Delegates at the April 15-17 Our Ocean Conference include 12 heads of state, around fifty ministers and officials, and representatives from 120 nations and entities, including the UN, EU and NATO.
"This is the biggest environment conference ever held (in Greece)," Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis told journalists.
He said that part of Athens' commitments are two new national parks -- one in the Ionian Sea for sea mammals and turtles, and another in the Aegean for seabirds, to be set into law by early next year.
"They will be among the largest in the Mediterranean," he said.
Greece has been repeatedly fined by the European Commission on environmental matters in the past decades.
In December, it was referred to the EU court of justice for failing to implement maritime spatial planning guidelines.
In a statement on Monday, nine environmental groups including WWF and Greenpeace hailed the new parks announcement as an "important initiative".
But they noted that the Ionian Sea park is to be created in an area already earmarked by Greece for hydrocarbon exploration.
"There can be no protected maritime area with hydrocarbon extraction," the groups said.
Skylakakis said the park under consideration is "much, much larger than any extraction area".
"Sea mammals will be afforded a very high level of protection," he promised.
Since the first Our Ocean conference in 2014, participating nations have committed more than $130 billion in ocean aid, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis told reporters.
Greece will be placing particular emphasis this year on sustainable tourism, microplastics, eco-friendly shipping and the Mediterranean environment, he said.
"Each of us, especially those in coastal areas, swallows the equivalent of a plastic card each week (through microplastics in fish)," Gerapetritis said.
"And also through salt," added Skylakakis.
Observers say Our Ocean is the only conference to address all ocean-related issues under one roof.
At the previous summit in Panama in March 2023, participants pledged $19 billion in initiatives to protect oceans.
They included projects involving sustainable fishing, the fight against pollution, maritime security and protected areas.
"Other species cannot do much, they can merely adapt. Humans must react," Skylakakis said on Monday.
The European Union last year said it would dedicate 816.5 million euros ($884 million) to ocean-related projects.
Part of that was directed towards research to protect marine biodiversity and address the impacts of climate change on the seas, and a satellite to observe melting ice and monitor climate change effects.
Jellyfish invade Venezuelan waters, worrying fishermen
Choroni, Venezuela (AFP) April 8, 2024 -
A thick bloom of jellyfish of varying hues drifts in the turquoise waters of Aragua in Venezuela, a surreal vision attributed to climate change that has decimated fishing stocks.
"It is like there are flowers in the sea. This has never happened before," said Elvis Morillo, 59, a fisherman in the northern village of Chuao, where verdant mountains hug the Caribbean coast.
The invasive cannonball jellyfish is filling fishermen's nets, in a surge the environment ministry attributes to warming waters from climate change and a decline in jellyfish predators such as sharks and sea turtles.
At the same time, "sardines and other species that serve as fishing bait have disappeared. Fishing is at its lowest level in years," said Gustavo Carrasquel, of the NGO Azul Ambientalistas, who lives in Choroni, a town neighboring Chuao.
Globally, jellyfish populations have soared. Researchers have warned of a tipping point in which the oceans could go from being dominated by fish populations, to jellyfish -- mostly as a result of overfishing.
The gelatinous creatures, which do not have a heart, brain or complex organs, thrive in harsh conditions and need little oxygen.
This is an "atypical event, completely abnormal," said Joxmer Scott-Frias, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology and Tropical Ecology at the Central University of Venezuela.
"A few individuals had been observed in recent years, but the increase in the population this year exceeded previous estimates," he said while collecting samples of the jellyfish for study.
Scott-Frias said the reasons for the surge were not yet clear.
The jellyfish bloom and the presence of the invasive coral Unomia stolonifera, which smothers native corals, have become a headache for local fishermen.
"It has been almost nine months without fish production," said Fernando Mayora, head of the fishermen's council in Choroni.
"With the problem of jellyfish and invasive corals, we don't know what to do. The fish have disappeared," he said.
In Chuao, fishermen who would bring in between 3,000 and 5,000 kilograms a week have seen their yields drop to between 500 and 1,000 kilograms, said Douglas Martinez, 44, a fisherman.
Mayora said that Venezuela should draw inspiration from countries such as Mexico, which exploits jellyfish commercially, exporting it to Asian countries where it is used in gastronomy or the pharmaceutical industry.
"We need to know if we can take advantage of this in Venezuela," he said.
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