Fisheries - Enviro Dynamics Namibia

F I S H E R I E S , M A M M A L S A N D S E A B I R D S S P E C I A L I S T S T U D Y
8.4 IMPACT 4: THE IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY
The living marine resources of Namibia are relatively well-known. By definition marine
biodiversity is the degree of variation of marine life forms within a given ecosystem. It is a
measure of the health of the ecosystem and changes in marine biodiversity are directly caused by
exploitation, pollution and
habitat destruction or
indirectly through climate
change and related
perturbations of ocean
biogeochemistry (Worn et
al. 2006)
Figure 49. Dots represent number of species counted per coordinate
(lat/long) from the hake-survey data, monk-survey data, and small pelagicsurvey
n=9116
Final Report
Namibian Marine Phosphate (Pty) Ltd.
Page 71
Data on biodiversity in the
Benguela ecosystem is not
well documented although
there are on-going
initiatives to study
biodiversity through the
Benguela Current
Commission. As a proxy
for biodiversity we have
used the number of
species recorded in all
independent surveys to
gauge the relative number
of species (predominantly
fish) expected in and
around the MLA. This
should form a baseline to
monitor changes in the
fauna diversity in the
proximity of the mining
area(s). Critical to
biodiversity is the
permanent loss of any
unique species to the area.
Note, the list is not
intended to be exhaustive.
Our data are presented in
the Table in Appendix 1a -
5 and spatially in Figure 49.
The survey data from the
hake, monk and small pelagic research cruises are shown spatially disaggregated by survey type
and station (Figure 49). Specifically within the MLA the number of stations sampled is relatively
low compared to stations in deeper water towards the shelf edge. Nevertheless we conclude that
the diversity of primarily fish fauna in and immediately adjacent to the MLA is comparatively low.