Annual Report 2018 EuroNatur Foundation

Photo: MOm / Panos Dendrinos -
Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)
Hope for the Mediterranean monk seal
Geographical location in Europe
Northern Ionian Sea (Greek mainland coastline and Ionian
Islands) and eastern Adriatic (coastlines of Albania,
Montenegro, Croatia and the associated islands).
Status
The Mediterranean monk seal is the only seal species of the
Mediterranean Sea and one of the world’s rarest marine
mammal species. Approximately 700 individuals survive in
remote coastal sections of the Ionian Sea as well as along
the Mauritanian coast. The species is therefore dependent
on immediate and effective protective measures.
Objectives
Our work is aimed at ensuring that research is carried out
on the Mediterranean monk seals’ habitats and that these
habitats are protected. Our primary objective is the
species’ natural population expansion and establishment
in the Adriatic Sea. To this end, together with our partners
in the Adriatic countries we are establishing a “rescue and
information network” for Mediterranean monk seal protection.
Selected activities in 2018
Our Greek partner organization MOm has begun to train
staff of the partners in Albania, Montenegro and Croatia to
become monk seal experts for their respective countries.
They are to provide scientific guidance on the seals’
return to the Adriatic and ensure their acceptance by
local fishers.
The monitoring of Mediterranean monk seals during the
autumn, i.e. at the time they raise their young, was
continued in 2018. Our partners at MOm were able to
identify potentially suitable pupping caves for the females.
Geographically, the focus of seal observations was on the
western Greek islands which serve something of a bridge
function for Mediterranean monk seals from the Aegean
Sea, allowing them to recolonize the Adriatic Sea.
Important achievements in 2018
Monitoring along the 760 km of the Greek coastline has
shown that the population in the study area consists of
approximately 40 individuals, and that suitable caves are
available for pupping and the rearing of young by the
females. Overall the monk seal population is on a positive
trend which gives us hope that the populations of
this marine mammal in the Mediterranean are on a path
to recovery.
Outlook
The “rescue and information network” is to be further
expanded and an information campaign is planned for
Albania, Montenegro and Croatia, so as to prepare the
local people for the return of these marine mammals and
in order to avoid human-wildlife conflict.
Partners: MOm, PPNEA, CZIP, Biom
Funding: EuroNatur’s donors and sponsors
21
Annual Report 2018
Europe’s large mammals