2
Study area The Greek marine territory is geographically situated in the northeastern Mediterranean Sea and extends mainly in the Aegean Sea and east Ionian Sea, as well as in the northwest Levantine Basin and the northern Cretan Passage located between Crete and North Africa. The Aegean Sea is situated between continental Greece and Turkey and its southern limits are defined by the islands of Kythira, Crete, Karpathos and Rhodes (IHO 1953). A series of straits between these islands connect it with the Ionian Sea and the Levantine Basin. To the northeast, the Dardanelles Straits connect the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. The Ionian Sea is located west of continental Greece, bordering in the north with the Adriatic Sea.
The study area referring to the current marine IBA inventory includes primarily the territorial waters of Greece, as well as several regions of international waters found in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, located amongst the country’s territorial marine areas. National territorial waters extend 6 nautical miles (n.m.) from the coastline or to the median line with the neighbouring countries when these are less than 12 n.m. apart. These waters are under the direct jurisdiction of the state, although uses must be in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The total surface area of the Greek territorial waters is 114,507 km2 (Policy Research Corporation 2011) and their geographical limits can be set at approximately between 34.5°41° N and 19°-30° E.
B S
BULG AR IA F. Y. R . O . M
TUR KEY
S M
ALBA NIA Samothraki Plateau Thermaikos Plateau
Dardanelles Straits S po rad es - Limnos Pla tea u
Corfu Isl.
Northern Sporades
lle He
Ev
vo
nic
ia
Skyros Isl.
Chios Basin
.
A
h
C y c la d e s P la t e a u
Cyclades
S
Is
l.
e
He lle n
es
Kythira Isl.
od
S
M S
s ne ca
de Do
Saronicos Gulf
Cretan Basin ic Tr en ch
Crete
Cretan Passage
Rh
nc Tre
I
TUR KEY
Chios Isl. Is l
Patra Gulf
Zakynthos Isl.
Lesvos Isl.
Karpathos Isl.
lle He
ch en Tr c ni
Levantine Basin
Figure 2.1 – Study area 17