Winter Research Expedition in the North Aegean with a Focus on Lemnos
November 27th 2024 Winter Research Expedition in the North Aegean with a Focus on Lemnos The winter research expedition of the Archipelagos Institute continues on in the North Aegean and the Thracian Sea up to the waters near the Athos Peninsula, despite the difficult weather conditions of the last few weeks. Our starting point is […]
The tourist season in the Aegean and its effects on the sea
November 2nd 2024 By planting underwater Posidonia seagrass gardens, we are trying to heal the wounds left in the sea due to the tourist season and the tens of thousands of yachts. It is an unequal struggle, with the wounds, instead of diminishing, becoming more intense every year. Some people’s holidays and the fact that […]
Caring for the underwater gardens of Posidonia seagrass
October 16th 2024 Despite the strong north wind and the waves in the Aegean today, the deeper waters are a different world, with much calmer conditions than those on the surface. Therefore, the tenacious work of caring for the underwater gardens of Posidonia seagrass continues and will intensify in the coming weeks and months. This […]
Octopus: Threatened by overexploitation
October 3rd 2024 Octopus: Threatened by overexploitation The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is one of the most fished cephalopod species in the world. In recent years their exploitation is on the rise. Unsustainable fishing practices occur during important spawning seasons and target undersized octopus. Due to continued overfishing, recovery of their populations is very slow. […]
The Green Turtle in the Southeastern Aegean
September 17th 2024 The Green Turtle in the Southeastern Aegean During our marine surveys monitoring the increased impacts of human activity, we are overjoyed to encounter Green turtles feeding within the Posidonia seagrass meadows. The Green Turtle is one of the largest species of marine turtle, feeding solely on plants. They can live for up […]
The devastating effects of uncontrolled trawling – a fishing practice that has contributed greatly to overfishing and the emptying of seas across the Mediterranean.
September 4th 2024 In the Aegean Sea with a film crew of French Television, we explain and document in real time the problems of the fisheries sector. Our focus is the devastating effects of uncontrolled trawling – a fishing practice that has contributed greatly to overfishing and the emptying of seas across the Mediterranean. Greece, […]
Uncontrolled and intensive anchoring and its effect on the seagrass meadows in the Greek seas
August 28th 2024 Uncontrolled and intensive anchoring: – destroys the Posidonia seagrass meadows. – destroys the natural carbon stores that have accumulated over decades or centuries within the Posidonia rhizomes. In other words, we are tolerating the destruction of our most important natural ally, which we need to combat the effects of climate change, as […]
The continuous effort to plant underwater Posidonia gardens in the Aegean Islands.
July 17th 2024 The great effort to plant underwater Posidonia gardens continues intensively and will be extended to other areas of the Aegean Islands throughout the autumn. This is a challenging endeavor to reverse the systematic destruction and deforestation of seagrass meadows that occurs in the Greek seas and the Mediterranean. During the summer months […]
“Tackling Illegal and Destructive Trawling in the Mediterranean and beyond” – Event at the 9th World Ocean Conference in Athens
Dr Sylvia Earle (Mission Blue), the well-known and distinguished American oceanographer who at 88 years of age continues her dynamic efforts for the effective protection of the oceans, shared her experience and her anguish as the years pass but the threats to our seas are becoming more and more intense. Anastasia Miliou from the Archipelagos […]
Local Ecological Knowledge in the Aegean
Local Ecological Knowledge – what has recently been described by the scientific community as Local Ecological Knowledge – the knowledge about the environment that local island communities bring to us is an invaluable source of information that in Greece has been devalued for decades and nowadays we are in danger of losing it. We are […]
