Turkey establishes maritime parks in Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean

Turkey has issued presidential decrees to establish two new maritime parks in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, a move seen as an attempt to enforce its ‘Blue Homeland’ maritime claims. The decrees, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, were published in the Turkish Government Gazette.

The first park is located in the North Aegean, spanning the area between Lemnos and Samothrace. The second covers a vast area in the Eastern Mediterranean, effectively isolating Kastellorizo from Rhodes. These designated zones overlap with Greek sovereign rights and parts of the undefined Greek continental shelf.

While Turkey presents these parks as measures for environmental protection and biodiversity, the move is viewed as a response to Greece’s own maritime spatial planning. The Turkish administration maintains that Greek islands are entitled only to 6 nautical miles of territorial waters, whereas the Greek maritime plan, presented in 2025, asserts broader rights. This development heightens tensions regarding maritime boundaries and sovereignty in the region.