Plett Hope Spot Update – September 2014
Dear Plett Hope Spot supporters
We are excited to release to you today the background document produced on the Plett Hope Spot, and hope you find it useful in understanding more about what the Hope Spots entail, what amazing marine work is already being done by many organisations in Plett, and how Hope Spots can draw this all together to make a meaningful attempt to conserve the bay.
Please feel free to send this on to your contacts, and to ask questions if you have any. Can I stress this is a WORKING document, we sincerely attempted to NOT exclude anyone or any organisation – we are currently a small team of volunteers working on this program, so could well have inadvertently got some facts wrong or excluded people or groups who feel they should be included – let us know and we can rectify that!
1. INTRODUCTION TO HOPE SPOTS
Bitou is set to become one of South Africa’s first International Hope Spots and, with the help of the greater Plett Community, Bitou can aspire to be the best Hope Spot in the world.
Hope Spots are a global network of identified marine areas, promoted and driven by the global initiative, Mission Blue. Mission Blue, in turn, was established through the Sylvia Earle Alliance (SEA),
an initiative aimed at exploring and caring for the oceans, started by Dr Sylvia Earle, a world famous
diver, oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer in Residence.
Dr Earle defined Hope Spots in a manner that makes them rather like classical Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). However, in South Africa, and perhaps much of the rest of Africa too, it is necessary to have a greater human involvement to promote, sustain and add value to MPAs, and Hope Spots can and should do this in this context. The public participation approach is also consistent with Dr Earle’s call to draw people into resolving the global environmental crises. The success of a Hope Spot depends on the people driving the initiative and the manner in which it is accepted and supported by civil society, local and national government, businesses, clubs, schools and universities.
The Mission Blue Hope Spot initiative is an international movement, so the Hope Spots do need to meet international standards and qualify for international support.The Sustainable Seas Trust (SST), the South African partner of Mission Blue, together with several Non Profit and Non-Government Organisations (NPO’s and NGO’s) in the Bitou region have started the process of establishing the greater Plettenberg Bay area as an international Hope Spot.
A process has begun whereby several different organisations, non-government and government, as well as academic and educational institutions, clubs, businesses and civil society will be able to participate and become part of the greater initiative under one banner of Hope for the future of our marine environment – the Plett Hope Spot which will be officially launched by Dr Earle in December 2014.
2. SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION
Plett can be the best Hope Spot in the world as it has everything going for it; everything a Hope Spot
should be and should have is contained within the Plett environment and achieved by the established
and planned projects of the different Government bodies, NGO’s and community initiatives.
However, most importantly, the Plett marine environment is worth protecting under the Hope Spot banner because of its unique and vitally important natural environment in terms of its geographical, geological, oceanographic, and biological features.
Geographically the Plettenberg Bay region is highly diverse. The coastline consists of a combination
of long white beaches, rugged cliffs, pebble beaches and rocky shores.6
These diverse terrestrial features extend into the ocean, forming under water habitats just as diverse: subtidal sandy bottoms, subtidal rocky reefs, deep gullies, and rocky pools, all hosting a diverse range of organisms adapted to a specific niche.
The critically endangered dune systems along the beautiful long beaches of the Plett region play an important role in protecting the coastline. The dunes form buffers against wave action and storms
and act as a reservoir for sand that can then later replenish beach areas. The dune vegetation, namely Hartenbos Primary Dune vegetation and Wilderness Forest Thicket, are classified as vulnerable 13 and the Gouritz Dune Thicket and Robberg Dune Thicket are classified as endangered 21, all of which play a vital role in terms of biodiversity conservation and bird movement and nesting along the coast.10
The Bay is biologically diverse, with high endemism boasting several rare, endangered, and threatened species that make use of the Bay, including the near threatened Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliea), data deficient Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera brydei spp), and the vulnerable Indio pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and Indio-pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) migrate to the South African coastline every year and use the protected waters of the Bay to mate and calve. The world famous ‘sardine run’ (annual northward migration of small pelagic fish) passes through the Bay every autumn, bringing with it thousands upon thousands of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis/capensis), different species of shark, whales, Cape gannets (Morus capensis), cormorants and Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus). All year round, the Bay is home to a colony of approximately five thousand Cape fur seals, and a healthy population of Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Sea turtles listed as threatened under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) occur occasionally in the Bay; these include Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Leatherback, and Green turtle. In the adjacent Tsitsikamma MPA, over 202 fish species from 84 families have been recorded20. The abundant fish species such as Red Roman, Hake, Kob and Cape Salmon share their water with the more vulnerable fish including Red Steenbras and White Steenbras. The long-lived, slow growing Red Roman takes shelter here within the rocky reefs and is potentially vulnerable because it takes so long to reach sexual maturity and is regularly targeted by recreational and commercial fishermen. A community of endangered Pansy Shells reside along the Keurbooms Strand and Robberg utilising the sandy bottom. 9
The seabird population in Plett is also something to take note of; along the Keurbooms Estuary, you will find one of the largest Kelp Gull colonies on mainland South Africa, which is also home to several other species of birds including the African Black Oystercatcher, a species of high conservation concern in South Africa. Along the Keurbooms Estuary, the Coordinated Water Avifaunal Counts (CWAC) Programme has recorded 64 species of waterbirds.9
There are six notable rivers flowing into the sea on this stretch of coastline from the west end of Tsitsikamma National Park all the way through to Kranshoek, namely the Groot River, Salt River, Maitjes River, Keurbooms River and Bitou River, and the Piesang River. Some of these rivers provide habitat for endangered fresh water fish like the Eastern Cape Redfin and the Slender Redfin. Each of these rivers also contribute towards the health of the fish and invertebrate population of the sea, by adding fresh water to the ocean system and creating river mouths and estuaries which serve as critical nursery grounds for certain fish species. There are four estuaries in the Plett region. The Piesang Valley Estuary, Keurbooms River Estuary, Groot River Estuary, and the Salt River Estuary.
The Piesang River Estuary has recently undergone numerous studies showing it is ecologically important as a nursery ground for fish. The entire Keurbooms / Bitou Estuary is designated as a Critical biodiversity Area by the Garden Route Initiative (GRI)10.
Furthermore, the Keurbooms Estuary is rated as the 18thmost important estuary in South Africa, being one of the very few estuaries in South Africa that has not been drastically altered by water schemes, canalisation, and unsustainable developments. The Keurbooms also serves as a nursery ground for over 29 species of fish including the important and over-exploited line-fish species such as White Steenbras, Spotted Grunter and Leervis, as well as the endangered Knysna Seahorse listed on the IUCN Red List,9 and numerous invertebrates and mollusc species.
The Bitou Wetland, feeding into the Keurbooms Estuary, makes way to large flood plains, mudbanks, saltmarsh, and fresh water creeks. The Bitou Wetland is a valuable ecological resource under severe threat from development. The wetland provides a number of ecological benefits including flood attenuation from its ability to store water and release it slowly; it purifies water by removing pollutants and the wetland plants take up dissolved nutrients, preventing large algae blooms from suffocating the ecosystem. The wetland provides habitat for wetland birds such as the Red-chested Flufftail and Baillon’s Crake, Moorhen, Dabchick, waterfowl, egrets, Shelduck, Yellow-billed Duck and Avocet, all of which make use of the area for roosting, breeding and feeding.4
Near the eastern boundary of the Plett Hope Spot is the Groot River Estuary, which has an intermediate botanical importance rating based on the aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation.`13
Initial fish surveys in the Groot River Estuary, conducted in 2010 by Kyle Smith and his team from SANPArks, highlighted the estuary as an important nursery ground for a number of marine spawning species. The Groot River Estuary is regarded as a sanctuary for resident estuarine fish species, as well as marine migrant species such as the endemic Cape Stumpnose. The Groot River Estuary also plays a role in hosting endangered species such as the estuarine pipefish, the over-exploited and vulnerable White Steenbrass, Leervis and Spotted Grunter. The Nature’s Valley Trust (NVT) is conducting a monitoring project over the next five years, under Kyle Smith’s guidance, to determine both the structural and functional properties of the estuary’s fish community.
Special note should be taken of the Salt River where 13 undescribed aquatic invertebrate species, as well as three possible new genera, have been discovered in a recent aquatic invertebrate survey. It was also discovered that the Salt River holds the richest known diversity of species in the mayfly family Teloganodidae in Africa.8
The Bay and its surrounds are of a high conservation value and as such, several Universities, NGO’s, and Government institutions conduct numerous and varied research projects in the area throughout the year. The Nature’s Valley Trust has developed a centralised research station that will assist in the facilitation of, and provide a central hub, where new and ongoing research can be conducted in collaboration with all stakeholders and universities for the good of the area as a whole.
In conclusion, the high biological diversity, and wide range of habitats makes the Bay a valuable asset in terms of research, conservation, education, and even economic value. The environmental value/importance/services provided by the Bay can never be replaced once it is gone and with it all the resources, employment/livelihood opportunities, recreational uses, and aesthetic and scenic value it provides. It is therefore highly beneficial for the Plett area to be a Hope Spot as it will provide the ideal platform for all interested parties to work together towards a common conservation and social goal.
Read more, by downloading the FULL PDF.
Kind regards
Dr Mark Brown
Chairman
Plett Hope Spot
http://www.sst.org.za/what-we-do/hope-spots/plettenberg-hope-spot
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plett-Hope-Spot/1421945568057790