With the flourish of a pen, the President of Greece recently signed into law a new marine protected area at the national level around Gyaros, an uninhabited island in the Cyclades that hosts the world’s largest colony of Mediterranean monk seals.
These seals are among the most endangered marine mammals in the world, and despite Gyaros being used as a naval targeting range by the post-independence Greek navy, they continue to breed and thrive on the island.
Until now, protections thereupon have been provincial in scope, with limited enforcement power. Under the new marine protection law, authority over Gyaros will come under the cooperation of the coast guard and the Ministry for Environment and Climate Change.
Beyond monk seals, Gyaros is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot in the Aegean, with threatened shearwaters and ample pelagic life.
Gyaros was used as a place of exile since Roman times, and in the Satires, the Roman poet Juvenal references it in a piece dedicated to Alexander of Macedon.
One globe was not enough for the youth from Pella,
He seethed within the narrow confines of the world,
as if he were hemmed in by the cliffs of Gyara…
This reputation for inhospitable confines proceeded up until the 20th century when a detention center was built to house political prisoners. Gyaros’ fortunes changed when starting in 2013, the Greek City Times wrote, the World Wildlife Fund Greece began extensive ecological work the protect endemic species and restore habitat.
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WWF Greece applauded the decision to create the marine protected area, calling it a “decisive milestone.”
“This ensures the long-term preservation of the island’s natural wealth, while also supporting local communities in the Northern Cyclades,” the organization said.
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