The seabed of the Strait of Sicily is a treasure trove of biodiversity to be protected and saved from the threat posed by oil drilling. Especially after seeing the images released by Greenpeace which, in collaboration with Ispra, on board the Astrea ship, immortalized the extraordinary underwater universe in the Sicilian sea and published the report "The submerged treasures of the Sicilian Channel".
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
I seabed of the Strait of Sicily I am one treasure chest of biodiversity to be protected and saved from the threat posed by oil drilling. Especially after seeing the images released by Greenpeace who, in collaboration with Ispra, on board the ship Astrea, immortalized the extraordinary underwater universe in the Sicilian sea and published the report "The submerged treasures of the Sicilian Channel".
La documentation collected by Greenpeace and Ispra through the wire-guided vehicle equipped with a camera (ROV) - the same one who shot the video of the encounter with the cow shark - evidence such as the area intended for host the drills - there are 29 active requests for this area, 11 of which are already authorized - both one biodiversity mine: 96 different species were identified in just two days.
“What we saw on our expedition confirms theenormous richness and fragility of these sea beds. - explains Giorgia Monti, Greenpeace's Sea Campaign Manager - Uncontaminated environments such as these should be protected as precious treasures and not endangered by drilling ”.
In particular they have been explored - at a depth between 30 and 55 meters - the Adventure Desk andl Graham's bench, part of a still active volcanic complex. The latter was explored at a depth of 160 meters and made it possible to photograph deep sea gorgonian communities and all four known black coral species from the Mediterranean.
The expedition is part of the campaign currently carried out by Greenpeace against offshore drilling through the tour "THE SEA IS NOT SPIRIT”With the aim of adding further data to those collected in 2009, which were instrumental in blocking Audax Energy's request for oil exploration north of Pantelleria.
“There are many coastal municipalities that, in recent weeks, have sided with us against drilling rigs, supported by the same regional government council. - says Giorgia Monti - Sicily's request to the Ministry of the Environment is clear: to establish an Ecological Protection Zone in the Canal and create protected areas in sensitive areas such as banks to stop the mad rush for black gold “.
Simona Falasca
Read also:
- Drilling in Sicily: activists dirty with oil in the Scala di Turchi cliff (photo)
- Ficarra and Picone together with Greenpeace against drilling in Sicily (video)
- Greenpeace blitz in Mondello against drilling in Sicily
