Mediterranean monk seal conservation in Greece

Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Honorary President of Tethys, just completed a work for MOm, the Hellenic Society for the study and protection of the Mediterranean monk seal, which includes a national conservation strategy.

The work is summarised in two documents, which can be downloaded from the links below.

Conservation strategy

Full report

No cetaceans in captivity in Croatia

The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia enacted a new "Ordinance concerning the conditions of keeping protected animals in captivity, marking methods and keeping
records thereof".

According to this new regulation, Croatia prohibits keeping cetaceans in captivity for commercial purposes, including dolphinaria, aquaria and similar facilities.

The only exception could be granted by the Ministry of Culture if the animals are injured or sick and the solely purpose of their keeping is rehabilitation and recovery to return to nature.

This regulation was adopted based on the expertise study prepared by the State Institute for Nature Protection. Valuable information and evaluations included in the study were provided by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

With adoption of this regulation, Croatia has met provisions of the ACCOBAMS Resolution 3.13. on Dolphin Interaction Programmes, adopted at the Third Meetings of Parties organized in Dubrovnik in 2007.

Watch out: jellyfish!

Jellyfish blooms were rare episodes in the Mediterranean until the last eight years, when massive swarms of gelatinous organisms have become a frequent sight in coastal waters. Although overfishing and climate warming are amongst the most probable drivers, the specific causes and mechanisms are not well identified, and the lack of reference data makes any further investigation difficult.

The new CIESM Jelly Watch Programme shall gather for the first time baseline data on the frequency and extent of jellyfish outbreaks across the Mediterranean Sea.

Coastal users (fishermen, divers, tourists) but also ferry passengers, are invited to report sightings of jellyfish swarms (see poster for species) with information on the location, type and extension of the observed swarms. Records are sentkey scientists who act as focal points in different regions. After accurate screening and validation of the records, data will be centralized and integrated in the CIESM Metabase.

National JellyWatch Focal Points:
Croatia - Adam Benovic, University of Zagreb
Israel - Bella Galil, IOLR
Italy - Ferdinando Boero, Univ. del Salento: boero[at]unile.it

For more information:

CIESM Jellywatch Program website

Boero et al. 2008 "Gelatinous plankton: irregularities rule the world (sometimes)" Mar Ecol Prog Ser 356: 299–310.