Occurrence of the Mediterranean Monk seal Monachus monachus in Yeşilovacık bay Mersin, Turkey ; a case report for anthropogenic impact assessments

Abstract

Up to 2013 there was a small-scale mine loading port with small pier in Yeşilovacık bay. Then the new pier extending to open sea in south west direction was built. The impact assessments of the former and later port on the monk seal were evaluated by monitoring their activities in the bay. The monk seal records were very rare during the period of extensive commercial fishing and small scale mine loading activity in 2012. In period of the construction, although monk seal was less frequently observed on the rocky east shore, on the sandy beach and harbor area, a new pup was seen around the same breeding cave with the distance of approximately 500 meters to new pier. In our monitoring period, the daily activities of monk seal were mostly recorded between 8-12 am based total of 21 monk seal records. The speed of a juvenile were recorded as maximum 16.8 km/ h during fish chasing in the evening. Our findings supported that major threat on the monk seal are by catch in gill nets, bottom trawl nets, overfishing and deliberate killing more than the pier constructions caused noise, turbidity and over-lighting. Up to 2017, the observing frequencies are getting increased in the harbor area. The reason for that is though due to the alternative employment for local people, which mitigates the conflicts between monk seals and fishermen

Keywords

• Monk seal,threats,Yeşilovacık bay,Turkey

Yeşilovacık Koyu'ndaki Mersin, Türkiye Akdeniz Fokunun Monachus monachus Varlığı; antropojenik etki değerlendirmesi vaka raporu

Abstract

Yeşilovacık körfezinde, 2013 yılına kadar küçük bir iskele ve küçük ölçekli bir maden yükleme limanı bulunmaktaydı. Daha sonra güneybatı yönünde açık denize uzanan yeni iskele inşa edilmiştir. Eski ve sonraki yapılan limanın Keşiş fokunun üzerindeki etkileri, bunların körfezdeki faaliyetlerinin izlenmesi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Keşiş foku kayıtları, 2012 yılında yaygın ticari balıkçılık ve küçük çaplı mayın yükleme faaliyetleri sırasında çok azdı. İnşaat döneminde, kayalığın doğu kıyısında, kumlu plaj ve liman bölgesinde Keşiş foku daha az gözlenmiş olmasına rağmen, yeni bir yavru aynı üreme mağarasının etrafında yeni iskeleye yaklaşık 500 metre uzaklıkta gözlenmiştir. İzleme periyodumuzda, kaydedilen toplam 21 fokun günlük faaliyetleri çoğunlukla gündüz 8-12 saatleri arasında kaydedildi. Yavruların maksimum hızı akşam balık avlamaları sırasında 16,8 km/s olarak kaydedildi. Bulgularımız, balık ağları, dip trol ağları, aşırı avlanma ve kasıtlı öldürmenin Keşiş foku üzerindeki en büyük tehditler olarak, gürültü, bulanıklık ve aşırı aydınlatmaya neden olan iskele yapımlarından daha fazla olduğunu desteklemiştir. 2017 yılına kadar liman bölgesinde gözlem frekansları gittikçe artmıştır. Bunun sebebi foklar ve balıkçılar arasındaki çatışmaları azaltan, yerel halkın alternatif istihdamıdır

Keywords

• Keşiş foku,tehditler,Yeşilovacık körfezi,Türkiye

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