| March 28, 2025
South Africa’s oceans are teeming with biodiversity, from vibrant coral reefs to rich fish populations. To protect these vital ecosystems, the country has established a network of 42 marine protected areas (MPAs) – 41 in the mainland Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and one in South Africa’s Southern Ocean territory. But how well are these MPAs designed and managed to achieve their conservation goals?
Field et al. (2025) sought to answer to this question in their recent publication that assessed South Africa’s MPAs using The MPA Guide (Grorud-Colvert et al. 2021). Their assessments of South Africa’s MPAs are available for exploration on the Marine Protection Atlas, offering a transparent look into the stage of establishment and level of protection of each MPA.
Management and Governance of MPAs in South Africa
South Africa's MPA network has evolved through four distinct phases, reflecting significant shifts in policy, management, and governance (Kirkman et al., 2016).
From 1964 to 1994, MPAs were established using exclusionary, preservation-focused policies, often disregarding the needs of local communities, which led to a lack of stakeholder buy-in and negatively impacted effectiveness. The advent of democracy in 1994 marked a turning point, ushering in people-centered policies and ecosystem-based management and fostering greater engagement. Subsequent improvements in MPA design and ecosystem representation were achieved, although fragmented governance structures hindered full stakeholder involvement. More recently, the reunification of MPA and fisheries functions and the expansion of the MPA network under the Operation Phakisa initiative highlight a renewed emphasis on integrating stakeholder perspectives, recognizing that buy-in is fundamental to the successful and sustainable protection of marine ecosystems. Notably, in 2019, this initiative resulted in the declaration of 20 new or expanded MPAs, increasing the total number of MPAs in South Africa’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from 25 to 41 and raising the percentage of protected marine areas from under 0.5% to 5.4%. This evolution underscores the importance of enabling conditions for good governance at every stage of the MPA process, from initial proposal to active management, as the level of protection afforded ultimately determines the outcomes.
The current legal framework guiding MPA management in South Africa is primarily defined by the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM:PAA, Act no. 57 of 2003). This Act provides for the declaration of MPAs to conserve ecosystems, biodiversity, and species, protect cultural heritage, and support research and monitoring. In 2014, all MPAs previously established under the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA, Act no. 18 of 1998) were transferred to the NEM:PAA. However, both Acts remain relevant for the management of South African MPAs.
Expected Outcomes of South Africa’s MPAs
The science-based MPA Guide framework is a valuable tool for evaluating MPA quality and progress towards conservation goals. The MPA Guide evaluates an MPA’s stage of establishment, or its status in the process of becoming an MPA, and level of protection, or how well it is protected from extractive and destructive human activities. This framework is particularly notable for its emphasis on evaluating the in situ impacts of direct human activities beyond regulations and linking MPAs to their expected biodiversity outcomes.
The Field et al. study found all of South Africa’s mainland MPAs to be either Implemented or Actively Managed (2025). Out of the MPAs assessed, 43.2% were Actively Managed (covering 3.1% of the mainland EEZ), while 56.8% were Implemented (covering 2.3% of the EEZ). Upon implementation, an MPA has transitioned from existing simply on paper to being operational in the water. Tangibly, this means the MPA has plans for regulating activities within its boundaries, existence of a management team, and resource user awareness of MPA regulations. Only when an MPA is implemented can biodiversity benefits begin to accrue. Active management is the ideal stage for any MPA – those that have ongoing, adaptive management, including ecological monitoring and periodic review of management, with adjustments made as needed to improve biodiversity conservation and other ecological and social benefits. It's important to note that ecological monitoring goes beyond just patrolling and enforcement. It involves the systematic observation and measurement of various aspects of the marine environment, such as biodiversity, habitat health, and the effectiveness of management strategies, to ensure the MPA is achieving its conservation goals.
Studies show that MPAs that are actively researched and monitored tend to show positive ecological effects, including increased abundance, size, biomass, density, and reproductive output of fished species within MPA boundaries (Horta e Costa 2025, Kirkman et al., 2016). These benefits extend beyond ecology, with evidence of positive socio-economic impacts, such as increased ecotourism revenue, employment opportunities, and support for low-impact recreational fishing activities.
In their assessment of all 41 MPAs within South Africa’s mainland EEZ, the authors found that approximately 3% of the EEZ is covered by MPAs or MPA zones that prohibit all extractive activities, while the remaining 2.4% is within MPAs that allow for one or more types of extractive activities, including fishing. Among the Actively Managed MPAs, 19.3% were Fully Protected, 10.7% were Highly Protected, 11.7% were Lightly Protected, and 1.6% were Minimally Protected. Of the Implemented MPAs, 38.5% were Fully Protected, 16.6% were Lightly Protected, and 1.6% were Highly Protected. 70% of the MPA coverage was Fully or Highly protected from direct human impacts and Implemented or Actively Managed. The remaining MPA coverage was Implemented at a light or minimal Level of Protection, with activities that were less likely result in biodiversity benefits but support important socio-economic activities.
A key function of the MPA Guide framework is that it links the levels of protection to expected outcomes for biodiversity. According to the MPA Guide User Manual, fully protected zones offer the strongest potential for ecosystem restoration and biodiversity preservation, increasing the likelihood of long-term recovery for species, habitats, and ecosystem functions. Highly protected areas also provide a substantial chance of achieving similar ecological benefits, though outcomes for species still subject to exploitation may be less pronounced than in fully protected areas. MPAs with lower levels of protection may still have some benefits, but studies have shown they have less, if any, benefit relative to fully protected MPAs (Horta e Costa, 2025).
This analysis determines that South Africa’s MPAs are largely well-designed and managed, making them likely to achieve conservation benefits.
Enforcement Obstacles
While South Africa’s MPAs show much promise, their implementation and management still face some challenges. While the study determined most South African MPAs are Implemented or Actively Managed, the authors acknowledge that ongoing resource and capacity constraints in many of the MPAs may compromise their effectiveness, directly impacted the ability to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a major concern for many coastal MPAs, including fully protected areas. “Poaching of high-value species such as abalone and rock lobster is a major concern for many coastal MPAs in South Africa, including Fully Protected areas, which could weaken expected species-specific conservation outcomes” (Field et al., 2025).
The scale of this issue is not insignificant. Often driven by food insecurity within local communities and criminal organizations targeting abalone, poaching has resulted in staggering losses. Across South Africa, if poached abalone were legally traded, it would contribute an estimated R628 million (about US$34 million) annually to the South African economy. Special operations against poaching can temporarily reduce activity in targeted areas, but they often lead to shifts in poaching locations and even increases in other species being targeted or in other regions. Moreover, the closure of recreational fisheries has been directly linked to increased illegal fishing, demonstrating the complex interplay between regulatory measures and poaching activities.
This underscores why understanding in situ impacts, not only the on-paper regulations, are crucial when assessing MPA effectiveness. The authors attempted to include poaching in their assessment by meeting with local experts to gather and verify data for all 41 MPAs they assessed but the impacts of IUU fishing were difficult to determine for all MPAs and therefore unable to be systematically accounted for in their assessment. Moving forward, satellite imagery and GPS data could significantly enhance our understanding of IUU fishing in South African MPAs. Ultimately, determining the types, intensities, and spatial extents of IUU fishing in South Africa's MPAs will be the first step towards addressing those pressures and improving MPA conservation outcomes.
Despite facing challenges such as persistent poaching and resource limitations, South Africa’s dedication to marine conservation remains evident in its evolving MPA network and ongoing efforts to improve management. The effectiveness of these management efforts is reflected in the assessment available at MPAtlas.org. Explore our atlas to see how these new additions contribute to the global 30x30 initiative to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.
References
- Field, L, et al. (2025). Assessing South Africa’s marine protected area quality and progress towards conservation goals: An application of The MPA Guide framework. Marine Policy, Vol 173: 106513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106513.
- Grorud-Colvert, et al. (2021). The MPA Guide: A framework to achieve global goals for the ocean. Science, Vol 373: 6560: eabf0861. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf0861
- Horta e Costa, et al. (2025). Marine protected areas stage of establishment and level of protection are good predictors of their conservation outcomes. Cell Reports Sustainability, Vol 0: 100345. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/fulltext/S2949-7906(25)00041-2
- Kirkman, SP, et al. (2016). The road towards effective governance and management of marine protected areas in South Africa: evolving policies, paradigms, and processes. African Journal of Marine Science: Vol 45: 2 page 63-86. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2023.2203186
- Van As, H. (2020). Poaching of marine living resources: Can the tides be turned? South African Crime Quarterly, Vol 69. https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1991-38772020000100005