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"Summer has arrived and everyone is at the seaside. Mass tourism, which many swore would never happen in Croatia, is a classic here. The concreted and paved maritime area, the unplanned construction of multi-storey houses with countless apartments have destroyed the beauty of our coast. Okay, we still have some real pure nature, but don't worry, propellers (read wind farms) are coming soon.", he wrote on his Facebook profile last week Petar Kruzic, marine biologist from the Faculty of Science in Zagreb.
"The question is what are counties and cities and their leadership (e.g. the Administrative Department for Spatial Planning and Construction) doing when they allow illegal construction and anarchy along the coast. Sewage is a different story. As the sea temperature rises, there will be more and more blooms along the coast. Why? Because we dump everything into the sea. Absolutely everything. We can no longer blame only the Po River.", he says.
There are positive examples, he continues, such as Polače on Mljet, Rovinj and some others, he says, but they are measured in parts per million. Who will come to our beaches that stink of feces? More sewage, more blooms and so on all summer and autumn.
Mucus (or mucilage in Istria) from algal blooms appears all over the Adriatic and in places far from cities, villages, hotels, campsites (on the Kornati islands, the outer side of Dugi otok, Vis, Lastovo...). There is no need to talk much about beach filling under the term "supplementation". Instead of going to the landfill, construction waste goes to the beach.
"There is also something to write about another form of exploitation of the sea. We have no control over fishing. If you take a look at the 'fisheries', you can find all sorts of immature fish there. They even catch the strictly protected Posidonia with a trawl, throw in a few fish here and there, catch everything they can and don't need (because what they don't need can easily be thrown back into the sea dead), put a bottle on their back and go for a walk.", the announcement continues.
Mariculture is also a problem, Kružić emphasizes. Cages also pollute the sea (not the rubber or plastic that floats the cages, as one environmental impact study states, but what's inside the cages), but that's not talked about.
"I'm not against mariculture, but let's be smart and not exaggerate. And we are exaggerating. A lot. We are known for exaggerating. And it's better not to write about environmental impact studies.", this biologist writes openly.
Protected marine species are a different story, he continues. Yes, social media helps with protection, but not enough. We have many examples.
There is often debate about red coral (otherwise a strictly protected species (https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/.../sluzbeni/dodatni/441255.pdf). Yes, you read that right "strictly protected species"). It is threatened by extraction (especially illegal) and increased warming of the sea.
Tradition is constantly mentioned. Tradition would be mining and processing into jewelry here, in Croatia. Tradition is not selling to the Italians in Naples. See tradition at the Coral Museum on Zlarin. Some object, but that's what tradition once looked like (and it should be shown).
Not anymore. Today, tradition is mostly called greed. The same goes for traditional fishing tools. These are not plastic nets and galvanized pots. Look at what the pots look like on Mljet and Lastovo, and we can talk about tradition, Kružić appeals.
Unfortunately, we too often do stupid things regarding protection. A good and sad example is the sea urchin (once a protected species), which is very important for removing excess organic sludge from the seabed. Because it is what they feed on. We are removing our 'sludge vacuums' and selling them to the East, he reveals.
"Now there is a hunting ban, because (I hope) the ministry has realized that they have made a big mistake. Sea urchins are another story. I know you don't like them, but they are loved in the EU as a delicacy. And where else can they get them but here? And here again our excess and greed come into play, so they are being extracted without control. And the poor thing is controlling (read: feeding on) the algae and their excessive growth, and new algae are constantly arriving in the Adriatic and there will be no one to control them.", the announcement continues.
Politicians don't read about sea and underwater problems, he says, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand anything. Although there are laws and regulations, they are generally not respected. Why? Because there are too few maritime police ships, and there are no inspectors or the like to keep an eye on them.
"Yes, a hook, line and net should be an unknown concept in protected areas. That's why it's no surprise when areas under particularly strict protection are within parks, areas with the most abandoned fishing gear. We don't know how to appreciate and protect what we should, and according to the EU plan, we should protect at least 20 percent of the area in the Adriatic. How are we going to preserve it? And why is all this happening to us? Because Croatians know very well that no one will ask them anything and that they can do anything with very little chance of being sanctioned. That's how we are. And so, year after year...", it says biologist Petar Kružić.
Photo: Natascha Kunkler / Pixabay
