Marine Protected Area Isola di Ustica

DISCOVERING A NATURAL PARADISE

Ustica is a box of natural treasures

The Marine Protected Area of Ustica is a real underwater paradise that stretches for 15,000 hectares at sea. Here live many species including the Posidonia oceanica, the brown grouper, tuna-fish, amberjack, dentex, barracuda, saddle breams, as well as common octopuses and lobsters. The Marine Protected Area of Ustica is a sea paradise ready to be explored.

A SEA FULL OF RESOURCES

For over 30 years marine biodiversity in Ustica has been protected: in 1986 it was the local fishermen themselves who wanted to establish the first marine reserve in Italy to protect this unique sea and its biodiversity. Thus today the waters around Ustica are still populated by several species of fish: brown groupers, tuna, amberjack, dentex, barracuda, saddle breams, common octopus and lobsters. Often also Caretta caretta turtles may be spotted, as well as different types of cetaceans and the typical red shrimp.
The Marine Protected Area of Ustica, together with universities and research institutions coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, monitor the ecosystem. Annual checks are carried out on the sea flora and fauna, but also on the compatibility with fishing and tourist activities. Another activity of the Marine Area is dedicated to publicizing and teaching. For this purpose, guided seawatching tours and excursions on canoes with transparent bottom are organized within the strict reserve area. The Marine Protected Area of Ustica is divided into three zones, A, B and C, according to the protection level: strict, general, partial. Underwater fishing is not allowed in the whole area.

At Hotel Clelia we will be glad to help you organize your holiday to explore Ustica and its Marine Protected Area.

The activities of the Marine Protected Area

The educational projects and the marine laboratory

The activities organized by the Marine Protected Area of Ustica are varied and have different purposes.
They focus on monitoring the environment, teaching and environmental education, surveillance but also to provide correct information. The Marine Protected Area aims also to manage the coastal and marine environment in a sustainable way by working with the island's productive activities that are related to the sea (such as diving, fishing, tourism). The aim is to find mutual and effective solutions so that such activities may produce and provide for a strong economy of the island, and at the same time protect the sea environment.

The Information Center, located in the heart of the village just a few steps away from the Hotel Clelia, is the operation centre of the Marine Protected Area of Ustica. During summer it periodically hosts conferences and exhibitions with a hall dedicated to tourists and visitors who arrive on the island.