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Pup trapped in gill net released in the ‘Coast of Seals’ Reserve

by CBD-Habitat Foundation

The ‘Costa de las Focas’ Marine and Coastal Reserve was created in 2001 by CBD-Habitat Foundation with the support of local fishermen and regional authorities, with the objective of protecting the breeding caves of the last Mediterranean monk seal colony in the world, located on the Cabo Blanco peninsula (Mauritania). Since then, every single day, the surveillance team has been present to prevent the setting of fishing gear and deter goose barnacle pickers and other potential threats or disturbance to the breeding caves and vicinity. Continue reading “Pup trapped in gill net released in the ‘Coast of Seals’ Reserve”

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Wounded Madeiran monk seal returns to the sea

by Rosa Pires, Parque Natural da Madeira Service


On 27 August 2013 a Mediterranean monk seal was found in a weakened state at Porto Moniz, on the northern coast of Madeira island.

This seal, known as “Half”, an adult male who has been monitored since 1997 by PNMS (Parque Natural da Madeira Service), was observed by local people on a small stony beach, its debilitated state apparently due to a severe injury in the neck area. Continue reading “Wounded Madeiran monk seal returns to the sea”

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Sketchy details provided of new EU life project for Giaros

WWF Greece, MOm and its Greek and international partners announced the launch of a new protected area management project centred around the uninhabited island of Giaros in the Cyclades islands this week. Although long on PR and short on detail, the press release is keen to stress the perceived benefits of the MPA to neighbouring island development (Syros and Andros in particular), in tourism and fisheries management, by taking a “holistic” approach to conservation and economic opportunity. Giaros, a former military zone and prison island, has since become a Natura 2000 protected area, and is an important Mediterranean monk seal colony. The project, “Cyclades LIFE”, is funded by the European Commission’s LIFE funding mechanism, and by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

The island of Giaros, as seen from Syros.
The island of Giaros, as seen from Syros.

Further information

WWF Greece. Cyclades LIFE: A ground-breaking initiative for sustainable growth and the conservation of nature in the Cyclades. Press Release, 15 July 2013.

Konstantinos Mentzelopoulos. Our Sea, Our Life. The Monachus Guardian 12 (1): June 2009.

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Park expresses disgust over shooting

In a press release posted on its Facebook page, the Management Body of the National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades (NMPANS), has expressed its disgust and regret over an incident which saw a Coast Guard officer spray automatic gunfire at semi-wild goats at Planitis in the internationally-recognised monk seal protected area. The President of the Management Body has stated that the Park will now determine what course of action to take against those responsible for the incident.

The NMPANS is regarded as one of the most important monk seal breeding habitats in the Mediterranean.

Originally posted on YouTube — apparently by the perpetrators themselves — video of the shooting spree provoked widespread condemnation. Although the video has since been removed by the user from YouTube, it is still available on other channels.

Conservationists are now left to wonder whether this was a “one-off” incident — or whether other offences may have been committed, possibly within the Core Zone of the Park. As TMG has reported on many previous occasions, with chronic funding shortages facing the NMPANS Management Body, effective guarding and monitoring remains essentially non-existent. Annual monk seal pup counts have not been taken for years, rendering any reliable assessment of the population or conservation measures, impossible.

Video: katsikopolemos 2

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29 pups counted so far

In their just-published September-October Newsletter, Greek NGO MOm reports the births of 29 monk seal pups to date this breeding season: 11 in the Cyclades, 8 on the island of Evia and 5 each in the Ionian and the Dodecanese. The pup counts form part of population monitoring in specific areas of Greece, in an attempt to gather information on overall trends. No pup count information has been released from the National Marine Park of Alonnisos, Northern Sporades, where no population monitoring appears to have been conducted for several years — apparently the victim of funding cut-backs.

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Automatic cameras record monk seals in the Desertas Islands

Rosa Pires, Parque Natural da Madeira
Pup with the females – “Female Y” and “Riscagrande” on Tabaqueiro beach. (Click to Enlarge)

Over recent years, camera monitoring systems have been installed on several occasions in Madeira’s Desertas Islands, yet failed to achieve the desired results.

This year, however, we obtained the first images of monk seals on site using a simple system, comprising an automatic camera.

On 26 October 2012, the system captured the first pup of the reproductive season — barely one day old.

The calf, a female, is healthy and being cared for by two females who share the role of mother. It is thought possible that one of them may have previously lost her own calf.

Pup with the “Female Y”, 20 days later. (Click to Enlarge)

It is hoped that the initiative, undertaken through the BES Biodiversity award, with the technical assistance of Spanish organization CBD-Habitat, will allow more effective monitoring of monk seals both on beaches and in caves. The system is also expected to prove its value during the current stormy season, which often prevents or inhibits firsthand observation.

By January or February 2013, we hope to have results from the camera system installed inside ‘Tabaqueiro’ — a maternity cave.