The Department of Environmental Affairs, extended a an “Invitation to Comment on Draft Estuarine Management Protocol”, to all interest parties on 04 May 2012. Comment is due by no later than 16:00 on 04 June 2012. According to the invitation South Africa has more than 280 functional estuaries that are distributed throughout +/- 3,200 kilometres of coastline. Estuarine management is complex because estuaries are subject to marine, riverine and terrestrial influences.