Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
December 2011
Map C.11: Coastal regions of South Africa (Source: Department of Environmental Affairs).
Fisheries along the Northern Cape benefit from the presence of the Benguela Current Large
Marine Ecosystem (BCLME). The icy Benguela current moves from the Southern Ocean
(around Antarctica) and flows northwards along the west coast of Africa as far as southern
Angola – it is shared by South Africa, Namibia and Angola. The nutrient‐rich Benguela
current supports a wide range of marine life. The cooling and upwelling of the Benguela
brings moisture‐laden sea winds to the west coast. The Benguela current is driven by the
prevailing south‐easterly trade winds and source water for the Benguela include Indian and
South Atlantic subtropical thermoclimate water – saline, low‐oxygen tropical Atlantic water,
and cooler, fresher deep water. According to CSIR (2004), the BCLME is one of the four major
coastal upwelling ecosystems of the world, and is an important centre of marine biodiversity
and marine food production. It is estimated that the BCLME is one of the most productive
ocean areas in the world, with a mean annual primary productivity of 1.25 grams of carbon
m 2 per year.
The Benguela ecosystem supports large populations of living marine resources that are of
substantial economic importance to the Northern Cape. Fish species include small pelagic
fish species, such as Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), Red‐eye Round Heriing (Etrumeus
whiteheadi), Sardine (Sardinops sagax), and the Sardinellas (Sardinella aurita and S.
mederensis). Midwater fish species include Cape Horse Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus
capensis), etc. and species such as Hake (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus) and West
Coast Lobster (Jasus lalandii) are well established along the coast. Other species include the
Cape Fur Seal (Artocephalus pusillus), Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis), and the
rare Heaviside’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidei). Furthermore, the near‐shore and off‐
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