There are only about 400 monk seals (Monachus monachus) left in the world, and half of them are found in the Mediterranean region of Turkey and Greece. The other half live in the Atlantic. Turkey is a contracting party to the Bern Convention on European Wild Life and Their Habitats and to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution, and its Ministry of the Environment decided to act when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) noted that the number of monk seals was at a critically low level. In 1991 Turkey's National Committee for the Protection of the Monk Seal chose the villages of Foca, on the Aegean Sea, and Yalikavak as pilot areas for the conservation of the species. Field surveys were carried out, educational materials were given to teachers, and brochures were distributed to tourists to encourage them to help to protect the seals' habitats. Artificial rocks were even placed in the sea to prevent fishing boats from coming too close.
- extract from the UNESCO Courier, June 1995.
from the list of Twenty of the most Endangered Species I quote the following:
Once found throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the North African Atlantic, the Mediterranean Monk Seal is now restricted to a few isolated stretches of coastline. Around 200 remain in the Aegean and along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, and perhaps a further 450 or more on the Atlantic coast of Morocco and Mauritania (Luke, 1993). Although at one time commercially exploited, its decline over the past 30 years is attributable to human disturbance (including tourism) and increased urbanisation of coasts, which caused it to abandon many breeding beaches in favour of caves, where breeding success is poor; persecution by fishermen; and new fishing methods which have depleted prey stocks. The species occurs in several protected areas, but more are required to safeguard its future.
The following is extracted from an IUCN World Conservation Union status survey
Description: Males are on average 241 cm long and weigh 315 kg. Females are 238 cm long and weigh 300 kg. Pups are 88-103 cm at birth and weigh 16-18 kg. Pups have a black woolly coat with a white or yellow patch on the belly. The adult monk seal can be any colour from dark brown or black to light grey. It is often lighter ventrally.
Distribution: The monk seal was formerly widespread throughout the Mediterranean, the Northwest coast of Africa, and the Black Sea, where it hauled out on sandy and rocky beaches as well as in caves. Now they are confined to remote and undisturbed areas where they breed in caves. The monk seal now occurs in countries around the Mediterranean Sea, on islands in the Adriatic Sea and Aegean Sea, on Madeira (Desartas Islands), the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and Mauritania. There have been no sightings in the Black Sea during the past five years.
Population dynamics: There is little information about this seal. One four-year-old female was observed to be sexually mature.
Population size: The total population size is probably no larger than several hundred and is declining. Estimates made for parts of the Mediterranean monk seal's range give the following: Albania 20; Algeria 10-30; Cyprus and Turkey 20-50; Desertas 8-10; Greece 200-250; Libya 0-20; Mediterranean Morocco 10-20; peninsula of Cap Blanc (Mauritania) 130; Croatia 25.
Feeding: Almost nothing is known about the diet of the Mediterranean monk seal, but it has been observed to feed on both fish and cephalopods.
Trophic relations: There is probably no competition for food; Killer whales (Orcinus orca) and sharks are believed to prey on the seals in some areas.
Human impacts: The Mediterranean monk seal is perceived as a competitor by fishermen in the eastern Mediterranean where seals are killed deliberately. Throughout its range there are reports of death following entanglement in fishing gear. Locally, food availability may have been reduced by overfishing. Disturbances during the pupping season may result in desertion and high pup mortality.
Exploitation: The Mediterranean monk seal is protected throughout its range. There are two protected areas created especially for monk seals, Desertas Islands in Madeira and the marine park Northern Sporades in Greece. There are future plans to set up nature reserves to protect the seals' habitat. Despite the protection, monk seals are still killed by fishermen.
Threats to the population: This small population of secretive animals, spread out over a large area is very vulnerable. Important threats are deliberate killing, loss of habitat, incidental entanglement, and disturbance. Threats from pollution, disease, and reduction in food supply should not be ignored. Monachus monachus is included in the IUCN Red List as being Endangered.
This page was last updated 9 May 1996.