On Friday 19 May, the Argolic Environment Foundation (AEF) in collaboration with the Municipality of Spetses organised an event for the protection of the sea and specifically for the Posidonia meadows of Spetses as part of the effort made by AEF to protect Posidonia in the Argolic Gulf .

Through an AEF grant, the environmental organisation iSea in 2022, mapped the Posidonia meadows in the area of ​​Spetses and Velopoula islands, using high-resolution satellite images combined with verification data obtained during field research. The meadows of Posidonia are known as “lungs of the Mediterranean and together with the sea grasses are among the richest and most valuable ecosystems in the world!” Even though the area of ​​meadows in Spetses is quite large, they are affected by fragmentation and degradation was observed in many places. More information about mapping can be found here.

At the event, iSea presented the Posidonia map of Spetses and Velopoula to the Municipality, the Port Fund (Limeniko Tamio) and the fishers of the island. The organisation explained how the mapping was done, why it is important to protect Posidonia, and discussed the ways how to do this. AEF and iSea will proceed with the creation of an informative material for the Posidonia where the map of Posidonia meadows in Spetses and ways to protect it will be shown. The purpose is to share the material with captains and users of the sea with the help of the Port Manager and the Municipality of Spetses.

A cocktail followed the event where key stakeholders had the chance to meet and discuss on the way forward.

As part of the protection of the Posidonia in the Argolic Gulf, AEF and Blue Marine Foundation will proceed with co-funding the mapping of Posidonia in Hydra by iSea.