Southern Africa has some of the world’s richest waters. But debate swirls over how to sustain these seas and the fishing communities that depend on them. Here, a fur seal surfs Atlantic swells off Cape Town. To conserve sea life around the city’s coastline, a marine protected area (MPA)—one of 23 in South Africa—was created in 2004.

See more pictures from the December 2014 feature story “Cross Currents.”