The Diving Park in Stalis will be ready to welcome visitors who are diving enthusiasts in the new season. A park that was licensed in December 2023 and in which 40 artificial habitats have already been placed – innovative reefs of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research – that adapt to the environment and are inhabited by fish and other marine organisms. Speaking to APE-MPE, the president of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce, Vangelis Karkanakis, stated that within the next period of time, eighteen more reefs are expected to be placed, completing the number provided for in the zoning permit.
However, the images recorded from the seabed are already unique. The Diving Park in Stalis, as Mr. Karkanakis noted, is one of the few licensed parks in the country, with a flat seabed and a depth of 17.7 to 21.5 meters. The area it occupies is approximately 22.5 acres, is square in shape and measures 150m by 150m.
Diving Park in Stalis will be fully operational and open to scuba divers in the new season, and this was the proposal made by the members of the diving schools and diver training centers of Heraklion during their meeting last February.
“This proposal was linked to the logic that the Diving Park in Stalis must have reached maturity. In fact, at this meeting, we discussed with the diving centers and relevant bodies a common operating framework, which will be implemented from 2026. At the moment, however, contracts for mapping and recording the seabed are being implemented in order to optimize the routes and lay the foundations for full operational operation.
The next steps concern the strengthening of infrastructure (e.g. sinking a shipwreck, restoring Posidonia meadows), pilot monitoring using new technologies and the promotion of the park at an international level with our participation in international exhibitions,” pointed out the president of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce, who announced that through a proposal to Interreg VI-A Greece Cyprus that they will submit with the Heraklion Development Agency, they are promoting the creation of an information center for the marine environment and diving in the Municipality of Hersonissos.
Diving Park in Stalis will be a demonstration area for diving, which will provide the possibility of virtual tours (VR) in real-time conditions, which can be used by people with disabilities, upgrading the dimension of accessibility and innovation.
“The goal is therefore for the park to become a new, quality attraction for scuba divers from Greece and abroad. The first visitors will have the opportunity to dive in an area with rich biodiversity, a protected environment and organized routes.
As for the characteristics of the diving park, it will have two diving routes, approximately 300-320 meters long, at a depth of 17.5-21 meters. The duration of each dive will range from 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the conditions. For its marking, four beacons were installed to mark the boundaries of the Park, the relevant notification has been made to the Hellenic Navy Lighthouse Service with notification to the Hydrographic Service and a relevant announcement has been issued to inform mariners.
To visit the Diving Park in Stalis, as explained by Vangelis Karkanakis, no specialized skills will be required beyond the Open Water Diver certification, as the routes have been designed to be accessible but also attractive to more experienced divers.
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“The 40 innovative artificial reefs create microhabitats and already host raptors, bream, lionfish and a multitude of other species. The area has excellent water clarity, a seabed with Posidonia meadows and rich benthic fauna, while in the near future the creation of an underwater exhibition space with the sinking of a shipwreck is planned, giving a unique identity to the park,” said Mr. Karkanakis for the Diving Park in Stalis.
Diving Park in Stalis
Before Diving Park in Stalis starts welcoming scuba divers, the diving park in Stalis received its first significant distinction, having recently joined the demonstration projects (“Success Stories”) of the European Union, as presented on the website of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).
A distinction for which the president of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce emphasized, among other things, that it comes to confirm the value of the project, which was implemented with funding from the Operational Program (Leader) “Fisheries and the Sea 2014-2020” and the active support of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce, with the supervision and close cooperation of the Heraklion Development Agency. As he announced, in October, members of Famenet (Fisheries and Aquaculture Monitoring, Evaluation and Local Support Network) will be in Heraklion to create a video with this specific project, which will be published on the Commission's website, while as a "good practice" the project will also be presented at the upcoming meeting of the Managing Authorities in Brussels..
Diving in Stalis, visit the Diving Park in Stalis by car, hire a car and find a way to quick driving!
“An international recognition that I believe will contribute significantly to extroversion, to attracting visitors and to strengthening confidence in the project,” said Vangelis Karkanakis, who did not hide his optimism that Crete can become a destination for diving enthusiasts.
“It is widely known that the creation and development of a network of Diving Parks is currently considered a necessity for the tourist development of the Cretan Sea, given that these can constitute significant economic sources while at the same time diving tourism is a particularly high-quality and profitable sector of tourism.
Diving Park in Stalis
The park enriches the tourism product of Crete, extends the tourist season, creates new jobs and strengthens the brand name of the island as a sustainable tourism destination. It strengthens the existing tourism infrastructure and offers protection to the marine environment,” the president of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce emphasized to APE-MPE, adding that international studies show that with the ban on fishing in protected areas, fish stocks can increase dramatically in just three years, while such parks can constitute not only a new tourist option, but also tools for sustainable development with significant benefits for the local society and the economy.
In this light, as Mr. Karkanakis noted, the procedures for the creation of other parks are being promoted.
Diving parks in Mononaftis and south of Heraklion
As for the procedures being promoted, according to the president of the Heraklion Chamber, they relate to the creation of a park in Mononaftis, in Agia Pelagia of the Municipality of Malevizi, while there are already mature thoughts for other areas in the southern part of the prefecture. “A network of diving parks will establish Crete as a top diving destination in the Mediterranean, with the possibility of multi-day diving experiences.”