Today, World Ocean Day, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy announces another step for maritime protection: our country has for the first time acquired a protection framework for the colonies of corals located in the deep waters of the North Aegean Fourno Corsican complex. Specifically, a relevant ministerial decision was signed, banning the entire protected area with sliding tools, which causes irreversible destruction in these vulnerable marine ecosystems.
According to the RIS, with invaluable ecological and scientific value, corals are some of the richest ecosystems in the Mediterranean, where hundreds of marine species live and reproduce, including many important commercial fish species. Coral colonies include scientifically documented valuable and vulnerable sets of marine species, also known as Marine Animal Forests. With the help of the Ionian University, the Municipality of Fourni, scientific bodies, non -governmental organizations and fishermen of the island, more than 300 species have been recorded, and the effort is continuing.
According to the announcement, the new Ministerial Decision, for the first time, take specific measures to protect these extremely vulnerable and endemic species of the Mediterranean, in accordance with the international obligations of the country arising from European Directive 92/43/EEC on habitats, the Barcelona Convention on the Barcelona, and the Barcelona Convention on the Protection of the Mediterranean. 1967/2006 of the EU Council For fishing (1967/2006).
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Stavros Papastavrou, said: “The protection of the marine biodiversity of our country, which is an integral part of its wealth, is our priority. Today, World Ocean Day, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy announces another initiative, the protection of coral corals, in the direction of the practical implementation of our commitment to a viable marine ecosystem. The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Ministry of Environment and Energy, are participating in the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC-3), where our country is leading in international developments for the protection of oceans and marine ecosystems. We protect our seas and the precious life they host, we respect the present, we take care of the future. “