Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 11252015

Project description:The RINT, Rescue and Information Network, established by MOm in 1991, has been developed to monitor the overall status of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece. Since its establishment, RINT constitutes an extremely valuable conservation tool in:

• Monitoring the status and health of the Greek monk seal population.
• Identifying major changes in the distribution of the species in Greece
• Involving the local fishing communities in the conservation efforts for the species
• Identifying important areas for the species and proposing conservation measures
• Acting immediately when needed; in cases of live animals needing treatment, in cases of dead animals, by performing necropsies.

The operation of the RINT is based on the continuous communication with more than 2.000 "Network members" (authorities and inhabitants of coastal and island communities) that provide information on monk seal sightings.  MOm's profile:MOm/The Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal is a non-profit non-governmental environmental organisation established in 1988. Today, more than 8,500 members from Greece and from abroad support the activities of the organisation. MOm’s mission is “the protection of the marine and coastal environment, focusing on the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal. Key tools to accomplish this mission include the activation of the country’s institutional framework towards the conservation of nature, as well as, the provision of information and the raising of the public’s environmental awareness among citizens and stakeholders. These tools must be based on and substantiated by concrete scientific evidence”. MOm, for more than two decades, has implemented consistently and continuously specific activities at the national and local level in the following fields: • Elaboration of conservation strategies for marine and coastal sites • Promotion of the establishment of protected areas • Implementation of management plans in protected areas • Elaboration of management plans • Scientific research • Surveillance and guarding of protected areas • Establishment and operation of a National Monk Seal Information Network • Rescue and rehabilitation of orphan or wounded animals • Public awareness and sensitisation • Environmental education in schools throughout the country In acknowledgement of MOm’s contribution to the conservation of nature, MOm was accepted in 1996 as a member by IUCN