Fondali di Pizzo Calabro

The site includes the seabed off the coast of Pizzo Calabro, in the northwestern sector of the Capo Vaticano promontory. The coast is characterized by a narrow pebbly-sandy beach; it is interrupted by small rocky promontories which are covered with a succession of sedimentary rocks. The absence of significant watercourses precludes the direct input of sediments onto beaches and seabeds, which largely come from the erosive action of waves. There is a highly diversified coralligenous biocenosis, with the presence of red and black coral.
Moreover, there is a wide area of Posidonia meadow in good condition, which are an important nursery for fish, including commercially valuable species, and for coastal erosion protection. There is a high degree of vulnerability due to illegal trawling even close to the coast, pollution from sewage outfalls into the sea and anchoring not on fixed buoys.