New marine park around Polyegos

The Greek Ministry of Environment is planning to create a marine park between the island cluster of Polyegos-Kimolos, in western Cyclades. The region of Polyegos has been marked as a very important biotope for the Mediterranean sea dog, the rarest kind of sea dog in the world. Moreover, two rare kinds of endemic reptiles have been found in Kimolos: the viper Macrovipera schweizeri and Milos wall lizard Podarcis milensis. This will be the third marine park in Greece (the other two are located in Zakynthos and Alonissos) and aims to effectively protect the rare species of Mediterranean sea dog. In the region of Polyegos, a wide net of 21 different caves/ shelters used exclusively by the sea dogs has been recorded. However, only 13 of them are used for reproduction. The existence of the sea dogs is threatened by the raising human activity and the environmental pollution. The island of Polyegos is uninhabited and therefore it has great and rich biodiversity that provides home to such rare creatures. The protected area will consist of 3 marine and terrestrial zones.