The Mediterranean Monk Seal Reclaims Its Space

The Mediterranean Monk Seal ( Monachus monachus ) has been for decades the symbolic species of the impact of man on a marine species. It had completely disappeared from large areas of the Mediterranean and its presence was mainly concentrated in Greece and Turkey. Now, thanks to the incessant work of various NGOs and, in Italy, of the Monk Seal Group, which have conducted direct actions and raised awareness of the species, the situation has improved significantly. The joint actions of various organizations, including the WWF, have been able to demonstrate that the Monk Seal is progressively recovering and recolonizing the spaces where it was previously distributed. Since 2022 there has also been a project supported by 11th Hour Racing and others, which sees the participation of the Monk Seal Group, the University of Milan Bicocca and the Fondazione Acquario di Genova Onlus which, also using environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques, aims to update the distribution map of the species also in the North-Western Mediterranean. Another example of how you can lend a hand even to very threatened species.