Northern Cyprus
Strengthening fisheries management and restoring habitats in the eastern Mediterranean to protect marine biodiversity and support coastal livelihoods.
Northern Cyprus is home to extensive seagrass meadows, rocky reefs, and sandy seabeds that provide habitat for sea turtles, monk seals, sharks, rays, and nesting seabirds. A 30-year ban on trawling has created a de facto marine refuge, leaving these habitats in better condition than in many other parts of the Mediterranean.
Five Marine Protected Areas have since been established, covering almost 18,000 hectares of coastline and waters, including critical turtle nesting beaches and seabird colonies. Despite these advances, bycatch from small-scale fisheries continues to threaten turtles, elasmobranchs, and other marine species, undermining ecosystem recovery and local livelihoods. The project is tackling these pressures through fisheries co-management, habitat restoration, and sustainable community initiatives.
SPOT Marine Life
Alagadi Specially Protected Area, northern Cyprus
Ongoing since 2025
17,600 ha
Seagrass meadows, seabird nesting habitats, rocky reefs
Sea turtles, predatory fish, elasmobranchs, Audouin’s gull and Mediterranean shag
Why this place matters
Monitoring within the seascape has recorded 36 species of sharks and rays, leading to candidate Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) status.
Northern Cyprus’s waters are among the most biologically important in the Mediterranean. Seagrass meadows act as nurseries for fish, nesting beaches support globally significant populations of green and loggerhead turtles, and rocky reefs provide refuge for sharks, rays, and monk seals. The area also hosts seabird colonies, including Audouin’s gull and Mediterranean shag, and has been recognised as both an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area and an Important Marine Mammal Area.
Trawling has been banned for three decades, and Marine Protected Areas now cover one-fifth of the island’s coastline. Yet the benefits are not fully realised: thousands of juvenile turtles, elasmobranchs, and other species are still caught as bycatch each year. Stronger management and community stewardship are needed to secure lasting recovery.
Action on the ground
The project will strengthen fisheries management, restore habitats, and support sustainable livelihoods.
Building capacity with authorities and fisher representatives through knowledge exchange and regional partnerships.
Implementing long-term in-water monitoring in candidate Restricted Fishing Areas to track recovery.
Mapping seabird habitat use in the Karpaz marine Important Bird Area and developing a biosecurity protocol for invasive species on breeding islands.
Restoring seabird nesting sites to improve breeding success.
Establishing monitoring systems to detect and address illegal fishing in Restricted Fishing Areas
Piloting pescatourism under the principle of “fish less, earn more”.
Using Vessel Monitoring System tools for marine spatial planning and fair subsidy allocation.
A safe haven for the future: restoring Romania’s Carpathian Mountains
First satellite-tagged angel shark marks milestone for Lemnos restoration project
Songs of the Watershed: Katja Malinen on music, memory and restoration
