Torre Guaceto
Italy · Mediterranean
Torre Guaceto is a small marine reserve on the Adriatic coast of Puglia, named for the sixteenth century watchtower on its shore. Its fame is a recovery story: by fully protecting a core zone and turning local fishers into its guardians, the reserve brought back seabream, octopus, grouper and lobster across meadows of Posidonia seagrass and rocky reef. It is one of the clearest examples in the Mediterranean of protection actually working.
Reef health
Reef state
Strongly protected and recovering: studies have measured total fish biomass in the fully protected zone at more than four times that of the unprotected coast just outside, and the reserve holds a Blue Park Award for effective protection.
Protection
Area Marina Protetta di Torre Guaceto · 2019
Dive sites
Good to know
Access is managed
Diving inside the reserve is limited and runs through the reserve and authorised guides, not open recreational entry. Book ahead.