WRITTEN QUESTION P-2050/97 by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission (16 June 1997)

Subject: Serious situation of the endangered monk seal (Mediterranean monk seal)

Is the Commission aware of the unexpectedly high mortality in one of the two remaining populations of monk seals (Mediterranean monk seal) off the coast of Mauritania, where an estimated three-quarters of the population of 275 animals has died?

Is it willing to make funds available in the immediate future for a disaster and survival plan involving all the experts (in the Netherlands, Spain and Greece) so that this population is rescued from extinction? The plan should cover:

- identification of the virus or toxin which has caused the disaster,

- vaccination of the remaining animals,

- organization of on-the-spot action, and

- rehabilitation of sick animals and orphan pups.

Will the Commission also investigate whether this disaster could have been prevented, as a Spanish/Mauritanian team is involved in the permanent monitoring of this population of seals?

Can it indicate the role of DG XI with regard to this problem and, in particular, can it indicate whether under the 'Life' project of a Spanish research group financed by DG XI this type of disaster was anticipated (partly because of the experience a number of years ago in the Wadden Sea area) and whether there have been preventive measures with regard to the population which is now affected?

Can it also indicate the situation of the other monk seal population off the Greek coast?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (27 June 1997)

The Commission is aware of the exceptionally high mortality rate among the monk seals on Cap Blanc. Total fatalities probably already exceed half of the colony.

The Commission has authorised the Canary Islands government, a beneficiary of the current Life-Nature project for the conservation of the monk seal in the Atlantic, to use part of the project funds to take urgent measures, specifically:

- analyses to identify the toxin or virus responsible.

- rehabilitation of orphan pups.

- expansion of the scientific team on site.

- meetings of the scientific committees responsible for monitoring this incident.

- urgent actions to be undertaken on site in order to safeguard the surviving animals.

The Commission is awaiting the definitive results of the analyses and the pronouncement of the experts concerned as to the cause of the fatalities (viruses or toxins, or the two combined) before it can evaluate the situation. If the fatalities are due to a toxin, most probably no preventative action could have been taken. If the fatalities were triggered by a virus, scientists will need to determine the type of virus, its origin and, if possible, the causes of its occurrence.

Since they were outlined in the Life project, the Commission was aware of the potential risks to the Cap Blanc colony, namely oil pollution, red tides (proliferations of toxic algae), the outbreak of an epidemic or the subsidence of the caves. These potential dangers, indeed, were the reason for the studies undertaken to determine if this colony might be used as the parent population for a reintroduction of the species to the Canary Islands. The creation of a new population on these islands would have reduced the risk of extinction and allowed the development of a genetic link between the Cap Blanc colony and the small population on Madeira.

The Commission has no specific information regarding the state of health of the monk seal population in Greece.