Greek coasts, marine life at risk

Overfishing threatening unique animals, ecosystems, experts say and propose new ‘inclusive’ marine parks

Greece’s coastline and marine life face irreparable damage over the next few decades unless radical action is taken to protect the region’s unique wildlife and ecosystems, scientists are warning.
No essential measures have been taken to protect dwindling species of animals living off Greece’s coasts nor the unique ecosystems that avert coastal erosion, experts agreed at a seminar in Serres.
Overfishing is another key culprit, destroying Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass endemic to the Mediterranean that protects marine organisms, according to research by the Institute of Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea, also known as Archipelagos.

Oceanographic Exercise 2008

For the second successive year Archipelagos has organised an annual oceanographic training exercise in cooperation with the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Cardiff, Wales and the University of Piraeus. The training exercise took place during the middle of September and lasted for one week.

Greek National TV – NET on a visit to Archipelagos

In early September, Greek National TV’s (NET) crew visited the Archipelagos research station in Faros, Ikaria and interviewed the members of the scientific team while also filming part of the research activities. The journalists joined Nireas’ crew on a research expedition, as part of the marine mammal studies which Archipelagos is conducting and had the rare opportunity of filming the behaviour of a small pod of Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).