The Protected Marine Area "Egadi Islands"

The Egadi Islands Archipelago, located a few kilometers off the western coast of Sicily, is made up of the islands of Favignana, Levanzo, and Marettimo, as well as the islets of Formica and Maraone. The archipelago includes an area of remarkable natural and environmental interest, and in particular, the underwater environment, thanks to its geographic position and unique hydrological conditions, exhibits high biodiversity.

The seafloor has a very complex morphology due to the presence of cliffs, rocky banks, and submarine valleys. These geomorphological features result from the action of various factors, such as tectonics, sea level variations, and erosive processes caused by hydrodynamics. The latter, in particular, is a very active and peculiar process in the Egadi Islands, where marine currents accelerate, reaching very high speeds, especially within the submarine valleys. For this reason, scuba diving in the 'Isole Egadi' Marine Protected Area requires special attention. Submerged caves and morphologies derived from strong erosive phenomena due to the action of frequent storms and intense bottom currents are among the most expressive landscape features that characterize the coastal area and the seabed. Around the Egadi islands, there are also several submerged rocky outcrops (such as 'I Pali' and the 'Secca del Toro' of Favignana): they are generally reliefs limited by faults whose walls have been more or less intensely modified by the action of the sea. The morphology of these reliefs is recognizable between 19 and 50 meters of depth: they present a flat, terraced summit of small extension and very steep slopes, almost vertical. These morphological peculiarities have spectacular and interesting aspects from both a geological and landscape, as well as a biological and ecological, point of view, for the structuring of animal populations.

Seasonal anthropogenic pressure related to tourist and beach activities, illegal professional and sport fishing practices, and domestic pollution resulting from urbanization processes, particularly affecting the island of Favignana, are factors of disturbance for the marine ecosystem and a threat to biological resources.

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) was established by Interministerial Decree DD.LL. of 21/12/1991 and entrusted to the management of the Municipality of Favignana since 2001 by the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the Sea. Subsequently, the implementing and organizing regulation of the 'Isole Egadi' Marine Protected Area was approved (Ministry of the Environment Decree of 28/5/2010). The MPA constitutes the largest marine reserve in Europe: it includes 53,992 hectares, of which 1,067 are in zone A (integral protection), 2,865 in zone B (general protection), 21,962 in zone C (partial protection), and 28,098 in zone D.

The objectives of a marine protected area such as that of the Egadi Islands include environmental protection, the protection and enhancement of resources, the dissemination and promotion of knowledge of marine and coastal environments, and the peculiar environmental and geomorphological characteristics of the area, and the implementation of programs and activities of a promotional and educational nature.

For more information and other aspects of regulation, the information is available at the following links.