New protection for Croatia’s marine nature parks

Posted on 02 February 2021

Some great news for the future of fisherfolk and wildlife in the seas around Croatia has been announced.

The Croatian government has adopted the first ever fishery management plans for the country’s only marine nature parks, the result of four years’ work by WWF with small-scale fisheries. The Telašćica and Lastovo Islands nature parks had been set up to protect the rich biodiversity in and around these waters, but are also home to highly prized commercial fish species like big crabs, scorpion fish and groupers. These new management plans include a variety of measures, including the first ever no-take zones to be agreed with fisherfolk in Croatia, that aim to help build fish stocks. We helped to achieve a consensus among all those involved, helping to overcome disagreements that went back many years – an approach promoted by us in other areas of the Mediterranean where we are also trying to transform small-scale fisheries.

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