TAKEN FROM THE SEA, SKY

The Mediterranean is one of the richest seas on Earth. Yet many of its protected species are still being taken from the wild, traded, collected, caged, mounted, eaten and displayed.Taken From the Sea, Taken From the Sky investigates a conservation problem that often remains hidden in plain sight: the continuing exploitation of protected Mediterranean wildlife despite decades of legislation intended to prevent it.From red coral harvested for jewellery and sea cucumbers processed for export, to butterflies pinned for collections, tortoises sold as pets, birds of prey trapped for falconry and sea turtles turned into tourist curios, this book follows the many routes by which wild species continue to enter commercial and private collections.But this is more than a catalogue of wildlife crime. It explains why removing even relatively small numbers of animals can have consequences lasting decades. Many of the species targeted by collectors and traders grow slowly, mature late and reproduce infrequently. Red coral may take years to reach reproductive maturity, tortoises more than a decade, and Mediterranean sea turtles two or three decades before they begin nesting.The book also examines the laws designed to protect them, including CITES, the Bern Convention, the EU Habitats and Birds Directives and the Barcelona Convention, and asks why significant gaps remain between protection on paper and protection in practice.Drawing on conservation research, regional case studies and practical experience, Taken From the Sea, Taken From the Sky explores: - Mediterranean red coral and the jewellery trade- Sea cucumber fisheries and the expanding bêche-de-mer market- Fan mussels, date mussels, sponges and sea urchins- Sharks and rays sold as jaws, teeth and curios- Scorpions, butterflies and the specimen trade- Tortoises, reptiles and exotic pets- Raptors, falconry and migratory songbird trapping- Sea turtles and tourist curios- Private museums, aquariums and collector demand- Why rarity can actually increase commercial pressure- How climate change magnifies exploitation- Why wildlife protection laws repeatedly fail at the point of sale- How enforcement, public awareness and citizen science can help close the gapThe central message is simple: a protected species is not protected merely because legislation says that it is. Protection only exists when removing it from the wild becomes genuinely difficult, unprofitable and socially unacceptable.For readers interested in marine conservation, wildlife crime, biodiversity, the Mediterranean, environmental policy and the international wildlife trade.