ZA Oceans facts and futures: 2018 Ocean Scorecard

The 2018 Ocean Scorecard by WWF-SA highlights a mixed state for South African marine resources, noting a decrease in over-exploited species but an increase in those with unknown status. While hake stocks show positive trajectories, African penguins and West Coast rock lobsters continue to decline. Globally, overfished stocks increased by 2% between 2016 and 2018. The report also notes positive shifts in marine spatial planning legislation and the first allocation of fishing rights to small-scale fishing communities in the Northern Cape.

• Global fish stock trends between 2016 and 2018 show a 2% increase in overfished stocks and a 4% decrease in underfished stocks, suggesting more species are being fished to their capacity.
• In South African waters, the percentage of over-exploited species decreased by 4%, though the proportion of species with an unknown or uncertain status rose to 23%.
• African penguin and West Coast rock lobster populations are declining rapidly; penguin declines are linked to climate change and food availability, while rock lobster declines are driven by poor fishery management and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
• Both shallow-water and deep-water hake stocks are improving, with deep-water hake reaching a maximum sustainable yield.
• Progress has been made in coastal livelihoods through the first allocations of fishing rights to small-scale fishing communities in the Northern Cape, and there has been a positive shift in marine spatial planning legislation.
• WWF-SASSI expanded its assessments from 79 to 91 species, noting an increase in 'Orange' listed species due to some species improving from 'Red' and others declining from 'Green'.

APA

Pillay, P., Francis, J., Adams, R., Stassen, M., McGee, S., Nagiah, M., Sigam, S., & Lutchminarayan, K. (2018). ZA Oceans facts and futures: 2018 Ocean Scorecard. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_ocean_scorecard_2018.pdf

Chicago

Pillay, Pavs, Junaid Francis, Robin Adams, Monica Stassen, Stephanie McGee, Melisha Nagiah, Sindisa Sigam, and Kirtanya Lutchminarayan. ZA Oceans facts and futures: 2018 Ocean Scorecard. WWF South Africa, 2018. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_ocean_scorecard_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pillay |first1=Pavs |last2=Francis |first2=Junaid |last3=Adams |first3=Robin |last4=Stassen |first4=Monica |last5=McGee |first5=Stephanie |last6=Nagiah |first6=Melisha |last7=Sigam |first7=Sindisa |last8=Lutchminarayan |first8=Kirtanya |title=ZA Oceans facts and futures: 2018 Ocean Scorecard |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=October 2018 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_ocean_scorecard_2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pillay2018oceans, author = {Pillay, Pavs and Francis, Junaid and Adams, Robin and Stassen, Monica and McGee, Stephanie and Nagiah, Melisha and Sigam, Sindisa and Lutchminarayan, Kirtanya}, title = {{ZA Oceans facts and futures: 2018 Ocean Scorecard}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_ocean_scorecard_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }