[Lynne]

Originally Posted by redmania

I wrote an email to the Cyprus government complaining that not enough was being done to protect marine life in Cyprus and this is the reply I got.


The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research is planning to construct an artificial reef and the area where the artificial reef will be placed, will be designated as a marine reserve. To this end, a study including the selection of the site, the description of the construction, as well as the assessment of potential environmental impacts is scheduled to be compiled this year. This study is a prerequisite to the above construction.
- Marine protected areas are under study to be designated in the near future. The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research compiled an inventory on biodiversity in areas, which meet the criteria for being protected, and currently, the elaboration of management plans is being drafted.
- Furthermore, a marine reserve for the protection of marine turtles and their habitats, the Lara/Toxeftra Reserve, was established in 1989 and is succesfully managed since then.
Its a good start.

Anyone who has ever visited the Lara reserve and seen the number of shotgun cartridges lying around will know how seriously the Cypriots will take any marine protected areas.............