The Langebaan Lagoon Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa.

The MPA was proclaimed by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa, in Government Gazette No.

The salinity is relatively stable and the region supports dense populations of molluscs and crustaceans and a large variety of seaweeds.

The lagoon is a nursery for juvenile fish, and supports about 55 000 water birds in summer, including 23 species of waders.

[6] The MPA is managed by South African National Parks (SANParks), ensuring the effective protection and sustainable use of the marine resources.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is responsible for issuing permits, quotas and law enforcement.

Winter in the South-western Cape is characterised by disturbances in the circumpolar westerly winds, resulting in a series of eastward moving depressions.

Some of these may have Kelp forests, which reduce the effect of waves and provide food and shelter for an extended range of organisms.

The shorter Split-fan kelp Laminaria pallida grows mostly on deeper reefs, where there is not so much competition from the sea bamboo.

The sand is continually being moved around by wave action, to a greater or lesser degree depending on weather conditions and exposure of the area.

This means that sessile organisms must be specifically adapted to areas of relatively loose substrate to thrive in them, and the variety of species found on a sandy or gravel bottom will depend on all these factors.

Sandy bottoms have one important compensation for their instability, animals can burrow into the sand and move up and down within its layers, which can provide feeding opportunities and protection from predation.