Commissioner Damanaki takes an initiative to reenergise the Pelagos Sanctuary
“The Pelagos Sanctuary is the biggest protected area in the Mediterranean”, said Commissioner Damanaki “and it holds great potential as a best practice example of how sustainable blue growth can work in busy and densely populated areas, while protecting marine life, including fish. We need to discuss how the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and Integrated Maritime Policy can ensure the Pelagos Sanctuary is operational and to support blue growth in the region. I intend to work in this direction in the coming weeks with the three key countries of the Pelagos Sanctuary as well as with the stakeholders of the region.”
Commissioner Damanaki has taken the initiative to reenergise the Pelagos Sanctuary and sought to bring together France, Italy and the Principality of Monaco, the key countries of the Pelagos Sanctuary and the stakeholders, to discuss how the EU's policy tools, including the possibility of financial support from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), can be used to facilitate such policies.
Background
France, Italy and the Principality of Monaco signed in 1999 the trilateral Agreement establishing the "Pelagos Sanctuary". The agreement came into force in 2002 and the protected area, mostly in international waters, was recognised as a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest (SPAMI) under the Protocol SPA/BD of the Barcelona Convention. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean also has underlined the interest of designating "Pelagos" as an experimental zone in the ecosystem approach to fisheries management.
Since then the governance of marine waters has evolved and now, following the declaration of an Economic Exclusive Zone and an Environmental Protection Zone by France and Italy respectively, most of the area is within EU marine waters.
This Sanctuary could serve as case-study to implement, for instance, the EU strategy on the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, including coastal and maritime tourism, as well as the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
For larger view of the protected area, check the European Atlas of the Seas.
