Why Is The Med, Dead?

[Rancid]

Been in Cyprus for two-and-a-half years now and I've always noticed, but never understood how the Mediterranean Sea is so dead? I went snorkelling this afternoon just for twenty minutes and I saw one lousy fish which was about three inches long. I saw a turtle once too, that's it.

Can anybody tell me why?

[Zok]

Overfishing

[O2 Steve]

Overfishing!

Mate of mine runs a dive centre in North Eastern part of Crete, the area is a voluntary no take zone and has been so for about 10 years (very foreward thinking of them) - you now get lots of life including BIG groupers at shallow depths, 1.5 - 2m morays, tons of goatfish/rainbow wrasse/ banded bream/etc, cuttlefish and even the odd barracuda. If you go 20km down the coast there is bugger all!!

OK it's not the Red Sea but beats the crap out of almost the rest of Greece!

[Rancid]

Christ. I had my suspicions but thought that was too extreme.

[O2 Steve]

Sadly not, but recovery rates are astonishing too - read some stuff once about the North Sea just after WW2, apparently after 5 years of reduced fishing the waters were absolutly heaving with cod etc.

[Bobco]

Not anymore they an't

[Steppenwolf]

Scheitzen! So am I not going to see lots of fish and coral when I go to Malta, Gozo & Comino in July?

[Ian]

Steppenwolf Wrote:Scheitzen! So am I not going to see lots of fish and coral when I go to Malta, Gozo & Comino in July?

Possibly not so much on the coral, but plenty of fish! The med is pretty big remember, so generalisations about one area don't apply to another. I found that Malta and Gozo had entirely adequate levels of life to hold my interest! OK my comparisons are limited and there isn't as much life as either Mexico or the Red Sea but there was still a LOT to see on most if not all dives. Plenty of fish of all sizes, interesting encrusting life (only some of it coral) and lots of interesting alges too. There are a lot of interesting wrecks too, and these both attract fish and deter fishermen so make great dive sites...

My Malta pics: http://www.cyclops-online.co.uk/Gallery/...9-21+Malta

I've been to Bodrum in Turkey too though, and the waters there were desolate. Greece (Halkidiki) wasn't quite so bad, but not great either.

Ian

[sazza]

strange when i went to cyprus to do my ow with scubaboy i wouldnt say it was dead by any means, we saw loads of turtles plenty of grouper and of course the infamous mola mola!!!!!!!!!, ok so it wanst bustling like the red sea, but by no means dead at all,we had some amazing diving there, and as for the zenobia, its was teaming with life......infact you had to get the fish out of the way to get a decent shot, and that was only year before last 2006......

[Bobco]

I would agree, not stuffed with life by any means, but not dead either, there has always been fish on all my dives around Gozo, in some areas more than others. Its great for diving and looks like it will be for some time yet