Göcek, Fethiye and Yediburunlar bays also supported the research and conservation efforts of the Mediterranean monk seal on the coasts of Muğla and Antalya by D-Marin Göcek, which started in 2021. Residents and tourists were also informed about the Mediterranean monk seal within the scope of the 10-day studies carried out in Göcek and Fethiye bays and Yediburunlar-Patara coastal areas.
Underwater Research Association Mediterranean Monk Seal Research Group (SAD-AFAG) continues its “Project for the Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal on the Coasts of Muğla and Antalya”. Göcek, Fethiye, and Yediburunlar parts of the project were completed with the support of D-Marin Göcek. Within the scope of this project, infrared camera placement in seal caves, habitat determination, and human interaction field studies were carried out. In addition, the residents of Göcek and Patara coasts, tourists, sailors, yardmen, and yachtsmen were informed about the Mediterranean monk seal and its habitats.
The research and conservation studies of the Mediterranean monk seal, which started in 2021, on the coasts of Muğla and Antalya, and the field studies carried out in the Göcek and Fethiye bays and the Yediburunlar-Patara coastal area took 10 days. The SAD-AFAG team, consisting of 5 people, first searched for suitable coastal habitats where Mediterranean monk seals live. In the research studies, suitable coastal habitats were mapped, and suitable shelter, rest, and nesting caves, cavities, cracks, and hidden platforms were determined on the coasts. Appropriate seal habitats were determined in these 3 different coastal areas, which are far from settlements and preserve their naturalness. It has been understood that all-natural coastal habitats, excluding settlements and beaches and coastal facilities, from the end of Patara beach to Kurtoğlu Cape, are suitable for Mediterranean monk seal habitats and seals are seen here. In addition, infrared cameras were placed in suitable caves, and efforts continued to detect the seals’ presence in coastal caves and cavities without disturbing them. In 2021 and 2022, the records of calving in some caves and cavities were also taken, and it was learned that the seals breed in Göcek and Fethiye bays.
The SAD-AFAG team also collected marine litter and solid waste accumulated in caves and cavities. With the cleaning studies carried out for the first time in Turkey, the garbage that could be dangerous for the seals was collected.