The Childs Bank Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa
History
Childs Bank is named for Captain Childs, leader of the team which discovered this flat-topped, steep sided seabed feature in the 1970s. Much of the coral on the bank has been damaged by trawling, but some remains on the steepest areas. This area was proposed for protection in 2004, but was reduced in size to avoid mining areas.
Purpose
A marine protected area is defined by the IUCN as "A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values".
This deep-sea habitat is in the 180 – 450 m depth range, and provides nursery areas for juvenile fish.
Extent
The Childs Bank MPA is off the coast of the Northern Cape in the 180 m to 450 m depth range about 70 nautical miles east of Hondeklipbaai. The MPA protects the water column, seabed and subsoil inside the boundaries. The area of ocean protected is 1,335 km2
Boundaries
The MPA boundaries are: Northern boundary: A S30°40.000' E15°36.000' to B S30°40.000' E16°0.000' Eastern boundary: B S30°40.000' E16°0.000' to C S31°0.000' E16°0.000' Southern boundary: C S31°0.000' E16°0.000' to D S31°0.000' E15°45.000' Southwestern boundary: D S31°0.000' E15°45.000' to E S31°54.000' E15°36.000' Western boundary: E S31°54.000' E15°36.000' to A S30°40.000' E15°36.000'
Zonation
Restricted areas
Controlled areas
Management
The marine protected areas of South Africa are the responsibility of the national government, which has management agreements with a variety of MPA management authorities, which manage the MPAs with funding from the SA Government through the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is responsible for issuing permits, quotas and law enforcement.
Use
Geography
General topography
Steep sided and flat topped ocean bank.
Geology
Childs bank is thought to be a carbonate mound
Ecology
The MPA is in the warm temperate Southeast Atlantic ecoregion to the west of the continental shelf. There are some species endemic to South Africa along this coastline.
Three major habitats exist in the sea in this region, two of them distinguished by the nature of the substrate. The substrate, or base material, is important in that it provides a base to which an organism can anchor itself, which is vitally important for those organisms which need to stay in one particular kind of place. Rocky shores and reefs provide a firm fixed substrate for the attachment of plants and animals. Sedimentary bottoms are a relatively unstable substrate and cannot anchor many of the larger benthic organisms. Finally there is open water, above the substrate and clear of the kelp forest, where the organisms must drift or swim. Mixed habitats are also frequently found, which are a combination of those mentioned above.
Rocky reefs
There are rocky reefs and mixed rocky and sandy bottoms. For many marine organisms the substrate is another type of marine organism, and it is common for several layers to co-exist.
The type of rock of the reef is of some importance, as it influences the range of possibilities for the local topography, which in turn influences the range of habitats provided, and therefore the diversity of inhabitants. Sandstone and other sedimentary rocks erode and weather very differently, and depending on the direction of dip and strike, and steepness of the dip, may produce reefs which are relatively flat to very high profile and full of small crevices. These features may be at varying angles to the shoreline and wave fronts. There are fewer large holes, tunnels and crevices in sandstone reefs, but often many deep but low near-horizontal crevices.