In its 2011 report “Spatial planning to identify focus areas for offshore biodiversity protection in South Africa,” the South African National Biodiversity Institute identified the Tugela Banks as a priority area for seabed protection. The Tugela Banks area, located north of Durban, South Africa in the KwaZulu-Natal Bioregion, contains important submarine canyons along with mud and gravel seabed habitats that serve as a nursery area for several species and support a large commercial prawn fishery. Because of its ecological and commercial importance, the report encourages the development of “a zoned marine protected area and industry-specific fisheries or bycatch management areas.”
