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

Year 2018, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 97 - 105, 15.08.2018

Nuri Yiğit Deniz Ayas Ercüment Çolak

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

References

• Aguilar, A. (1999). Biological factors affecting variability of persistent pollutant levels in cetaceans. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 1, 83-116.
• Androukaki, E., Adamantopoulou, S., Dendrinos, P., Tounta, E., Kotomatas, S. (1999). Causes of mortality in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in Greece. Contributions to the Zoology and Ecology of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1, 405- 411.
• Androukaki, E., Chatzispyrou. A., Adamantopoulou, S., Dendrinos, P. et al. (2006). Investigating the causes of death in monk seals, stranded in coastal Greece (1986−2005). 20th European Cetacean Society Conference, Gdynia, 2−6 April 2006.
• Berkes, F. (1978). The possibility of movements of Monachus monachus between the coastal waters of Greece and Turkey. September 1978. Insitutute of of Urban and Environmental Studies, Ontario: Brock University, .
• Berkes, F., Anat, H.,Esenel, M., Kislaloglou, M. (1979). Distribution and Ecology of Monachus monachus on Turkish coasts. UNEP Technical Report 1, Oxford: Pergamon Press.
• Danyer, E., Aytemiz, I., Özbek, E. Ö., Tonay, A. M. (2013). Preliminary study on a stranding case of Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) on Antalya coast, Turkey, August 2013. Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 19(3), 359˗364.
• Gazo, M., Layna, J.F., Aparicio, F., Cedenilla, M.A., González, L.M., Aguilar, A. (1999). Pupping season, perinatal sex ratio and natality rates of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) from the Cabo Blanco colony. Journal of Zoology, 249, 393-401
• Gazo, M., Aparicio, F., Cedenilla, M. A., Layna, J. F., Gonzalez, L. M. (2000). Pup survival in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) colony at Cabo Blanco Peninsula (Western Sahara-Mauritania). Marine Mammal Science, 16(1), 158- 168.
• González, L.M. 2004. Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Up-date of the status and conservation progress. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Twelfth Meeting of the CMS Scientific Council Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, 31 March - 3 April 2004: 1-7
• González, L.M., De Larrinoa, P.F. (2013). Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus distribution and fisheries interactions in the Atlantic Sahara during the second half of the 20th century. Mammalia, 77(1), 41-49.
• Güçlüsoy, H. (2008). Interaction between monk seals, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779), and artisanal fisheries in the Foca Pilot Monk Seal Conservation Area, Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 43, 13–20.
• Güçlüsoy, H., Savas. Y. (2003a). Status of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Foça Pilot Monk Seal Conservation Area, Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 28, 5-16.
• Güçlüsoy, H., Savaş. Y. (2003b). Interaction between monk seals Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) and marine fish farms in the Turkish Aegean and management of the problem. Aquaculture Research, 34(9), 777-783.
• Güçlüsoy, H., Kıraç, C.O., Veryeri, N.O., Savaş, Y. (2004). Status of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) in the Coastal Waters of Turkey. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 21 (3-4), 201–210.
• Gücü, A.C., Gücü, G., Örek, H. (2004). Habitat use and preliminary demographic evaluation of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Cilician Basin (eastern Mediterranean). Biological Conservation, 116(3), 417-431.
• Gücü, A.C., Ok, M., Sakinan, S. (2009a). A survey of the critically endangered Mediterranean monkseal, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) along the coast of Northern Cyprus. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution, 55(1), 72-82.
• Gücü, A.C., Sakinan, S., Ok, M. (2009b). Occurrence of the critically endangered Mediterranean monkseal, Monachus monachus, at Olympos-Beydaglari National Park, Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 46, 3-8.
• Gücü, A.C. (2010). New population size assessment study in the NE Mediterranean. The Monachus Guardian 13 (1); June 2010. www.monachus-guardian.org. (Erişim tarihi: 16.07.2018)
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-3. . (Erişim tarihi: 04.07.2018)
• Johnson, W.M., Karamanlidis, A.A., Dendrinos, P., Fernandez, P., Gazo, M., Gonzalez, L.M., Güçlüsoy, H., Pires, R., Schnellmann, M. (2006). Monk seal fact files. Biology, behaviour, status and conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus. The Monachus Guardian, www.monachus-guardian.org. (Erişim tarihi: 16.07.2018)
• Karamanlidis, A.A., Dendrinos, P., Fernandez de Larrinoa, P., Gücü, A.C., Johnson, W.M., Kıraç, C.O., Pires, R. (2015). The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus: status, biology, threats, and conservation priorities. Mammal Review, 46, 92- 105.
• Kıraç, C.O., Veryeri, N.O., Güçlüsoy, H., Savaş, H. (2013). National Action Plan for the Conservation of Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in Türkiye. UNEP MAP RAC/SPA and Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Forest and Water Works. Ankara, Turkey.
• Kıraç, C. O., Güçlüsoy, H. (2008). Foça ve Akdeniz Foku; Foça Özel Çevre Koruma Bölgesi’nde Akdeniz Fokunun (Monachus monachus) Korunması ve İzlenmesi. T.C. Çevre ve Orman Bakanlığı, Ankara: Özel Çevre Koruma Kurumu Başkanlığı Yayınları.
• MOm. (2009). MOFI project: Monk seal and fisheries: Mitigating the conflict in Greek seas. Athens, Greece: MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal. http://mofi. mom.gr/pdf/laymans_report_ENG.pdf. (Erişim tarihi: 09.06.2011)
• Mursaloglu, B. (1964). Occurrence of the monk seal on the Turkish coasts. Journal of Mammalogy, 45 (2), 316-317.
• Mursaloğlu, B. (1984). The Survival of Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus, pup on the Turkish coast. Proc of the II. International Conference 5-6 October. La Rochelle, France Suppl. pp. 41-47.
• Mursaloğlu, B. (1986). Pup-mother environmental relations in the Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus (Herman 1779) on Turkish coasts. 3rd International Congress, Helsinki, Abstr. 267.
• Mursaloğlu, B. (1992). Biology and Distribution of the Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus on Turkish Coasts, Council of Europe Conservation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, Technical and Scientific Aspects. Antalya, Turkey. May 1991, pp. 54- 57.
• Neves, H.C. (1998). Preliminary findings on the feeding behaviour and general ecology strategy of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Pinnipedia: Monachinae) on the Desertas Islands. Boletim do Museum Municipal do Funchal, Suppl. no. 5, 263-271.
• Neves, H.C., Pires, R. (1999). The recuperation of a monk seal pup, Monachus monachus, in the Ilhas Desertas – the conditions for its success. The Monachus Guardian, 1 (2), 45-48.
• Ok, M. (2006). Past, Present Status and Future of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus, Hermann 1779) In the Northeastern Mediterranean. Marine Biology and Fisheries Middle East Technical University Graduate School of Marine Sciences. Master of Science. Mersin. 114 pages.
• Öztürk, B., Dede, A. (1995). Present status of the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) on the coasts of Foça in the Bay of Izmir (Aegean Sea). Turkish Journal of Marine Sciences, 1 (2/3), 105-107.
• Pastor, T., Aguilar, A. (2003). Reproductive cycle of the female Mediterranean monk seal in the Western Sahara. Marine Mammal Science, 19(2), 318-330.
• Pires, R., Neves, H.C., Karamanlidis, A.A. (2008). The Critically Endangered Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in the archipelago of Madeira: priorities for conservation. Oryx, 42(2), 278-285.
• Schipper, J., Chanson, J., F. Chiozza, Cox, N.A., Hoffmann, M., et al. (2008). The Status of the World’s Land and Marine Mammals: Diversity, Threat, and Knowledge. Science 322:225–230.
• Veryeri, O., Güçlüsoy, H., Savas, Y. (2001). Snared and drowned – are fishing nets killing off a new generation of monk seals in Turkey’s protected areas? The Monachus Guardian, 4 (1), May 2001. .