1.18 The main ecosystems of the Strait of Bonifacio
area, whether deep-sea or coastal, are closely interconnected: pelagic
open-water systems, gulfs, intertidal zone, supralittoral environments,
islets and lagoons.
1.19 Being an open system, the marine environment
does not experience fragmentation of habitats to the same degree as
the land environment. In the Strait of Bonifacio the long-protected
areas of the Lavezzi, the fish confinement areas and the decreed biotopes
of the Monk and Bruzzi islands shelter balanced populations which
embrace all age-groups and assure the reproduction of larvae (fish,
crustaceans, ...) and their diffusion to more recently established
nature reserves. Plankton production and the gathering of animal larvae
condition the introduction of both marine and littoral trophic chains.
By virtue of its geographical position and the existence of violent
currents which facilitate larva distribution, the Strait of Bonifacio
could play a not inconsiderable role in coastal fishing management
in the north-western Mediterranean.
1.20 While the plankton-eating organisms are an
indispensable resource for large pelagic species, seriolae and tuna,
not to mention cetaceans (particularly bottlenose dolphins), they
are also attractive to the marine birds present (European shag, Cory's
shearwater, seagulls).