Conference titled “Management of American Mink in Northern Greece”

On Friday, December 15th, 2023, the conference titled “Management of American Mink in Northern Greece” was successfully held at the Amphitheater of the Technical Chamber of Greece in Thessaloniki, as part of the LIFE ATIAS project. The event was organized by the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia – Thrace, aiming to present the initial findings of the project in addressing threats from invasive species in Northern Greece.

Representatives from protected areas management authorities (OFYPEKA), local government, universities, research institutions, representatives from other relevant projects, and various related organizations attended the conference.

The conference commenced with a speech by the Project Coordinator, Mr. Dimitrios Bakaloudis, Professor at the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He focused on the scope of action of LIFE ATIAS and highlighted its results, providing detailed and precise data from the recordings.

Subsequently, actions implemented by the Decentralized Administrations of Macedonia – Thrace and Epirus – Western Macedonia were presented by their respective representatives, Ms. Ioanna Chalinidou and Mr. Antonios Mountzias. Additionally, other members of the LIFE ATIAS project team delivered speeches:

• Dr. Charalambos Thomas, Forester from the Laboratory of Wildlife and Fisheries Management of Freshwater, discussed the impact of control practices and the dynamic occupancy of American Mink in Western Macedonia in his two presentations.
• Dr. Evangelos Kotsonas, Forester from the same laboratory, highlighted the interaction between American Mink and Otter and its impact on aquatic bird fauna in his presentation.
• Dr. Alexandra Stefanidou, Forester from the Laboratory of Forest Management and Remote Sensing, focused on producing cartographic products to support Mink population management using field and GIS data.
• Ms. Eleni Loukaki-Gountara, Forester and Environmentalist M.Sc., representing the Environmental Management Company “HOMEOTECH”, discussed the system for recording invasive species and early detection within the project.
• Mr. Kyriakos Skordas, Forester and Environmentalist M.Sc., General Director of KOMATH, analyzed the dissemination and networking actions of the LIFE ATIAS project.

Finally, a speech was given by Mr. Dimitrios Kostoudis, Forester and Environmentalist M.Sc., from the Center for Research and Technology Development for Sustainable Wildlife Management, “CERTED EU,” focusing on the technology’s contribution to addressing the threat of invasive species and wildlife management.