OPINION

MPA Day, marked on 1 August, is an opportunity to reflect on one of the most important tools available for safeguarding the ocean: Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs.

MPAs are based on the principle that some parts of the coast and ocean are too productive, vulnerable or slow to recover to be treated as inexhaustible.

They need special protection. MPAs are not just about excluding extractive use, but more about protecting spawning and nursery grounds, coral reefs, rocky shores, seagrass beds, cultural heritage sites and other bottom or benthic habitats for the benefit of all. 

They provide refuge for species to grow, reproduce, and rebuild their populations, while supporting recreation, tourism, cultural connections, and scientific research.

MPAs can be extremely effective in achieving this, but how they are designed, managed and combined with the other measures is essential to meeting global marine conservation goals.

A South African commitment

Marine protection has roots in seasonal closures and locally protected places used by coastal communities worldwide. The modern international MPA movement gained momentum after the 1962 World Congress on National Parks and through IUCN programmes (International Union for Conservation of Nature) from the 1970s. South Africa was an early adopter, with Tsitsikamma declared in 1964, becoming the country’s first MPA and the oldest in Africa. 

The national network has expanded substantially, particularly after 20 new MPAs were gazetted in 2019, now standing at 41 MPAs covering about 5.4% of its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Map of the South Africa’s 41 Marine Protected Areas representing 5% of coastal and offshore area, comprising a mix of no-take, controlled-use and sanctuary-type areas. (Source: www.marineprotectedareas.org.za).

MPAs have different zones and are not completely closed to people. Restricted zones are no-take areas where extractive use is prohibited; controlled zones allow specified activities, including fishing, under permit conditions; and sanctuary areas provide the highest level of protection, generally allowing access only for management and research.

Why protection is urgent

Global fisheries demonstrate the need for precautionary action. In 2025, the FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) reported that only 64.5% of assessed marine fish stocks were fished at biologically sustainable levels - 35.5% were overfished. 

Some recoveries have been reported where science-based management was applied, but severe pressure persists in several regions.

Conventional fisheries tools, i.e. bag and size limits, gear restrictions and seasonal closures, remain essential. However, they do not necessarily protect spawning aggregation, nursery habitats or reefs, nor do they stop repeated physical disturbance of the seabed. Bottom trawling and dredging can damage seabed habitats, resuspend sediment, reduce benthic biomass and diversity. 

These habitats and associated species may take decades or longer to recover. Seabed mining raises similar concerns, including direct habitat loss, sediment plumes, noise and risks to poorly understood deep-sea ecosystems. Here, preventing harm is more pragmatic than restoring habitats afterwards.

Protection and sustainable use

MPAs are not a choice between conservation and people. Healthy oceans underpin food security, livelihoods, recreation, tourism, cultural identity and well-being. Their purpose is to protect the ecological foundation on which these benefits depend.

Spatial protection can safeguard both species and places. This is especially important for slow-growing reef fish and invertebrates, many of which mature late, are slow to reproduce or have predictable aggregations. By allowing animals to survive and grow, protection preserves large breeding individuals. Larger females of many fish species produce more eggs, often with better prospects of survival, strengthening a population’s reproductive capacity.

Why no-take areas matter

Not all MPAs provide equal protection. Partially protected areas can contribute to sustainable use, but no-take reserves consistently show the strongest ecological gains. 

Global analyses have found increases in biomass, density, organism size and species richness within no-take reserves, compared with partially protected or unprotected areas. This does not mean every part of the sea should be no-take. It means MPA networks need meaningful no-take core areas that are large enough, established long enough and with effective enforcement to allow ecological recovery.

MPAs are necessary, but not sufficient. They cannot stop warming seas, prevent pollution entering from outside their boundaries, or rebuild stocks if fishing pressure remains unsustainable elsewhere. 

Effective ocean protection, therefore, needs MPAs alongside fisheries regulation, trawl-free areas, pollution control, vessel monitoring, spatial planning and climate adaptation.

An MPA’s success is not measured by its size on a map. It is measured by thriving habitats, recovering populations, functioning food webs and sustainable benefits for coastal communities.

Dr Cloverley Lawrence is a SANParks marine scientist for both the Garden Route National Park and Frontier Region Parks.

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