A remote Greek island known for exile and detention is now getting national protection for the wildlife living around it.

The President of Greece has signed into law a new national marine protected area around Gyaros, an uninhabited island in the Cyclades that hosts the world’s largest colony of Mediterranean monk seals.

The seals are among the most endangered marine mammals in the world. Gyaros was used as a naval targeting range by the post-independence Greek navy, but the seals continue to breed and thrive on the island.

Until now, protections around Gyaros had been provincial in scope, with limited enforcement power. Under the new marine protection law, authority over Gyaros will be shared by the coast guard and the Ministry for Environment and Climate Change.

Beyond monk seals, Gyaros is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot in the Aegean, with threatened shearwaters and ample pelagic life.

Gyaros was used as a place of exile since Roman times. In the Satires, the Roman poet Juvenal references it in a piece dedicated to Alexander of Macedon: “One globe was not enough for the youth from Pella, He seethed within the narrow confines of the world, as if he were hemmed in by the cliffs of Gyara…”

That reputation lasted into the 20th century, when a detention center was built to house political prisoners.

The island’s fortunes began to shift in 2013 when, Greek City Times wrote, WWF Greece began extensive ecological work to protect endemic species and restore habitat.

WWF Greece welcomed the new marine protected area and called it a “decisive milestone.”

“This ensures the long-term preservation of the island’s natural wealth, while also supporting local communities in the Northern Cyclades,” the organization said.

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