The Pitons Management Area (PMA) in the Southwest of Saint Lucia is a multiple use conservation and management area of 1,134 hectares of land and 875 hectares of sea, respectively, totaling 2,909 hectares. The Marine Management Area within the PMA is a strip of roughly 11 km long and about one kilometre wide along the shore. It comprises a steeply sloping continental shelf with healthy fringing and patch reefs covering more than 60 % of the marine area, boulders and sandy plains. Within the PMA, the Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA) is a multiple use marine area in its own right. The Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA), established in 1994 under the Fisheries Act, represents the marine component of the PMA.