Mediterranean monk seals: achievements

Wins for fishermen and seals

Outer Gulf of Izmir
Running since 1991, the longest-running project site, in Foça on the outer Gulf of Izmir in the Aegean Sea, has been hugely successful. Highlights include:

The town's fishermen, SAD-AFAG, and WWF convinced the Turkish government to ban large-scale fishing in Foça in 1992, and to ban beach-seine fishing along Turkey's Aegean and the Mediterranean coasts in 2001
A no-fishing zone was established on the Karaburun Peninsula
Through Turkey's first local marine patrolling system established in 1993, illegal fishing activities have been successfully stopped.

As a result, fish stocks are improving and fishermen have more stable incomes. Monk seal sightings in the area have increased five-fold, pups have been born in areas where there had been no births for many years, and today, monk seals are even sleeping on open beaches. The fishermen remain active guardians of the seals, reporting on pollution and activities such as illegal construction that threaten the coastal environment.

Cilician Basin
WWF supported a monk seal conservation project led by Dr Ali Cemal Gücü of the Middle East Technical University Institute of Marine Sciences between 1994 and 1998, and has been working with SAD-AFAG in the Cilician basin since 1998. Dr Gücü has also been collaborating with SAD-AFAG since 1998. The work here has also had various successes:

Identification of all monk seal breeding caves in the area
The establishment of two no-fishing zones, with a further two proposed
Establishment of an "information network" to stop illegal fishing in 2001, which became Turkey's second local marine patrolling system in 2003
The reopening of the Aydincik Fishery Cooperative in 2003

SAD-AFAG's research shows that fish stocks are improving in the two no-fishing zones. In addition, illegal fishing activities are declining and the monk seal population has increased by approximately two-fold since 1995. The fishermen are extremely supportive of the project, believing that it will help their livelihoods as well as save the Mediterranean monk seal.