Mediterranean Seal – Monachus monachus

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is one of the two remaining species of monk seal in the Phocid family. It was once spread all over the coasts of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the eastern Atlantic. Today, with a number of less than 600 animals, it is among the rarest and most endangered animal species on the planet and is classified as critically endangered (CR-Critically endangered) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

About half of the population, around 250-300 people, live in Greece. Although its scientific name, Monachus monachus, may refer to solitude, it actually owes its name to the characteristic doublets it makes on its neck, reminiscent of the cassock of Capuchin monks. The Mediterranean seal, emblematic of our sea, is a shy, coastal animal with a special love for underwater caves and isolated beaches, as it is there that it gives birth and nurses its young. It can swim very long distances within a few weeks or months, while diving to 170 meters, in search of fish and mainly octopus, which is its favorite food. There are characteristic morphological differences between males and females of the species. Adult males are on average slightly larger and heavier than females. In addition to size, differences are also found in coat coloration, with females displaying coloration that varies between brown-beige and gray-silver with lighter bellies. Males are dark gray to black with a distinct white spot on their belly.

Newborn individuals are up to 1 m long and weigh 15-18 kg. Their skin is covered with long hair up to 1.5 cm long, dark brown to black in color. The species can live up to 30 years. Nowadays, the distribution of this species has been significantly reduced. The Mediterranean seal now lives in several geographically isolated populations: The total population is estimated at less than 600 animals scattered in four isolated enclaves on the Madeira Islands (25-35 individuals), the White Cape of Mauritania (130 individuals) in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean coast Morocco and Algeria and in the Eastern Mediterranean (Aegean and Ionian Seas). Only two of the pockets can be considered sustainable: one in the Aegean Sea which numbers about 300 seals in Greece (in N. Sporades, Kimolos and Karpathos) and 100 in Turkey. The other in White Cape, Mauritania with 130 seals. These two places are located at the two extreme points of the seal’s distribution area and any communication and exchange of populations between them and the enrichment of their genetic material is impossible. All other populations number less than 50 people. In most cases these are scattered groups of up to 5 people. Such small populations exist in Madeira (about 30 people) and in the Desert Islands in the Atlantic, in Cilicia, in the Ionian Sea.

PRESERVATION STATUS:
It is characterized as critically endangered (CR-Critically endangered) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN red list of species). In Greece, the Mediterranean seal is protected by the P.D. 67/1981. In 1992, the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades was established, with one of its main purposes being the protection of the local population of the species in the area. . The Mediterranean seal is included as a priority species in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The species is also included in annexes I/II of the Bonn Convention, annex II of the Berne Convention, annex II of the Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity of the Barcelona Convention and the CITES Convention.

THREATS:
The fact that half of the remaining population worldwide lives and reproduces in Greece, makes it imperative to concentrate and coordinate efforts to save the species in the wider Greek area, including the Ionian Sea or part of it. The main threats to the Mediterranean seal in Greece are mainly related to human activities and are as follows:
• Intentional killing: According to the results of autopsies that have been carried out on seals washed up on the Greek coast in the last 25 years, killing by humans remains the main threat, especially for adults of the species. Thus, the mortality rate from intentional killings in adult animals reaches 50%.
• Accidental entanglement in fishing gear, as is also the case for other marine mammals in the Mediterranean. The death of seals from entanglement in fishing gear remains a particularly significant problem in most areas of the species’ distribution. Seals are usually caught in static nets that are widely used in coastal fisheries. The mortality rate from accidental entanglement in fishing gear reaches 46% for young individuals of the species.
• Overfishing, whether by legal or illegal means is another factor affecting the species. The overexploitation of marine resources over the years has resulted in the reduction of available fish stocks and therefore the available food, which directly affects the rate of growth, reproduction and viability of the Mediterranean seal.

TARGET GROUPS:
Amateur and professional fishermen in the marine area of ​​the Ionian Sea, owners of pleasure boats or guided tours of the wider marine area (with an emphasis on the sea caves of the Inner Ionian Archipelago, Natura 2000 marine area with code GR2220003 Meganisi-Arkoudi-Atokos-Vromonas).