Seal sightings in Lebanon

Simon Nadim, Managing Director of the Pure Tech Diving Facility in Batroun, Lebanon, has contacted TMG to report two separate sightings of a Mediterranean monk seal, on the 15.08.2010 and 04.09.2010 respectively.

The encounters both occurred whilst diving amongst caves in northern Lebanon and were recorded on video. The animal is reported to be at least 2m in length, and is evidently in good condition.

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Facing the Monachus Conspiracy

Media Watch, Thomas Schultze-Westrum, EcoCommunications, August 1, 2010

Seals and coastal fishermen face identical threats, more than just the rapid depletion of fish resources by exploitive trawlers…

“Indiscriminate seal killers” …  With this unjust accusation against the coastal fishermen – our allies from the beginning – the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOm) and their associates have demonstrated clearly their incompetence and regardless diffamation [sic], actually the total failure of their strategy. Because, at the time when MOm was founded, already there existed a full collaboration between the cooperative of the fishermen of Alonnisos and the conservation movement on behalf of the seals – see the “Declaration by the Fishermen of Alonnisos” of 1982 below. By this consensus the seals had become valued allies of the fishermen, in their function as guarantors of exclusive fishing rights in the coastal waters of the archipelago.

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Οι φώκες δεν είναι δέντρα…

Press Watch, TO BHMA Online (ΝΙΚΟΣ ΧΑΣΑΠΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ), July 25, 2010

Η παρ΄ ολίγον ενδοκυβερνητική «κρίση» όταν η κυρία Τίνα Μπιρμπίλη ζήτησε από την κυρία Κατερίνα Μπατζελή να απαγορευθεί η αλιεία στις περιοχές όπου υπάρχουν φώκες

Η μεσογειακή φώκια, το συμπαθές αυτό προστατευόμενο θαλάσσιο θηλαστικό, ήλθε ξαφνικά μεσούντος του θέρους να ταράξει τα ήδη ταραγμένα νερά στις ενδοκυβερνητικές διαμάχες. Δύο ωραίες κυρίες του Υπουργικού Συμβουλίου, στην προσπάθειά τους να κατοχυρώσουν τις όποιες αρμοδιότητες κι αν έχουν στο θαλάσσιο περιβάλλον, έπεσαν πάνω στη φώκια και έφθασαν μάλιστα στο σημείο να τη χαρακτηρίσουν ακόμη και… δέντρο. Η υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, Ενέργειας και Κλιματικής Αλλαγής κυρία Τίνα Μπιρμπίλη και η υπουργός Αγροτικής Ανάπτυξης και Τροφίμων κυρία Κατερίνα Μπατζελή άρχισαν αιφνιδίως να αλληλογραφούν τι θα γίνει με τις φώκες και πώς αυτές θα περισωθούν. Ωσάν να έμειναν και πολλές στη Μεσόγειο. Ούτε καν 450, από τις οποίες οι 250 ζουν στα νερά της Ελλάδας και της Τουρκίας. […]

First comprehensive genetic study of the Mediterranean monk seal in the eastern Mediterranean

by Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, MOm

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is the most endangered seal in the world and in urgent need of immediate and effective conservation and management measures. One of the key factors hampering recovery of this threatened species is the substantial lack of information on the animals’  biology and population status. Due to the recent advances in molecular techniques, the genetic study of endangered species is increasingly being used in shaping conservation strategies. In the case of the Mediterranean monk seal, genetic research has been used successfully in understanding the genetic status, population structure and demographic trajectory of the monk seal colony at the Cabo Blanco Peninsula. In contrast, however, little is known with respect to the genetic status of the largest remaining population of the species, in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Assessing genetic variability and understanding population structure of Mediterranean monk seals in Greece were identified as priority actions for the conservation of the species in the recently revised “National Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation of the Mediterranean Monk seal in Greece 2009 – 2015.” This plan was developed by MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk seal and has been submitted to the National and European authorities for adoption.

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La foca monaca ritorna a Portofino!

Press Watch, Area Marina Protetta Portofino, June 18, 2010

avvistato nelle acque della nostra Area Marina Protetta un esemplare adulto di Monachus monachus

Venerdì 18 giugno lo staff del diving center “Massub” ha avvistato e fotografato, nella zona B dell’Area Marina Protetta (AMP), un esemplare di foca monaca di poco meno di 2 metri di lunghezza. Questa piacevole ed inaspettata notizia avviene proprio nell’anno internazionale della biodiversità; questa visita dimostra come le AMP siano dei veri e propri “santuari naturali” capaci di tutelare la biodiversità attraendo nuovamente specie scomparse. Ormai undici anni di gestione nell’AMP Portofino fanno sì che alcune specie di pesci (come Epinephelus marginatus), che erano pressoché scomparse, siano ora presenti, e in taglie considerevoli; proprio in questo contesto si inserisce la visita della foca monaca che, essendo ghiotta di grossi pesci non reperibili altrove, crediamo sia stata spinta a visitare la nostra AMP.

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Portofino, Italy

An epidemic of killings

Editorial, The Monachus Guardian, June 2010

It is hard to imagine anyone not being moved by the tragic tale of ‘Markos’ – the young Mediterranean monk seal who was brought into intensive care, struggling for life, but horribly mutilated by the bullet that shattered his jaw and nasal cavity.

Possibly it was a blessing in disguise that, despite the valiant attempts to save him, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries, for it seemed doubtful that he would ever swim, dive, or grace the Aegean again.

The killing of monk seals in Greece, according to national NGO MOm, is reaching “epidemic proportions”.

The organisation has recorded 15 deaths since January, 5 of which yielded conclusive evidence of deliberate killing. Another killing by gunfire was reported in Turkey on the Bodrum peninsula on 21 April. With other killings just as likely to go undetected along remote coastlines, the final death toll is anybody’s guess.

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