Destructive and Illegal Fishing by Four Turkish Trawlers in Greek Territorial Waters Between the Greek islands Samos, Fourni and Patmos
For at least a week, four Turkish trawlers have been fishing illegally in Greek territorial waters between the islands of Samos, Fourni and Patmos. This is one of the most sensitive and ecologically important marine areas of the Aegean Sea. By employing bottom trawling, one of the most destructive fishing methods, they are causing severe […]
Καταστροφική και Παράνομη Αλιεία από 4 Τουρκικές Μηχανότρατες στα Ελληνικά Χωρικά Ύδατα μεταξύ Σάμου, Φούρνων και Πάτμου
Επί τουλάχιστον μία εβδομάδα, τέσσερις τουρκικές μηχανότρατες αλιεύουν παράνομα εντός των ελληνικών χωρικών υδάτων, σε μία από τις πλέον ευαίσθητες και οικολογικά σημαντικές θαλάσσιες περιοχές του Αιγαίου, μεταξύ Σάμου, Φούρνων και Πάτμου, εφαρμόζοντας μία από τις πλέον καταστροφικές αλιευτικές μεθόδους για τα θαλάσσια οικοσυστήματα. Με πρόσχημα και αφετηρία μία μικρή έκταση διεθνών υδάτων νότια της […]
Striped dolphins north of Ikaria, just before sunset
The striped dolphins pictured here belong to a large social group consisting of more than 200 individuals. This highly social species always hunts cooperatively, displaying remarkable coordination. They forage in offshore pelagic waters, far from the coast, generally avoiding fishing grounds and fishing gear, with which they rarely interact. The marine area of the Ikaria […]
Protecting Spawning Aggregations: A Prerequisite for the Future of Our Seas
Beneath the surface of the sea, nature is renewing itself. The period from spring through early summer is the most important time of the year for the reproduction of hundreds of marine species. Over the past few months, and continuing to this day, Archipelagos researchers have been recording increasing numbers of spawning fish aggregations of […]
Marine Mammal Bioacoustics: Investigating the Sounds of Communication
As part of the JJBA Bioacoustics Conference, held in Besançon, France, Archipelagos researchers Elisa Lamberti and Margherita Medina presented the latest findings from our research on the communication sounds of striped dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins in the eastern Aegean Sea. Bioacoustics is an invaluable, non-invasive research tool for understanding the communication, social organization, and […]
Cultivating Food Self-Sufficiency: The Archipelagos Institute’s Ongoing Commitment
Daily harvests continue from the spring gardens of the Archipelagos Institute, while the summer gardens are growing rapidly and will soon begin producing as well. For decades, one of our goals has been to achieve as much food self-sufficiency as possible, along with the security that it provides. Today, this is more important than ever, […]
Pufferfish and Other Invasive Species: Has the Time Finally Come to Have a Serious Discussion About the Issue?
“Effective protection of fish reproduction is a prerequisite for the recovery of fish populations and the restoration of healthy marine ecosystems, which have the natural ability to self-regulate and limit population surges of alien species, jellyfish, and other marine organisms.” Amid the unwarranted fear-mongering that has prevailed in recent weeks in the media and on […]
A sperm whale breaching in the North Ikaria Trench
Watching a 20-ton sperm whale launch its entire body out of the water is one of the most extraordinary sights the sea can offer. Although sperm whales breach only occasionally, we observe this behaviour from time to time, mainly during periods of intense social activity. These spectacular leaps are thought to be closely linked to […]
Bottlenose Dolphins: Free in the Open Sea or in Captivity?
A. Bottlenose dolphins in the Fourni island complex The bottlenose dolphin is one of the four dolphin species we study in the Greek seas. Yet it is also the species that, even today, continues to suffer at the hands of humans through commercial exploitation in dolphinaria around the world, where more than 3,000 bottlenose dolphins […]
Goose-beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) in the waters of the northeastern Aegean
A relatively little-known and rarely observed marine mammal that inhabits the Greek seas and has been systematically studied by the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation for the past 26 years. It is the only large marine mammal in the Mediterranean that does not undertake seasonal migrations, but instead remains within the same broader marine area […]
