Declaration of Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (No. 763 of 2019)

This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 28 No. 42478 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 23 MAY 2019 DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS NO. 763 23 MAY 2019 763 National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57/2003): Notice declaring the Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the Act 42478 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: PROTECTED AREAS ACT, 2003 (ACT NO. 57 OF 2003) NOTICE DECLARING THE AMATHOLE OFFSHORE MARINE PROTECTED AREA IN TERMS OF SECTION 22A OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: PROTECTED AREAS ACT, 2003 (ACT NO. 57 OF 2003) I, Nomvula Paula Mokonyane, Minister of Environmental Affairs, hereby declare, in terms of section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), the Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area as set out in the Schedule hereto. NOMVULA PAULA MOKONYANE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za STAATSKOERANT, 23 MEI 2019 No. 42478 29 SCHEDULE All geographic co-ordinates are determined in accordance with the WGS 84 datum. Boundaries of the Marine Protected Area The Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area in the Eastern Cape comprises two areas lying offshore between Kei Mouth and Port Alfred. The Offshore Kei area comprises of straight lines sequentially joining the following coordinates: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J and K, joining along the existing boundary of the Amathole Marin Protected Area. The offshore Gxulu area comprises of straight lines sequentially joining the following coordinates: L, M, N, O, P, Q and R, with the first and last point joining the existing inshore Gxulu area of the existing Amathole Marine Protected Area. The area includes the substrata, sea bed, subsoil and water column within these boundaries. Purpose The purpose for declaring this Marine Protected Area is: (a) To contribute to a national, regional and global representative system of marine protected areas by conserving and protecting offshore benthic and pelagic ecosystems of the outer shelf and slope, comprising canyon, deep reef, cold water coral, sandy, gravel, mud, fluvial fan and pelagic habitats and including threatened ecosystem types; (b) to conserve and protect the ecological processes and ecologically sensitive biodiversity associated with these ecosystems, including threatened, overexploited and sensitive species such as seventy four, dageraad, red steenbras, white steenbras, dusky kob and wreckfish; (c) to support the recovery of linefish by protecting spawning, nursery, foraging, aggregation and refuge areas for overexploited species; (d) to facilitate species management and sustainable use of linefish and south coast rock lobster by supporting fisheries recovery and enhanced species abundance in fished areas; (e) to conserve and protect an area of life history importance for migratory species including seabirds, turtles, sharks, seabreams, wreckfish and other fish; (f) to support sustainable nature-based tourism opportunities in the area through the protection and management of marine wildlife, maritime heritage and cultural assets; and (g) to protect and provide an appropriate reference environment for research and monitoring particularly with regard to habitat and fisheries recovery, habitat requirements of south coast rock lobster and climate resilience, and also to promote and contribute to environmental education. Commencement This notice takes effect on 1 August 2019. A m a th o le O ff sh o re M a ri n e P ro te ct e d A re a M ta ti re st F is h Q B ' K O M G A N ah oo n E A S T L O N D O N G xu lu T yo lo m .a N g q e n g a C e fa n B u lu ra G re at K ei K E I M O U T H Q uk o . J A D K B K e is ka m m M ta na s( 2 8 °0 '0 "E o K ilo m e te rs I N 2 5 o M M This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 30 No. 42478 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 23 MAY 2019 Annexure: Fig. 1. The boundaries for the Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area. This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za STAATSKOERANT, 23 MEI 2019 No. 42478 31 Table 1. The exact geographic coordinates (WGS 84) of the points in Figure 1. POINT X Y Amathole Offshore Gxulu L 27.7652 -33.15855 Amathole Offshore Gxulu M 27.918 -33.207081 Amathole Offshore Gxulu N 27.918 -33.484873 Amathole Offshore Gxulu O 27.545 -33.75 Amathole Offshore Gxulu P 27.1833 -33.75 Amathole Offshore Gxulu Q 27.1833 -33.583333 Amathole Offshore Kei A 28.4211 -32.713883 Amathole Offshore Kei B 28.7667 -32.713883 Amathole Offshore Kei C 28.7667 -33.016667 Amathole Offshore Kei D 28.2146 -33.016667 Amathole Offshore Kei E 28.2146 -32.8244 Amathole Offshore Kei F 28.237417 -32.8222 Amathole Offshore Kei G 28.272817 -32.811317 Amathole Offshore Kei H 28.305583 -32.796783 Amathole Offshore Kei I 28.374783 -32.74875 Amathole Offshore Kei J 28.403333 -32.744917 Amathole Offshore Kei K 28.411517 -32.739667