Filenews 27 June 2022 - by Angelos Nicolaou
In the last decade, the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus Monachus, the most endangered and rare marine mammal in Europe, has increased its breeding activity in Cyprus. The first signs, of course, began to appear in 2001. However, since 2011 we have seen an increase in the number of seals, from 5-6 recorded in 2009, to 19 today.
In Cyprus, the most important coastal areas for the species have been identified and consultations are underway with stakeholders for the establishment of additional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The successful and pioneering actions of Cyprus for the Mediterranean monk seal were presented to representatives of countries of the Adriatic Sea in a two-day workshop on the research, protection and conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus. The important conference was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. This is an extremely important event, since through this laboratory the actions and efforts carried out in Cyprus for the conservation of the species and the effectiveness of its protection and monitoring program were presented.
The workshop was co-organized with the Society for the Study and Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Mom) of Greece, with which the Cypriot monitoring team of the Mediterranean monk seal, consisting of specialized staff of the Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, has a close cooperation in recent years. This workshop was attended by representatives from countries such as Croatia, Albania and Montenegro, who presented their actions so far to investigate suitable habitats that could accommodate the species in the near future, since an increase in its population in Greece is recorded, and therefore its further spread to neighbouring countries. The representatives from Greece presented both the cooperation program with neighbouring countries, as well as the various actions for the protection, conservation, rescue, search of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece.
The main objective of this laboratory was to transmit the expertise and successful practices of monitoring and protecting the Mediterranean monk seal from the Cypriot monitoring team of the species, to the representatives of the countries that may be observed in the near future its spread. In its framework, the conservation actions currently implemented in Cyprus were presented, many of which are unique actions at European level. All the actions that have been carried out in the last 10 years in Cyprus and that have contributed to the small increase of the population of the Mediterranean monk seal on the island, through its frequent breeding activity, were also presented.
Visits to sea caves
During the second day of the workshop, on-site visits were made to important shelters of the Mediterranean monk seal in Cyprus and various actions were indicated that are implemented both by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research and by other co-competent Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment for the protection of the species in Cyprus. There was also an on-site visit to a sea cave in Akamas, where the participants were presented with the way to monitor the Mediterranean monk seal through cameras.
The realization of the workshop is an important event for Cyprus, since it seems that Cyprus is heading in the right direction in terms of conservation and protection of emblematic species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. The workshop was held and funded by the Eastern Adriatic Monk Seal Project.
