Greece should invest in protected marine areas
Report submitted to government by National Geographic’s Pristine Seas initiative shows potential jump in revenue and environmental benefits
Only 0.1% of Greek territorial waters are currently adequately protected from overfishing and other environmentally damaging activities, according to a report by the international organization Pristine Seas, delivered last month to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
However, if Greece decided to strictly protect even 5% of its seas, with an initial investment of 62 million euros and an additional annual cost of 55 million euros, it could recoup the investment within four years from the development of diving tourism alone – without taking into account the immediate effects on the recovery of fish stocks and marine biodiversity.
The aim of the report is to scientifically support and politically urge the Greek government to follow the example of other Mediterranean countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Turkey, which have declared protected marine areas with measurable results. The reason for preparing the report was Mitsotakis’ announcement at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Marseille, in September 2021, that his governent will expand protected marine areas from 22% to 30% of the country’s seas by 2030.
Pristine Seas, a global initiative created by the National Geographic Society with the aim of creating marine protected areas, contacted the Greek government and offered to support the project scientifically.
As the report points out, Greece’s seas have been seriously depleted by human activity (mainly overfishing) and the effect of climate change (temperature rise and invasive species). Overfishing has reduced fish stocks in the country’s seas by 50% since the 1990s, and although Greece has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, diving tourism lags significantly behind countries like France and Spain, precisely because its waters are poor in marine life. “The common fisheries policy and poor fisheries management policy in Greece have failed to reverse the depletion of fish stocks. On the contrary, marine protected areas in the Mediterranean have been proven to help recover marine life and ecosystem services, create new jobs, boost local fishing and benefit local communities through ecotourism,” the report adds.
As pointed out, approximately 5% of the Greece’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has some form of protective status; however, this protection is on paper only. Only 0.1% of the EEZ is adequately protected from overfishing and other activities. The proposal of Pristine Seas points precisely in this direction: “We propose a simple solution so that Greece can quickly contribute to the 30×30 goal (protection of 30% of the seas by 2030) and increase the value of its seas: to convert areas that have some form of protection into areas of strict protection.”
It is interesting that the organization points to the strengthening of diving tourism as the first effect. The recovery of marine life in strictly protected areas will attract divers from abroad, help create new diving centers (from 124 today) and increase diving-related jobs by 300% and income by 400% (from 82 million euros today to 312 million euros). Additionally, in well-managed protected areas, increased fish stocks will improve employment and income for local fishermen. “The worst enemy of fishing is overfishing, not protected areas,” the report notes.
Overfishing has reduced fish stocks in the country’s seas by 50% since the 1990s
The organization estimates that an increase in the protected areas in Greece (to 5% of the EEZ) is estimated to require an initial public investment of 62 million euros and another 55 million euros per year as operating costs, assuming that each protected area will have personnel, a management plan, etc. The financial benefits will offset the costs over a period of four years, Pristine Seas says.
‘Minimal protection’
Enric Sala is the founder and executive director of Pristine Seas. “I have worked many times in Greece, but also throughout the Mediterranean, doing scientific research. Unfortunately, in Greece, most marine protected areas offer minimal protection,” he tells Kathimerini. “Strictly protected areas are those that bring benefits to the environment and local communities, through tourism and fishing. I will give you an example: In the Medes Islands [a complex of seven small rocky islets located off the coast of Catalonia] a diver will easily see in the sea schools of groupers that reach 1.5 meters. In Greece, if someone catches a 1-meter grouper, it is a big event. The fish that manage to reach large growth sizes produce hundreds of eggs, which in turn become hundreds of fish, which of course do not stay within the boundaries of a protected area, thus also benefiting fishing.”
Biologist Vangelis Paravas, who has dealt with protection status in Greece, is also a member of the report’s editorial team. “Today in our country there are many different regimes. In terms of marine areas protected under environmental legislation, there are national marine parks in which there is a level of protection and Natura areas which have virtually no protection. In protected areas, the institutional problem is that certain land uses have to be selected horizontally, which may not be consistent with the particularities of an area (resulting in either insufficient or excessive restrictions). As for the areas where fishing is controlled, the problem is that the restrictions apply only to that and no other human activity. The main deficit in our country is the areas of strict protection, as these are the ones that produce immediate and spectacular results,” he tells Kathimerini.
But why does the report focus on the possibilities of diving tourism? “In Spain, a no-fishing area of just 1 square kilometer is estimated to generate 16 million euros a year in revenue and 200 jobs,” says Sala. This model works by charging the diver for the use of the protected area. “In the Medes Islands that I mentioned to you before, the divers give a symbolic amount which has come to cover half of the operating costs of the protected area’s organization. There are areas in the world where the entirety of the cost is covered.”
Sala believes that the moment is right for Greece to take such steps. “We have met Mr Mitsotakis. He understands the benefits and has a vision. I think what is needed is political will.”
Gulf of Gokova
An example of the recovery of a marine area after the establishment of a strict protection regime is the Gulf of Gokova in Turkey, a narrow gulf of the Aegean Sea between the Bodrum and Datca peninsulas in the southwest of the country.
“Before the creation of the protected area, the gulf suffered from overfishing and illegal fishing, which had led to a dramatic decrease in fish stocks and marine biodiversity in general,” explains Gizem Akdogan, executive assistant at the Mediterranean Conservation Society (Akdeniz Koruma Dernegi). “However, after the creation of the protected area we recorded a remarkable recovery of marine life. We have seen a large increase in fish, especially large predators such as groupers and snappers, which are critical to maintaining the ecological balance. They have also helped the populations of endangered species such as the gray shark and the Mediterranean seal to recover. At the same time, invasive species, such as the lionfish, which posed a threat to the ecosystem, decreased.”
What kind of measures were implemented? “The biggest impact was the creation of a network of small areas of absolute protection (no-take zones), where all forms of fishing are strictly prohibited. The measures were implemented through a monitoring system by the local community (marine rangers), supported by local fishermen and national authorities. Obviously the fishermen themselves do not issue fines, but they take photos and videos and inform the coast guard. In addition, destructive fishing practices such as trawling have been banned in large areas of the bay.”
According to Akdogan, the results were immediately visible. Within the first year, studies recorded a 27% increase in fish populations and a 19% increase in endangered species. Between 2013 and 2015 the population of large predators increased up to 25 times more than in unprotected areas. The local fishing community saw a 180% increase in income three years after the area surveillance system was put into place. “The protected area of Gokova proved extremely successful. Not only did it restore the health of the marine ecosystem, but it provided serious economic and social benefits to the local community,” she added.
