Island is a strategically located point from where populations of some species can be
estimated through coast-based counts (Arroyo et al. 2016). From this point to the
east, the Alboran Sea as a whole could be considered a migration corridor, with
certain areas of special interest where seabirds occur in high numbers for foraging
purposes, as the bays of Málaga and Almería, and several locations that host
important breeding colonies of species listed in Annex I of EC Birds Directive, as
Audouin’s gull or Scopoli’s shearwater (see Table 25.2).
Seabirds are one of the most threatened groups of birds at global level, mostly due
to human activities at sea and on land, especially in their colonies (Croxall et al.
2012). As the identification and designation of IBAs do not guarantee full legal
protection, conservation initiatives should be implemented to ensure the protection
of the most interesting enclaves and areas, including the open sea. The regular
monitoring of the IBAs, together with the identification and assessment of the
main threats affecting the species all year-round, would be important tools to
guide and design effective conservation and management initiatives. This is particularly important because most of the seabirds inhabiting the Alboran Sea are highly
mobile species (González-Solís et al. 2007; Bécares et al. 2016; Pérez-Roda et al.
2017).
25.4 SPAMIs and Other Overlapping-Connected Marine
Protected Areas
The Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs) are marine
and coastal sites for conserving “the components of biological diversity in the
Mediterranean, ecosystems specific to the Mediterranean area or the habitats of
endangered species, which are of special interest at the scientific, aesthetic, cultural
or educational levels”. These SPAMIs were created under the Protocol concerning
Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD
1995) and the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention (BC). The SPA/BD
Protocol was adopted in 1995 and called for the creation of SPAMIs and, however,
entered into force in 1999. Nowadays, there are 35 SPAMIs in the Mediterranean
Sea, with six of them located in the Alboran Sea and its adjacent areas (http://www.
rac-spa.org/spami); new SPAMIs could be included in the future as this is an
ongoing process. The SPAMIs have to follow the criteria listed in the Annex I of
the SPA/BD Protocol: (a) uniqueness, (b) natural representativeness, (c) diversity,
(d) naturalness, (e) presence of habitats that are critical to become endangered or
threatened or to harbour endemic species and (f) cultural representativeness. In
addition, they have to follow the procedure and the stages to be included as
SPAMI in the List. SPAMIs are one of the most important networks of MPAs
recognized by all Mediterranean country signatories to the BC. Each SPAMI
needs a management plan, and all the parties of the SPA/BD protocol are committed
25 Marine Protected Areas and Key Biodiversity Areas of the Alboran Sea and. . .
831
estimated through coast-based counts (Arroyo et al. 2016). From this point to the
east, the Alboran Sea as a whole could be considered a migration corridor, with
certain areas of special interest where seabirds occur in high numbers for foraging
purposes, as the bays of Málaga and Almería, and several locations that host
important breeding colonies of species listed in Annex I of EC Birds Directive, as
Audouin’s gull or Scopoli’s shearwater (see Table 25.2).
Seabirds are one of the most threatened groups of birds at global level, mostly due
to human activities at sea and on land, especially in their colonies (Croxall et al.
2012). As the identification and designation of IBAs do not guarantee full legal
protection, conservation initiatives should be implemented to ensure the protection
of the most interesting enclaves and areas, including the open sea. The regular
monitoring of the IBAs, together with the identification and assessment of the
main threats affecting the species all year-round, would be important tools to
guide and design effective conservation and management initiatives. This is particularly important because most of the seabirds inhabiting the Alboran Sea are highly
mobile species (González-Solís et al. 2007; Bécares et al. 2016; Pérez-Roda et al.
2017).
25.4 SPAMIs and Other Overlapping-Connected Marine
Protected Areas
The Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs) are marine
and coastal sites for conserving “the components of biological diversity in the
Mediterranean, ecosystems specific to the Mediterranean area or the habitats of
endangered species, which are of special interest at the scientific, aesthetic, cultural
or educational levels”. These SPAMIs were created under the Protocol concerning
Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD
1995) and the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention (BC). The SPA/BD
Protocol was adopted in 1995 and called for the creation of SPAMIs and, however,
entered into force in 1999. Nowadays, there are 35 SPAMIs in the Mediterranean
Sea, with six of them located in the Alboran Sea and its adjacent areas (http://www.
rac-spa.org/spami); new SPAMIs could be included in the future as this is an
ongoing process. The SPAMIs have to follow the criteria listed in the Annex I of
the SPA/BD Protocol: (a) uniqueness, (b) natural representativeness, (c) diversity,
(d) naturalness, (e) presence of habitats that are critical to become endangered or
threatened or to harbour endemic species and (f) cultural representativeness. In
addition, they have to follow the procedure and the stages to be included as
SPAMI in the List. SPAMIs are one of the most important networks of MPAs
recognized by all Mediterranean country signatories to the BC. Each SPAMI
needs a management plan, and all the parties of the SPA/BD protocol are committed
25 Marine Protected Areas and Key Biodiversity Areas of the Alboran Sea and. . .
831