The West African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has formally designated its first two protected sites off its coast.
This comes less than a year after presenting its plans to establish a national network of eight marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 93 square kilometers (36 square miles) in the Gulf of Guinea.
The two MPAs include Ilhéu das Rolas–Malanza–Jalé, on the southern coast of São Tomé Island, and Santana, on the island’s eastern coast. Nilton de Sousa Pontes, minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, announced the official designation during the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya.
“These [newly protected] areas include critical coastal and marine habitats, such as mangroves, nesting beaches, rocky reefs and important fishing grounds, and support emblematic and threatened species including marine turtles, seabirds and other marine biodiversity,” João Pessoa, the country’s Director of Fisheries, told Mongabay via email.
Santana covers 7.4 km2 (2.86 mi2) of coastal waters, of which 1 km2 (0.4 mi2) is a fully protected no-take zone where industrial fishing and the collection of other marine resources are prohibited. The rest is reserved for authorized use by artisanal fishers using legal gear, scientific research and other low-impact activities.
