South Africa’s Prince Edward Islands have been declared a marine protected area (MPA) by Minister Edna Molewa, making them Africa’s first offshore MPA.

A marine protected area (MPA) around Prince Edward Islands will help protect a suite of spectacular wildlife, including albatrosses, penguins and killer whales © Samantha Petersen/WWF South Africa

A marine protected area (MPA) around Prince Edward Islands will help protect a suite of spectacular wildlife, including albatrosses, penguins and killer whales © Samantha Petersen/WWF South Africa

The islands, which consist of Prince Edward and Marion Islands, are located almost 2,000km south of South Africa in the Southern Ocean, and form an important global biodiversity hotspot, which was subject to rampant poaching during the late 1990s. At 180,000km2 the MPA is one of the world’s largest.

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