ZAGREB, 28 June 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković on Tuesday met with representatives of aquaculture and fisheries businesses for talks on developments on the market and difficulties caused by rising costs as well as the government schemes to help this sector.

Plenković spoke about the importance of the aquaculture and fisheries sector and its positive performance despite the challenging circumstances.

In 2021, the value of Croatian exports of fisheries and aquaculture products rose by more than 30%. Over the period from 2016 to 2021, the value of aquaculture production increased by 45%.

The sector's representatives thanked the government for the prompt reaction in addressing the recent crises, according to a government press release.

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4 April 2022 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Monday that he could not confirm that a joint fishing zone had been agreed by Croatia and Slovenia but that he could confirm that they found "agreement on enhancing cooperation with a positive outcome".

After a trilateral meeting which he held with his counterparts, Anže Logar of Slovenia and Luigi Di Maio of Italy, in Zaprešić, west of Zagreb, Grlić Radman said that Croatia and Slovenia were trying to find "a model that will include everybody, both Slovenian and Croatian fishermen."

"I think we are on the right course."

Both Grlić Radman and Slovenia's minister Logar agree that it is necessary to find a solution that will make it easier for local fishermen to do business in Savudrijska Vala Bay that is in Piran Bay.

Last Monday, Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his Slovenian counterpart Janez Janša discussed this topic and after their meeting in Zagreb, Plenković announced a transitional solution.

According to the Slovenian media reports, Slovenian fishermen and Opposition politicians seemed to be against a transitional solution that will include the establishment of a joint fisheries zone in the bay.

The two PMs also agreed that the solution should include the annulment of fines imposed on local fishermen when they trespassed the borderline which is not yet defined.

ZAGREB, 27 June, 2021 - In the first quarter of 2021, Croatia's fisheries exports went up 31% on the year to almost €94 million, with 17,700 tonnes of commodities exported, the Agriculture Ministry says.

Bluefin tuna exports were record-high both in quantity and value terms.

The value of first-sale went up by 3% and the average price of sea fisheries commodities by 20%.

The quantity and value of aquaculture production continues to increase, surpassing €33 million in 2020, a 12% increase in value and a 3% increase in quantity.

Surveys show that the growth and consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products in 2019 had gone up by 11% on the year to a little over 20 kilos per capita.

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Funds from both the European Union and the Croatian state budget could see the lives of fishermen made easier.

The department of Ecology, Agronomy and Aquaculture at the University of Zadar and its partners for the project "Blue Education for Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources - BLUE SMART" has passed EU co-financing from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in the competition: "Blue Careers in Europe". The total project value is €399,493.00, and the approved EU funds amount to €319,593.00, or 80%.