Ponta d'Ouro Marine Partial Reserve (49168)
Mozambique, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1c, D1b
Year of last assessment: 2020
National site name: Reserva Parcial da Ponta de Ouro
Central coordinates: Latitude: -26.3546, Longitude: 32.9591
System: marine
Area of KBA (km2): 698.20218
Protected area coverage (%): 98.66
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: The proposed KBA covers an area about 698km2 and follows the boundaries of the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (POPMR) located in the southern Mozambique. Established in 2009, the POPMR is under review by UNESCO to become a World Heritage Site. The reserve stretches for 86 km along the coast from the border with South Africa (26°51'32.40'' S, 32°56'45.60'' E) to its northernmost point past Inhaca Island (25°55'40.8'' S, 33°01'26.4'' E) and into Maputo Bay at the Maputo River mouth (26°11'38.40'' S, 32°41'27.60'' E). It extends three nautical miles offshore and to the base of the dunes inland and is regulated by a three-zoning plan (Lucrezi et al., 2016). The POPMR is located within a biogeographical transition area referred to as the Delagoa Bioregion (Daly et al., 2018). The rainfall is about 900 mm per year, falling about 110 days per year, although more in January and February. The average annual sea surface temperature in the area is about 24 ° C, ranging from 22.5 ° C in the winter to 26.4 ° C in the summer (DNAC, 2011). Primary reef formations in this site are characterised by submerged late Pleistocene beach rock that is colonised by a thin veneer of Indo-Pacific corals (Ramsay and Mason 1990; Ramsay 1994) and are associated with a diverse Indo-Pacific fish community (Daly et al., 2015). Recreational fishing within the POPMR is restricted to multiple-use zones and is subject to partial restrictions (only pelagic fish may be targeted, including giant trevally, Caranx ignobilis) and bag limits (10 fish per person per day). No industrial or semi-industrial fishing is allowed, and commercial fishing is restricted to multiple-use zones for registered small-scale fisheries from local communities (Daly et al., 2018). The POPMR is a popular tourist destination among South Africans, Mozambicans, and also international visitors due to the scuba diving industry, mainly for shark diving (Lucrezi et al., 2016), whale watching and dolphin. Reefs in the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve in southern Mozambique are a valuable ecological asset: they play a pivotal role in the tourism industry in the area (Daly et al., 2015) and constitute a prominent and unique ecological feature, comprising some of the highest-latitude reefs in the world (Celliers and Schleyer, 2008), and the southernmost coral reef complex of East Africa. The occurrence of large, resident fishes such as potato bass (Epinephelus tukula), several species of sharks and marine turtles has resulted in specific dive sites such as ‘Bass City’ and ‘Pinnacles’ near Ponta Malongane becoming popular with divers (Robertson et al., 1996).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. Three species have met the KBA thresholds at this site. Firstly, the Giant Trevally Caranx Ignobilis assessed as LC by the IUCN, is known to form dense aggregations during the spawning season (Daly et al., 2018), resulting in the largest reproductive aggregation recorded worldwide of Giant Trevally, with up to 2,413 individuals at one point in time. This record is considerably larger than any previously reported aggregation for this species, with examples from elsewhere being >100 fish in the Philippines (von Westernhagen, 1974) and >1 000 fish in northern Mozambique (da Silva et al. 2014). However, the relatively high recreational and commercial value of the Giant Trevally makes the species vulnerable and potentially subject to illegal and unregulated fishing pressure in the region (Daly et al., 2018).The two other trigger species are Humpback Dolphin Sousa plumbea (EN) and the Mud Blenny Parablennius lodosus (VU) endemic to Maputo bay. Based on quantitative analyses of these species range distributions, this site is estimated to support about 0.13% of the global population of Sousa plumbea (EN) and 2.6 % of Parablennius lodosus (VU). Furthermore, the reserve hosts a diversity of critical ecosystems, such as parabolic sand dunes and barrier lakes (Pereira et al. 2014), mangrove stands, seagrasses beds (Bandeira & Paula 2014) and some of the southernmost coral reefs in southeastern Africa (Schleyer & Pereira 2014), which are the habitats of many vulnerable marine species, including a wide diversity of corals, a remnant population of the vulnerable dugongs, the Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphin, the seasonal migrant humpback whales, at least ten species of sharks such as bull sharks, tiger sharks and hammerhead sharks, seahorses (Pereira 2008), migratory birds and two species of marine turtles, Carreta carreta and Dermochelys coriacea which nest and forage within the area (Pereira et al. 2009). Carreta carreta is responsible for approximately 95% of the total nests (Fernandes et al. 2015) and more than 90% of all marine turtle nests in the entire country are found in the POPMR (Pereira et al. 2009). The declaration of the proposed site as a Key Biodiversity Area is not only justified by the presence of three trigger species that meet the required criteria but would also benefit the conservation of numerous other critical ecosystems and sensitive biodiversity of national importance. Therefore, the attribution of the KBA status at this site is strongly recommended.
Delineation rationale: It was not necessary to draw new boundaries. The Proposed KBA followed exactly the boundary of an existing MPA, the Ponta de Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (POPMR).
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 80 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 20 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: large scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Oil spills | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water | Run-off | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Ongoing | |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Ongoing | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing |