South African Elasmobranch Monitoring

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important spatial planning tool and we are expecting a few changes in our existing MPA network in South Africa. By now most of us have heard of the South African government’s efforts to establish a network of 22 new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and thereby increasing the coverage from presently 0.5% to 5%. This endeavour is part of the government initiative “Operation Phakisa”, which aims to rapidly unlock the economic potential of South

The South African government just released a Gazette concerning the reopening of four zones to recreational angling within the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area. These areas will be so called “Controlled Zones”, within which specific angling rules apply (see further down). Why? The Tsitsikamma MPA is Africa’s oldest marine reserve, which was established in 1964. Since 2000, when the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs declared the State of Emergency for South Afri