Greece declares new marine protected area to safeguard world’s largest monk seal colony

Athens: Greece has signed into law a national-level marine protected area around Gyaros, an uninhabited Cyclades island that hosts the world’s largest colony of endangered Mediterranean monk seals.

The President signed the measure with the flourish of a pen, upgrading protections that were previously provincial and had limited enforcement power. Authority over Gyaros will now fall under joint cooperation between the coast guard and the Ministry for Environment and Climate Change.

Mediterranean monk seals are among the world’s most endangered marine mammals. Despite Gyaros being used as a naval targeting range by the post-independence Greek navy, the seals continue to breed and thrive on the island.

Beyond monk seals, Gyaros is recognized as an Aegean biodiversity hotspot. Its waters support threatened shearwaters and abundant pelagic life.

The island has a long history as a place of exile dating back to Roman times. The Roman poet Juvenal referenced Gyaros in his Satires in a piece dedicated to Alexander of Macedon.