The Adriatic Sea is blessed with extremely rich biodiversity. However, its marine organisms and habitats are beiong increasingly threatened by pollution from sewage waste, petroleum, rubbish dumping and various other human activities. As a result, some species have even disappeared, some are threatened with extinction, and many marine organisms are now much rarer than before. The sea is not a boundless resource, it cannot endlessly renew itself. For this reason, various marine species are protected, and the penalties for collecting or harming them are severe.

Some of the protected species in the Adriatic Sea:

Date shells (Croatian – Prstaci; Latin – Lithophaga lithophaga)

Seahorses (Morski konjić; Hippocampus sp.)

Fan mussels, noble pen shell (Plemenita periska; Pinna nobilis)

Common bottlenose dolphins (Dupini; Tursiops truncatus)

Loggerhead sea turtles (Glavata želva; Caretta caretta)

It is strictly forbidden to throw or deposit any of the following into the sea: oils, oily liquids of any kind; fecal waste; plastic, metal, glass or any other solid or liquid detritus.

Before sailing, the captain of the boat or yacht must deposit all the boat’s rubbish in the harbour waste disposal facilities.