Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Degradation of
Marine and Coastal
Resources
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
b. What problem set are we going to tackle and how?
Lecture 2 deals with coastal tourism and recreation such as diving and other
water sports activities, the economic importance of coastal tourism, the benefits
of responsible tourism for coastal communities, consequences of mass tourism
such as negative impacts on the environment, responsible tourism such as low
impact tourism and eco-tourism,.
Oceans have been described as perhaps the most significant life-support system on
earth. Covering over 70% of the earths surface, oceans regulate our climate, absorb
waste, recycle nutrients, serve as a sink for carbon dioxide, and provide abundant
food and means of transport and energy production.
In addition oceans provide for our health and wellbeing through recreation and
tourism.
The health and proper functioning of these ecosystems are intimately connected to
each other and their management requires an integrated ecosystem approach that
recognises this connectivity.
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
The list below represents the direct and indirect goods and services that
our oceans and coasts provide:
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
Coastal and marine resources comprise both living and non-living
resources. Non-living coastal and marine resources include the physical
environment, whilst living marine resources include marine mammals,
birds, reptiles, fish, shellfish, plants, corals and other organisms.
South Africa is rich in marine and coastal resources. This natural wealth
supports important economic and social opportunities for our population
such as food, recreation, transport, job creation amongst others.
The warm Agulhas current along the East coast and the cold Benguela
current along the West coast, drive different weather patterns and create
vastly different environments on land. A consequence of these two
different current regimes is a complex and dynamic coastline that is
blessed with a rich, diversity of living marine resources including hard
and soft coral communities, and a multitude of pelagic and benthic
organisms, invertebrates and algal concentrations.
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The map above shows the global ocean current systems
South Africa is blessed with both the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem and the
Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) 8
The Benguela Current LME is driven by cooler temperatures while the
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Agulhas and Somali Current LME is characterised by much warmer temperatures
Cape Point coast, South Africa
Elands Bay, West Coast, South Africa Portion of East Coast, Mozambique
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Shipping and Transport Seafood Mining
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Different economic activities supported by our oceans and coasts
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
d. Offshore and inshore marine organisms and coral reefs
Inshore marine organisms live in shallower coastal waters, close to the shore,
whilst offshore marine organisms are found in deeper waters out to sea. The
definition of inshore vs offshore waters can change according to each country.
Some nations define inshore waters as those within 20nm from the shore and
offshore waters as those beyond 20nm from shore. Offshore and inshore marine
organisms are not mutually exclusive and many organisms move between coastal
and ocean waters during the different stages of their lifecycles.
Continental Shelf
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
Coral reefs mostly occur in tropical and sub-tropical regions. While deep water
corals do exist, coral reefs generally form close to the surface in shallow clean
waters where the suns ray can reach. Coral reefs are stone-like in appearance
but are actually communities of complex living organisms that may have various
colourful forms and textures. Coral polyps are tiny soft bodied organisms. At
their base is a hard protective limestone skeleton, which forms the structure of
the coral reefs. The tiny individual coral animals slowly build up coral reef
colonies as they grow, divide and reproduce.
Like estuaries and mangrove forests, coral reefs are essential to the health of
many commercially important fish stocks. They provide secure nursery habitats
for the juvenile forms of many animals and plants.
Again, like mangrove forests, coral reef structures are important as they protect
islands from erosion and storm events by serving as natural barriers. Through the
photosynthesis process, coral reefs also remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and make carbohydrates available as food for coral polyps and other
organisms or species. Excessive amounts of carbon dioxide can however, damage
the coral reefs.
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
Coral reefs represent some of the most productive and diverse ecosystems on
earth and provide essential goods and services for many coastal communities.
Their existence is increasingly under threat due to both local human activities
and global processes.
The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, is the worlds largest coral reef
extending over 2300 km. This barrier reef has increasingly shown evidence of
degradation from human activities such as land-based sources of pollution and
global processes.
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Corals off Chumbe Island, Zanzibar
Coastal areas are areas located between the land and sea and are characterised by
the richest and most dynamic and fragile ecosystems on earth, i.e. coral reefs,
seagrass beds and mangrove forests.
A large percentage of the worlds population live in coastal areas and people are
increasingly interested in residing in coastal areas. Among all the different parts of
the planet, coastal areas are most visited by tourists, particularly island nations.
Coastal ecosystems are highly attractive and host a multitude of different sun, sea
and sand tourism activities. These range from sunbathing on beaches to swimming,
snorkelling and scuba diving, different kinds of boating, recreational and sport
fishing, surfing, kite-boarding, marine eco-tours, cultural and heritage tourism etc.
Most of these tourism activities depend to a large extent on the healthy functioning
of the marine and coastal environments and well-being of local coastal inhabitants.
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
Coastal tourist destinations contribute substantially to the economies of
many countries but are also under increasing pressure. Tourism in coastal
areas becomes problematic when the number of user groups cause more
changes than the environment is able to cope with and the impacts from
the activities exceed acceptable limits of change.
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Camps Bay, South Africa Curieuse, Seychelles
Coastal inhabitants have close ties with their environment, which provides them
with both livelihood and income. Coastal tourism can benefit local communities
in many ways. It creates employment opportunities through work in the hotels,
restaurants, travel agencies, tourism operators etc. and can stimulate economic
growth through cultural and heritage tourism. Thus, increasing tourist arrivals
can lead to more opportunities for local communities. Tourism also offers
opportunities for development and infrastructure and if planned responsibly, can
also benefit local communities through improved development, infrastructure
and services.
Coastal tourism not only stimulates the local economy, contributing overall to the
GDP, but also creates opportunities for community-based tourism, which offers
tourists opportunities to interact with local residents. Community-based tourism
also allows local communities to manage tourism offerings and be the direct
beneficiaries thereof.
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Coastal tourism benefiting coastal communities in various ways
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Community-based Tourism
LECTURE 2: COASTAL TOURISM
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LECTURE 2: COASTAL TOURISM
e. Coastal tourism and recreation: SCUBA diving and other water sports
A wide variety of coastal tourism and recreational activities exist that are based
on or in coastal waters. These coastal activities are broadly categorized as in-
water sports, on-the-water sports and underwater sports.
While water sports such as SCUBA diving and snorkeling on coral reefs are
recreational activities enjoyed by many coastal water users, SCUBA divers and
snorkelers can damage reefs by kicking or standing on corals. Jet skis also pose a
hazard and can collide with marine fauna and scare off animals. Fishing too can
pose risks and can remove large predatory fish which are essential for keeping
the oceans healthy.
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Recreational activities
associated with coastal waters
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LECTURE 3: FISHING
a. Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is often known as the formal fishing sector or fishing for a
profit. Commercial fishing can range from relatively small-scale fisheries to highly
industrialised fisheries. The commercial fishing industry provides countries
around the world with large quantities of food by means of imports and exports.
Some of the most commercially important fish stocks include: hake, sole, kingklip,
tuna, cod, carp, salmon, pilchard, anchovy, rock lobster, oysters, shrimp and
prawns, krill, clams, squid, crab amongst many other species.
Commercial fishing makes use of various methods and different types of gear for
instance purse-seining, pole and line fishing, and trawling. Some fishing methods
are more environmentally impactful than others such as bottom-trawling and
long-lining, both have high levels of by-catch (unintended catch of non-target
species such as sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals). Some efforts are
underway to develop alternative fishing techniques to reduce the impact on the
ecosystems and marine species.
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Commercial fishing practiced sustainably: The Marine Stewardship Council promotes
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sustainable commercial fishing practices and sustainable seafood
Commercial fishing practiced unsustainably:
Bluefin Tuna is fished on a commercial scale and has been an endangered fish for several years
Stocks in the Northern Pacific Ocean has declined by more than 96% 36
One Bluefin Tuna in 2013 was sold at 1 million in Japan (more than R 19 million)
LECTURE 3: FISHING
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LECTURE 3: FISHING
Inshore fisheries are important for some of the following reasons:
c. Negative impacts
The fisheries sector may have numerous negative impacts. One of the key
challenges is that of sustainability, as it is important that the fisheries
benefits continue to be available in the future.
If managed properly, these impacts can be reversible but if not, they may
cause irreversible damage and permanently affect the health of marine
ecosystems. The fisheries sector also contributes to pollution, both directly
and indirectly by means of solid and organic waste.
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Dead fish on the bottom at Pengeleni Reef because of dynamite fishing, Tumbatu, Zanzibar
LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
Policy and legal frameworks exist at the national, provincial and local (district
and municipal) levels to protect marine and coastal resources.
In South Africa the two overarching policies governing coastal and marine
management are the White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in
South Africa and the White Paper on the National Environmental
Management of the Ocean (NEMO) respectively.
The national law that enables the implementation of the coastal policy is the
National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act
No. 24 of 2008 (NEM:ICMA). This legal framework sits at the national level
and through the requirement of the development of Coastal Management
Plans, its implementation filters through to the provincial and local legal
frameworks.
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LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
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LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
The Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) No. 18 of 1998 provides the
legal foundation for the management of marine resources including
commercial fisheries in South Africa, and promotes the sustainable
management of commercial fishing in South African marine and
coastal waters. The MLRA and associated regulations outline catch
sizes and limits and prevents specific species from being targeted.
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LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
b. Environmental Impact Assessment
Screening - to determine the level of detail of the EIA, whether a basic or full
EIA is required;
Scoping - to identify potential impacts that must be assessed, as well as
alternative solutions for avoiding, or mitigating impacts on biodiversity such
as finding alternative designs etc.;
Assessment and evaluation of impacts and development of alternative - to
predict or identify potential environmental impacts and elaborate on
alternatives;
Reporting through the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or EIA Report -
which includes Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and a non-
technical summary for a general audience;
Review of the EIS - based on the Scoping Terms of Reference and Public
Participation (including the authority); and
Decision-Making - whether to approve the project or not and whether there
will be any further conditions to consider.
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South Africas Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Process
LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
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LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
MPAs offer protection through various levels of restrictions, ranging from the
complete restriction of fishing which includes no-take reserves, to limited
fishing reserves, seasonal closures or species limits, which may restrict
activities such as recreational and commercial fishing as well as other
activities such as mining and tourism in the area.
There are currently 24 MPAs in South Africa. While MPAs have traditionally
been managed by government authorities, locally managed marine areas are
an increasingly popular management approach that is being used in some
coastal countries to empower local inhabitants to manage their marine and
coastal resources.
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LECTURE 4: MANAGEMENT
Marine Protected Areas are declared under Section 43 of the Marine Living
Resources Act in general no fishing (at least in certain zones), construction
work, pollution, or any form of disturbance is allowed unless written
permission (which could be in a form of a permit or exemption issued by the
Department of Environmental Affairs) has been granted by the Minister.
Closed Areas are declared under Section 77 of the Marine Living Resources
Act fishing is restricted or prohibited entirely in these areas.
National Parks are declared under the Protected Areas Act and can include
marine areas and estuaries only the Marine Living Resources Act
Regulations can apply in these areas.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is declared under the World Heritage Convention
Act as the Greater St Lucia Wetland is managed by the iSimangaliso Wetland
Park Authority fishing in these areas are subject to the provisions
described for the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Protected Areas
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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in South Africa
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Marine Protected Area signage overlooking a MPA
High diversity of Corals inside the
MPA on Chumbe Island, Zanzibar
Surgeon and parrot fish in the The endangered coconut crab in the MPA on
Mohli Marine Park, Comoros Chumbe Island, Zanzibar 53
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Map of South African National Parks and MPAs in the Western Cape, South Africa
African Penguins located in a MPA at Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa
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The population of these coastal birds have substantially reduced over the years
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protect marine and coastal resources such as abalone and west
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coast rock lobster from being illegally removed in large numbers to meet increasing demands
ASSESSMENT
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