The Kaş - Kekova Special Environmental Protected Area (SEPA) covers a total of 258.3 square kilometers, 92 square kilometers of which is marine area. Current research accounts around 1000 marine species living in the region. Endangered species, including the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) frequent the area for breeding and feeding purposes. The rocky seabed and clear underwater structure of the area is important for fish on the upper levels of the food chain, such as the dusky grouper and dogtooth grouper.
The MCS began implementing the Marine Ranger System in 2019 in cooperation with local authorities to prevent harmful activities such as illegal fishing and pollution. To monitor the efficacy of the system and the marine protected area, macroalgae species, fish biomass, seawater temperature, and monk seal presence is monitored. The number of new edible fish species and their populations in the area display a tendency to increase due to climate change, and MCS is working with chefs and fishers to decrease this pressure on the marine ecosystem and fishing activities.
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