Southern Coastal and Shelf Waters of South Africa IMMA
Size in Square Kilometres
166 700 km2
Qualifying Species and Criteria
Indian Ocean humpback dolphin – Sousa plumbea
Criterion A; B (1)
Bryde’s whale – Balaenoptera edeni
Criterion C (2)
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin – Tursiops aduncus
Criterion C (2)
Common dolphin – Delphinus delphis
Criterion C (2)
Cape fur seal – Arctocephalus pusillus
Criterion C (2)
Marine Mammal Diversity
Sousa plumbea, Balaenoptera edeni, Tursiops aduncus, Delphinus delphis, Arctocephalus pusillus, Megaptera novaeangliae, Eubalaena australis, Orcinus orca
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Summary
The southern coast of South Africa represents one of the world’s most productive marine regions, famed for its annual ‘Sardine Run’ which occurs along the southeast coast between May and June. This annual event supports a number of top predators, including common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) and killer whales (Orcinus orca). The inshore waters, within 500m of the coast and with water depths of less than 25m, provide important year-round habitat for feeding and reproduction for Endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins (Sousa plumbea). Furthermore, the waters over the continental shelf, present important habitat for the inshore form of Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni).
Description of Qualifying Criteria
Criterion A – Species or Population Vulnerability
Recent local (South Africa) and international (IUCN) Red List assessments have classified the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin as ‘Endangered’ in South African waters (Plön et al., 2016) as well as globally (Braulik et al., 2017). Investigations of photo-identification data of this species have indicated that national abundance may be well below previous estimates of 1000 individuals, with numbers possibly closer to 500 (Vermeulen et al., 2017).
Criterion B: Distribution and Abundance
Sub-criterion B1: Small and Resident Populations
Available recent population size estimates for Sousa plumbea are generally small (James et al., 2015; Vermeulen et al., 2017; Bouveroux et al., 2018), ranging from as little as 41 animals (Greenwood, 2013) to a maximum of 466 (Karczmarski et al., 1999) recorded individuals. Matching of photo-identification catalogues between study sites along the coastline has indicated that national abundance may be well below previous estimates of 1000 individuals (Plön et al., 2016), with numbers possibly closer to 500 (Vermeulen et al., 2017). Within these isolated populations numerous studies have documented reproductive activities of Sousa plumbea in the area, specifically Algoa Bay and Plettenberg Bay (Saayman et al., 1972; Saayman and Tayler, 1979; Karczmarski, 1997; Karczmarski et al., 2000; Plön et al., 2015; Koper et al., 2016; Melly et al., 2017; Bouveroux et al., 2018). Births appear to occur throughout the year but in Algoa Bay most have been reported in the austral summer and autumn (Dec-April) (Karczmarski, 1999). Movement between study sites was documented along the entire southern Cape coast between False Bay and Algoa Bay; no movement was reported to study sites further east, indicating possible population delineation (Vermeulen et al., 2017).
Criterion C: Key Life Cycle Activities
Sub-criterion C2: Feeding Areas
The Sardine Run is a well-documented annual phenomenon whereby large schools of Sardine (Sardinops sagax) migrate along the Southern and Eastern Cape coastline (including the area known as the Wild Coast) into the waters of KwaZulu-Natal (O’Donoghue, 2009; O’Donoghue et al., 2010a). This migration and aggregation of associated predators is believed to start in the area off Mossel Bay and move along the shelf eastwards to about Durban (O’Donoghue et al., 2010a; O’Donoghue et al., 2010b; O’Donoghue et al., 2010c). The Sardine Run has become increasingly spatio-temporally variable, but usually occurs in May/June during the austral winter (O’Donoghue et al., 2010b; O’Donoghue et al., 2010c; Caputo et al., 2017). A number of marine predators, such as common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) (Ambrose et al., 2013), Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) (Cockcroft et al., 1990; Caputo et al., 2017), and Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) follow and feed on the migrating schools of Sardine (Penry et al., 2011; Penry et al., 2016). In addition, Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) feed in the Sardine Run (Huisamen et al., 2012).
Supporting Information
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