Africa Wild

What does the term Marine Protected Area (MPA) conjure up for you? An area in which, perhaps, wildlife is protected? In which the damaging activities permitted in other parts of the sea – such as fishing – are banned? Marine protected areas aim to conserve marine life and promote the conservation and effective management of biodiverse marine areas? Wrong?

If properly designed and managed, MPAs might play vitally important roles in protecting marine habitats and biodiversity through:

Conserving representative samples of biodiversity and ecosystems
Protecting critical sites for the reproduction and growth of species
Allowing sites to recover from the stresses of exploitation and other human related impacts
Providing settlement and growth areas for marine species so as to allow for spillover of these species into surrounding exploited areas
Providing areas for marine based environmental education and for raising awareness regarding marine related issues
Providing sites for nature-based tourism which is carried out in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner
Providing undisturbed sites for scientific research that allow long term monitoring which helps to guide the management of the MPAs

If the design of an MPA is not conservation based a MPA is just an area inside a line drawn on a map - and that's about it. In most cases, recreational and commercial fishing can continue in controlled zones of a MPA and often poaching of abalone and lobster can also continue when access is not controlled and recreational activities such as scuba diving are allowed.

Control of activities in Marine Protected Area
(1) No person shall fish, or attempt to fish, from a vessel in the Marine
Protected Area unless:
(a) they are in possession of a valid fishing permit in the large
pelagic or small pelagic commercial fishing sectors issued in
terms of the Marine Living Resources Act and such permit
authorises fishing within the Marine Protected Area; or
(b) they are in possession of a valid recreational fishing permit
issued in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act.
(2) No person shall undertake recreational fishing in the Marine
Protected Area in the period between 17h00 in the evening and
06h00 of the following day.

A MPA is an area inside a line drawn on a map - and that's about it. Usually there is however an area within this area that is zoned as no take area, but not properly enforced as no take area

So what's all the fuss about MPAs?

Toko wrote:
So what's all the fuss about MPAs?

Probably a lot of people are thinking that it is:

An area in which, perhaps, wildlife is protected? In which the damaging activities permitted in other parts of the sea – such as fishing – are banned. Marine protected areas aim to conserve marine life and promote the conservation and effective management of biodiverse marine areas.

Pics show blatant abuse of Cape protected marine reserve
BY SELENE BROPHY - 1 DECEMBER 2016 - TRAVELLER24

Cape Town – South Africa’s waters are rich with ocean wildlife but it won’t stay that way if our mapped marine protected areas are ignored – as was the case in the Paulsberg Marine Protected Area, part of the Table Mountain National park on the False Bay coast recently.

According to wildlife and conservation photographer Scott Ramsay, he went walking on Sunday morning 27th November 2016, along the coastline above this MPA “no-take” zone.


(Photo: Scott Ramsay)

“No fishing or extraction or exploitation of marine resources of any kind is allowed 1,8km directly east from Venus Pool,” says Ramsay, yet he spotted at least 30 fishing boats within the no-take zone.

Ramsay questions where the law enforcers of this MPA were, stating he also “tried calling the law enforcement telephone number on the board at Venus Pool, but the number was wrong”.

Ramsay who has documented all of SA’s national parks through his photography says “SANparks generally do a good job at conservation but there are some instances where they don’t do well and this is one of them.”

Ramsay estimates according to maps the MPA extends 1,8kms out from Venus Pool and based on the length of Venus Pool (about 25 metres), the boats closest to Venus Pool were about 300m from the shoreline.



‘At least 31 of the 39 boats were within the MPA’

“My demarcation of the MPA is an estimate, but probably conservative? It seems as if at least 31 of the 39 boats were within the MPA,” says Ramsay.

Adding to the outrage on Sunday is conservation photographer Jean Tresfon who happened to be flying over the same area on Sunday, when he spotted the same ‘fleet’ of boats.



Tresfon posted the above image to Facebook saying, “To slightly alter an old saying, every silver lining has a cloud! And the only figurative cloud on the horizon during our epic flight on Sunday to document the humpback whale aggregation was seeing this… Roughly 30 boats fishing inside the Paulsberg Sanctuary (No-Take) Zone within the Table Mountain Marine Protected Area.”

‘Not the first time’

Tresfon told Traveller24 that this is not the first time he seen fishermen ignoring the no-take zone. What he finds hard to understand is that Paulsberg MPA is probably the only one that surrounds a major metropolitan area and as such the policing and enforcement effort should be that much better.

Tresfon questions why it appears as if patrol officials appear to police the soft targets such as himself, rather than enforce and protect the areas that really need it.

He states as a diver he is not allowed to take his boat into certain areas, as soon as he is spotted he gets checked for a permit, which can sometimes take weeks to arrange.

‘Not your typical diver’

“I understand that I’m not your typical diver, and would love to but at the same time nature conservation photographers are made to feel like criminals, yet as fisherman you can do what you like.”

“I admit it must be dangerous to enforce the rules in these areas with some fisherman, but in my opinion it feels like the rangers appear very selective about what they policed.

“The system feels punitive, as if they’re policing the soft targets and that it’s more about revenue generation than resource protection.”

About 18 months ago Tresfon says he spotted some 100 boats fishing in the sanctuary zone in the area, with the red and white patrol vessel amongst it.

Tresfon says, while the patrol vessel was checking for permits it should have been telling them to leave the no-take zone.

When he complained to the authorities, the explanation he was given was that without a GPS it was difficult to monitor the area. But Tresfon refutes this saying if he and Ramsay can identify it through natural landmarks those meant to be protecting the area should also be able to do so.

“Yet almost a year later SANParks as the appointed management agent still does not seem able to perform their appointed duty to protect this area.”

‘Established to protect the red fish population of False Bay’

Tresfon says “The Paulsberg Zone was established to protect the red fish population of False Bay which has been almost completely fished out. And yet there are those whose sense of entitlement shows no regard for the conservation of the very animals that secure their livelihood…”

“This is a complete no-take zone. There is no special dispensation for the catching of pelagic species here. The rules are clear, no fishing is allowed!”

Peter Chadwick, a full time conservationist who previously ran the WWF marine protected areas programme and now operates as an independent consultant echoed the sentiment that this is an ongoing issue that needs integral focus from high up.

‘Continuous issue’

“This is the continuous issue around the Table Mountain National Park and SANParks and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are not meeting their obligations.”

“It shows a blatant disregard and nullifies and value of the MPA at the end of the day. These areas are crucial to ensure long term sustainability for the industry and for the whole SA public at the end of the day, with fishing community largely relying on MPAs as a seed source for their livelihood.”

‘Lack of enforcement and adherence’

Chadwick says he does not feel MPA have been afforded the protection they deserve; He attributes avoidance conflict with the fishermen themselves as well as a lack of focus and leadership as the root cause.

“The complexity to this issue centres around management authority not fulfilling their obligations, there is funding available and there has always been so to enforce marine protected Marine, yet the unit dedicated to the this particular MPA has all but been disbanded.

“Leadership posts were not filed and lots of expertise has been lost”, all due to a lack of focus and attention from the top down he says.

Traveller24 has contacted both SANParks and the department of environmental affairs for feedback on the process as well as the correct contact numbers to report any contraventions of MPAs but has yet to receive a response.

Read original article: http://traveller24.news24.com/Explore/G ... e-20161201

This is very disturbing, and unfortunately may have possible political undertones.

Cape Town and the WC has been a liberated city/province for many years, but cannot legally control National Government agencies like SANParks and Department of Environment/Fisheries.

That is not to say that there has not been tremendous cooperation in very good faith over the years, which is the case!

As said, there are plenty of resources available to combat this physically. But will is required?

Richprins wrote: As said, there are plenty of resources available to combat this physically. But will is required?

Better a "!" than a "?"