The Port Elizabeth Corals Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region south of Port Elizabeth in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa A marine protected area is defined by the IUCN as "A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values".[2] The offshore Marine Protected Area is in the 400 to 1000 m depth range, and is about 47 nautical miles south of Jeffreys Bay, and includes the water column, seabed and subsoil inside the boundaries.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 an unconsolidated sedimentary bottom will depend on all these factors.Sedimentary 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 warm temperate Agulhas inshore marine bioregion to the east of Cape Point which extends eastwards to the Mbashe River.