Area Marina Protetta Regno di Nettuno

The History of the Reserve

The Marine Protected Area was established with the Ministerial Decree of 27 December 2007 and the regulation makes it effective from 5 June 2008.
The history of the institution starts, however, in 1991, when the islands of Ischia, Vivara and Procida were identified in the list of Marine Areas of Finding under Art. 36 of Law no. 394 dated 6 December 1991 ("framework law on protected areas"), as an integrated marine protected area called "Regno di Nettuno".
In 1999, it was entrusted the feasibility study to the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn of Naples, which was conducted and given in January 2001 to the Ministry of the Environment. Since then a long phase of technical investigation and political concertation began, in order to fine-tune the perimeter and the area that ended precisely at the end of 2007.

The Protected Area

The Regno di Nettuno Marine Protected Area pursues the environmental protection and enhancement of the sea surrounding the islands of Ischia, Procida and Vivara, in the Gulf of Naples. With its 11,256 ha of surface area, it is the largest MPA in Campania and encompasses features of great interest, not only from a naturalistic point of view. Compared to the other Italian MPAs, Regno di Nettuno includes two extra protection zones in addition to the canonic zone A (of integral protection), zone B (of general reserve) and zone C (of partial reserve), identified in zones B n.t.  "No Take" (of special general reserve) and zone D (of protection of marine mammals).
Among its activities, the Marine Protected Area carries out, in partnership with Scientific Institutes, Universities, associations and operators in the field, study, monitoring and research programmes in the fields of ecology, marine biology and underwater archaeology, to implement knowledge of the marine-coastal territory.
It also carries out Environmental Education activities in collaboration with environmental associations and schools of all grades, and is responsible for the management and design of didactic itineraries, the organisation of events, manifestations, conferences and seminars. All this to disseminate the importance of protecting resources for the valorisation of the territory, with the aim of stimulating changes in citizens' behaviour with respect to the environment and promoting its sustainable use.

The Marine Environment

The sea abundance of the "Regno di Nettuno" Marine Protected Area could be sensed by observing the perimeter of this area on a map.
The first thing that strikes and intrigues is a "strange" northward extension, two miles wide, which extends towards the town of Cuma, on the mainland for a length of eight miles.
That strangeness, which corresponds to the so-called "Cuma Canyon", makes the Regno di Nettuno a unique area in the Mediterranean, rich in cetaceans (dolphins, whales, sperm whales).

Further information (in Italian)