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Stefano Donati
Director of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Egadi Islands
Biodiversity protection and sustainable
management of coastal areas:
The Marine Protected Area of Egadi Islands
The Marine Protected Area (MPA) mainland since the Pliocene by a 350
of Egadi Islands, northwest coast of m deep channel. Exchange of water
Sicily Island, is the largest area in the masses within this channel, generates
Mediterranean Sea, stretching over strong currents between the western
with its 53,992 hectares. Established in and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
1991, since 2001 it is managed by the Medium-fine sand characterises the
Municipality of Favignana on behalf of seabed. Its organogenic component is
the Italian Ministry for the Environment, derived by shells, whereas the limestone
Land and Sea. The Egadi’s archipelago component is derived from erosion of
is located in the Strait of Sicily, and the rocky outcrops. The submerged
includes the islands of Favignana, vegetation of the archipelago varies over
Levanzo, Marettimo and the islets of different substrates, transparency of the
Formica and Maraone. water column and the hydrodynamics.
The archipelago lies on the continental The seabed of Favignana and Levanzo
shelf of western Sicily, which is an is characterised by bionomic features
extension of the northern geological typical of intertidal and infralittoral plans,
nature, characterised by the presence frequently dominated by brown algae
of vast calcarenitic deposits on most up to 10-12 meters of depth, followed
of the seabed between the Islands by a dense Posidonia oceanica meadow.
of Favignana and Levanzo. The In these two islands, the populations of
archipelago emerges from a platform the circalittoral plane are present only
which is characterized by erosive and in some sites of the southern side of
depositional forms, such as underwater Favignana and offshore shallows. Around
cliffs, terraces, river valleys, paleo- Levanzo (between -60 and -100 m), the
beaches and dunes, which testify Laminaria rodriguezi facies occupies
different stages of the last cycle of large areas of the seabed, where hard
glacio-eustatic sea level changes. The substrate and intense bottom currents
seabed morphology is very irregular: are concentrated.
wide flat areas are alternated by very Marettimo has a similar infralittoral zone,
steep slopes related to the presence but also a wide circalittoral zone up to the
of the Islands, ridges, paleocliff and edge of the continental shelf. The upper
valleys. Favignana and Levanzo are infralittoral seabed has photophilic
closer to Sicily and connected to the biocenosis, characterized by a wide belt
mainland by a platform and a slight Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta and
depression. Marettimo is in the outer C. brachycarpa. The C. amentacea var.
platform, constantly separated from the stricta creates a continuous belt around
4 EAI Energia, Ambiente e Innovazione 4/2015
