📢 A vital new resource has just been released to strengthen conservation efforts for one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals—the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus).
Produced as part of the Med Monk Seal Project, the Training Manual 2.0 offers comprehensive guidance on how to monitor monk seal sightings, identify habitats, collect photographic data, and respond to strandings.
💡 What’s inside the manual?
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📝 Interview protocols to reduce false positives/negatives in sightings
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🏝️ How to survey marine caves used by seals
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📷 Techniques for photo-identification based on fur patterns and scars
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🎥 Use of infrared camera traps for non-intrusive monitoring
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🧪 Step-by-step methods for collecting and analyzing seal faeces
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⚠️ Stranding response procedures and data documentation
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📊 Data cataloging templates to help build regional ID catalogues
🌍 The manual was developed through collaboration between:
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Archipelagos – Environment and Development (Italy and Greece)
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Middle East Technical University – Institute of Marine Sciences (Turkey)
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Under the supervision of SPA/RAC (UNEP-MAP)
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And funded by the Monk Seal Alliance
Lebanon, along with other countries in the Mediterranean (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, and Italy), benefits directly from this targeted capacity-building effort.
📘 Download the full manual:
Training Manual for Monitoring the Mediterranean Monk Seal (PDF)
🟢 Join the movement and help us protect the last remaining monk seals in the region.
🔗 Learn more and submit your sightings via WhatsApp: Send Message 📲
