Northern Croatian Waters Inhabited by Potential Threat to Fishing, Tourism
March the 1st, 2021 - Northern Croatian waters are inhabited by something lurking in the deep which could pose a real threat to both the Croatian fishing industry and to tourism.
As Morski writes, known as the "sea walnut", this strange primitive invasive organism originates from the northeastern coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, according to a report from Dnevnik.hr.
Mnemiopsis leidyi, or sea walnuts, can cause significant damage to the fishing industry, drastically reducing the stock of small blue fish such as sardines and anchovies which are always popular. Although they are harmless to human swimmers, their presence potentially threatens tourism as the high density of gelatinous organisms is far from pleasant.
''If there is a significant warming up of the sea at the end of spring and the beginning of summer, a mass appearance of sea walnuts along the coast of western Istria can be expected,'' said doc. dr. sc. Paolo Paliaga from the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Pula.
Italian, Slovenian and Croatian scientists are cooperating intensively in the research of cone jellies such as the so-called sea walnuts, and the importance of the problem at the local level has been recognised by the cities of Rovinj, Porec and Novigrad-Cittanova, all of which are located along Northern Croatian coast, and is being financially supported by some previous research.
A large number of cone jellies were first observed in Croatian waters back in July 2016 and since the summer of 2017 they regularly appear between May and November in the coastal belt of western Istria, the Gulf of Trieste and in Northern Croatian waters.
''Since Northern Croatian waters are the most productive areas of the Mediterranean in terms of fish stocks, creating a very important resource for the Croatian, Italian and Slovenian economies, it is extremely important to monitor the development of the situation and the impact of the invasion of these cone jellies,'' warned Paliaga.
The most famous example of the impact of these bizarre organisms was recorded back in the 1980s in the Black sea where fishing collapsed, with damages estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars and where the system hasn't fully recovered to date. Similar situations were recorded in the 1990s in the Sea of Azov and in the Caspian sea.
International studies have shown that these organisms feed on zooplankton, fish and shellfish larvae and that the have no natural enemies. An egg-shaped individual with an average length of seven centimetres is able to consume all of he living zooplankton in one litre of sea in just ten hours.
The reproductive potential of the species is extremely high since they are hermaphrodites that can fertilise themselves and release several thousand fertilised eggs every single day. In addition, these marine creatures have a great tolerance when it comes to temperature and salinity and are able to spend the colder months in Northern Croatian waters without much difficulty.
The population peaks in September when they're ubiquitous in the Northern Croatian surface waters, and the number then decreases drastically from late December to April due to low temperatures and less food availability.
In addition to having a direct and deeply negative impact on fish stocks, the introduction of invasive cone jellies has contributed to a significant reduction in the biodiversity of exposed systems and disrupted their natural balance, scientists have warned.
They are now investigating other impacts of cone jellies on the marine ecosystem, including their release of organic matter into the sea and the impact on the abundance and structure of the microbial community that is fundamentally important for the marine environment.
The Centre for Marine Research in Rovinj of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute, the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Juraj Dobrila University in Pula, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split and the University of Dubrovnik are all participating in the studies.
Croatian experts are intensively cooperating with their Slovenian colleagues from the Marine Biological Station in Piran and Italian scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics in Trieste on the matter.
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Post-Earthquake Zagreb Reconstruction Moving at Snail's Pace
March the 1st, 2021 - The post-earthquake Zagreb reconstruction process is, as was probably expected by the majority, experiencing significant lags and is faced by numerous challenges. With things moving at Croatia's favourite pace, being that of a snail, what could be behind it all?
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although the post-earthquake Zagreb reconstruction will be extremely expensive and time-consuming, it could be a trigger for the reconstruction, modernisation and general revitalisation of the entire centre of the Croatian capital, at least according to a recently held panel called: "The strength of Croatian construction - how to rebuild Zagreb and Banovina". The panel was held as part of a conference which took place on Friday and was organised by Poslovni Dnevnik in Zagreb.
Ivica Rovis from the Institute for Physical Planning of the City of Zagreb warned of the complex bureaucracy around reconstruction procedures that confuse people and as such residents often don't know what they have to hand over, to whom, whether they have submitted complete or incomplete documentation and the like.
It's chaos, time is going by, it still isn't done...
"It would be much more efficient if public bodies were better connected and if they acted much more proactively towards residents, because such state and local institutions can find documents that are important for reconstruction and make things much easier.
Everything is a bit chaotic like this, and time is going by, almost a year has passed since the Zagreb earthquake, and nothing is happening,'' stated Rovis. He warned of the problem that Zagreb itself isn't deciding on its reconstruction because everything has been transferred to the state, and the city itself can act only in the sense of humanitarian or professional assistance to its citizens.
"The post-earthquake Zagreb reconstruction isn't something that is easy and simply one-sided. You can't renovate a building in the centre without first regulating traffic in that part of the city due to the need for road closures and the like,'' Rovis pointed out.
Ivana Belic from the regional energy agency Regea stated that this is an opportunity to insist on energy efficient construction during the renovation and new construction within the heart of the capital.
"What we're witnessing is a lack of vision and a lack of a clear reconstruction plan. In order to expect the activation of the construction sector, we need to give that sector a clear plan - what, when and how to build and when the money for that will arrive,'' warned Belic.
She added that Regea believes that in Zagreb it would be wrong to have a point-by-point renovation of building after building, rather than start the renovation of entire neighbourhoods. Jadranka Rajic Bradavica from the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency explained that 50 million kuna has been approved so far with companies for the emergency treatment of bulky and construction waste in Banovina.
"So far, little construction waste has been detected due to the demolition of some buildings, but there have been and continue to be numerous requests for the disposal of large quantities of mixed and bulky waste from public and other institutions that have been damaged or demolished. Due to so much waste, the local communal services couldn't manage on their own, so the Fund had to meet them,'' stated Rajic Bradvica.
She warned that it is important to first select the construction waste in question because part of the brick can be cleaned and reused, and part of that material can be used for other construction works.
New technologies
Danko Deban, President of the Management Board of Ingra, believes that the use of new technologies should be pursued during the post-earthquake Zagreb reconstruction procedure. He doesn't see much sense in reusing old bricks from now demolished buildings to rebuild residential and public buildings, not only in Zagreb but especially in the Banovina area.
"If the funds for reconstruction aren't a problem, then I'm convinced that the construction operation will not end up being a bottleneck. We haven't yet reached the stage where the projects are ready and we're going to the construction site, but I think that at a given moment, Croatian companies will be able to effectively implement projects,'' said Deban.
Sven Müller, the director of Strabag Croatia, emphasised that the recovery of existing material rescued from Croatia's 2020 earthquakes is possible, but unprofitable: ''if a brick is taken out, cleaned, selected, it's a lot of work and the question is how high quality can such material actually be,''
Müller warned that the investment wave fell sharply last year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and that all construction companies are longing for new projects to get their teeth into, such as renovation.
"The big problem here is bureaucracy because there is no system and people don't know what, when and to whom they have to submit things to, and it's not really clear to anyone who is entitled to what," explained Müller. He also agreed that the Croatian construction operative can, and must, do the reconstruction work itself.
"Western companies won't come to us because they have enough work to do, and Croatia is a small and unattractive market for them. On the other hand, we are also not particularly interested in the competition from the east because they skipped us and went west through us,'' said the director of Strabag.
''As a result of the earthquake, we've managed to actually reach the problems we've had for a long time now, and now they've come to light - unorganised land registers, a problematic social climate and a lack of proper control. It must be clear to everyone that those with a green sticker will not get anything, those with yellow can count on getting a little, and those with red stickers... well, we will see. We have to make it clear to people that the state and the city will finance 80 percent of the recognised costs for such people with red stickers, but no one is saying how much money that will be and how much the owners themselves will have to provide,'' said Strabag's director.
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Swiss Readies for Summer with New Flights from Geneva to Split!
March 1, 2021- The Swiss national airline is readying for summer with the announcement of flights from Geneva to Split, scheduled to operate during the peak season, from the beginning of July to the end of August.
Croatian Aviation reports that Swiss national airline will introduce a new route to Croatia in this year's summer flight schedule, with flights from Geneva to Split!
The Swiss national airline has announced its summer flight schedule for this year and announced the introduction of a number of new routes from Geneva. In a series of new lines, there is one to Croatia, to Split Airport.
Namely, from July 3, Swiss will introduce the Geneva-Split-Geneva line, which will operate twice a week. A220-300 aircraft with a capacity of 145 seats will operate on the route, and tickets are not on sale yet. The company announced that booking on the new lines from Geneva will be possible at the beginning of this month, i.e., in the next few days.
There is already a direct airline between Geneva and Split, as easyJet operated on this route in the previous seasons. The well-known low-cost carrier has announced flights between the two mentioned cities this summer season as well, as early as April.
Swiss used to travel to Zagreb from Zurich, but that line was canceled even before the pandemic, and also from Geneva to Pula and Dubrovnik. The Pula-Geneva line will not operate in the summer of 2021, while the line to Dubrovnik has been announced from Saturday, July 3, only once a week.
The new Swiss line from Geneva to Split, as well as the line to Dubrovnik, will operate briefly, until the last Saturday in August, i.e., only in the peak of the summer season. EasyJet, on the other hand, plans to operate on lines from Switzerland to Croatia until the end of October.
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Porfirije Says Jasenovac Should Be Foundation of Peace
ZAGREB, 1 March, 2021 - Human evil showed its ugliness in few places as it did in Jasenovac, but this place should be the foundation from which messages of peace will be spread, Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije said at the Jasenovac convent on Sunday.
He arrived at the invitation of the bishop of Pakrac and Slavonia, Jovan. Among those who came to hear his sermon were the Roman Catholic Bishop of Požega, Antun Škovrčević, Serb National Council president Milorad Pupovac, Bosnian Presidency member Milorad Dodik, Banja Luka Mayor Draško Stanivuković, hundreds of believers from Croatia and the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska (RS), and Serbian journalists.
Porfirije quoted Serbian Orthodox theologian Justin Popović's words that "people invented weapons to achieve peace" and that it was "superfluous to say how absurd that is."
Ustasha "signed out" of nations
"In this place people showed how much they can alienate themselves from what was woven into them," he said. Jasenovac was a WWII Ustasha death camp.
He also quoted St. Paul as saying that God "has made of one blood all nations," adding that those who in Jasenovac committed "the most monstrous evils wrote signed out of every nation" and "signed in among non-humans."
My country
Porforije also spoke of the "nice words, support and love" he felt while serving in Zagreb, which was why "I see that city and this country as mine."
He arrived in Jasenovac after visiting the people of the Banija region, struck by a devastating earthquake in December.
I felt the need to tell them that we are there for them, although I know that they won't be abandoned by the Croatian state, some of them by the Serbian state and Republika Srpska, he said.
Bishop Jovan told the press that RS would participate in the reconstruction of a Serb school in Jasenovac which would "become a research centre and a library."
Dodik thanks Croatian authorities
Although the patriarch visited Banija yesterday, Dodik said it was "very important" that Porfirije's first visit was to Jasenovac due to "the fact that Serb people were killed here and the truth was hidden for many decades."
"Revealing that truth is the lasting everyday task of us all, as is the prayer for reconciliation, understanding and a peaceful coexistence of all here," he said.
Dodik said RS would give €50,000 for the Jasenovac convent, and thanked "the Croatian authorities for supporting the reconstruction of buildings that are important to the Serb people."
Osijek to Host European Shooting Championship this Spring
ZAGREB, 1, March 2021 - The 2021 European Championship in Shooting will take place in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek from 20 May to 6 June, and the Croatian Armed Forces will support local authorities in the organisation of the event.
Recently, Defence Minister Mario Banožić signed an agreement with the local authorities whereby the Croatian army undertakes to offer assistance in the preparation of the championship in the Pampas shooting complex.
Addressing the contract-signing ceremony, the director of the organising committee, Zroan Ćelić, said that about 1,500 athletes plus 500 persons in their teams would arrive in Osijek for this ESC contest.
The competing athletes come from 48 countries. During the 16-day-long championship, they will take part in 78 events.
HNL Round 23 Recap: Osijek Comes Back to Beat Varazdin 3:2, Hajduk Tops Rijeka Again
March 1, 2021 - The 23rd round of the Croatian First League was held from February 26 to 28, 2021. In this round, Osijek comes back to beat Varazdin, and Hajduk records another win at Rujevica against Rijeka.
Varazdin v. Osijek (2:3)
Varazdin and Osijek opened the 23rd round on Friday, February 26, 2021, in Varazdin.
Peco scored the first goal of the match in the 16th minute for 1:0 Varazdin, which Herrera increased to 2:0 five minutes later. Varazdin could not hold onto their lead for long, with an Osijek penalty in the 52nd minute (Mierez) bringing them back in the game. Santini equalized for Osijek in the 68th minute, and Mierez scored again for the 2:3 win 10 minutes later.
Varazdin is currently in 7th place with 22 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 51.
Sibenik v. Lokomotiva (0:0)
Sibenik and Lokomotiva met on Saturday, February 27, 2021, in Sibenik.
Neither team was able to score in the 0:0 draw.
Sibenik is currently in 6th place with 26 points, while Lokomotiva is in 9th with 19.
Rijeka v. Hajduk (0:1)
The thrilling Adriatic Derby between Rijeka and Hajduk was played on Saturday, February 27, 2021, at Rujevica Stadium.
The only goal of the match came in the 72nd minute when Umut scored thanks to Livaja's debut assist for 0:1 Hajduk. Rijeka was awarded a penalty in the final seconds of the match (96'), but Andrijasevic shot at goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic for the critical Hajduk win. Rijeka's coach Simon Rožman resigned after the match, and the club should announce a new coach soon.
Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 32 points, while Hajduk is in 5th place with 29.
Gorica v. Istra 1961 (2:1)
Gorica and Istra met on Sunday, February 28, 2021, in Velika Gorica.
Istra's Bande scored the first goal of the match in the 25th minute, which was the score at the half. Lovric equalized for 1:1 in the 50th minute, and Mudrinski gave Gorica the lead in the 73rd minute for the 2:1 final result.
Gorica is currently in 3rd place with 46 points, while Istra is in 10th place with 14.
Dinamo v. Slaven Belupo (3:0)
Dinamo and Slaven Belupo closed out the 23rd round on Sunday, February 28, 2021, at Maksimir Stadium.
The first half went without goals after a VAR decision called Lauritsen's goal offside in the 37th minute. Gvardiol scored Dinamo's first goal in the 60th minute, followed by Tolic four minutes later for 2:0. Gavranovic made it 3:0 in the 90th minute.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 51 points, while Belupo is in 8th with 21.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
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Orthodox Dignitary: Serb Identity Has 2 wings, One in Jasenovac, Other in Kosovo
ZAGREB, 28 February, 2021 - By visiting the Jasenovac convent, Patriarch Porfirije is telling the Serb people where its identity is, the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Pakrac and Slavonia said on Sunday ahead of a visit by the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
"The Serb people's identity has two wings, one is the Kosovo and the other the Jasenovac wing. That's what defines our people and our Church and that's what Patriarch Porfirije recognises," Bishop Jovan said outside the convent ahead of the arrival of Porfirije and the Serb member of the Bosnian Presidency, Milorad Dodik.
Also present were about 100 believers from Croatia and the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska.
Porfirije will not visit the Jasenovac Memorial Site today. Jasenovac was a WWII Ustasha death camp. Bishop Jovan said he would do so on another occasion.
"It's very important to understand that we are not a parallel institution to the Memorial Site. We are not creating a parallel museum and a parallel memorial site," he said, adding that the Memorial Site "is complementary to our convent. It's very important that everyone does their job."
The SPC and the authorities of Republika Srpska and Serbia have renovated a church in nearby Mlaka, where children from the Kozara mountain were killed in WWII.
The renovation of a former Ustasha headquarters has also been announced, with Bishop Jovan saying it would consist of a "whole complex dedicated to the Kozara children as well as a complex for works of art inspired by Jasenovac."
He reiterated what former SPC Patriarch German said, that "one must forgive, but not forget."
"That doesn't leave out all the other victims... Jasenovac is a very broad subject that can't be defined and explained just like that," said the bishop.
Currently, the convent is home to eight nuns.
Porfirije: Bandić was Friend of Orthodox Serbs, All People in Zagreb
ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Patriarch Porfirije celebrated his first service in Zagreb after being installed as head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, regretting at the end of his sermon the death of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić who, he said, had been a friend of Orthodox Serbs and all people in Zagreb.
"Without getting into politics... we have the duty to say that he was a friend of Orthodox Serbs and all people in the City of Zagreb and wider, but also my friend. I pray God for his soul to rest," the patriarch said.
In his sermon, he said that when he arrived in Zagreb as the metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana in 2014, he felt fear as he had arrived in an unknown country and space "at a time preceded by insanity."
"May the Lord forgive us for such delusions... I deeply know, and I have learned it also from you, that the Church of Christ doesn't exist to divide, to create confrontation, but to unite in Christ," Porfirije said.
"Coming here then, I was burdened by various information coming from outside, perhaps even by my own prejudices, but I said honestly then: I am a Serb and I love my people, but above and before that I wish even more to be Christ's, to be a Christian, and that means to hear His word, that all should be one. I said then that I would try every day to love all peoples more and more," he said.
The patriarch said he "felt love at every step, first and foremost, naturally, from Serb Orthodox believers, but no less also from others who constantly disarmed and freed me both from what I was hearing outside and from what was coming, perhaps as prejudice, from inside," adding that he "was disarmed by meeting common people in bars, workers in the street, as well as people in high positions."
Porfirije thanked "the wonderful people, both Orthodox Serbs and Catholic and non-Catholic Croats," saying that he was also grateful for meeting with Jews, Muslims, Bosniaks, Roma and Russians.
He said that because of all that he felt the need to ask God every day to have mercy "for Orthodox Serbs in Croatia and for all people in Croatia with the wish that Christ's peace and Christ's love be in the lives of all people."
Bandić's Mayoral Terms Marked by Many Projects and Suspected Wrongdoings
ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The six mayoral terms of Milan Bandić, who died of a massive heart attack early Sunday morning, were marked by many projects implemented in the capital city as well as by a series of corruption scandals and a few court proceedings.
Bandić was born in Grude in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1955, where he finished primary and elementary school. He graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science and after that he worked in the Ledo factory of frozen food.
He began his political career as a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Bandić was erased from the SDP membership in 2009 before a presidential election when he defied the then party leadership's suggestion that he should not run for head of state. When he and the SDP parted their ways, Bandić ran for president as an independent candidate. In the presidential runoff in January 2010, he was defeated by the SDP candidate Ivo Josipović. Later he formed his own political party called "The Party of Labour and Solidarity 365".
His first mayoral term started in 2000, however, two years later he stepped down due to a traffic accident which he caused driving under the influence. However, in 2005 he resumed his mayoral duties.
Many projects implemented
During Bandić's 20-year-long term in the office of Zagreb mayor, many projects were implemented to raise the living standards of about 800,000 inhabitants.
The city has 433 pre-school and educational institutions and a third of them have been built, reconstructed, or upgraded in the last 20 years.
In the said period the city got a new emergency health building, the Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Music Academy, and swimming pools in the neighborhoods of Sesvetski Kraljevec, Svetice and Utrine.
As a result of the upgrade of the public transportation system, there are now 270 trams in the city and 430 buses as well as vehicles for persons with disabilities.
Bundek Park, built around a lake of the same name, has become a well-known outdoor venue for public gatherings.
The former complex of a pig farm in Jelkovec on the eastern outskirts of Zagreb was turned into a residential area.
The crossroads of the Jadranska Avenija and Avenija Dubrovnik streets, which is also known as the Rotor roundabout in southwest Zagreb, was reconstructed and some other projects were implemented to improve the road infrastructure in the city.
Mayoral terms plagued by corruption scandals
Bandić's mayoral terms were plagued by many scandals, only two of which ended with non-final court verdicts, although more than 250 criminal complaints were filed against him.
In October 2014, Bandić and several of his closest associates were arrested on suspicion of crimes at the expense of the City of Zagreb, including illegal favouring and hiring, waste management, the use of official cars for private purposes and forging documents in a case later dubbed Agram.
After one month in custody, Bandić was released on HRK 15 million kuna bail. He was not allowed to return to work, sign acts nor communicate with city employees. He ended back in custody due to witness tampering and was released following a Constitutional Court decision.
Earlier this month, the High Administrative Court quashed a Conflict of Interest Commission decision under which Bandić failed to perform his duty honourably and independently because he received HRK 15 million from the Hanžeković and Partners law firm as bail to be released from custody as well as contributions from citizens after the 2009 presidential election in which he had run.
In April 2018, the Zagreb County Court upheld seven counts of the indictment in the Agram case for illegal activities at the expense of the city, while three counts relating to waste management were returned to the prosecution for elaboration and were upheld in October 2019.
The trial in the Agram case is under way. At a hearing this past Wednesday, an expert on waste management testified that the terms in a non-public tender were adjusted to the possibilities and permits of companies from the CIOS group, owned by Petar Pripuz, Bandić's co-defendant.
The Zagreb County Court also tried Bandić for favouring the In the Name of the Family NGO. He was acquitted pending appeal in October 2018. The Supreme Court has still not ruled on the appeals.
Bandić had many health problems in recent years, and his health started deteriorating in 2003 when he suffered a stroke. In recent years he was treated for health and lung problems as well as for ruptures.
Bandić's funeral is set for noon Wednesday at Mirogoj cemetery, and the city administration will hold a commemoration in tribute to this long-standing mayor at 11 am on Tuesday in the Croatian National Theatre (HNK).
A book of condolence was opened in the Zagreb City Assembly.
Bandić's Hometown Mourns His Death, Condolences Sent from BiH
ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Dozens of local residents in Grude, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Sunday gathered in front of the birth house of Milan Bandić, the mayor of Zagreb who died of a heart attack earlier in the day, and they lit candles in his memory.
An image of Bandić was displayed on a video wall on a building in the southern city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Also, letters of condolence have been sent from several local office-holders and religious dignitaries.
Some of those who sent condolences to the Bandić family and the Zagreb city administration are the mayors of Sarajevo and Banja Luka, Abdulah Skaka and Draško Stanivuković, former Mostar mayor Ljubo Bešlić, and the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić.
