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Greenpeace requests EU to investigate failing national protection for Mediterranean seagrass meadows
"Each time a posidonia seagrass meadow is damaged or destroyed, we lose a vital life-support structure in the Mediterranean. Seagrass meadows are sanctuaries and nursery grounds that provide protection for more than a thousand marine creatures, and they are a crucial source of oxygen production," said Francois Provost, Greenpeace International oceans campaigner.
The Posidonia oceanica Mediterranean seagrass, often described as the forest of the sea, is considered to be one of the most important species forming Mediterranean coastal habitats. Next to their important ecosystem functions, posidonia meadows protect the coastline from erosive forces and generate an estimated 14 litres of oxygen a day for every square metre of meadow. Over 1,200 different species are known to live in close association with posidonia(3).
Although the species is recognized as providing a priority habitat for conservation in the EU, it is experiencing significant and widespread decline in the Mediterranean basin as a result of pollution, coastal development, fishing activities, climate change and alien species invasion. As the species is a long-lived, slow-growing plant with low seed production, any loss of this habitat can be considered close to irreversible since recovery may take several centuries.
"Spain, France, Italy and Greece have failed to protect conservation areas under the EU's nature laws and often allow destructive fishing in important spawning and nursery areas," said Saskia Richartz, EU Oceans Policy Adviser for Greenpeace. "Our complaint documents the scale of inaction and asks the European Commission to ensure that EU laws are applied."
The Mediterranean urgently needs an ambitious network of marine reserves that will effectively protect vital habitats, allow for the recovery of overfished species and boost the resilience of ecosystems to climate change. Posidonia meadows should be a key component of the network of marine reserves in the Mediterranean. Greenpeace is campaigning for such a network of reserves to cover 40% of our oceans.
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Notes to Editor
(1) Official complaints are used to bring EU law infringements to the attention of the European Commission. They do not directly lead to court proceedings, but the Commission has committed itself to scrutinizing and answering each complaint. The Commission then has the power to take an EU member state to the European Court of Justice.
(2) The complaint submitted by Greenpeace provides evidence that Greece and to a lesser extent Italy have not sufficiently mapped or otherwise assessed the distribution of posidonia in their respective maritime territories. It argues that, as a result, both countries are failing to provide sufficient protection for the habitat. In the case
of Spain, France and Italy, the complaint further identifies a number of cases and areas where posidonia meadows have been damaged or destroyed, despite the requirement to protect them under the EU Habitats Directive (EC/92/43), as part of the EU Natura 2000 system of protected areas. Posidonia meadows are listed as a priority habitat in Annex I of the Habitats Directive and must consequently be afforded a high level of protection through the designation of special areas of conservation.
Greenpeace further points out that Mediterranean coastal states have the obligation to prohibit the use of trawl nets, dredges, purse seines, boat seines, shore seines or similar nets above seagrass beds of, in particular, posidonia oceanica or other marine phanerogams under the Mediterranean Fisheries Regulation (EC 1967/2006). The regulation further requires Mediterranean states to protect spawning and nursery grounds and the marine environment from the harmful effects of fishing by identifying fishing protected areas in national and community waters. Spain, France, Italy and Greece have not yet met these obligations either.
(3) Boudouresque C.F. et al. (2006) Preservation et conservation des herbiers a Posidonia oceanica. RAMOGE pub. 1-202.
Contact information
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Francois Provost, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace International : + 33 623 590 963
Saskia Richartz - Greenpeace EU oceans policy adviser: +32 (0)2 274 19 02, +32 (0)495 290 028, saskia.richartz@greenpeace.org.
Yesim Aslan, Communications Officer at Greenpeace International: + 90 532 316 73 65
Greenpeace International Picture Desk: +44 7801 615889
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