The Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, is one of the world’s most threatened marine mammals, and is listed as Critically Endangered in IUCN’s Red List. Once widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the northwestern African Atlantic coast, today the entire species has been reduced to few hundreds of animals, concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey and Cyprus), Mauritania and the island of Madeira.
Tethys has been contributing to conservation efforts on behalf of this species in many ways:
- with the drafting of the national strategy and action plan for the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece, in collaboration with the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (Notarbartolo et al 2009 A, Notarbartolo et al 2009 B );
- with the drafting of the Regional Strategy for the conservation of monk seals in the Mediterranean, adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention during their 18th Ordinary Meeting in Istanbul in 2013 (Notarbartolo et al 2013);
- with the active participation in a long-term project, named “CYCLADES LIFE+”, managed by WWF Greece and co-financed by the European Commission, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the BlueMarine Foundation and the Ensemble Foundation. “CYCLADES LIFE+” envisages the involvement of the local communities of the islands of Syros and Andros (Greece) in the co-management and participation in the protection of the local marine biodiversity, particularly on and around the uninhabited island of Gyaros, which hosts the Mediterranean’s largest surviving colony of monk seals, as well as important colonies of threatened marine birds.
Literature
Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Adamantopoulou S., Androukaki E., Dendrinos P., Karamanlidis A.A., Paravas V., Kotomatas S. 2009. National strategy and action plan for the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece, 2009 – 2015. MOm, Athens. 19 p.
Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Adamantopoulou S., Androukaki E., Dendrinos P., Karamanlidis A.A., Paravas V., Kotomatas S. 2009. National strategy and action plan for the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece, 2009 – 2015. Report on evaluating the past and structuring the future. Publication prepared as part of the LIFE-Nature Project: MOFI: Monk Seal and Fisheries: mitigating the conflict in Greek Seas. Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Mediterranean monk seal (MOm), Athens. 71 p.
Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2013. Draft Regional Strategy for the conservation of monk seals in the Mediterranean (2013-2019). UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG.382/9 Rev.1. 37 p.
