Declaration of Uthukela Marine Protected Area in terms of section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (No. 776 of 2019).

This Notice of the Minister of Environmental Affairs, made under section 22A of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (as inserted by the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Amendment Act 2014), declares the Uthukela Marine Protected Area as set out in the Schedule to the Notice. The purposes for declaring this Marine Protected Area are, amongst others: (a) To contribute to a national, regional and global representative system of marine protected areas by conserving and protecting interconnected coastal and offshore benthic and pelagic ecosystems of the KwaZulu-Natal Bight; (b) to conserve and protect the ecologically sensitive biodiversity and the ecological processes associated with these ecosystems, including: fragile coral and sponge habitats; threatened species and ecosystem types; the connectivity, spawning area and nursery function; and the critical role of fresh water riverine input as a supply of nutrients and suspended sediment; (c) to protect protected, threatened and overexploited species such as marine mammals, turtles, seventy four, geelbek, square tail kob, dusky kob, white edge rockcod, garrick, black musselcracker and hammerhead sharks; (d) to conserve and protect an area of life history importance for crustaceans and migratory species including marine mammals, turtles, sharks, seabreams, triplefins and other fish; (e) to support the recovery of linefish, rays and sharks by protecting spawning, nursery, foraging, aggregation and refuge areas for threatened and overexploited species; (f) to facilitate species management and sustainable use of linefish by supporting fisheries recovery and enhanced species abundance in fished areas.