EBSA overview  |  Delineation |  Summary of description updates  | Revised description

OBIS biodiversity data  |  Status assessment and management recommendations

 

 

EBSA overview

Cape Canyon is one of two submarine canyons off the west coast of South Africa (the other being the Cape Point Valley). This broader area, including St Helena Bay, has been recognized as important in three systematic conservation plans. Both benthic and pelagic features are included, and the area is important for pelagic fish, foraging marine mammals and several threatened seabird species. The area is also important for threatened ecosystem types; there are nine Endangered and 12 Vulnerable ecosystem types, and two that are Near Threatened. There is evidence that the submarine canyon hosts fragile habitat-forming species, and there are other unique and potentially vulnerable benthic communities in the area. The hard ground areas, particularly those outside of the trawl footprint, are also likely to be susceptible to damage and there are increasing petroleum and mining applications in this area. There are several small coastal MPAs within the EBSA.

[Top]

Delineation

Open or collapse the legend as a sidebar by clicking the icon in the top left corner of the map. In the legend you can turn on/off the old/new extents of the EBSA. You can zoom in/out using the mouse or the +/- buttons on the map, and click on the features for more information.

 

[Top]

Summary of updates and revisions to the EBSA description

Boundary revised, and description updated.

[Top]

Revised EBSA description

NOTE: Read this here, or download the Word document on the right sidebar.

 

General Information

Summary

Cape Canyon is one of two submarine canyons off the west coast of South Africa (the other being the Cape Point Valley). This broader area, including St Helena Bay, has been recognized as important in three systematic conservation plans. Both benthic and pelagic features are included, and the area is important for pelagic fish, foraging marine mammals and several threatened seabird species. The area is also important for threatened ecosystem types; there are nine Endangered and 12 Vulnerable ecosystem types, and two that are Near Threatened. There is evidence that the submarine canyon hosts fragile habitat-forming species, and there are other unique and potentially vulnerable benthic communities in the area. The hard ground areas, particularly those outside of the trawl footprint, are also likely to be susceptible to damage and there are increasing petroleum and mining applications in this area. There are several small coastal MPAs within the EBSA.

 

Introduction of the area

Cape Canyon and Associated Islands, Bays and Lagoon is bounded along the shore from the Sixteen Mile Beach MPA in the south to about 10 km south of Lamberts Bay in the north, extending further offshore in the southern part compared to the northern part. The EBSA includes Langebaan Lagoon, Saldanha Bay, eight islands (Robben, Dassen, Vondeling, Marcus, Malgas, Jutten, Schaapen, Meeuw), the Cape Canyon submarine canyon and adjacent shelf edge, and has been extended to include the whole of St Helena Bay. This area was identified as a priority area through a national plan to identify areas for offshore protection (Sink et al., 2011) and by a systematic biodiversity plan for the west coast (Majiedt et al., 2013). It was also identified as an important area for pelagic ecosystems and species (Grantham et al., 2011). Langebaan Lagoon and Dassen Island Nature Reserves are also both Ramsar sites.

 

Description of the location

EBSA Region

South-Eastern Atlantic

 

Description of location

This focus area is located around the southwest coast of South Africa and is completely within South Africa’s national jurisdiction. Cape Canyon and Associated Islands, Bays and Lagoon is bounded along the shore from the Sixteen Mile Beach MPA in the south to about 10 km south of Lamberts Bay in the north, extending much further offshore (approximately 70 km) in the southern part compared to that in the northern part (<10 km).

 

Geo-Location

SEA_39_EBSA.geojson

 

Area Details

Feature description of the area

Cape Canyon and Associated Islands, Bays and Lagoon is a productive area with important benthic and pelagic habitats and physical features that jointly support important life-history stages of species, and threatened, fragile and vulnerable species and habitats. The main geological feature of this EBSA is Cape Canyon itself. It is one of two canyons on the South African west coast (the other being the Cape Point Valley), which has its head about 23 km offshore of Cape Colombine at -168 m depth, and incises to a depth of about -900 m (De Wet 2012). New bathymetry data clearly show that the main channel (at the canyon head) comprises two separate, parallel channels in the northern and middle sections that combine to form a deeply incised main channel in the south that runs all the way to the outer continental slope, ending at about -3500 m in the Cape Basin (De Wet 2012). The western branch of the main channel is much more deeply incised than is the eastern branch by up to 100 m, and the slope of the western canyon margin is much steeper than that of the eastern side (De Wet 2012). The eight islands are other key geological features in this EBSA, as well as the adjacent lagoon and bay system on the coast. The area includes unconsolidated sand, mud and gravel benthic habitats and a pelagic ecosystem type that is characterised by elevated productivity and frequent fronts associated with shelf-edge upwelling (Lutjeharms et al., 2000, Lagabrielle 2009, Roberson et al., 2017).

The key geological features, described above, in turn support important biological communities: from fragile to threatened species. These include four distinct benthic macrofaunal communities characterized by molluscs, polychaetes, amphipods and brittle stars (Karenyi 2014), and hard-ground habitats that are poorly known (Sink et al., 2012b). Fragile cold-water corals have been collected within the area. Further, a recent survey sighted seapens, anemones, starfish and cloaked hermit crabs (Sink 2016); all of which species are sensitive to impacts to the seabed. Parts of this dynamic area, particularly within St Helena Bay, experience low-oxygen water that may support unique biological communities (Sink et al., 2011) that are also sensitive to disturbances. The small islands contained in the EBSA provide breeding habitat for several endemic seabird species, most of which are threatened, or seals (Kemper et al., 2007). The area encompasses a key foraging area for marine mammals (Best 2006, Barendse et al., 2011) and the following Important Bird Areas: West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay Islands; Robben Island; and Dassen Island, and is adjacent to the Berg River Estuary and Veloerenvlei Estuary IBAs. The focus area has also been included in annual demersal fish trawl surveys conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Since the original description and delineation of the EBSA, new research has been conducted within the area, allowing a more comprensive understanding of the features and communities at this site. Consequently, the boundary has been revised to improve accuracy in representing the key benthic and pelagic ecosystem types and features, as well as key biodiversity features that underpin the EBSA status, such as: fragile and sensitive habitat-forming species, islands, the canyon, and key species (e.g., colonial seabirds). Revisions were based on the best available information (e.g., De Wet 2012; GEBCO Compilation Group 2019; Harris et al., 2014; Holness et al., 2014; Majiedt et al., 2013; Sink et al., 2012, 2019). Much of the improvement in the delineation was based on new bathymetry data (De Wet 2012), which has allowed a more precise, data-driven boundary for the EBSA rather than an expert-based boundary. It also also based on new biological sampling that, for example, motivates for extending the EBSA to include the full extent of St Helana Bay to encompass those sensitive communities (Karenyi 2014, Sink 2016). The new boundary also better aligns with South Africa’s recently expanded MPA network, and new, fine-scale coastal mapping (Harris et al., 2019). It is presented as a Type 2 EBSA because it contains “spatially stable features whose individual positions are known, but a number of individual cases are being grouped” (sensu Johnson et al., 2018).

 

Feature conditions and future outlook of the proposed area

Habitat condition within this broad area ranges from good to poor (Sink et al., 2012a, 2019). Pressures are increasing, although the area includes several coastal MPAs (Langebaan, Sixteen Mile Beach, Marcus Island, Malgas Island and, Jutten Island) that protect habitats and species to varying extents. It was recommended that MPAs in the area should be considered for consolidation, extension, or re-zoning to resolve existing resource conflicts, protect threatened species in their core areas, and minimize stakeholder impacts (Sink et al., 2011). As a result, several new MPAs were recently proclaimed within this EBSA, including Cape Canyon MPA, Benguela Mud MPA, and Robben Island MPA. The lagoon system is vulnerable to further impacts, and the islands with their associated seabird colonies are all threatened (Kemper et al., 2007). Petroleum exploration is increasing in the area, and there are new applications for seabed mining for phosphates and other minerals.

 

References

Bailey, G.W. 1991. Organic carbon flux and development of oxygen deficiency on the modern Benguela continental shelf of 22°S: spatial and temporal variability. In R. V. Tysen and T. H. Pearson, editors. Modern and Ancient Continental Shelf Anoxia. Geological Society. Pages 171-183.

Barendse, J., Best, P.B., Thornton, M., Elwen, S.H., Rosenbaum, H.C., Carvalho, I., Pomilla, C., Collins, T.J.Q., Meÿer, M.A., Leeney, R.H. 2011. Transit station or destination? Attendance patterns, regional movement, and population estimate of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae off western South Africa based on photographic and genotypic matching. In: Kirkman S, Elwen SH, Pistorius PA, Thornton M, Weir C (eds), Conservation biology of marine mammals in the southern African subregion. African Journal of Marine Science, 33: 353–373.

Best, P.B. 2006. The presence of right whales in summer on the west coast of South Africa: the evidence from historical records. African Journal of Marine Science, 28: 159–166.

BirdLife International, 2013. Marine e-Atlas: Delivering site networks for seabird conservation. Proposed IBA site ‘Atlantic, Southeast 19 – Marine’. Available online: http://54.247.127.44/marineIBAs/default.html. Accessed 11 March 2013

De Wet, W. 2012. Bathymetry of the South African Continental Shelf. MSc dissertation. University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Demarcq, H., Barlow, R., Hutchings, L. 2007. Application of a chlorophyll index derived from satellite data to investigate the variability of phytoplankton in the Benguela ecosystem. African Journal of Marine Science, 29: 271-282.

GEBCO Compilation Group, 2019. GEBCO 2019 Grid (doi:10.5285/836f016a-33be-6ddc-e053-6c86abc0788e)

Gilchrist, J.D.F. 1921. Report of the Fisheries and Marine Biological Survey for the year 1920 1: 1-27.

Grantham, H.S., Game, E.T., Lombard, A.T., Hobday, A.J., Richardson, A.J., Beckley, L.E., Pressey, R.L., Huggert, J.A., Coetzee, J.C., van der Lingen, C.D., Petersen, S.L., Merkle, D., Possingham, H.P. 2011. Accommodating dynamic oceanographic processes and pelagic biodiversity in marine conservation planning. PLoS ONE 6: e16552. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0016552.

Harris, L.R., Bessinger, M., Dayaram, A., Holness, S., Kirkman, S., Livingstone, T.-C., Lombard, A.T., Lück-Vogel, M., Pfaff, M., Sink, K.J., Skowno, A.L., Van Niekerk, L., 2019. Advancing land-sea integration for ecologically meaningful coastal conservation and management. Biological Conservation 237, 81-89.

Harris, P.T., Macmillan-Lawler, M., Rupp, J. and Baker, E.K. 2014. Geomorphology of the oceans. Marine Geology, 352: 4-24.

Holness, S., Kirkman, S., Samaai, T., Wolf, T., Sink, K., Majiedt, P., Nsiangango, S., Kainge, P., Kilongo, K., Kathena, J., Harris, L., Lagabrielle, E., Kirchner, C., Chalmers, R., Lombard, M. 2014. Spatial Biodiversity Assessment and Spatial Management, including Marine Protected Areas. Final report for the Benguela Current Commission project BEH 09-01.

Hutchings, L., Jarre, A., Lamont, T., van den Berg, M., Kirkman, S.P. 2012. St Helena Bay (southern Benguela) then and now: muted climate signals, large human impact. African Journal of Marine Science, 34: 559–583.

Johnson, D.E., Barrio Froján, C., Turner, P.J., Weaver, P., Gunn, V., Dunn, D.C., Halpin, P., Bax, N.J., Dunstan, P.K., 2018. Reviewing the EBSA process: Improving on success. Marine Policy 88, 75-85.

Karenyi, N. 2014. Patterns and drivers of benthic macrofauna to support systematic conservation planning for marine unconsolidated sediment ecosystems. PhD thesis. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth.

Kemper, J., Underhill, L.G., Crawford, R.J.M., Kirkman, S.P. 2007. Revision of the conservation status of seabirds and seals breeding in the Benguela Ecosystem. In: Kirkman, S.P. (ed.) Final Report of the BCLME (Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem) Project on Top Predators as Biological Indicators of Ecosystem Change in the BCLME. Avian Demography Unit, Cape Town, pp 325–342.

Koné, V. Lett, C., Fréon, P. 2013. Modelling the effect of food availability on recruitment success of Cape anchovy ichthyoplankton in the southern Benguela upwelling system, African Journal of Marine Science, 35: 151-161.

Lagabrielle, E. 2009. Preliminary report: National Pelagic Bioregionalisation of South Africa. Cape Town: South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Majiedt, P., Holness, S., Sink, K., Oosthuizen, A., Chadwick, P. 2013. Systematic Marine Biodiversity Plan for the West Coast of South Africa. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town.

Roberson, L.A., Lagabrielle, E., Lombard, A.T., Sink, K., Livingstone, T., Grantham, H., Harris, J.M. 2017. Pelagic bioregionalisation using open-access data for better planning of marine protected area networks. Ocean & Coastal Management, 148: 214-230.

Sink, K. 2016. Deep Secrets: the outer shelf and slope ecosystems of South Africa. Cruise Report: ALG 230 – ACEP_DSC.

Sink K., Samaai, T. Identifying Offshore Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in South Africa, Unpublished Sink, K.J., Attwood, C.G., Lombard, A.T., Grantham, H., Leslie, R., Samaai, T., Kerwath, S., Majiedt, P., Fairweather, T., Hutchings, L., van der Lingen, C., Atkinson, L.J., Wilkinson, S., Holness, S., Wolf, T. 2011. Spatial planning to identify focus areas for offshore biodiversity protection in South Africa. Unpublished Report. Cape Town: South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Sink, K., Holness, S., Harris, L., Majiedt, P., Atkinson, L., Robinson, T., Kirkman, S., Hutchings, L., Leslie, R., Lamberth, S., Kerwath, S., von der Heyden, S., Lombard, A., Attwood, C., Branch, G., Fairweather, T., Taljaard, S., Weerts, S., Cowley, P., Awad, A., Halpern, B., Grantham, H., Wolf, T. 2012a. National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: Technical Report. Volume 4: Marine and Coastal Component. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

Sink, K.J., van der Bank, M.G., Majiedt, P.A., Harris, L.R., Atkinson, L., Karenyi, N., Kirkman, S. (eds) 2019. National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 Technical Report Volume 4: Marine Realm. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/6372.

Sink, K.J., Wilkinson, S., Atkinson, L.J., Sims, P.F., Leslie, R.W., Attwood, C.G. 2012b. The potential impacts of South Africa’s demersal hake trawl fishery on benthic habitats: historical perspectives, spatial analyses, current review and potential management actions. Unpublished report. Cape Town: South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Wilkinson, S. 2009. Ring Fencing the Trawl Grounds. South African Deep-sea Trawling Industry Association. Report prepared by Capricorn Fisheries Monitoring cc. Cape Town.

 

Status of submission

The Cape Canyon and Surrounds EBSA was recognized as meeting EBSA criteria by the Conference of the Parties. The revised name, description and boundaries still need to be submitted to COP for approval.

 

COP Decision

dec-COP-12-DEC-22

 

Assessment of the area against CBD EBSA criteria

C1: Uniqueness or rarity High

Justification

This area was identified by two systematic plans because of rare ecosystem types including the canyon, rare muds and low-oxygen benthic habitats (Sink et al., 2011, 2012a, 2012b, Majiedt et al., 2013). The Southern Benguela Muddy Shelf Edge comprises only two patches off Saldahna, covering an estimated 567 km2, which is included in the EBSA. Cape Canyon is the largest of only two reported submarine canyons on the west coast of South Africa and in the southern Benguela. Further, this site contains the only lagoon in South Africa, and Saldanha Bay is the largest natural harbour in the country.

C2: Special importance for life-history stages of species High

Justification

The area encompasses a key foraging area for marine mammals including humpback and southern right whales (Best 2006, Barendse et al., 2011) and two marine Important Bird Areas. Closer to shore, Cape Canyon is adjacent to several terrestrial IBAs, with Dassen Island also being a Ramsar site. The seas extending from these sites have been proposed as a marine IBA for the following seabird species: African Penguin, Bank Cormorant, Cape Cormorant, Cape Gannet, Caspian Tern, Crowned Cormorant, Damara Tern, Great Crested Tern, Kelp Gull and Hartlaub’s Gull. Further offshore, along the shelf edge where commercial fisheries are concentrated, BirdLife International has identified a large area, which overlaps with the Cape Canyon area, as a potential marine IBA for Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Black-browed albatrosses and Cory’s Shearwater. Several other species (e.g. Shy Albatross and White-chinned Petrel) are likely to qualify as trigger species in this area, but tracking data or analyses are lacking. Grantham et al. (2011) also showed that this area had the highest density of breeding seabirds that feed on pelagic species. High densities of sardine and anchovy eggs contributed to the high selection frequency of this broader area in the offshore systematic biodiversity plan for South Africa (Sink et al., 2011). Spawning and nursery habitat for Cape hakes is also included in this area (Sink et al., 2011, Kone et al., 2013).

C3: Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats High

Justification

This area is important for several threatened seabirds, including four Endangered seabirds – African Penguin, Bank Cormorant, and Black-browed and Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatrosses. These animals are highly dependent on this area for some or all of their life stages, particularly for foraging. In addition, several species of lower conservation threat status are similarly dependent on this area: the Vulnerable White-chinned Petrel, Cape Cormorant and Cape Gannet. Dassen Island is recognised for its value for these species as a Ramsar site.

The area is dominated by a plethora of threatened ecosystem types identified in the National Biodiversity Assessment 2011 (Sink et al., 2012), BCC assessment Holness et al. (2014), and National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 (Sink et al., 2019), with the results from the most recent assessment (NBA 2018) reported here (Sink et al., 2019). Altogether, there are 21 (of 32) ecosystem types represented in the EBSA that are threatened. These include nine Endangered ecosystem types, namely: Cape Bays, Cape Island Shore, Cape Sheltered Rocky Shore, Cape Upper Canyons, Cool Temperate Arid Predominantly Closed Estuary, Cool Temperate Estuarine Lake, Cool Temperate Predominantly Open, Southern Benguela Muddy Shelf Edge and Southern Benguela Reflective Sandy Shore. A further 12 Vulnerable ecosystems are found in the area, namely: Cape Boulder Shore, Cape Exposed Rocky Shore, Cape Kelp Forest, Cape Lower Canyons, Cape Mixed Shore, Cape Rocky Inner Shelf, Cape Rocky Mid Shelf Mosaic, Cape Sandy Inner Shelf, Cool Temperate Estuarine Lagoon, Southern Benguela Rocky Shelf Edge, Southern Benguela Sandy Shelf Edge and St Helena Bay. There are also two ecosystem types that are Near Threatened (Sink et al., 2019).

C4: Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery High

Justification

The submarine canyon in this area is considered vulnerable to impact because cold-water corals, gorgonians and other slow-growing, habitat-forming species were observed within this area on submersible footage (Diamondfields International unpublished footage, Sink and Samaai 2009). Gilchrist (1921) also reported cold water corals, black corals and two hundred large sponges in a single otter trawl in this area in 1920, and it was only in the 1990s that trawling was initiated in the hard-ground habitats within this area (Sink et al., 2012b). Deep reefs and hard grounds in the area are also likely to host fragile three-dimensional, habitat-forming species, although this has not been confirmed by in-situ research. These habitats are all considered sensitive to demersal trawling and mining (Sink et al., 2011, 2012a, 2012bb). The low-oxygen habitats and likely biological communities they support are also considered vulnerable.

C5: Biological productivity High

Justification

The most persistent and intense upwelling cell on the entire South African west coast is found within this area at Cape Columbine, resulting in the area downstream having the highest productivity, organic loading (Demarq et al., 2007) and organic carbon deposits on the seafloor (Bailey 1991) on this coast. St Helena Bay has also been identified as the area having the most persistent oxygen-deficient water in the region (Bailey 1991). South of Cape Columbine, a different set of oceanographic features dominate, and frequent pulse upwelling events result in high productivity over shorter periods (Demarq et al., 2007). Cape Canyon and Surrounds includes part of the area with highest copepod biomass on the west coast (Grantham et al., 2011). Large populations of marine top predators forage and/or breed within the area, including several species of seabirds, cetaceans and seals (Best 2006, Barendse et al., 2011, Hutchings et al., 2012).

C6: Biological diversity High

Justification

South Africa’s national marine ecosystem map indicates 32 ecosystem types in this area (Sink et al., 2019), and this diversity of ecosystem types is a key driver of this area’s selection in two systematic biodiversity plans (Sink et al., 2011, Majiedt et al., 2013). The submarine canyon, sand and mud habitats, patches of low oxygen water, bays, islands and the adjacent lagoon system contribute to the high habitat diversity in this area (Sink et al., 2011, 2012a, 2019, Majiedt et al., 2013). This is also the only place where two genomic clusters for Zostera capensis are present (in Langebaan). The importance of sites like Langebaan and Dassen Island for biodiversity are highlighted by the fact that they are both Ramsar sites.

C7: Naturalness Medium

Justification

There is a moderate level of naturalness within this area. Of the two mapped submarine canyons, there is lower trawling effort and fewer pressures in Cape Canyon, which is the closer canyon to the city of Cape Town (Sink et al., 2011, Sink et al., 2012a,b). Some of the canyon habitat is outside of the trawling footprint, and there are adjacent hard ground areas that are also untrawled (Wilkinson 2009, Sink et al., 2012b). However, there is a port at Saldanha, and several fisheries sectors operate within this area. An assessment of cumulative anthropogenic pressure on South Africa’s marine environment indicates that 17% of the EBSA is in good ecological condition, 40% fair and 43% poor ecological condition (Sink et al., 2019).

 

Other relevant website address or attached documents

Summary of ecosystem types and threat status for the Cape Canyon and Associated Islands, Bays and Lagoon. Data from Sink et al. (2019).

Threat Status

Ecosystem Type

Area (km2)

Area (%)

Endangered

Cape Bays

114.3

0.7

 

Cape Island Shore

2.9

0.0

 

Cape Sheltered Rocky Shore

1.4

0.0

 

Cape Upper Canyons

1893.8

11.4

 

Cool Temperate Arid Predominantly Closed Estuary

0.1

0.0

 

Cool Temperate Estuarine Lake

0.2

0.0

 

Cool Temperate Predominantly Open Estuary

0.3

0.0

 

Southern Benguela Muddy Shelf Edge

814.0

4.9

 

Southern Benguela Reflective Sandy Shore

5.7

0.0

Vulnerable

Cape Boulder Shore

1.3

0.0

 

Cape Exposed Rocky Shore

16.0

0.1

 

Cape Kelp Forest

4.7

0.0

 

Cape Lower Canyons

2483.7

15.0

 

Cape Mixed Shore

12.4

0.1

 

Cape Rocky Inner Shelf

249.3

1.5

 

Cape Rocky Mid Shelf Mosaic

2714.0

16.4

 

Cape Sandy Inner Shelf

253.9

1.5

 

Cool Temperate Estuarine Lagoon

60.2

0.4

 

Southern Benguela Rocky Shelf Edge

1457.2

8.8

 

Southern Benguela Sandy Shelf Edge

6.7

0.0

 

St Helena Bay

545.3

3.3

Near Threatened

Cape Very Exposed Rocky Shore

0.2

0.0

Southern Benguela Intermediate Sandy Shore

11.3

0.1

Least Concern

Cape Basin Abyss

628.4

3.8

Namaqua Sandy Mid Shelf

9.4

0.1

 

Southeast Atlantic Lower Slope

1994.2

12.0

 

Southeast Atlantic Mid Slope

7.1

0.0

 

Southeast Atlantic Upper Slope

180.3

1.1

 

Southern Benguela Dissipative Sandy Shore

14.1

0.1

 

Southern Benguela Dissipative-Intermediate Sandy Shore

21.2

0.1

 

Southern Benguela Outer Shelf Rocky Sand Mosaic

555.8

3.3

 

Southern Benguela Sandy Outer Shelf

2526.0

15.2

Grand Total

 

16585.5

99.9


[Top]