St Lucia and Maputaland are two contiguous marine protected areas within the iSimangaliso (also known as Greater St Lucia) Wetland Park located on South Africa’s East Coast. These MPAs protect important nesting beaches for loggerhead and leatherback turtles, some of the southernmost coral reefs in the world that are inhabited by several species of threatened reef fish, and deep offshore canyons that provide habitat for the rare coelacanth.

According to a 2009 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) entitled “State of Management of South Africa’s Marine Protected Areas,” the deep canyons inhabited by coelacanths are located on the offshore boundary of the MPAs, and it was therefore suggested that the boundary be extended further offshore to provide effective protection for these important habitats. In addition, it was suggested that the MPA boundary be extended southward to offer increased protection to a section of the Natal bioregion, located in the southern portion of iSinamgaliso Wetland Park.

WWF – iSimangaliso MPA: http://www.wwf.org.za/what_we_do/marine/mpas/our_mpa_s/?1294/iSimangaliso-MPA

WWF, 2009. State of Management of South Africa’s Marine Protected Areas: http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/mpastateofmanagementreport04nov2009weblowerdpi.pdf

KZN Wildlife – Marine Reserves – Marine Protected Areas in Kwazula-Natal: http://www.kznwildlife.com/old/index.php?/Marine-Reserves-Marine-Protected-Areas-In-Kwazulu-Natal.html

KZN Wildlife – Marine Protected Areas: http://www.kznwildlife.com/old/index.php?/Marine-Protected-Areas.html

SA-Venues – Maputaland Marine Reserve: http://www.sa-venues.com/game-reserves/kzn_maputaland.htm