Off the coast of Italy, something small and spiny is disappearing. Purple sea urchins — the main ingredient in the beloved dish spaghetti ai ricci di mare — have been overfished so heavily that entire areas once teeming with them now sit empty. Poachers raid even protected marine zones to meet the demand from tourists eager to taste this seaside delicacy.
Yet this story runs deeper than one species at risk. The sea urchin's decline points to a much larger crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea — a body of water that holds less than 1% of the world's ocean water but contains roughly 18% of all marine life on Earth.
Journalist Manuela Callari, who has reported extensively on Mediterranean marine ecosystems for Mongabay, grew up swimming these waters. Now when she returns to places she knew as a child, she barely recognizes them. Roads and bus routes now reach spots that were once wild and hard to access. "I think we don't appreciate enough the impact that has on the environment," she said.
The Mediterranean is home to about 150 million people along its coastline — roughly equal to the entire population of Russia. These coast dwellers depend on the sea for food, income, and protection. The sea also acts like a giant sponge for climate-warming gases, absorbing roughly 17.2 million metric tons of CO2 each year.
Among its most valuable but lesser-known treasures is a seagrass called Posidonia oceanica. These underwater meadows, which grow along the Mediterranean floor, capture up to 35% more carbon per area than tropical rainforests — making them climate warriors hiding in plain sight. Italy has recently launched an ambitious effort to map every stretch of its underwater coastline using special sensors, allowing scientists to locate exactly where these vital meadows still survive.
The loss of such habitats would ripple far beyond the Mediterranean. "If that's lost, it's lost for everybody, not just for the people living around the Mediterranean Sea," Callari said. Scientists have already documented a troubling sign: average sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean have risen by 1.2°C (2.2°F) since the mid-1980s, stressing marine life already struggling with overfishing and pollution.
Still, the story isn't only about loss. Awareness is growing, conservation efforts like Italy's mapping project are underway, and the Mediterranean — small but mighty — still has a fighting chance if the world starts paying closer attention.