DECLARATION OF DWESA-CWEBE MARINE PROTECTED AREA
Title: Declaration of the Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area in terms of s. 22A published and existing Dwesa- Cwebe Marine Protected Area declared in stipulation 2 (7) of GN R1429 in GG 21948 of 29 December 2000 withdrawn with effect from 1 December 2015 and subsequent regulations
Government Notice: GN 1073 in GG 39379 of 6 November 2015 and GN 1074 in GG 39379 of 6 November 2015
Date of commencement: 1 December 2015
Potentially affected controls: Applications for authorisation in terms of NEMA and NEMPA
The Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area was declared as such under the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 in Government Notice 1429 of Government Gazette 21948 of 29 December 2000. This Notice has now been withdrawn by GN 1073. GN 1073 now declares this area as Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area under section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003. This Area is situated in the Eastern Cape.
The purpose for declaring this marine protected area is:
(a) To contribute to a national and global representative system of marine protected areas, by providing protection for species, habitats and ecosystem processes in a biodiversity hotspot;
(b) to facilitate fisheries management by protecting spawning stock, allowing stock recovery, enhancing stock abundance in adjacent areas, whilst accommodating appropriate small-scale fisher and recreational access to marine resources within certain zones in the Marine Protected Area;
(c) to protect the biodiversity and nursery function of the Mbashe Estuary and adjacent estuaries and the recruitment of estuarine-dependent fish into marine fisheries;
(d) for the protection and conservation of a particular species or a specific population and its habitat, including the White Steenbras; and
(e) to prohibit or restrict other activities in the Marine Protected Area which may have an adverse effect on the environment.
Regulations related to the Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area was published in GN 1074. In these Regulations controlled and restricted zones are identified (regulation 2). Various restrictions are imposed in these areas. Examples include:
- No person may undertake any scientific research within the Marine Protected Area, except on the authority of a scientific research permit issued by the Minister No person may fish, or attempt to fish, in a Restricted Zone within the Marine Protected Area.
- No person may fish or attempt to fish in a Controlled Zone of the Marine Protected Area unless they are in possession of a valid recreational or small-scale fishing permit or authorisation issued in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act that gives permission to fish within a Controlled Zone of the Marine Protected Area.
- A maximum of 39 small-scale fishers in total per day may fish across all of the Controlled Zones as a whole.
- Any person in possession of a valid recreational fishing permit may only fish in a Controlled Zone in designated areas.
- No person may operate or attempt to operate a SCUBA diving business in the Marine Protected Area without a permit.
