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Vol. 9 (2): November 2006

 

Algeria   /   Greece   /   Italy   /   Madeira   /   Mauritania & Western Sahara   /   Spain   /   Turkey

 

Spain


Balearic Islands Fishermen’s Cooperatives to work with local government to encourage the monk seal’s return

Recently, the Fauna and Flora Advisory Board of the Balearic Islands, a consultative body that assesses and promotes official plans and projects related to protected species, unanimously approved a document outlining local government intentions to contribute to monk seal conservation by working towards the species’ eventual recolonisation of the Islands’ coasts.

The Federation of Fishermen’s Cooperatives, an active member of the Board, also voted in favour of the initiative.

With the idea of establishing a practical and effective cooperation, the Federation and the Conselleria de Medi Ambient (the local government Environment Council) are preparing a series of meetings with the Cooperatives, with a view towards achieving active participation of both retired fishermen who once observed the seals along our coasts and with the respective Cooperative leaders, to compile the best available information. This will then be added to earlier research work, thereby helping us to analyze with fishermen the possibilities and conditions in which they can cooperate in the successful and eventual return of the seals, when the status of the species makes that possible. Joan Mayol, Head of the Service of Species Protection, Balearic Islands Government, Spain.


Splash

“Esquitx” is the Catalan word for “Splash” (http://www.esquitx.cat/), and is the name of a quarterly magazine for teenagers, publishing contributions from renowned local writers in the form of stories, narrations, puzzles and contests. In a recent number, Miquel Rayó, a writer, environmental education expert and school teacher who visited the Desertas Islands (Madeira) last November, published a short tale with the emotive story of a group of school kids protecting a monk seal from the threats of some fishermen, who finally accept living in peaceful coexistence with her. The writer’s hope is for a real cultural change in Balearic Islands society, with local people welcoming a return of the monk seal to their coasts.

Illustrations: Pere Joan, Splash

The editors of “Esquitx”, the writer Miquel Rayó, and Pere Joan, the illustrator, are proud to offer the text and illustrations (available at higher resolution at the link below) royalty free (citing the source) as a contribution to the monk seal community through The Monachus Guardian, to be used if wished in environmental programmes throughout the species’ range. – Toni Font, Pandion.

To make use of these educational materials, please download the following:

Rayó, Miguel. 2006. El retorn del vellmarí. Dibuixos de Pere Joan. Esquitx: 16-17. [PDF pdf 304KB].
Spanish translation [PDF pdf 17KB]. English translation [PDF pdf 16KB].

High resolution Illustrations: Illustration 1 [31KB], Illustration 2 [188KB]

Please send an email to Toni Font at Pandion Environment Consultants to notify of intended use.



Turkey


Campaign to replace patrol boat in Foça SPA


on patrol

“Çevre” patrolling in the Foça SPA.

The Foça marine protected area has been managed and monitored since 1992. One of the first initiatives by the Ministry of Environment in 1992 was the deployment of the speed boat “Çevre” for patrolling the SPA and vicinity. The importance of an efficiently running patrol boat has been recognised by all the stakeholders, including the Ministry of Environment, the fishermen’s cooperative, the local government, Foça Municipality and, of course, SAD-AFAG. Illegal fishing in the MPA has been brought substantially under control and infringements have decreased considerably. However, the “Çevre” was used effectively until 2004, by which time the boat had practically fulfilled its lifespan; it could no longer be used as required during the last two years.

Considering it necessary to take action, SAD-AFAG recently issued a letter with attached justification reports and appealed to the Authority for Special Protected Areas (ASPA) and the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) for the old patrol boat to be replaced. The reports emphasized the fact that the Foça Pilot Project had been selected as one of the most successful environmental protection projects in Turkey, both at the Johannesburg Environment Summit in 2002 and by the GEF II Project implemented by the MoEF in Turkey in 2006.

With the help of further lobbying and advocacy, the request was judged positively by the ASPA – the competent authority governing the Foça protected area – which invited SAD-AFAG to prepare jointly an application to convince the relevant authorities to include the investment in the next year’s budget. The application emphasized the importance of the marine protected area, especially to monk seals; the relationship between large-scale and artisanal fisheries, and the marine ecosystem; the benefits obtained from the patrolling so far, and the need for a patrol boat for sustainable natural resource management. We hope to receive approval of the investment in the relevant budget lines at the end of the year, which will certainly boost the sustainable environmental management in Foça and its vicinity. – Cem O. Kiraç and Harun Güçlüsoy, SAD-AFAG.


AFAG’s patrol boat advances protection for Cilician coasts


on patrol

AFAG’s patrol boat DK01 along Cilician coasts.

SAD-AFAG’s patrol boat “Deniz Koruma DK01”, purchased under an EU-funded SMAP project, was deployed in Aydincik in Cilicia in 2002 [see New patrolling system in Aydincik, TMG 7(2): November 2004]. In accordance with a protocol reached between the Aydincik local governor and SAD-AFAG, the responsibility for its operation belongs to the Aydincik fisheries cooperative, while its operational and maintenance expenses are covered by the governorship. An artisanal fisherman was appointed jointly by the governor and SAD-AFAG to run the boat. During 2006, the patrol boat continued its operation, mainly discouraging illegal activities while stopping other infringements in progress in the Aydincik vicinity. In several cases, illegal trawlers, purse-seiners and dynamite fishing infringements were observed and reported to the Coast Guard and the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture. Maintenance and repair work was completed midway through the year, and artisanal fisherman Mehmet Sari continued operational patrols on a random basis both by day and night.

The activities of the patrol boat DK01 are also appreciated by local and foreign tourists visiting the area, who sometimes donate petrol as an additional support to the patrol system. Although the patrol boat fills the gap partially in Aydincik and vicinity, SAD-AFAG aims to enlarge the coverage area within the Cilician basin. However, with additional funding required to meet the increase in the annual operating budget, potential funding institutions or international NGOs and sponsors are invited to support this important initiative, which will serve the protection of the marine ecosystem in the area as a whole, including monk seals. – Cem O. Kiraç and Harun Güçlüsoy, SAD-AFAG.


Education and awareness activities up to speed

AFAG continued its public awareness and environmental education activities in Ankara and Izmir provinces in 2006. Bilkent Primary School (with more than 300 pupils, plus teachers), Necdet Seçkinöz Primary School (120 + teachers), Doku Kültür Kindergarten & Preschool (50 + teachers), Bilkent University (30 + teachers), METU Subaqua Society (50 members) in Ankara and SEV High School (500 + teachers) in Izmir were visited. By means of presentations and printed materials on monk seals and marine environment protection, the public awareness and environmental education activities reached over a thousand students and their teachers. 


SEV primary school
Bilkent primary school

SEV primary school, Izmir.

Bilkent primary school, Ankara.

SAD-AFAG also contributed material to a photography website, Foto Kritik (www.fotokritik.com), which has more than 27,000 members all over Turkey, providing both monk seal photos and basic information about the species, habitats and threats. Many members and readers also interacted and reacted positively, voicing support for monk seal conservation in Turkey and the world (e.g. http://www.fotokritik.com/167167). – Münevver Çakir, SAD-AFAG.


Monk seal deaths at year’s end


dead juvenile monk seal


SAD-AFAG’s Kas¸ representative, Gökhan Türe, reported a dead juvenile monk seal to SAD-AFAG headquarters on 15 October 2006. While sea-kayaking with friends in the Kekova region near Kas, Türe discovered the dead seal in the sea near the rocky coasts. Though still complete, the body was in a state of advanced decomposition, indicating that death might have occurred 4-5 days previously. There was no indication that the seal had been shot. Drowning due to entanglement in fishing nets is considered a possibility by AFAG, though no clear evidence was detected. Based on the field identification, the juvenile was judged to be less than one year old.

More recently, another monk seal fatality was reported to SAD-AFAG on 22 November 2006 from Çesme, Izmir. SAD-AFAG’s Harun Güçlüsoy travelled to Çesme the following day and found the dead body on the shore in the Ilica district. The animal was a young female, less than 5 years of age, that had probably died 10 or more days earlier. A hole on one side of the seal suggested a possible shooting, although no exit wound was visible. A detailed internal examination, however, failed to detect any bullet, therefore making it impossible to confirm a cause of death by shooting. Some samples were also taken from the decomposed body for further investigation.

With many newspapers wrongly concluding that the seal had been cruelly and deliberately shot, SAD-AFAG deemed it necessary to distribute a press release on 23 November pointing out that there was no evidence to suggest that the animal had been shot, and that it was inadvisable to rush to judgment and to mislead the public before obtaining a detailed necropsy. – Cem O. Kiraç and Harun Güçlüsoy, SAD-AFAG.


Monk Seal Conference held in Antalya, Turkey 

An international monk seal conference was held in 17-19 September 2006 under UNEP’s Blue Week activity. The conference was organized by UNEP-MAP and RAC/SPA, with the collaboration and support of the Bern Convention, Bonn Convention, Turkish Ministry of Environment, IFAW, RAC/INFO and SAD-AFAG in Kemer, Antalya [see Anatomy of a Conference and Conference controversy, this issue].

SAD-AFAG was represented by Cem O. Kiraç, Coordinator, and Harun Güçlüsoy, Chief Scientist, as well as Turgay Isiklar, AFAG’s Kemer Representative. Kiraç and Güçlüsoy made a presentation entitled “Experience and Perspectives in Monk Seal Conservation in Turkey”, which highlighted achievements and concrete results obtained as a result of research, conservation (including legislation) and public awareness/environmental education activities implemented by SAD-AFAG. Similarly, speakers from other Mediterranean and Atlantic countries, as well as international organizations like RAC/SPA, RAC/INFO, IFAW and the Bonn & Barcelona Conventions, presented the experiences and concrete achievements of monk seal research and conservation as well as the legislative issues related to the conservation of the species. This provided a great opportunity for all participants to become acquainted with updated research and conservation activities, as well as the status of the species throughout its distribution range. – Münevver Çakir, SAD-AFAG.



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