A land-and-sea natural park uniting the Montgrí coast, the Medes Islands and the lower Ter wetlands. Its marine sector includes exceptionally diverse rocky reefs, caves, coralligenous communities, seagrass and sandy seabeds shaped by decades of protection and intensive visitor use.
Del Montgrí, les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter
Why it is protected
Conserve the connected coastal, island, wetland and marine habitats of the park.
Protect sensitive seabed communities and marine biodiversity while managing diving, boating and fishing.
Habitats and significant life
Habitats: Rocky reef, Posidonia seagrass meadow, Coralligenous reef, Submarine cave, Sandy seabed.
Significant species: Dusky grouper, Red coral, Bottlenose dolphin, Posidonia oceanica, Mediterranean reef fish.
Rules and activities
Marine activities are managed by zones, permits and specific rules, including controls around the Medes Islands.
Diving operators and visitors are directed to conservation practices for sensitive underwater habitats.
Governance
Government of Catalonia natural parks service; Park management authority; Local municipalities and user groups.
Pressures
High diving and boating use; Anchoring; Fishing pressure; Marine heatwaves; Invasive species.
Protection effectiveness
These dimensions are intentionally separate: a valid designation or active management program does not, by itself, prove ecological recovery.
Habitats and marine life connections
Ecologically related protected areas
These places share documented habitat types or the same ocean region. The relationship is ecological context, not proof of direct connectivity.
Condition and evidence
MLL reports what the available evidence supports. It does not infer ecological health from designation or mapped coverage.
Insufficient evidence
Place-specific ecology and management evidence has been reviewed, but the available indicators do not support a single current ecological trend for the whole protected area.
Ecological Condition
Insufficient evidenceLong-monitored marine habitats; no single park-wide trend assigned
- Evidence period
- Current evidence review
- Geographic scope
- Protected feature or area described by the source
- Confidence
- limited
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-12
How to read this: Insufficient evidence means the available evidence cannot support a conclusion. It does not mean the MPA is in poor condition.
Long-monitored marine habitats; no single park-wide trend assigned. Confidence: limited. Monitoring and management are documented, but the varied marine zones are not reduced to one health score.
Sources
El Montgrí, les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter Natural Park Guide — Government of Catalonia. Verified 2026-09-13.
Tools for discovering and conserving marine habitats — Government of Catalonia. Verified 2026-09-13.