Greece Unveils Boundaries of Two Planned Marine Parks

Greece revealed on Monday the boundaries of two planned marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean seas, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis saying they will be the largest in the Mediterranean region.

Athens wants to establish the parks, for the protection of sea mammals and turtles in the Ionian Sea and for seabirds and seals in the Aegean, this year. Mitsotakis said they will help the country meet its global commitment to expand marine protected areas to 30% of its waters by 2030.

"They will allow us to meet the target ... way ahead of schedule," Mitsotakis said. "They will be vast sanctuaries for life beneath the waves," he said, adding that trawling of the sea floor will be banned inside the zones.

The environmental studies on the parks' boundaries were submitted on Monday for public consultation until September 22.

The planned Aegean Sea park has previously stirred tensions between Greece and neighbouring Turkey, with the two countries at odds over a range of issues including maritime boundaries.

Athens has said the park's boundaries are within Greece's territorial waters.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Greece was exploiting universal values such as environmental issues, that the parks would have no legal bearing on