The mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus, Hermann 1779) is a marine mammal from the true seals family. Once a numerous species, today lives in small and isolated populations, and according to the IUCN Red List belongs to the category of endangered species (EN). It is distributed in the Mediterranean Sea (Greece, Turkey) and the eastern part of the northern Atlantic (Western Sahara, Mauritania and Madeira islands). By inhabiting coastal areas humans have endangered this species. Habitat degradation, their exploitation for commercial purposes, fishing effects and pollution of the marine environment have caused reduction of abundance and distribution of this species. A natural disaster of undetermined origin at the Cabo Blanco peninsula in 1997 further reduced the number of mature individuals in the population. As a result of small abundances and very isolated populations, the diversity of the genetic material decreased and reduced the species potential to adapt to environmental changes. With a goal to protect and recover the status of M. monachus species, regional, national and international agreements and regulations have been determined and protected marine areas and reserves established, but without adequate implementation, stated goal will not be achieved. It is necessary to directly reduce anthropogenic influences by education and increase of population awareness.