MPAs protect fish breeding grounds, providing an area for ‘resource recovery’. Through the moving of fish from MPAs into non MPAs, there is a save zone provided for the fish as well as a good fishing area for fisherman. Ultimately MPAs help maintain food security as well as job security provided by ocean services. (MzanSea, 2019)​

Many of our fish species are heavily over-exploited after many years of severe over-fishing. MPAs allow marine ecosystems and the animals living in them to recover. They provide ‘safe spaces’ in which fish can breed undisturbed and can protect breeding areas that let young fish mature into adulthood, without the pressure of constant fishing. (MzanSea, 2019)

The fishing industry is huge in South Africa and employs thousands of people that rely on the ocean being healthy and well looked after. From small scale fisherman to large scale fisheries, there are many people who rely on the ocean for their livelihood. For many, fishing is a way of life. (MzanSea, 2019)

MPAs create important jobs within the park, including rangers, park managers, gate staff, maintenance staff and in-house educators. (MzanSea, 2019)

MPAs are part of South Africa’s ‘climate change adaptation strategy’. They keep coastal areas healthy and provide resilience in ecosystems and armours for our shorelines.

Healthy shorelines protect coastal communities from extreme weather, tsunamis and rises in sea-level. Protection now provides future benefits and safeguards the social and economic wellbeing of coastline communities. (MzanSea, 2019)

South Africa has a wide variety of ocean-related activities for local and international tourists. Many tourists come to South Africa to see the many species marine life we have, such as: sharks, whales, dolphins, seahorses, and nudibranchs. (MzanSea, 2019) 

The penguin colony at Boulders beach in Simonstown generates a couple million rand in revenue each year from ticket sales at the gate. (MzanSea, 2019) 

South Africa’s oceans have species that are found nowhere else on earth and offer incredible ocean encounters with Marine life Indigenous to South Africa. Scuba divers report having a ‘much richer diving experience when they don’t have to compete with anglers, as the fish life is more diverse and abundant.’ (MzanSea, 2019)

MPAs are wonderful resources for education and provide learning opportunities for environmental education, natural and cultural heritage as well as fishery management. They preserve accessible sites for learning such as the beautiful seaweed gardens and fossils in the Trafalgar MPA. (MzanSea, 2019)

The diverse oceans of South Africa provide rich opportunities for researchers to learn more about marine life and make valuable additions to global knowledge about marine ecosystems and how they work. Our oceans are ‘living laboratories. (MzanSea, 2019)

MPAs help us to understand what a healthy, working ecosystem looks like. We can use this information to measure change happening in unprotected areas. These scientific baselines, enable us to measure the impacts of climate change, invasive alien species, or pressure from fishing, mining, and other activities. (MzanSea, 2019)

The ocean has many secrets that we are only just beginning to find out, such as cancer-fighting compounds that have been found in sea slugs and sponges that occur nowhere else but in South Africa's rich and diverse oceans. (MzanSea, 2019)