Billions of people around the world are directly dependent on animals for food and for profit from their sales. It is estimated that about 3 billion people globally depend on wild-caught (not farmed) fisheries for food, and jobs. Seafood accounts for almost 17% of the global population’s intake of protein^[5]. In 2014, it was estimated that 312 000 tonnes of seafood was eaten in South Africa annually^[6].  More importantly, some coastal communities, like subsistence mussel harvesters in KwaZulu-Natal for example, are far more dependent on this resource for their protein needs. Fisheries play an important role in meeting food security needs and providing livelihoods for more than 100,000 people in South Africa.^[7]

South Africa’s commercial fisheries consist of 22 sectors with more than 2,900 rights holders and approximately 1,788 vessels^[8]. Annual production was reported in 2012 as more than 600,000 tonnes with a value of R5.8 billion^[9] (. A handful of high-value fishing sectors contribute disproportionately to these figures.^[10]

The role of seafood

• Currently, seafood provides 3.1 billion people with approximately 20% of their daily intake of animal protein. It is particularly important for the world’s poor, for whom fish constitutes a crucial source of essential micronutrients that are easily digested. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a portion of fish (150g) provides around 50 to 60% of an adult’s daily protein requirement. Fish proteins are essential to the diet of people in some densely populated countries, where the total protein intake is low, and are particularly important to the diet of the populations of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).^[11]
• More than 15 million people globally engage directly in the fishing sector, and the magnitude of persons indirectly affected through other supply chains is many times greater.^[12]
• In Africa, the fishing and marine food sector employ more than 12 million people, the largest of the Blue Economy recognized sectors across the continent.

What future does seafood have without MPAs (climate mitigation tools)?^[13]

• Climate variability and extremes are notably a key driver behind the rise in global hunger.
• Climate change, as one of the leading causes of severe food crises, negatively influences all aspects of food security including food availability, access, utilization, and stability.
• Climate change is negatively affecting coastal and marine ecosystems and consequently influencing fisheries and communities reliant on these ecosystems.
• Distressing marine events such as warming, acidification, species distribution shifts and inclement weather are also predicted to erode marine food security.

Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are taking their toll. In 2015, 33% of marine fish stocks were judged as being harvested at unsustainable levels, with a further 60% fully exploited. A mere 7% were considered ‘underfished’. To make matters worse, according to some studies illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing (IUU) accounts for an estimated 15 to 30% of global annual catches. With over 30 million people involved in small scale fisheries globally, the importance of these figures to global food security cannot be understated.^[14]

How MPAs help:

At present, a number of South Africa’s marine resources are overexploited, which results in a loss of potential food protein, livelihoods and income, as well as the loss of the traditional fishing culture associated with South Africa’s coastal communities.^[15]

Science shows that minimising extractive activities or removing other human pressures in MPAs can help species recover and increase their biomass and diversity.^[16] An analysis of scientific studies showed that fish biomass is, on average, 670% greater within ocean sanctuaries (i.e. fully protected areas) than in unprotected areas, and 343% greater than in partially-protected areas.^[17]

Example – Goukamma MPA (Knysna, Western Cape)

This linefish refuge allows populations to recover and benefits neighbouring beaches with “spillover” fish. This means that fish in the protected area breed and grow and ‘spill-over’ into adjacent fished areas. This results in more and bigger fish being caught in the open areas near to the MPA.

Benefits

• Safeguards rocky and sandy shore habitats
• Protects reef fish habitats
• Enhances catches in adjacent fished areas through spill over

Global ocean Oxygen production is estimated to contribute two thirds to global oxygen production (50-70%). This essentially means every second breath we take – comes from the ocean. Ocean Oxygen is produced through the photosynthetic phytoplankton, kelp, and algal plankton.^[18] The massive size and diversity of the ocean has enabled oxygen production by some organisms as well carbon sequestration within the ocean.^[19] It is estimated that the ocean holds at least 39 000 pentagrams (Pg) of Carbon = 39 000 billion tonnes).^20] Three vegetated coastal ecosystems—mangrove forests, saltwater marshes and seagrass meadows—are widely regarded in scientific literature as being key to removing CO2 and are commonly referred to as ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems.^[21]

Mangroves:

A 2014 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggested that the number of people living within 10km of significant mangrove areas might rise to 120 million by 2015.  The majority of these people reside in developing countries in Asia, West Africa and Central Africa, and are dependent on the mangrove forest for their daily sustenance and livelihoods.^[22]

Over the past 50 years, 30–50% of mangrove forests have been lost and, if destruction continues at the current rate, there could be no mangroves left by the turn of the next century.^[23] Destruction rates are highest in developing countries, where more than 90% of the mangrove forests grow. As the destruction of mangroves continues, so does the important capability of mangrove forests to act as both a carbon source and sink. A 2016 report estimated that aquaculture is accountable for the loss of a significant amount of mangrove habitat globally, with 1.4 million hectares lost to shrimp farming and 0.49 million to other forms of coastal aquaculture.192 This is disturbing given the role that mangrove habitats serve in mitigating the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions^[24].

Mangroves are often called ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems, and store carbon 50 times faster than tropical forests per unit area. Mangroves also protect coastal communities from sea level rise and storms, yet over the past 50 years, 30–50% of mangrove forests have been lost and could be wiped out if destruction continues.^[25]

Corals:

Coral ecosystems are a hotpot for marine biodiversity and an incredibly important food source for millions. They protect coastlines from storms and erosion and they provide refuge for spawning and nursery grounds for economically important fish species. Corals provide jobs and income to local economies in the form of fishing, recreation, and tourism. They are also a source of new medicines.

Whales:

Whales store carbon in their bodies over equivalent centennial timescales to trees on land. Whale faeces which is rich in iron, nitrogen and other nutrients, trigger phytoplankton blooms that increase the productivity of the entire marine food web and sequester thousands of tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually. Whales’ own massive bodies also lock up carbon. When whales die and sink, their carcasses nourish sea-floor communities.^[26]

The importance of whales for carbon storage is widely accepted, including by the International Whaling Commission’s resolutions in 2018. A global network of ocean sanctuaries would help protect these ocean giants throughout their migrations.^[27]

How MPAs help

A network of MPAs covering at least 30% of the oceans is required to prioritise the protection of those marine ecosystems that are crucial to keeping the planet healthy through their ability to absorb and store carbon. The ocean is an integral part of the Earth’s carbon cycle and is estimated to absorb 2 ± 0.8 billion tons of carbon each year, capturing 20–30% of total carbon dioxide emissions from human activities since the 1980s.^[28]

Coastal ecosystems are widely known to fight climate change through carbon sequestration. Coastal vegetation like mangroves, seagrass beds, salt marshes store this carbon effectively.  The protection and restoration of coastal vegetation could provide coastal and island communities with important economic opportunities on the carbon offset market ^[29]

Examples:

ISimangaliso MPA (located on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal)

• Provides a safe haven for migrating whales
• Protects important deep-water corals
• Protect important mangrove forests
• Safeguards feeding areas of the critically endangered leatherback turtles
• Protects submarine canyons, refuges for coelacanths
• Alignment with world heritage site boundaries
• Supports prawn trawl bycatch management
• Protects slinger and rockcod aggregations to deliver fisheries benefits

De Hoop MPA (Cape Floristic Region Biodiversity Hotspot, Western Cape)

• Protects vulnerable reef fish
• Provides a haven for breeding whales
• Important area for tourism and environmental education

Walker Bay MPA (Hermanus, Western Cape)

• Safeguards an area for whales to rest without being disturbed
• Protects rocky and sandy shore habitats
• Protects kelp forests

Childs Bank MPA (Offshore 70 nautical miles (130 KM) off Hondeklipbaai, Northern Cape)

• Protects the ONLY known location of Desmosphyllum pertusum, a cold water coral

Browns Bank MPA (South of Cape Town, Western Cape)

• Preserve past climate information
• Important for eggs and larvae of fish protection
• Hake spawning area

Port Elizabeth Corals MPA (Offshore of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape)

• Protects kingklip spawning areas

Benefits

• Oxygen production and carbon sequestration are threatened by climate change and changing oceans.
• Warming and acidification reduce the amount of carbon that can be absorbed by the ocean passively.
• Overfishing, ecosystem destruction, and plastic pollution affect other facilities of oxygen production and carbon sequestration.

Global warming has disturbed weather patterns and an increase in sea surface temperature in the tropical oceans has led to an increase in the frequency of severe storms. Combing through 15 years of data obtained through the deployment of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), NASA scientists have found that extreme storms—those producing at least 3 mm of rain per hour over a 25 km area—formed when the sea surface temperature was higher than about 28°C. They also found that, based on the data, 21% more storms occur for every 1°C degree that ocean surface temperatures rise. Should there be a 2.7 degree Celsius rise in the tropical surface temperature by the end of the century, NASA predicts that there will be a 60% increase in the frequency of severe storms. It should be noted that while the evidence points to an increase in the number of severe storms of greater intensity, the overall frequency of tropical cyclones is inhibited with greater ocean warmth.^[30]

Category 5 tropical cyclones, the strongest category of storms, have recently emerged in the South Indian Ocean. Since 1989, their frequency has increased. This increase poses a heightened risk of storm damage for the South Indian Ocean Island States and the countries of the southern African (SA) subcontinent as a result of the strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges.^[31]

Warm waters are linked to increases in weather related disasters because of excessive energy in local weather systems, warming surface waters which increased risk of damaging storms etc. (Inclement weather events)

Sea-level rise is linked to warming waters as coastlines and ice-formations melt. Coastal areas and important ecological areas, such as mangroves, sea-grass beds and estuaries may be the first to be negatively impacted by flooding and saturation. Impacts on people include mass migration and further exposure to negative weather events.

How MPAs help

MPAs protect habitats (like mangroves, coral reefs, salt marshes and seagrass) that provide a buffer against the impacts of climate change and a level of insurance against natural disasters. For example, mangroves can mitigate the impacts of tropical storms, and coral reefs can prevent coastal erosion. Well-placed MPAs defend coastal property and infrastructure from impacts of natural disasters.^[32]

It is now understood that coastal vegetated marine habitats like mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows are important sinks of blue carbon, yet they rank amongst the most threatened marine ecosystems in the world. Since the 1940s, coastal eutrophication, reclamation, engineering and urbanisation has led to the loss of a substantial fraction of the earth’s blue carbon sinks, with other human activities at sea, such as bottom trawling and deep sea mining, disturbing the sediment and disrupting carbon sequestration.^[33]

This coastal urbanisation is having an alarming impact on blue carbon ecosystems. For example, on average globally, mangroves are being lost at a rate of 1–2% per year, with many of those that remain in a degraded condition. Over the past 50 years, 30–50% of mangrove forests have been lost and, if destruction continues at the current rate, there could be no mangroves left by the turn of the next century.^[34]

Empirical data gathered globally through ReefCheck demonstrates that if co-management is part of a formal governmental strategy, coral reefs show up to 86% fewer bleached colonies and up to 12.2 times larger fish populations than co-managed MPAs lacking formalized governmental support.^[35]

Examples

ISimangaliso MPA (North Coast, KwaZulu-Natal) is home to dense fields of seapens, soft corals adapted to living in mud and sand, bands of delicate bird’s nest glass sponges and rocky cliffs with giant branching sponges that cascade down steep walls.

UThukela MPA (North Coast, KwaZulu-Natal) protects endangered mud habitats and species that depend on the inflow of water from uThukela, South Africa’s second largest river.

Walker Bay MPA (Hermanus, Western Cape) protects rocky and sandy shore habitats and kelp forests immediately offshore that provide refuge for overexploited abalone and west coast rock lobster.

Because of its abundant nature the ocean is an important tool for psychological, spiritual and physical healing across many faiths and cultures. Therefore, a pure and thriving ocean is of great benefit for local communities apart from providing food.

The ocean plays a massive role in facilitating culture and community. Many fishing communities exist with an intimate relationship to the ocean.

Some African cultures recognize the ocean as a great spiritual cleanser, with the purgative properties of saltwater manifesting this belief. In some Abrahamic religions such as Islam and Christianity, it is believed that the end of the world will be preceded by a beast rising out of the ocean, aligning the ocean with a symbol of fear and death. Some sects of Hinduism hold the sea in reverence and recognizes Varuna as the god of oceans while other cultural activations lay in surfing, sports and recreation which unite people and communities around the ocean’s health^[36]

How do MPAs help?

MPAs are the basis for educating local communities and tourists about the culture, history and heritage of the areas they protect. In most coastal areas there is a history of use, culture and values associated with specific localities in the marine environment. There are often links to prehistoric use and legend, and traditional practices of use that are important in the understanding of present values and future options.

Example

Robben Island MPA (a World Heritage Site in the Cape, Western Cape)

• Protects breeding and feeding areas of endangered seabirds
• Contributes to recovery of abalone and west coast rock lobster

Globally the oceans have been estimated to contribute a total of $21 trillion (R277 Tn) per year to human welfare, with ∼60% of this from coastal and shelf environments and the other 40% from the open ocean. It has been estimated that the economic benefits of protecting 30% of the ocean would amount to between US$490 – $920 billion by 2050 and would create 150,000 to 180,000 full-time jobs.^[37]

The combined economic benefits from coastal resources are estimated to be around 35% of South Africa’s annual GDP.^[38]

Climate change and a worsening state of the environment are expected to induce more economic stress into the ocean space. Some industries which are to be impacted are:

• Fishing and Fish Farming
• Trade and Shipping (Bad weather , cyclones ,sea storms)
• Natural Resources will be restricted
• Tourism and Recreation
• Conservation and Research
• Contemporary research stipulates that the externalized perturbations of climate change are imposing increasing stress on maintenance of a functional global economy. ^[39]
• Climate change mitigation and ocean protection are therefore in the best economic interests towards realizing long-term global macroeconomic stability^[40]

South Africa is known as an adventure destination, and the coast provides countless ecotourism activities – snorkelling, scuba diving (including spear fishing), shark diving, whale watching, coastal hiking, bird-watching, game fishing and good surfing – making South Africa the ideal travel destination. More importantly these factors contribute significantly to the country’s overall tourism value. According to the 2014 State of the Ocean and Coasts Report the direct value of marine ecotourism sector to the South African economy was estimated at R400 million and its indirect value at more than R2 billion ^[41] .

While the direct contribution of coastal tourism to national income was US$1734 million (R26 billion in Rands in 2009) ^[42] In 2014, global tourism linked to the scenic beauty and recreational opportunities of coastal areas was estimated at nearly US$30 billion (over R426 billion) for nature-based and dive tourism in coral reefs^[43].

How do MPAs help?

• More than 12 million people are employed in fisheries alone, the largest of the African blue economy sectors, providing food security and nutrition for over 200 million Africans and generating value added estimated at more than US$24 billion or 1.26 percent of the GDP of all African countries.^[44]

• Ecotourism revolves around many different attractions in South Africa. Penguin Tourism at Boulders in Cape Town was estimated to contribute ~R14.5 million in 2010. The current total value  of  the  colony  is  estimated  to  be  R28 million– Lewis (2011)

• Marine Habitats cover a diverse range of ecosystems, A small patch of Mangroves at the Mngazana mangrove forest are valued at were valued in 2005 to provide ecosystem services worth over 6 million annually.^[45]

• Similarly, the complete value of diving as a portion cannot fully be quantified. Dicken (2014) valued the contribution of diving to be over R75 million at iSimangaliso. Dicken and Hosking (2009) estimated diving to contribute more than R12 million at Aliwal Shoal. These two sites alone bring in over 100 000 divers annually and are integral to pro-poor community development.^[46]

• Sardine Run Ecotourism coupled with boats and tours are estimated to be worth more than 4 million^[47]

Examples:

Addo Elephant National Park MPA (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape)

• Boasts the ‘big seven’ and provides opportunities for ecotourism
• Provides outdoor classroom and educational opportunities

De Hoop MPA (Cape Floristic Region Biodiversity Hotspot, Western Cape)

• Whale watching
• Walking trails

Table Mountain MPA (Cape Peninsula, Western Cape)

• Protects historical marine sites

Aliwal Shoal MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Sustains fisheries by protecting habitats of geelbek and dusky kob, and seasonal protection for spawning aggregations of threatened linefish
• Increases social benefits by attracting tourism development linked to beaches, scuba diving and education
• Supports shark diving ecotourism by preserving habitats for sharks and protecting these iconic predators

Protea Banks MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Protects around 7 different shark species (popular shark-diving spot)
• Protects unique deep reefs and three submarine canyons
• Protects spawning area for commercial linefish and allows recovery
• Secures the value of the area for ecotourism (including the sardine run)

ISimangaliso MPA (North Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Safeguards feeding areas of the critically endangered leatherback turtles
• Protects submarine canyons, refuges for coelacanths
• Alignment with world heritage site boundaries
• Protects slinger and rockcod aggregations to deliver fisheries benefits

The ocean is utilized for many recreational purposes, surfing, scuba diving, shell collecting, whale watching, surfing and beach picnics are activities that all contribute towards the recreational benefit of the ocean.

The ocean also adds a psychological benefit to people who engage with it, for example whale watching was found to increase people overall enrichment from the ocean.^[48]

South Africa is known as an adventure destination, and the coast provides countless ecotourism activities – snorkelling, scuba diving (including spear fishing), shark diving, whale watching, coastal hiking, bird-watching, game fishing and good surfing – making South Africa the ideal travel destination.

How do MPAs help?

As most coral reefs around the world have succumbed to coral bleaching, tourists are willing to pay top dollar for rare interactions with near-pristine, beautiful marine ecosystems which are protected from extractive uses by MPAs. South Africa can provide many options in this regard – for both local and international people.

Examples

Addo Elephant National Park MPA (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape)

• Boasts the ‘big seven’ and provides opportunities for ecotourism
• Provides outdoor classroom and educational opportunities

De Hoop MPA (Cape Floristic Region Biodiversity Hotspot, Western Cape)

• Whale watching
• Walking trails

Table Mountain MPA (Cape Peninsula, Western Cape)

• Promotes tourism
• Protects historical marine sites

Aliwal Shoal MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Increases social benefits by attracting tourism development linked to beaches, scuba diving and education
• Supports shark diving ecotourism by preserving habitats for sharks and protecting these iconic predators

Protea Banks MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Protects around 7 different shark species
• Protects unique deep reefs and three submarine canyons
• Secures the value of the area for ecotourism (including the sardine run)

Biodiversity (biological diversity) forms the backbone of ecological resilience and resilience refers to the capacity of a system to respond and recover from a disturbance, and to return to a state of equilibrium.

Biodiversity at different levels provide human beings with resilience as a major ecosystem service. Resilience provides structure and environmental stability around which socioeconomic development occurs.^[49]

Ecosystem level resilience across coral reefs, mangroves and kelp forests assist in coastal shoreline protection by attenuating incoming destructive waves and ocean effects (rouge tides, swells, floods).^[50]

These complex and productive marine systems also aid against exacerbation of global climate change by facilitating higher trophic level biogeochemical cycles (CO² to Oxygen etc).^[51]

In 2016, a strong El Ni~no event caused the most severe coral bleaching event in history, which killed 67% of the coral in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in just nine months (Hughes et al., 2017). However, corals in the Line Islands affected by the strong 1997–1998 El Ni~no recovered in fully protected reefs within a decade, whereas they did not in unprotected islands (Sandin et al., 2008). In Baja California, Mexico, a mass mortality event caused by climate-driven oxygen depletion affected pink abalone populations, but they replenished faster within marine reserves because of large body size and high egg production of the protected adults. Bleaching is a response to heat stress that occurs when corals spend too much time in water that’s too hot for them to handle. Exposure to prolonged heat causes the reef-building animals to temporarily evict their zooxanthellae, symbiotic algae which the corals shelter in exchange for food.

Because these algae also give corals their vibrant colours, mild bleaching causes corals to grow pale. Severely bleached corals turn bone white, and if their algal partners stay away for too long, they can starve to death.

Research shows that the frequency of mass bleaching events is increasing because of global warming.

In a severe bleaching event, large swaths of reef-building corals die. This causes reefs to erode, destroying fish habitat and exposing previously protected shorelines to the destructive force of ocean waves. Warmer ocean temperatures caused by El Niño and global warming can lead to coral bleaching.

The length of the event means corals in some parts of the world have no time to recover before they are hit by more bleaching. The current global bleaching event is hammering some reefs repeatedly. As bleaching events become more frequent, some reefs may not have time to recover.

Marine reserves may not be immune to the effects of climate change, but to date, reserves with complex ecosystems are more resilient than unprotected areas. Although marine reserves were conceived to protect ecosystems within their boundaries

How do MPAs help?

Scientific evidence consistently shows that the greatest ecological benefits from protection are derived from strongly or fully protected areas such as ocean sanctuaries.^[52][53] By excluding extractive activities and removing or minimising other human pressures, species can maintain or recover abundance, biomass and diversity.

Within MPAs, species populations may grow, their age structure change and their reproductive output increase^[54]. These factors increase resilience, larger populations and higher reproductive outputs which buffer against decline, meaning that species are less likely to become extinct at local, regional or global scales.

Enhanced species diversity stimulates species level resilience and systems are able to reduce rates of resource collapse, increase recovery potential, improve water quality and maintain genetic variability.^[55]

Marine reserves also help restore the complexity of ecosystems through a chain of ecological effects (trophic cascades) once the abundance of large animals recovers sufficiently.^[56]

Marine protection ultimately has the capacity to mitigate climate change adversity by stimulating carbon sequestration and storage and by increasing regional ecosystem/genetic resilience (Roberts et al 2017).

Examples

Aliwal Shoal MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Protecting habitats of geelbek and dusky kob, and seasonal protection for spawning aggregations of threatened linefish
• Preserving habitats for sharks and protecting these iconic predators

Protea Banks MPA (South Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Protects around 7 different shark species
• Protects unique deep reefs and three submarine canyons
• Protects spawning area for commercial linefish

ISimangaliso MPA (North Coast, KwaZulu-Natal)

• Safeguards feeding areas of the critically endangered leatherback turtles
• Protects submarine canyons, refuges for coelacanths
• Protects slinger and rockcod aggregations to deliver fisheries benefits

Hluleka MPA (Wild Coast, Eastern Cape)

• Protects many rocky shore invertebrates like mussels