Childs Bank Marine Protected Area

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'

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.

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.

Sandy beaches and bottoms (including shelly, pebble and gravel bottoms) Sandy bottoms at first glance appear to be fairly barren areas, as they lack the stability to support many of the spectacular reef based species, and the variety of large organisms is relatively low. The sand is continually being moved around by wave action, to a greater or lesser degree depending on weather conditions and exposure of the area. This means that sessile organisms must be specifically adapted to areas of relatively loose substrate to thrive in them, and the variety of species found on a sandy or gravel bottom will depend on all these factors. Unconsolidated sedimentary bottoms have one important compensation for their instability, animals can burrow into the sand and move up and down within its layers, which can provide feeding opportunities and protection from predation. Other species can dig themselves holes in which to shelter, or may feed by filtering water drawn through the tunnel, or by extending body parts adapted to this function into the water above the sand.

The open sea The pelagic water column is the major part of the living space at sea. This is the water between the surface and the top of the benthic zone, where living organisms swim, float or drift, and the food chain starts with phytoplankton, the mostly microscopic photosynthetic organisms that convert the energy of sunlight into organic material which feeds nearly everything else, directly or indirectly. In temperate seas there are distinct seasonal cycles of phytoplankton growth, based on the available nutrients and the available sunlight. Either can be a limiting factor. Phytoplankton tend to thrive where there is plenty of light, and they themselves are a major factor in restricting light penetration to greater depths, so the photosynthetic zone tends to be shallower in areas of high productivity. Zooplankton feed on the phytoplankton, and are in turn eaten by larger animals. The larger pelagic animals are generally faster moving and more mobile, giving them the option of changing depth to feed or to avoid predation, and to move to other places in search of a better food supply.

Endemism
The MPA is in the cool temperate Southeast Atlantic ecoregion to the west of the continental shelf. There are some species endemic to South Africa in this region. This is the only known location of the cold water coral Desmosphyllum pertusum in the South African EEZ.