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The Republic of Croatia covers 56,000 sq. km and has a population
of 4.5 million. Its coastal length is approximately 6,000 km since
it comprises more than 1,000 islands, which account for nearly 9% of
the total Mediterranean coastline. The total surface of the coastal
and territorial sea is approximately 31.000 Km2. Along the Adriatic
Sea coasts there are 718 large and small islands, 389 cliffs and 78
reefs. Moderate temperatures and an unpolluted environment provide
extensive possibilities for mariculture activities. Croatia lies in
the FAO-GFCM Geographical Sub Area 17.
Marine and freshwater fishing
is an important segment of Croatia's economy. The estimated national
product from the Croatian fishing industry in terms of average
annual income over the past decade amounted to US$ 180 million (Franicevic,
2005a).
Croatia’s domestic fisheries production in 2003 was
approximately 27551 tonnes, of which 19946 from capture fisheries
and 7605 from aquaculture (FAO-FIDI, 2004a,
2004b). In addition, fishery
exports of fish and fish products in 2000 totalled about 19.209
tonnes with a value of US $ 43,977 while fishery imports totalled
22.568 tonnes with a value of US $ 33,098 (Misura, 2002). In
1999-2001, average per capita supply was estimated at being 7.4
kg/year.
According to the data provided by the Croatian Bureau of
Statistics, export of fish and fish products represents 1,0-1,5% of
total Croatian exports. Aquatic food import makes 3,71 % of total
agriculture and food import, while the value is 6,65%. Regarding
export, it makes only 0,56 % in quantity, but 11,03 % in value. Most
of the high value export is tuna production (Franicevic,
2005b).
Sea bass and sea bream are the dominant farmed species in
Croatia. Additionally, tuna are ranched in the Central Adriatic:
tuna production, according to export data, has increased from 39
tonnes in 1996 to 1.100 tonnes in 2000 and 2200 tonnes in 2002. The
two main shellfish species cultivated in Croatia are the European
flat oyster and Mytilus (Fredotović
et al. 2004).
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