The National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades ( el, Εθνικό Θαλάσσιο Πάρκο Αλοννήσου Βορείων Σποράδων, ΕΘΠΑΒΣ) was founded by Presidential Decree on May 16, 1992. It was the first of its kind in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, and is currently the largest marine protected area in Europe (approximately 2,260 km
2). Besides the sea area, the park includes the island of
Alonnisos
Alonnisos ( el, Αλόννησος ), also transliterated as Alonissos, is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. After Skiathos and Skopelos it is the third member of the Northern Sporades. It is (2 nm) east of the island of Skopelos. Alonnisos ...
, six smaller islands (
Peristera,
Kyra Panagia
Kyra Panagia ( el, Κυρά Παναγιά ) is a Greek island in the Sporades. It is administratively part of the municipality of Alonnisos in the Sporades regional unit. The island is also known by the name of Pelagos and rarely Pelagonisi. . A ...
,
Gioura
Gioura ( el, Γιούρα), sometimes romanized as Youra, is a Greek island and abandoned settlement in the eastern part of the Northern Sporades. It is administratively part of the municipality of Alonnisos
Alonnisos ( el, Αλόννησος ), ...
,
Psathoura
Psathoura ( el, Ψαθούρα) is a Greek island in the Northern Sporades. It is administratively a part of Alonnisos. , it had no resident population. The Psathoura lighthouse, built in 1895, stands at 28.9 metres. It is one of the tallest in th ...
,
Piperi and
Skantzoura
Skantzoura ( el, Σκάντζουρα) is an island in the Sporades archipelago, Greece. The island is located southeast of the larger island of Alonnisos (to which it belongs administratively) and northwest of the island Skyros
Skyros ( el, ...
), as well as 22 uninhabited islets and rocky outcrops. It is located in the region of the
Northern Sporades
The (Northern) Sporades (; el, Βόρειες Σποράδες, ) are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,"Skyros - Britannica Concise" (description), Britannica Concise, 2006, webpageEB-Skyrosnotes " ...
Islands, in the northern
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. There is one other marine park in Greece, namely
Zakynthos Marine Park
The National Marine Park of Zakynthos ( el, Εθνικό Θαλάσσιο Πάρκο Ζακύνθου) founded in 1999, is a national park located in Laganas bay, in Zakynthos island, Greece. The park, part of the Natura 2000 ecological network, ...
.
History
Thomas Schultze-Westrum, a German zoologist and maker of animal documentaries, after a series of exploratory missions to the islands in 1976, noted the great ecological and biological value for the first time and proposed the creation of protected area. Six years later, the local
fishermen
A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish.
Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...
of Alonnisos Island accepted, after consultation, the prospect of establishing a park in the region and were committed to help with its protection. In 1986 the Magnesia Prefecture Office issued the first order to protect the region, followed by the decisions of the Ministries of Environmental Affairs, Agriculture and Merchant Navy. The newly formed Mom NGO, composed of young marine biologists, in 1990 set up a permanent team field in the area of the reserve and acquired the research vessel ''IFAW-ODYSSEAS'' to aid to the systematic monitoring of the population of the
Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Ae ...
(''Monachus monachus''), which remained so until 2006. A year later they established in Alonnisos the first seal health centre for the species in the Mediterranean.
The presidential decree, that was issued to clearly demarcate the protected zones and protection measures, overlooked the creation of a local Reserve Management Agency. MOm, aided by the European Commission, initiated the reserve's support and monitor program. This action is implemented with the local operators of the high-speed craft ''Alonnisos'' and the first few years in close cooperation with the Fishing Cooperative of Alonnisos. Following the environmental study that lasted several years issued by a Joint Ministerial Decision which set out the composition of the board of the management agency of the marine park, the overall responsibility for managing the reserve passed to the new management agency. MOm participates as a full member of the board, the Operational Management Council, however, without a clearly defined plan of operation, with lack of funding and some unfortunate choice of a president of the board for the next three years remained ineffective. In 2007, some funding by the Third EU Community Support Framework initiated the first steps of operation. The current situation is critical, since the choices to be made and management actions to be implemented will determine both the credibility of the new management agency and the protection of the coastal region.
Geography
Geology
Limestone rock dominates the island surfaces. Its main characteristics are the steep rocky slopes which run down to the sea and the caves, which are an important part of the habitat of the monk seal. Different types of soil are encountered while fresh water sources are scarce.
Climate
Mediterranean, with moderate rainfall during wintertime and long dry summers. The average annual temperature is 17 °C and the average rainfall is 515 mm.
During August, the , average to very strong northerly winds, refresh the atmosphere and cause significant disturbance at sea.
Special conditions
The geographic isolation of the area, its morphology, the limited degree of human interference and the excellent condition of the natural environment make the land and sea areas of the park an ideal habitat for many threatened species of plants and animals
Flora
The islands are covered in Mediterranean
coniferous forest and
macchia vegetation such as the
strawberry tree,
phillyrea
''Phillyrea'' is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, and naturalized in the Canary Islands and Madeira.
They are evergreen shrubs or small trees growing to 3–9 m tall, related ...
, the
heather,
rhamnus, the
kermes oak
''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the '' Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus ...
, often in the form of treelike shrubs, and evergreen trees such as the
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
, the wild
olive, the
Phoenician juniper
''Juniperus phoenicea'', the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region.
Description
''Juniperus phoenicea'' is a large shrub or small tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a rounded ...
and the rare tree
Amelanchier chelmea
''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...
.
Phrygana is also common and consists of many species. Of particular interest are the
chasmophytes with several endemic species such as
Campanula reiseri
''Campanula'' () is one of several genera of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae commonly known as bellflowers. They take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers — ''campanula'' is Latin for "little bell" ...
,
,
Arenaria phitosiana
Arenaria, a Latin word meaning sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand ...
and others. Underwater sea-grass beds of
Posidonia oceanica
''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free f ...
, which is particularly important for the development of other organisms and the retention and cycling of suspended particles and various substances in the marine environment, are widely spread and in good condition.
Fauna
![Dolphin in the Alonnisos Marine Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Dolphin_in_the_Alonnisos_Marine_Park.jpg)
The area of the AMP is an important habitat for many species of fish (about 300), birds (up to 80 species), reptiles and also mammals. Apart from the monk seal, the red coral (''
Corallium rubrum
Precious coral, or red coral, is the common name given to a genus of marine corals, ''Corallium''. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red or pink-orange skeleton, which is used for m ...
''), Eleonora's falcon (''
Falco eleonorae
Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest re ...
''), Audouin's gull (''
Larus audouinii
Audouin's gull (''Ichthyaetus audouinii'') is a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Saharan Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''ikhthus'', "fish", and ''aetos'', "eagle", and
t ...
''), shag (''
Gulosus aristotelis
The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...
''), and the wild goat of Gioura (''
Capra aegagrus''), are few of the most characteristic rare species to be found. Some of the birds to be seen are the Bonelli's eagle (''
Hieraetus fasciatus''), the cormorant (''
Phalacrocorax carbo
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
'') and the white gull (''
Larus michahelis''), and nesting among the rocks, the ''
Apus apus
The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between th ...
'' and ''
Apus melba
The alpine swift (''Tachymarptis melba'') formerly ''Apus melba'', is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalaya. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the souther ...
'', the rock nuthatch (''
Sitta neumayer''), etc. The existing flora also favours the presence of species of the family
Sylvidae, e.g. the Sardinian warbler (''
Sylvia melanocephala'') and the blackcap (''
Sylvia atricapilla
The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sm ...
''). Underwater fauna is also varied, with many benthic and fish species. Various species of
dolphins
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...
and some
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
species may be seen in the region, such as the common dolphin (''
Delphinus delphis
The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...
''), the striped dolphin (''
Stenella coeruleoalba''), the bottlenose dolphin (''
Tursiops truncatus
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the commo ...
''), the long-finned pilot whale (''
Globicephala melas
The long-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala melas'') is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus '' Globicephala'' with the short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus''). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such bec ...
''), the sperm whale (''
Physeter macrocephalus
''Physeter'' is a genus of toothed whales. There is only one living species in this genus: the sperm whale (''Physeter macrocephalus''). Some extremely poorly known fossil species have also been assigned to the same genus including ''Physeter an ...
'') and the Cuvier's beaked whale (''
Ziphius cavirostris'').
Protective measures
Zone A (1587 km2)
Zone A1 Piperi Island and the surrounding waters to a distance of 3 nautical miles
Permitted activities: Scientific research (under licences), park operations (under licences), maintenance works to the church of Zoothohos Pigis and the adjacent spring, herding.
Forbidden activities: Agricultural activities, the use of fire or chemicals and other substances, all kinds of professional fishing, amateur fishing, vessel approach and mooring.
Zone A2 The total surface of the Psathoura Island
Zone B (678 km2)
The entire area of Zone B is open to visits and there are no specific restrictions, with the exception of free camping and the lighting of fires. Swimming and walking are amongst the simplest and most interesting ways of coming in contact with the natural environment. In addition, amateur fishing is allowed according to the rules laid down in the Fisheries Code.
There are communities in Zone B, the largest being
Patitiri
Patitiri ( el, Πατητήρι) is the capital town of the island of Alonnisos in the Sporades archipelago, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the sout ...
, Palia Alonnisos, Votsi and
Steni Vala.
[Permitted and prohibited activities in the NMPA]
See also
*
Hawaiian monk seal
The Hawaiian monk seal (''Neomonachus schauinslandi'') is an endangered species of earless seal in the family Phocidae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of two extant monk seal species; the other is the ...
*
Caribbean monk seal
*
Foça
Foça is a town and district in Turkey's İzmir Province, on the Aegean coast. The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center. The district also has a township with its own municipality named Yenifoça (literally ''"Ne ...
References
External links
Alonnisos Marine ParkAlonnisos Marine Park & islands info
{{authority control
Marine reserves
National parks of Greece
Protected areas established in 1992
Tourist attractions in Thessaly
Geography of Thessaly
Marine parks of Greece