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18th Apr 13

Managed by Chatham House

Financed by DEFRA

Croatia

The fishing sector contributes only around 1-2% of GDP in Croatia, but the industry employs around 20,000 people and is important for many rural coastal and island communities. The fishing fleet is made up of mostly small and ageing vessels and there has been a lack of investment in production activities and supporting infrastructure, holding back any significant development.

Croatia has a number of strict management measures aimed at achieving sustainability in the industry. These include minimum landing sizes, closed seasons for many species, restrictions on fishing gears, a ban on trawling within 1 mile of the shore and no-fishing regimes in large areas of channel waters. There are no TACs in Croatia, apart from in the tuna fishery, which is governed by ICCAT. Croatia is a contracting party to both ICCAT and GFCM.

In 2008, Croatia opened one of its no-fishing zones in the Adriatic Sea to EU vessels to ease the path of accession talks with the EU. The zone was initially established – beyond Croatia’s jurisdiction - to preserve stocks and limit pollution but had caused tension with neighbours Italy and Slovenia, and become a sticking point in negotiations with the EU, hence the Croatian parliament narrowly voted to open the zone to EU vessels.

Croatia has been praised for some of its management measures, such as the implementation of bans on fishing certain shark species, and has not shied away from arresting vessels flagged to neighbouring countries if they are believed to have been fishing illegally. However, Croatia has also been accused of involvement in illegal activities, such as not preventing tuna spotter planes from using its airfields, and receiving tuna caught illegally by the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean for its tuna farms.

documents (2)
news (14)

documents

Race for the Last Bluefin: Capacity of the Purse Seine Fleet Targeting Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean
12/03/2008
WWF states that the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery has been exposed to rampant overfishing inside the entire ICCAT Convention Zone, namely the At ...
Author: WWF

The Plunder of BlueFin Tuna in the Mediterranean & East Atlantic During 2006-2007
31/10/2007
This report follows on from a similar one covering the period 2003-04. The author ex ...

news

25/06/2009
Hammerhead shark faces extinction over hunger for shark fin soup
Author: Times Online, UK

07/10/2008
Italy in flagrant flouting of tuna rules
Author: WWF

27/07/2008
Japanese sushi rage threatens iconic Mediterranean tuna
Author: AFP

14/03/2008
Croatia grants fishing rights to boost EU talks
Author: Reuters, featured on Planet Ark

12/03/2008
Anchovies achieve sustainability certification
Author: Fishupdate.com

18/02/2008
EU to warn Croatia on fisheries zone
Author: Reuters, featured on Planet Ark

07/01/2008
Croatia must solve fishing zone soon - EU President
Author: Reuters, featured on Planet Ark

04/01/2008
Croatia seizes Italian trawler for illegal fishing
Author: Reuters, featured on Planet Ark

16/11/2007
Med sharks and rays threatened by extinction
Author: The Telegraph, UK

07/08/2007
Tuna ranching said to be involved with Mafia, illegal immigrant trafficking
Author: The Malta Independent Online

03/08/2007
Tuna Wars: The ruthless tuna pirates who are driving these majestic creatures to extinction
Author: Daily Mail, UK

16/01/2007
Egypt: new measures to protect Mediterranean fish stocks
Author: allAfrica.com

26/07/2006
Concerns over bluefin tuna / Report asks Japan to check origins of its fish imports
Author: Daily Yomiuri Online

16/07/2006
Fishing depletes Mediterranean tuna, conservationists say
Author: The New York Times

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