National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act: Declaration of Tsitsikamma National Park Marine Protected Areas (No. 1578 of 2016)

BOMO EDIT EDNA MOLEWA MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 4 No. 40510 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19 DECEMBER 2016 Government notices • GoewermentskennisGewinGs Environmental Affairs, Department of/ Omgewingsake, Departement van DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS NO. 1578 19 DECEMBER 2016 1578 Protected Areas Act (57/2003): Notice declaring the Tsitsikamma National Park Marine Protected Area under section 22A of the National Environmental Management 40510 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: PROTECTED AREAS ACT, 2003 (ACT NO. 57 OF 2003) NOTICE DECLARING THE TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK MARINE PROTECTED AREA UNDER SECTION 22A OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: PROTECTED AREAS ACT, 2003 (ACT NO. 57 OF 2003) I, Bomo Edith Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, hereby publish, in terms of section 22B of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), the withdrawal of the existing Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area declared in stipulation 2(19) of Government Gazette 21948, Notice No. 1429 of 29 December 2000, and declare under section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), the Tsitsikamma National Park Marine Protected Area as set out in the Schedule hereto. This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za STAATSKOERANT, 19 DESEMBER 2016 No. 40510 5 SCHEDULE All geographic co-ordinates are determined in accordance with the WGS 84 datum, and all bearings are true bearings as set out in Annexure 1 hereto. Boundaries of the Marine Protected Area The Tsitsikamma National Park Marine Protected Area straddles the Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provinces. It comprises the area from the western bank of the mouth of the Groot River (in the Eastern Cape) westwards along the high water mark to Die Punt, Nature’s Valley (in the Western Cape) and extends seawards to a distance approximately 3 nautical miles offshore (with a depth range 0-100m). The Marine Protected Area is adjacent to and lies south of the Tsitsikamma National Park. The Marine Protected Area comprises the area bounded by a series of straight lines sequentially joining the following five coordinates: (A) 34° 3' 36.00" S, 24° 11' 39.90" E; (E) 34° 6' 36.00" S, 24° 11' 39.90" E; (D) 34° 1' 49.02" S, 23° 38' 51.42" E; (C) 34° 2' 0.00" S, 23° 34' 33.66" E; and (B) 33° 59' 0.00" S, 23° 34' 33.66" E; and then by a line running along the high-water mark back to co-ordinate A (Figure 1 in Annexure 1, with the same co-ordinates set out in decimal degrees in Table 1). The Marine Protected Area includes the sea bed, water column and subsoil within these boundaries. Purpose The purpose for declaring this Marine Protected Area is: (a) To contribute to a national and global representative system of marine protected areas by providing protection to the coastal and offshore benthic and pelagic ecosystems of the Agulhas Inshore Bioregion; (b) to conserve and protect threatened species and ecosystems; (c) to conserve and protect the biodiversity and ecological processes associated with these ecosystems; (d) to protect and regulate access to a scenic area which contributes to eco-tourism; (e) to protect the cultural heritage of the coastline; (f) to facilitate species management by protecting spawning stock and nursery areas for fish species and allowing stock recovery and enhancing intertidal and subtidal resource abundance in adjacent areas; and (g) to protect and provide an appropriate reference environment for research and monitoring where no fishing is allowed and for research to assess biodiversity status, the impact of limited recreational fishing access in controlled areas, and resource condition in areas where there is no access to resources. T si ts ik a m m a N a tio n a l P a rk M a ri n e P ro te ct e d A re a L e g e n d T o w n s R iv e rs M P A B o u n d a ry S A N P a rk s B o u n d a ry This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 6 No. 40510 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19 DECEMBER 2016 A nn ex ur e 1: F ig . 1 . T h e b o u n d ar ie s fo r th e T si ts ik am m a N at io n al P ar k M ar in e P ro te ct ed A re a This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za STAATSKOERANT, 19 DESEMBER 2016 No. 40510 7 Table 1. The exact geographic coordinates (WGS 84) of points A, B, C, D and E in Fig 1. POINTS DECIMAL DEGREES Y X A -34.060000 24.194420 B -33.983330 23.576020 C -34.033330 23.576020 D -34.030280 23.647620 E -34.110000 24.194420