The Rocherpan Marine Protected Area is a small coastal conservation region on the West Coast of the Western Cape province, in the territorial waters of South Africa.

The MPA is part of the Rocherpan Nature Reserve Complex (RNRC) which was proclaimed in 1988 under the Sea Fisheries Act.

It was not mentioned in the Marine Living Resources Act, or listed with other MPAs in the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Marine Recreational Activity Brochure of 2017/2018, but is assumed to be registered as an MPA under Sub-section 82(4) of the MLRA and therefore transferred by presidential pronouncement to Section 22A of National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003 in 2014.

The objectives of the nature reserve are to conserve and maintain marine, coastal, wetland and terrestrial habitats, encourage sustainable access, and provide overnight accommodation for a limited number of visitors.

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

(describe position, biodiversity and endemism of the region) The MPA is in the cool temperate Benguela inshore marine ecoregion to the west of Cape Point which extends northwards to Namibia.

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.

The MPA is in the cool temperate Benguela ecoregion to the west of Cape Point which extends northwards to Namibia.