Africa's largest transboundary marine protected area

Mozambique has declared its first Marine Protected Area at Ponta do Ouro that now links with South Africa's iSimangaliso Wetland Park to create Africa's first transfrontier marine conservation area, the two countries have announced.

The Mozambique Marine Protected Area, Reserva Marinha Parcial da Ponta do Ouro, covers 678 square kilometers and stretches three nautical miles out to sea. It includes the Inhaca and Portugese islands and the Maputo Special Reserve.

Southern Mozambique is a vital nursery for commercially important fish populations, with fish, larvae and eggs carried in south-flowing currents into South Africa's iSimangaliso Park.

The newly protected area now extends along 300 kilometers (200 miles) of shoreline and pristine beaches of the continent's southeast coast - from Maputo Bay in Mozambique to Cape St. Lucia in South Africa, the southern boundary of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Above is excerpt from: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2009/2009-10-29-01.asp