October 14, 2020 – Whales, dolphins and shrimp have returned to Croatian waters in greater numbers than in living memory as the Adriatic sea flourishes in 2020's quieter season

For obvious reasons, it's been an extraordinary year for everyone. Much of the news to report hasn't been the happiest. But, even in times of crisis, it's still possible to find reasons to optimistic and thankful.

In 2020, more tourists than in previous seasons have stayed away from Croatia's shoreline. However, their absence has been filled, in part, by a remarkable return of sea life. The Adriatic sea flourishes in 2020 with mammals, fish and crustaceans.

Dolphins are a wonderful sight to catch around the Croatian coast at any time, but not a great surprise – dolphins enjoy the fish-filled, crystal clear Adriatic as much as we all do. But the large whales spotted in Croatian waters this summer are quite uncommon.

Dolphins filmed swimming near Ugljan island earlier this year as the Adriatic sea flourishes in 2020. You can find a link to this dolphin video above © Youtube screenshot

Researchers from the Blue World Institute are now sure that two separate whales have inhabited the Velebit Channel between August and October this year with at least one, if not both, still remaining in the area.

Of course, the wholly negative way of explaining their appearance would be to blame the uncommon occurrences on global warming. But, things may not be so clear cut. Less sailing, fewer pollutants and much fewer cruise ships in the Adriatic this year may well have made the area more inviting for the large mammals.

Key to a whale's desired place of dwelling is the food available to them. While the strict lockdown witnessed early this year struck a heavy blow on Croatia's fish markets and, in turn, the country's fishing industry, the fall in prices, the lack of demand and the reduction in fishing allowed the Adriatic to replenish.

Crustaceans have also benefitted from a fallow year. Split fisherman Antonio Šunjić told Slobodna Dalmacija he sees an explosion in Croatia waters of shrimp numbers as the Adriatic sea flourishes in 2020 © Nadine Doerlé

In an interview with Tanja Šimundić Bendić in Slobodna Dalmacija on 10th October 2020, Antonio Šunjić, the first man of the fishermen's guild of Split and Split-Dalmatia County gave first-hand witness. He attested to an increase in tuna number (a favourite of the whales) this year. He also sees an explosion in shrimp population as the Adriatic sea flourishes in 2020.

Those who have long grown from and fed off the land know well how to look after their most precious commodity – farmers leave some fields fallow during a whole season, sowing no seeds for a year so that the ground may rest and fertility return. The fallow period the Adriatic has experienced in 2020 may deliver much greater long-term wealth than the temporary inconveniences caused by this extraordinary season.

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It goes without saying that the EU has more positives than it does negatives, at least for most countries, but what of its ultra-stringent rules when it comes to fishing policies? Dalmatian and Istrian fishermen have some vastly different experiences when it comes to carrying out the task at hand, but they share one thing in common - EU rules seem to be unfairly pushing Croatian fishermen towards tourism and away from fishing, making a workforce more and more difficult to come across, and to keep hold of.

''In 1998, I asked some of my elders how I should distribute my earnings. They said: Fifty percent goes to the company, fifty percent goes to the crew. I still stick to those rules today, I've never deviated from them, so I don't have any problems with my crew,'' says fisherman Ante Juran from Vrsar.

As Morski writes on the 3rd of March, 2019, while fishermen in Istria have managed to keep their heads above water (no pun intended) for now, some alarming data has arrived from down south in Dalmatia, some boat owners are complaining that they can't find fishermen to work for them for love nor money. In Tribunj in Šibenik-Knin County, claims suggest that as many as ''fifty fishermen'' are missing. The crews are difficult to find, meaning that more often than not, there is an unskilled labour force working on the ships, compiled with people from all parts of Croatia simply looking for employment, and there is also a workforce from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia present.

The media say that one Ugljan entrepreneur invested 2.9 million euros in a new fishing vessel, and is now "desperately seeking twenty fishermen'' to work on board. It has been claimed that nobody will fish even for a guaranteed wage of one thousand euros per month, at least according to a report from Glas Istre. Is that possible? In these paradoxical times - probably.

In Istria, everyone is reluctant to talk about the matter, but they all solemnly confirm that there are less and less available fishermen wanting to work, that is, there is no qualified or even unskilled labour willing to go fishing on these vessels. Vessels specifically built for ''commercial'' fishing are plagued by this issue. Only one such boat can be seen along the Rovinj coast, other places are occupied primarily boats that take tourists back and forth in the summer. Robert Momić, chair of the fishermen's guild at the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, says that the EU's often highly stringent rules don't leave much leg room, and they actively encourage fishing boat owners to focus mainly on tourism, leaving fishermen with little choice but to stray from this traditional industry, too.

''The system limits the fishing trade and more and more fishermen are finding that real profit lies in the transport of tourists. It's easier to make money driving tourists around to record how dolphins jump around in the open sea than to fish with respect to quotas and various other restrictions. The EU's operational programs should help fishermen stay at sea, and this doesn't go without boosting investment in new ships. Given the restrictive measures, there are fewer fishing days and, consequently, it's harder to pay workers and to keep up with tax obligations properly. One thing is certain: The fishing industry remembers better days, in today's legal environment, only big fishing vessels (ships of about thirty feet in length) can make money and offer decent salaries to each crew member, and a large vessel like that requires an average of nine crew members. The problem with us in Istria is that this season coincides with the height of the tourist season, when it's even more difficult to find crew members,'' says Robert Momić.

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Click here for the original article by Ello Velan for Glas Istre

November 27, 2018 — The Croatian fishing industry is trying to stay afloat amidst tightening regulations, a tough global market and more European Union-mandated restrictions in the works.

It would also help if Croats ate more fish, according to Robert Momić, Chairman of the Istrian Fishing Guild, who spoke with Glas Istre.

“Fishing has for centuries been the bedrock of life in coastal settlements in Istria,” Momić said. “It’s a part of their identity, something which draws excellence and recognition to the peninsula in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean [Seas].”

Despite this deep history, Croats themselves consume a comparatively small quantity of fish: about seven kilograms per capita annually, whereas other countries such as Portugal eat as much as 22 kilos.

Given the low demand at home, a majority of fish caught in Croatia’s chunk of the Adriatic packed into ice and exported — about 80 to 90 percent, according to Momić, most of it bound for Italy.

Fishing vessels are also held back by EU rules which Momić characterizes as short-sighted and lacking insight into the specific nature of local fisheries.

“It seems to me that the Union does not take differences into consideration, that it starts from global interests,” Momić said.

The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy sets quotas for member states limiting overfishing of what’s considered a “common resource.” The practice often irks both sides of a broad ecological and economic spectrum.

Regulations often draw the ire of local fishermen, who claim a one-size-fits-all approach cannot work in micro-locations with varying conditions and climates. Eco-conscious groups conversely often decry the rules as too-lenient, placating to big business groups to the detriment of dwindling fish stocks.

The European Parliament, for example, recently proposed lowering the maximum quota on blue fish from 60,000 to 40,000 tons, according to Morić, a reduction that’d make the maths on profitable fishing even tougher.

Croatia’s fishermen are already hamstrung by seasonal restrictions which cover about 80 percent of the Adriatic and take place in January, February and May. Lower quotas will only add to the pain, he added.

“Imagine 30 percent less work and fewer workers in industries that have already been minimized,” he said. “I don’t know the reason for this drastic cut which would bring us to our knees.”

Fishing of all kinds — from seines which dangle down from the surface to trawlers which scrape along the seabed — are met with illogical constrictions, according to Momić.

Trawlers, for example, cannot be dropped within three miles of the coast, giving an advantage to Italian fishermen who have a much larger, neater chunk of coast with fewer islands. Too often, Croatian fishing boats find themselves anchored ashore while their Italian counterparts bring up full nets.

The Adriatic Sea takes up only a small portion of the overall area of all Mediterranean waters but is generous sea in terms of actual catch, with up to one-fifth of the Mediterranean’s fish production coming from the Adriatic. Of that fifth, 40 percent comes from the Northern Adriatic.

Economics be damned, the fisherman’s life itself has become inextricably enmeshed into the Istrain identity and way of life. The northern Adriatic has a unique fishing culture recognizable by its its complexity, Momić added.

“There’s a tendency to forget and we cannot let this happen,” Momić said. “It would be detrimental to our identity, but also the general economy.”

For more on fishing in Croatia, check out our dedicated page.

Croatian fishermen will have their lives and their work made much easier owing to the approval of exemptions for fishing with certain traditional methods, including the use of tow nets, which were formerly banned upon Croatia's entry into the European Union.

As Morski writes on the 2nd of November, 2018, according to the Official Gazette of the European Union, the derogations which Croatia applied for, which provide for exemptions from the provisions of the EU's Mediterranean Decree for Croatian fishermen operating in Croatian waters, have finally been officially approved.

With the publishing these documents, a multi-annual process, during which the Republic of Croatia applied for exemption from the provisions of the Mediterranean Decree, which prevented the use of certain fishing tools in a traditional way, has been completed, reported the Ministry of Agriculture.

This very welcome outcome was preceded by scientific research and the collection of arguments for exemptions for Croatian fishermen which were formulated in a management plan. These management plans, together with the derogations, were actually approved over the winter, but only with the publication of the implementing of these regulations does it become possible to implement them effectively into national legislation.

Fishing will take place according to the strict rules that had to be met, and continue to need to be met for the approval of the desired derogations. This move will not lead to an increase in fishing in general, nor will it negatively impact or cause any additional threat to coastal resources, habitats, or certain species of fish, but it will ensure the continuation of fishing with the use of former methods, in the manner and to the extent at which it stood before Croatia's accession to the EU.

Although the process of obtaining these derogations for Croatian fishermen was an extremely complex process in itself, this much anticipated outcome once again enables the legal work of more than 100 fishing vessels which do use fishing nets. It also enables the retaining of traditional fishing gear and fishing methods which have been present on the Croatian part of the Adriatic sea for decades. Their recognition in European Union legislation will now become official.

''Those who know the fishing [industry] know how much work has gone into obtaining these exemptions and how much harmony and cooperation was needed for us to fight for our traditions, our heritage, and our lifestyle. This is the best example of how strong we are together and how much we care about preserving our values. This outcome is down to everyone who has been working on it for years,'' stated Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Tomislav Tolušić.

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