Agulhas Bank

The Agulhas Bank is a broad, shallow part of the southern African continental shelf which extends up to 250km south of Cape Agulhas before falling steeply to the abyssal plain.It is the ocean region where the warm Indian Ocean and the cold Atlantic Ocean meet. This convergence leads to treacherous sailing conditions, accounting for numerous wrecked ships in the area over the years. However the meeting of the oceans here also fuels the nutrient cycle for marine life, making it one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.Extent and characteristicsThe Agulhas Bank stretches approximately 800km along the African coast, from off Cape Peninsula (18°E) to Port Alfred (26°E), and up to 250km from it. The bank is 50m deep near the coast and reaches 200m before dropping steeply to 1000m on its southern edge. The shelf spans an area of 116000km2 with a mean depth slightly over 100m.The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment 2004 recognised 34 biozones nested within 9 bioregions (of which four were offshore). The National Biodiversity Assessment 2011 replaced these ecozones and biozones with the terms ecoregions and ecozones. In 2011, the Agulhas Ecoregion was divided into four distinct ecozones: Agulhas inshore, Agulhas inner shelf, Agulhas outer shelf, and Agulhas shelf edge. 33 different benthic habitats types were identified on the Agulhas Bank.