Priority habitats, species and marine systems that require special conservation attention identified by WWF-SA and partners and accepted by relevant government agencies by 2006.

Programmatic involvement:
The Marine Programme will contribute towards the achievement of this target through constructive participation in the:

• National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan for the marine environment;
  
• East Coast Marine Systematic Conservation Planning Project;
  
• Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) conservation planning process;
  
• Marine and Coastal Management (M&CM) Biodiversity Advisory Committee.

Development of a marine systematic conservation plan for KZN
The project aims to develop a fine-scale, systematic conservation plan for the marine environment of the KwaZulu-Natal. This project builds on the momentum created by the recent National Biodiversity Spatial Assessment for the marine environment and will result in the first regional plan under this framework. It is envisaged that this regional marine systematic conservation plan will result in more informed proclamations of MPAs that will maximise biodiversity benefits.

Implementing Partner: Ezemvelo KZN Wildilfe – www.kznwildlife.com
Funder: WWF-SA – www.panda.org.za

The establishment and implementation of a network of ecologically representative and effectively managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering at least 20% of each marine habitat type by 2020.

Programmatic involvement:

The Marine Programme will contribute towards the achievement of this target through constructive participation in the:

• M&CM Biodiversity Advisory Committee;
  
• National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan for the marine environment;
  
• South Africa's national task group to investigate the feasibility of implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries.

Current Projects:

Development of a training process for the improvement of Marine Protected Area (MPA) management
The project is intended to develop a training process to build capacity for the management of MPAs in South Africa. This training process will be designed to support MPA managers and others with responsibility for MPA management to enhance their understanding of such management, develop workable operational plans for their MPAs, and enhance collaboration between agencies and individuals involved in MPA management.

Implementing Partner: Environmental Education Unit, Rhodes University – www.ru.ac.za
Funder: Total SA – www.total.co.za

Marine recreational Monitors for Table Mountain National Park MPA
The project seeks to empower members of disadvantaged communities to monitor the impact of recreational user groups along the coastline of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (TMNP MPA). This data collection will inform the management of our inshore marine resources, and hence better management of the MPA. This monitoring data will also inform management on the effectiveness of the closed sanctuary areas.

Implementing Partner: Table Mountain National Park – www.SANparks.org
Funder: WWF-SA – www.panda.org.za

Co-management of coastal resources in the Maputaland Marine Reserve
This project is in its final stages of WWF-SA involvement. It has been highly successful in establishing coastal co-management regimes within the Maputaland Marine Reserve. This has diffused the previously hostile relationship that existed between coastal harvesters and the management authorities. Coastal harvesters are now organised into committees and enjoy greater ownership of the management of the resources on which they depend.

Implementing Partner: EKZN Wildlife – www.kznwildlife.com
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za

Developing the Prince Edward Islands MPA
On the 28th of July, at an event hosted by WWF South Africa, The Minster of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, announced "it is our firm intention to proclaim a major new MPA in the waters around the Prince Edward and Marion Islands which will effectively become one of the largest marine protected areas in the world."

The most important current need is to develop a spatial conservation plan for the marine areas around the Prince Edward Islands that will inform how such a massive MPA will be zoned. This process will incorporate all spatial information in a Geographical Information System (GIS). This will allow decision makers to develop a spatial zoning plan for the area that effectively protects the biodiversity and marine resources of the area, is scientifically defensible and that enjoys agreement and support from the major stakeholders. Only with such an agreed zoning plan in place will it be possible to promulgate an effective MPA.

Implementing Partner: CSIR – www.csir.co.za & Avian Demographic Unit,UCT – www.uct.ac.za
Funder: Sanlam Ltd – www.sanlam.co.za

Turtle monitoring & community development in Tongaland and southern Mozambique
The main objective of the project is to protect and monitor, the size and distribution of two populations of nesting turtles in South Africa and southern Mozambique. Due to increasing pressure from tourists, tourism developments and the local population on the beaches where the nesting takes place, it has been necessary to increase control and protection on the beaches to prevent disturbance, the destruction of nests and killing of turtles while ashore.

This project also aims to investigate ways of increasing local community benefits derived from turtle monitoring programme (through training of local community members as turtle guides) and to build an element of self-sustainability into the project through revenue derived from turtle viewing. The project also seeks to determine how these community and conservation benefits can be expanded into southern Mozambique.

Implementing Partner: EKZN Wildlife – www.kznwildlife.com
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za

Understanding the impacts of Ecotourism: A Case Study of Scuba Diving and the Ragged-Tooth Sharks within the Aliwal Shoal MPA
The project aims to improve our understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships and linkages between all aspects of the Ragged-tooth shark-diving activities based in Umkomaas. Social, economic and biophysical impacts will be investigated in order to form a holistic understanding of the activity. Specifically, efforts will be directed towards understanding and minimising the negative impacts of tourism activities, in this case scuba diving with sharks, on both the environment and the community. In addition to the biophysical aspects, considerable attention will be paid to economic and social development opportunities of shark-diving as a non-consumptive use of coastal resources. The final output will be a management plan for the existing shark-diving activities.

Implementing Partner: The Rag-tag Project
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za
Note: This project also contributes to our Species Programme

At least half the fish stocks that are currently categorised as over-exploited or depleted are restored to a sustainably managed state by 2020, and the status of all sustainably exploited fish stocks are maintained.

Current Projects:

Sustainable Seafood Initiative: Development of a National Programme
The overall objective of the project is to develop a countrywide Sustainable Seafood Initiative that seeks to reduce pressure on our vulnerable linefish by increasing voluntary compliance of seafood retailers and decreasing market pressure on problem species through increased consumer awareness. The project will build on initiatives started in KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape and seek to develop training courses for seafood retailers in four major metropolitan centres. These courses will seek to raise the levels voluntary compliance with the Marine Living Resources Act, through increased understanding of the provisions of the act as well as general awareness of the conservation issues and status of our marine resources.

The project also seeks to educate and raise levels of awareness amongst consumers, and consequently seeks to move the market pressure away from species which are either currently banned for commercial sale or which are facing extreme conservation threats. The project will adopt the approach of rather seeking to inform consumers about the main issues, thus allowing them to make informed decisions.

Implementing Partner: Marine & Coastal Management – www.environment.gov.za
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za

Overstrand MARINES (Management Action for Resources of the Inshore and Nearshore Environments)
This project is designed to assist the National Department of Marine and Coastal Management in achieving some of its goals and responsibilities within the coastal and marine environments between Koelbaai in the West and Rietfontein in the East. This project will be implemented by the Overstrand Municipality and managed by the Environmental Conservation Services Department. The Overstrand Municipality has already formed a partnership with Marine and Coastal Management for the management of the near and in-shore environments within this area (Pilot Project commenced in May 2003). The basic objectives of this project are to 1. Generate a high degree of community involvement in marine conservation. 2. Address compliance issues within the in-shore and near-shore environment. 3. Initiate a public awareness campaign and provide an information gathering and distribution service to all users and potential users of the marine environment and to 3. provide trained marine conservationists with a sense of ethics and a high level of experiential training.

Implementing Partner: Overstrand Municipality – www.overstrand.gov.za
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za

Linefish Tagging
This is a project of the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI), based in KwaZulu-Natal that has been ongoing since 1994. It involves tagging of large numbers of line fish, which when recaptured provide information on their growth, migration patterns and fishing mortality. Co-operation of fishermen has meant over 100 000 fish of more than 300 species have been tagged. The information gained from this project has been highly influential in determining conservation strategy and policy.

Implementing Partner: Oceanographic Research Institute – www.ori.org.za
Funder: Distell – www.distell.co.za; WWF-SA – www.panda.org.za

Coffee Bay community mussel harvesting
The aim of the project is to contribute towards the establishment of a co-management regime and a management plan for the sustainable utilization of mussel stocks in Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall. This project is natural extension of the very successful Green Trust funded Maputaland co-management project. Unregulated stripping of coastal resources (specifically of brown mussels) was identified as one of the main threats to marine ecosystems in the Eastern Cape during the recent marine component of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). This project is therefore of great importance from a conservation point of view and a continuation of applied research related to the development of co-management regimes for our coastal resources.

Implementing Partner: University of Transkei – www.utr.ac.za
Funder: The Green Trust – www.panda.org.za

At least three fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sustainably managed by 2010.

The Marine Programme will contribute towards the achievement of this target through:

• Constructive participation in the certification process for South Africa's hake trawl fishery by the MSC. See the final MSC assessment report; see WWF comments and see Q & A on the SA hake trawl fishery;
  
• Encouraging and enabling other fisheries to strive towards certification;
  
• Participation in South Africa's national task group to investigate the feasibility of implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF).

By-catch of endemic or threatened species is reduced to acceptable levels by 2008.

Programmatic involvement:

The Marine Programme will contribute towards achieving this target through participation in:

• South Africa's national task group to investigate the feasibility of implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries.
  
• Participation in fisheries working groups and advisory committees
  
• Interaction with the fishing industry and fisheries associations

Current Projects:

Bycatch of seabirds, sharks and turtles in longline fisheries in the Benguela ecosystem
The productive waters of the Benguela ecosystem are an important foraging area for 13 species of seabirds that are killed in significant numbers by longline fisheries. Eleven of these species are threatened with extinction, (according to IUCN criteria; BirdLife International 2000), mostly due the effects of longline fishing. Furthermore, six threatened shark species and six turtle species are also potentially killed in longline-fishing operations in this area. The overall objective of the project is to assess and reduce the bycatch of threatened seabirds, sharks and turtles on longline fisheries in the Benguela Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME). This project will be implemented in South Africa, Namibia and Angola and will mainly concentrate on increasing the understanding of the nature and scale of impacts; raising awareness of the conservation issues, training and capacity building, demonstration trials of known mitigation measures and increasing the engagement of the fishing industry in dealing with this issue.

Implementing Partner: BirdLife South Africa, National Biodiversity Programme (Namibia), Instituto de Desenvilvimento da Pesca Artesanal (Angola)
Funder: Benguela Large Marine Ecosystem Programme – www.bclme.org

Bycatch of seabirds, turtles and dolphins in trawl fisheries
South Africa's demersal trawl fishery for hake is its largest fishery with a value of over R1.5 Million. However, South Africa and Namibia also support a substantial mid-water trawl for Horse Mackerel. These midwater trawls are of particular concern due to their higher trawl speeds and the potential of snaring birds in the net when it is at the surface. Midwater trawl also have a high potential bycatch of other non-fish species such as dolphins and marine turtles. This project builds on the regional linkages and expertise on the bycatch of non-fish species that have developed within Southern Africa. Completion of this work will be invaluable in terms of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the threats that are faced by threatened non-fish species in southern African waters.

Implementing Partner: BirdLife South Africa – www.savethealbatross.org.za and www.birdlife.net & BENEFIT – www.benefit.org.na
Funder: International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators – www.iaato.org