A seal native to the Mediterranean has been spotted in Maltese waters for the first time in decades.

On Friday, a monk seal was spotted in Maltese waters, marking the first sighting of the species in at least 30 years, according to experts.

While native to the Mediterranean region, human activity has driven the species to now being classified as vulnerable but increasing, with a population thought to be less than 1,000.

The last official recorded sighting of the animal dated back to the late 1990s, according to the Environment and Resources Authority. 

Captured on camera by Andrew Galea and Mario Muscat, the rare sighting of the monk seal, also known as il-bumerin, il-foka monaka or il-monka in Maltese, has come as welcome news to conservationists and biologists.

Commenting on the sighting on Facebook, marine biologist Alan Deidun called the seal’s presence in Maltese waters a “welcome return” for the species and thanked the Galea and Muscat for recording the sighting.

Stressing the seal’s endangerment, the marine biologist said it was vulnerable to collisions with boats and other vessels and “falls prey to persecution, light pollution at night and human intrusions within the locations it needs to breed.” 

The species is now thought to mainly be restricted to coastal areas of Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, he said.

Value of citizen science

Contacted on Saturday, the marine biologist said the sighting emphasised the “importance of citizen science”, noting that with around 30,000 vessels in Maltese waters at any time, there was significant potential to help monitoring and conservation efforts.

“Very often we get reports from the public without photos,” he said, stressing the importance of documenting sightings.

Asked how the public should decide whether a sighting of a species was worth reporting, he said it was “always better to check.”

A Mediterranean monk seal. Photo: Shutterstock

While the number of monk seals in the wild is thought to be low, numbering in the hundreds, Deidun said there was evidence the species was increasing its distribution and even returning to areas previously abandoned.

“It seems to be returning to parts of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea,” he said, stressing the dangers to the species posed by man and climate change.

“Their ‘Achilles heel’ [critical weakness] is they give birth in semi-submerged caves,” he said, noting boat trips and rising sea levels posed a threat to these breeding grounds.

Deidun said the species was one of the largest seals in the world, reaching two to three metres in length and weighing around 250 kg, and could be spotted when they came to the surface, noting the recent sighting is thought to have happened when the seal came up to feed.

Encouraging the public to report sightings of the seal and other species to the University of Malta Oceanography Malta Research Group, Deidun said while they received around 10 to 15 reports per day, the more reports the group received the better, particularly to aid monitoring of various species.

In a statement, ERA encouraged the public to report any further sightings.

Capturing, killing, removing, trading or “deliberately disturbing” the monk seal in any way was punishable by law, the authority stressed.

This isn’t the first time the monk seal has captured public attention; last June, artist Raphael Mizzi created a sculpture of the animal out of the clay slopes of Għajn Tuffieħa in Mellieħa.

Speaking to Times of Malta last year, the artist said he created the sculpture “to remind people that these beautiful creatures used to be here [in Malta]... Maybe we can think of creating a nature reserve to attract them again.”

Think you might have seen a monk seal in Maltese waters? Report the sighting to the Oceanography Malta Research Group on Facebook or ERA on +356 2292 3500.