In a dim sea cave in Greece’s northern Sporades, a massive shadow shifts in the darkness. From a boat offshore, binoculars confirm the sight: a Mediterranean monk seal, among the world’s rarest and largest seals, reaching nearly three metres long and weighing more than 300kg.
The seal has hauled out on Piperi, a tightly protected island within the National Marine Park of Alonissos and Northern Sporades, Greece’s largest marine protected area and a vital breeding site. Access is restricted to authorised researchers only. According to the guardian.com, with fewer than 1,000 monk seals worldwide, the species is listed as vulnerable, downgraded from endangered in 2023 after long-term conservation success. Greece hosts about half the global population, giving it an outsized responsibility for their survival.
While historic threats such as hunting have faded, others persist, including fishing gear entanglement, pollution and habitat loss. Conservationists warn a newer danger is escalating fast: unregulated marine tourism. The seals are highly sensitive to disturbance, and growing boat traffic is undermining their fragile recovery.
Recent measures aim to reverse this trend, including a national awareness campaign and new exclusion zones around key habitats such as the islet of Formicula in the Ionian Sea. Two large-scale marine protected areas have also been approved, though their management remains unclear.
Monitoring around Piperi suggests protection can work. “We often see the seals resting on this beach,” says marine biologist Angelos Argiriou. “The fact that they feel safe enough to haul out [rest] here in the open is a really good sign that the protection measures are working.”
Elsewhere, enforcement gaps are more worrying. As one researcher warns, without effective patrols and investment, even these last refuges may not be enough to save one of the Mediterranean’s most iconic mammals.
Source: the guardian.com
