TABLE BAY, CAPE-TOWN, SOUTH-AFRICA - SYNTHESIS OF AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

A review of the literature on Table Bay has revealed that no more than a limited information base is available, and that research on the Bay has been neglected in the past decade. Furthermore, the facts that ar e available are dispersed in numerous, often relatively inaccessible, reports. This paper synthesizes the available information under the br oad headings of physiography, coastal ecology, uses, water-quality sta tus, sea-level rise, land use and future development. The management i ssues identified include: (1) potential health threats from stormwater outfalls discharging near contact-recreation beaches, and the need fo r a policy on stormwater management and for standardized bacteriologic al monitoring by local authorities; (2) the need for a water-quality m onitoring programme in the harbour area; (3) research to determine the pollution status (particularly with regard to nutrients) of the whole of Table Bay; and (4) the potential threat of coastal erosion and flo oding as a result of predicted sea-level rise, and the necessity for d une-rehabilitation programmes and the halting of developments that int erfere with sediment dynamics in the surf-zone.