International cooperation
When the sea knows no borders, protecting the life within it cannot stop at a map. Initiated by Delphis, a regional collaboration was born - bringing together researchers, organizations, and countries around one shared goal: securing a future for the Mediterranean monk seal.
This is a story of science, partnership, and hope
Following the first reports of the reappearance of monk seals along the Israeli coast from 2010 onward, Delphis began receiving sighting reports from other countries in the region. After years of monitoring in the Levant Basin and the Ionian Sea, researchers came to understand that individuals from the main subpopulations in Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey had begun expanding into old–new habitats.
One example is an individual first documented in 2009 in Mersin, Turkey, later identified in Lebanon in 2020—about 300 km away—and again in Israel in 2023 (at least 530 km). The female seal we named “Maya,” observed along the Israeli coast, has also been identified several times since spring 2020 north of Beirut, and during 2025 we learned that she gave birth to at least two pups in Cyprus.
These and other findings highlighted the importance of improving communication and cooperation among the various organizations researching the Mediterranean monk seal.
Maya the seal with her pup, as documented in Cyprus. Photo: Harris Nikolaou, Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture
In 2021, researchers from the Delphis Association joined researchers from the following organizations in a joint activity to monitor and conserve the Mediterranean monk seal: the IUCN, which coordinates and leads the project and observations from Lebanon; the organizations Mom, Archipelagos, HCMR from Greece; METO, SAD-AFAG from Turkey; SPOT, Enalia from Cyprus; CBD-Habitat from Spain; and Delphis and the University of Haifa from Israel.
The project is being funded by the Monk Seal Alliance - a coalition of funds for the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal, and the collaboration includes:
1. Monitoring Mediterranean monk seal populations with the aim of expanding knowledge and reducing threats to this species.
2. Making information available to relevant authorities to improve or update local seal protection plans.
3. Developing capabilities and sharing knowledge between the various organizations to improve research methods, shared knowledge, and tools.
In the summer of 2022, we completed a survey of potential habitats for the Mediterranean monk seal, which aimed to identify suitable places for the seal to rest and perhaps even give birth. The survey results indicated that caves used by seals in the last century in Rosh Hanikra and Dor-Habonim have collapsed or been flooded with seawater, and the remaining ones are crowded with tourists. This, together with increasing coastal development, has led to a shortage of suitable habitats for the Mediterranean monk seal along the Israeli coast. In March 2023, we launched a project at Delfis to restore natural caves for the seal and began with two caves that were located during the survey in the Rosh Hanikra Reserve.
Israeli and Cypriot team in the planning stages of the project, Rosh Hanikra. Photo: Delphis
We at Delphis continue to monitor the presence of seals along the Israeli coast through the network of sighting reports and infrared surveillance cameras that we have placed in selected locations, and we continue to work to raise public awareness of the importance of preserving this species and its habitat.
For the comprehensive and complete report of the habitat survey - click here .
The complete report of the Mediterranean monk seal habitat survey