative and positive) so that these can be taken into consideration at the outset.
The proposal presented at the meeting highlighted the area identified as having important habitats and species unique to South Africa and worth protecting, and is not a finalised protected area.
This will mark the start of a full public consultation process, which will involve at least 60 days for people to submit formal comment as well as public meetings and workshops where people will be able to engage directly with the Department of Environment Affairs and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife officials to discuss the proposals, provide information and comments.
Key stakeholders will therefore have a further opportunity to state their views and opinions once the proposals have been formally announced in March 2015.
All comments and suggestions will be considered before any specific MPA is declared (legally proclaimed) as part of the national MPA network.


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Re: New marine protected area proposed ofr KZN

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Concerns over proposed Marine Protected Area

A committee was selected to represent the South Coast residents.
Precious Jili | 24 January 2015 08:15


CONCERNED businessmen, letting agents, dive operators and South Coast residents packed the Shelly Beach Ski-boat Club last Thursday, where a meeting to discuss the proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA) for Protea Banks was held.
The proposal is that the area from north of Port Shepstone to Mpenjati be declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal believes that additional protection for the marine environment is required and will introduce proposals for a MPA in March this year.
“We do not want a MPA, and as we have nothing on paper from Ezemvelo we cannot do anything until we have tangible scientific evidence to show a reason to implement one,” said Anton Gets at the meeting.
Justin Mackrory, CEO of Ugu South Coast Tourism, said that after the meeting in December last year, he requested a meeting with Ezemvelo who sent a delegation to listen to his concerns.
He explained that neither national nor provincial tourism had been advised of Ezemvelo’s plans to implement a MPA. He added that the process could not be started without consulting the stakeholders.
“A big tourism concern is that the shark nets will have to come out,” said Mr Mackrory. He added that he had heard that the Aliwal Shoal MPA will be expanded to include Scottburgh.
Mr Mackrory asked if there had been a study done of what was being taken out by long liners as opposed to local, it could be legally challenged if no study has been done, and advised people at the meeting to seek legal advice on this. He also added that a full economic impact study was needed.
Dr Peter Munns of South Coast Business Chamber said that the chamber was very concerned about the effect this will have on the South Coast.
“We need like-minded people who can serve all, not just individuals. We need to face the facts that a MPA will affect tourism, investments and our businesses. We need to be prepared and informed,” said Dr Munns.
“The government can’t do anything without an economic impact study. We need a committee to steer things the correct way,” he said.
A committee was elected to research the proposal and to be a voice of all those businesses and communities which will be affected.


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