The MOFI Project

The Mediterranean Monk Seal, the rarest seal species in the world, is the most critically endangered marine mammal in Europe. Its global population amounts to fewer than 600 individuals, around half of which live and breed in Greek waters. The European Union’s LIFE-Nature project MOFI, carried out by MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal, and co-funded by IFAW, addresses one of the most important threats to the species: the interaction with fisheries. The aim is to reduce the mortality of Monk Seals due to entanglement in nets and deliberate killing and to mitigate the loss of the fishermen’s income through the provision of socio-economic incentives. Field research, a nation-wide awareness campaign and the involvement of local fishing communities are some of the key elements of the project which covers some 15.000 kilometres of coastal line and the 3.000 islands of Greece, where the Mediterranean Monk Seal still lives.

Conservation measures will be carried out at the two most important monk seal breeding sites in Greece (the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the island complex of Kimolos-Polyaigos), in order to measure the impact of fisheries on monk seal populations.

In seven crucial areas with high seal-fishery interactions, awareness campaigns aim to improve the relationship with the local fishing communities. Data collected should enable an assessment of the extent of the problem and of possible solutions to the conflict. At national level, the causes of mortality and the status of the species will be monitored. For the first time, the analysis of stomach contents will help determine the species’ feeding preferences. In addition, animals needing emergency care will be rescued, treated and released.

Greece hosts the largest surviving population of the monk seal, while fishing plays an important role in the country’s economy and social structure. Conservation efforts must be targeted at finding new solutions to the seal–fishery conflict. This is the challenge the MOFI project tries to address.

To learn more about the project, download the MOFI newsletter at:

http://mofi.mom.gr/uk/newsletter.htm