Monk seal project: details of work

Turkey's fishermen: guardians of the monk seals

Home to around 100 Mediterranean monk seals, Turkey is a key country for conservation efforts to save the species. Through an EU-funded project, WWF's Mediterranean Programme is working with and supporting Turkish NGO SAD-AFAG (The Underwater Research Society - Mediterranean Seal Research Group) to protect the monk seal and at the same time, help artisanal fishermen.

The project focuses on the following aspects.

Fishery cooperatives
Cooperatives are a key part of the project. Jointly owned by the local fishermen, they pay a fair price for the fish, and then sell it on to customers. This gives the fishermen a more stable source of income - without a cooperative they have to sell the fish to outside dealers, who don't always pay.

In addition, cooperatives give the fishermen more strength, for example to lobby for reforms such as banning undesirable fishing practises.

SAD-AFAG and WWF help support fishery cooperatives in Foça and Aydincik through, for example, supplying equipment such as deep-freezers; helping to fight illegal fishing activities; and helping to lobby for reforms to fishery laws.

No-fishing zones
No-fishing zones serve two purposes. One is that they protect fish breeding grounds, and so help to increase fish stocks - good news for both the fishermen and the monk seals. They can also help to protect monk seal habitat, particularly their breeding caves. Young monk seals are particularly susceptible to entanglement and drowning in fishing nets set near the caves that form their home in their first six months of life.

SAD-AFAG aims to create no-fishing zones around all monk seal breeding caves in Turkey. Working with the local fishermen, SAD-AFAG scientists have so far created two no-fishing zones around monk seal breeding caves in Aydincik, and two more have been proposed. A no-fishing zone has also been established on the Karaburun Peninsula.

Fighting illegal fishing activities
Enforcing fishery legislation is essential for effective conservation. The most effective way to prevent illegal fishing activities is if the local fishermen monitor their waters. SAD-AFAG has frequently acted as the bridge between the local coast guard and fishermen wanting to stop illegal fishing activities.

A local marine patrolling system was first established in Turkey in Foça with the support of the Turkish Ministry for the Environment, in 1993. This system was further developed in cooperation with SAD-AFAG, the local governor of Foça, and the Foça Fishery Cooperative. Today, the administration of the Foça Fishery Cooperative controls illegal activities on the sea, in cooperation with the Turkish coast guard and the local branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, under the control of the governor of Foça.

In 2001, SAD-AFAG helped establish an "information network" against illegal fisheries in in Bozyazi, Gözce, and Aydincik in the Cilician Basin, with 12 selected local volunteers and artisanal fishermen. Through this network, information on law infringements was sent to the SAD-AFAG office and then passed on to the commander of the local coast guard boat.

This has now been developed into a second local marine patrolling system, in cooperation with the governor of Aydincik, the municipality, and the Aydincik Fishery Cooperative. In September 2003, the Aydincik Fishery Cooperative received its own patrol boat through SAD-AFAG and WWF.

Monitoring monk seals
Through the use of camera traps, SAD-AFAG scientists monitor monk seal caves to both determine which caves are used by monk seals and also to study monk seal biology.

Monitoring fish stocks
Scientific monitoring of fish stocks is carried out in marine protected areas, particularly in the no-fishing-zones. Local fish stocks in these areas have shown signs of rapid recovery. Between 1999 and 2002, the quantity of commercial species and the average length of target commercial species have noticeably increased in and around the no-fishing-zones.

Increasing public awareness
Increasing public awareness is an important component of monk seal conservation. Various activities have been carried out in both the Gulf of Izmir and the Cilician Basin, including holding meetings for local police, fishermen, and local decision makers; carrying out educational activities in schools; and holding information programmes for owners of summer houses along the coasts. Information kiosks and other activities have been organized national days and during public events to reach the local community.