Tsitsikamma-Robberg is a coastal EBSA on the South African south coast. It includes Tsitsikamma MPA (South Africa’s oldest MPA), Robberg MPA, Goukamma MPA, and part of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve. It extends from the shore largely to the back of the middle shelf (-100 m isobath), with some extension onto the shallow outer shelf, and includes the extent of five estuaries, including Knysna. The protection afforded to the inshore reefs from these MPAs has contributed to a high diversity and abundance of species, including fragile, vulnerable, sensitive and slow-growing species, that in turn support many top predators. Numerous threatened species occur within this EBSA, including an Endangered endemic seahorse species and several Critically Endangered fish species, with the area also supporting important life-history stages of these threatened and other species. Several Critically Endangered and Endangered ecosystem types are also represented in the EBSA, which by implication support threatened biological communities. The area is mostly in good or fair ecological condition. However, Tsitsikamma MPA has recently been opened to recreational fishing in certain areas.
Tsitsikamma-Robberg is a coastal EBSA on the South African south coast. It includes Tsitsikamma MPA (South Africa’s oldest MPA), Robberg MPA, Goukamma MPA, and part of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve. It extends from the shore largely to the back of the middle shelf (-100 m isobath), with some extension onto the shallow outer shelf, and includes the extent of five estuaries, including Knysna. The protection afforded to the inshore reefs from these MPAs has contributed to a high diversity and abundance of species, including fragile, vulnerable, sensitive and slow-growing species, that in turn support many top predators. Numerous threatened species occur within this EBSA, including an Endangered endemic seahorse species and several Critically Endangered fish species, with the area also supporting important life-history stages of these threatened and other species. Several Critically Endangered and Endangered ecosystem types are also represented in the EBSA, which by implication support threatened biological communities. The area is mostly in good or fair ecological condition. However, Tsitsikamma MPA has recently been opened to recreational fishing in certain areas.
Tsitsikamma-Robberg is a coastal EBSA that includes the Tsitsikamma, Robberg and Goukamma MPAs, and is bordered along most of its shore length by the Garden Route National Park. The EBSA also forms part of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve. Fourteen estuaries open into this EBSA, with the Keurbooms, Groot, Sout, Knysna and Goukamma Estuaries included in the EBSA boundary. As a coastal EBSA, the depth range is relatively shallow, with most of the area covering the middle shelf. Depths are generally shallower than -100 m, although slightly deeper waters are contained in the western offshore extension. The EBSA contains important inshore reefs, vulnerable, fragile and sensitive species, and is also rich in top predators (sharks, cetaceans and marine mammals), some of which are threatened species. Inclusion of the Keurbooms and Knysna Estuaries in the EBSA means that it also contains two of only three estuaries in South Africa where the Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) is found: one of the two Endangered seahorse species globally. Given the diversity contained within the EBSA, there are many ecotourism operators (whale watching, fishing charters) and marine researchers working in this area. Notably, Tsitsikamma MPA is Africa’s oldest marine reserve, and therefore, there is a lot of research on the reef and fish communities contained within it. The EBSA had a high selection frequency in a national systematic conservation plan, and was also identified as a key site in South Africa’s protected area expansion strategy.
The reason this site was not part of the original list of EBSAs first proposed in the South Eastern Atlantic EBSA Identification Workshop in 2013 (UNEP/CBD/RW/EBSA/SEA/1/4) is because the value of the area was recognised only afterwards in a gap analysis.The significance of this site is largely underpinned by the inshore reefs. However, it also includes several other biodiversity features, such as critical linkages between land and sea via the five key estuaries, and important shore habitats that support critical life history stages of animals such as seals. Consequently, this site is proposed as a Type 2 EBSA (sensu Johnson et al., 2018).
The Tsitsikamma-Robberg EBSA extends along the South African south coast from the eastern boundary of the Goukamma MPA, to about 8 km west of the Robberg Peninsula, and offshore by approximately 15-18 km, largely following the -100 m isobath. The western half of the EBSA has an offshore extension, roughly opposite the Knysna Estuary. It also includes the five largest estuaries in the EBSA: Keurbooms, Groot, Sout, Knysna and Goukamma. Tsitsikamma-Robberg is entirely within South Africa’s national jurisdiction.
Feature description of the proposed area
The features contained within the EBSA are largely benthic, but several of the top predators are associated more with the pelagic environment. The EBSA status of this site is largely underpinned by the inshore reefs, and those in Tsitsikamma MPA have been protected since the 1964, making it the oldest marine reserve in Africa. These reefs comprise numerous fragile and sensitive species that are slow growing, including both habitat-forming reef species, as well as animals such as sparids. Echo-sounder and stereo-BRUV data show that reefs within the EBSA have high structural complexity (which tends to be associated with higher diversity and abundance of fish and ), and in some places include boulder reefs that appear to be a unique ecosystem type in South Africa, supporting abundant carpenter, panga and giant octopus communities (Anthony Bernard, SAIAB, pers. comm.). As a result of the large, old, no-take reserves, species abundance and diversity in this EBSA’s MPAs are much higher compared to that of the surrounding area. In turn, the area supports key populations of top predators, including Cape fur seals, sharks, seabirds and cetaceans by providing breeding and foraging habitat for them. There are several threatened species in this area, including top predators and species of commercial importance. There are also 19 ecosystem types in the EBSA (Harris et al., 2019; Sink et al., 2019), including 10 threatened ecosystem types (Sink et al., 2019), which by implication support biological communities that are also threatened.
Given the abundant marine life in the area, and the large no-take reserve that serves as a pristine reference site, there is a long history of marine research in this area, and a thriving ecotourism industry, including Blue Flag boats and beaches. The EBSA had a high selection frequency in a national systematic conservation plan indicative that this is a key area in which biodiversity targets need to be met (Sink et al., 2011, 2012, SANBI unpublished results), and it is also recognised as a focus area for protected area expansion in South Africa. The broader area, including the terrestrial side, is similarly recognised for its key ecological value. Most of the EBSA is backed by the terrestrial Garden Route National Park, and it forms part of the much larger Garden Route Biosphere Reserve that was declared by UNESCO in 2017. It also includes the Tsitsikamma-Plettenberg Bay Important Bird and Biodiversity Area, within which at least 300 species of birds have been recorded (Marnewick et al., 2015). The EBSA boundary was delineated based on all the best available data (e.g., Harris et al., 2019; Holness et al., 2014; Majiedt et al., 2013; Sink et al., 2012, 2019).
Feature condition and future outlook of the proposed area
The EBSA is in good (37%) to fair (35%) ecological condition, with the remaining 28% in poor condition based on a national analysis of cumulative threats to the marine realm (Sink et al., 2012, 2019). Notably, the South African government recently opened sections of the previously no-take Tsitsikamma MPA for recreational fishing.
References
Edgar, G.J., Stuart-Smith, R.D., Willis, T.J., Kininmonth, S., Baker, S.C., Banks, S., Barrett, N.S., Becerro, M.A., Bernard, A.T., Berkhout, J., Buxton, C.D., Campbell, S.J., Cooper, A.T., Davey, M., Edgar, S.C., Forsterra, G., Galvan, D.E., Irigoyen, A.J., Kushner, D.J., Moura, R., Parnell, P.E., Shears, N.T., Soler, G., Strain, E.M., Thomson, R.J. 2014. Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features. Nature, 506: 216-20.
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.
Holness, S., Kirkman, S., Samaai, T., Wolf, T., Sink, K., Majiedt, P., Nsiangango, S., Kainge, P., Kilongo, K., Kathena, J., Harris, L.R., Lagabrielle, E., Kirchner, C., Chalmers, R., Lombard, A., 2014. Spatial Biodiversity Assessment and Spatial Management, including Marine Protected Areas. Final report for the Benguela Current Commission project BEH 09-01.
Huisamen, J., Kirkman, S.P., Watson, L.H., Cockcroft, V.G. and Pistorius, P.A., 2011. Recolonisation of the Robberg Peninsula (Plettenberg Bay, South Africa) by Cape fur seals. African Journal of Marine Science, 33(3): 453-461.
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.
Lockyear, J.F., Hecht, T., Kaiser, H., Teske, P.R. 2006. The distribution and abundance of the endangered Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis (Pisces: Syngnathidae) in South African estuaries. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 31: 275-283.
Majiedt, P., Holness, S., Sink, K., Oosthuizen, A., P., C., 2013. Systematic Marine Biodiversity Plan for the West Coast of South Africa. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, South Africa.
Marnewick, M.D., Retief, E.F., Theron, N.T., Wright, D.R., Andersonm T.A. 2015. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas of South Africa. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa.
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. 2012. 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.
Whittington, P.A., Crawford, R.J.M., Martin, A.P., Randall, R.M., Brown, M., Ryan, P.G., Dyer, B.M., Harrison, K.H.B., Huisamen, J., Makhado, A.B., Upfold, L., Waller, L.J., Witteveen, M. 2016. Recent Trends of the Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) in South Africa. Waterbirds, 39: 99-113.
Wood, A.D., Brouwer, S.L., Cowley, P.D., Harrison, T.D. 2000. An updated check list of the ichthyofaunal species assemblage of the Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa. Koedoe, 43: 13.
Status of submission
Area to be submitted to the Conference of the Parties for acknowledgement of meeting EBSA criteria once review process is finalized.
Not yet submitted.
C3: Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species and/or habitats High
The EBSA is predominantly in good (37%) or fair (35%) ecological condition as per a national cumulative threat assessment of pressures on South Africa’s marine environment (Sink et al., 2019). This is partly because the area includes three MPAs, the largest of which is an old (proclaimed in 1964) no-take reserve, and the adjacent hinterland (although not part of the EBSA) mostly comprises the Garden Route National Park, and more recently (2017), the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve.