07/24/24 Protect Marine Life
AFC Urges Local Communities to Educate Residents and Tourists on Respecting Marine Life
- Essential measures must be taken to protect our sea and inform tourists about our laws
In light of a recent incident where tourists from Trstena Bay on the island of Brač removed five strictly protected noble pen shells from the sea, Animal Friends Croatia emphasizes the need for action and education to prevent such occurrences in the future. Their campaign "Respect Life in the Sea" is designed to educate the public about the issues facing the Adriatic Sea and other seas and oceans on our planet. As part of the campaign, they have offered coastal towns and municipalities visuals and print-ready materials for signs that can be placed on beaches to warn and educate locals and domestic and foreign tourists.
Animal Friends Croatia states: “It's important to realize that we can enjoy beaches and the sea without disturbing its marine inhabitants. The message we need to convey to children is to observe animals, care for the cleanliness of their habitat, help stranded marine animals by returning them to the sea, and not to catch, remove from the sea, or harm them.”
One of the problems they highlight is fishing along the coast and pulling marine animals out of the sea. Coastal fishing during the tourist season, and fish and other marine animals slowly dying in the sun on our beaches and shores, are distressing scenes. Additionally, the safety of swimmers and divers, who can get entangled or hooked during swimming and diving, should not be overlooked. This is something that can and should be changed.
Besides the fact that fishing in the Adriatic Sea cannot be done without a special permit issued by the Directorate of Fisheries, the Regulation on Sport and Recreational Fishing at Sea (Article 6, Paragraph 4) further allows local self-government to completely ban fishing in such locations, and Animal Friends Croatia want to encourage them to move in that direction.
They also point out that in the Mediterranean, due to trawling and overfishing, 41% of marine mammals and 34% of the total fish population have been lost in the past 50 years. The greatest losses have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea, with half of the population gone.
Even though some nets are designed to catch certain species of fish or crabs, bottom trawling nets capture everything in their path, including dolphins, fish, crabs, marine vegetation, sea cucumbers, starfish, shells, corals, other marine mammals, and sea turtles, including endangered and protected species. In the last 65 years, bottom trawlers have discarded over 400 million tons of animals that were not intended to be caught, either dead or dying.
AFC asks everyone to sign the petition to ban bottom trawling at www.zabranimo-koce.net. The petition can also be signed at the upcoming 16th ZeGeVege Festival, which will be held on September 6, 7, and 8 at the European Square in Zagreb from 9 AM to 9 PM.
They conclude that citizens can also individually contribute to the protection and respect of our sea by not participating in recreational and sport fishing and by at least reducing the consumption of fish and other sea inhabitants, if not completely eliminating them from their diet.
![Respect all life in the sea [ 204.40 Kb ]](/data/image_3_12359.jpg "Respect all life in the sea [ 204.40 Kb ]")
