Formation of biofouling communities on the surfaces of steel panels coated with two different TBT-free copper-based and one TBT-based antifouling paint was examined following submersion for periods of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months in Kastela Bay, Croatia. Test panels coated with Shopprimer and anticorrosive paint were used as control panels. Thirty five taxa of benthic algae and 32 taxa of benthic animals were found. Diatomeae dominated by frequency and abundance on test panels coated with antifouling paints, while the animal species Serpula vermicularis, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Balanus amphitrite amphitrite dominated the fouling communities on control panels. On panels protected by antifouling paints, low values of biomass were found compared to the very high values associated with control panels.

The amount of waste generated is becoming an increasing problem both in terms of inefficient use of resources and its harmful effects. Large quantities of waste originate from land, but a certain amount of waste is generated at sea, in which shipping holds its share. A recent analysis for 2015-2016 has rated the Croatian ports of Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar in the top 10 out of 20 main cruising ports in the Adriatic Sea. As it is clear that a large number of persons present onboard generate a large amount of waste, the aim of this paper is to estimate the amount of waste (plastic, domestic, and food) and examine the significance of its increasing quantity produced by cruisers in the three main cruiser ports in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea for the period 2014-2017. Cruise calls correlation, together with repeated measures one-way Analysis of variance -ANOVA, showed that a future increase in the port calls for Zadar can be expected while, for the port of Dubrovnik, a decrease is projected, which is in correspondence with the taken measures for a reduction in the adverse effects of the cruise industry. Regarding the type of waste, domestic waste contributes the most with 62%, followed by the plastic waste with 26%, and food waste, which makes only 11% of the total amount of waste for that year. Waste minimization practices and further recommendations for the improvement of waste management practices are presented and put into relation with specific measures to protect and preserve the quality of the environment.

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An oil spill is the accidental or intentional discharge of petroleum products into the environment due to human activities. Although oil spills are actually just a little percent of the total world oil pollution problem, they represent the most visible form of it. The impact on the ecosystems can be severe as well as the impact on economic activities. Oil spill cleanup is a very difficult and expensive activity, and many techniques are available for it. In previous works, a methodology based on different kinds of criteria in order to come to the most satisfactory technique was proposed and the relative importance of each impact criterion on the basis of the Saaty's Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was also evaluated. After a review of the best available techniques (BATs) available for oil spill response, this work suggests criteria for BATs' selection when oil spills occur in the Mediterranean Sea under well-defined circumstances: calm sea and presence of economic activities in the affected area. A group of experts with different specializations evaluated the alternative BATs by means of AHP method taking into account their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Over the last few decades, the spread of invasive aquatic organisms via ships' ballast water became one of the global environmental issues of most concern. The Ballast Water Management Convention is the main instrument of the International Maritime Organization through which a number of regulations and standards have been developed and implemented to manage and control the discharge of ballast water from ships internationally. Since the United States is not a signatory to the The Ballast Water Management Convention, all ships operating in United States waters must comply with United States Ballast Water Management federal regulations. The paper highlights the essential The Ballast Water Management Convention and United States national Ballast Water Management regime topics to be recognised by the stakeholders of the shipping industry, predominantly ship operators and shipowners. Particular attention is given to the Ballast Water Management Systems type approval process where United States testing protocol and requirements are considered to be more rigorous and comprehensive compared to the International maritime Organization's type approval protocol. Although the Ballast Water Management regulations are considered to be matured they are still "living" provisions, and further regulatory enhancements are likely to be expected in the future. Therefore, it would be beneficial for all Ballast Water Management stakeholders to harmonize the Ballast Water Management Systems type approval requirements. Sažetak Tijekom posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća, širenje invazivnih vodenih organizama putem balastnih voda na brodovima postalo je jedno od globalnih ekoloških pitanja od najveće važnosti. Konvencija o upravljanju balastnim vodama je glavni instrument Međunarodne pomorske organizacije putem kojega su razvijeni i implementirani brojni propisi i standardi za upravljanje i kontrolu ispuštanja balastnih voda s brodova na međunarodnoj razini. Budući da Sjedinjene Američke Države nisu potpisnice konvencije o upravljanju balastnim vodama, svi brodovi koji rade u vodama Sjedinjenih Država moraju udovoljavati saveznim propisima o upravljanju balastnim vodama. U radu se ističu bitne teme Konvencije o upravljanju balastnim vodama i nacionalnog režima upravljanja balastnim vodama Sjedinjenih Država, koje će prepoznati dionici pomorske industrije, uglavnom brodarska poduzeća i brodovlasnici. Posebna pozornost posvećena je postupku odobravanja tipa Sustava za tretiranje balastnih voda u kojem se protokol i zahtjevi za testiranje u SAD-u smatraju strožima i opsežnijima u odnosu prema protokolu odobravanja Međunarodne pomorske organizacije. Iako se smatra da su propisi o upravljanju balastnim vodama sazreli, oni su i dalje "živi" propisi, a daljnja regulatorna poboljšanja vjerojatno će se očekivati u budućnosti. Zato bi bilo korisno za sve dionike upravljanja balastnim vodama uskladiti zahtjeve za odobravanjem tipa Sustava za tretiranje balastnih voda. KEY WORDS Ballast Water Management (BWM) regulations Ballast Water Management System (B...

The aim of this paper is to assess the quantity of solid waste in the port of Split produced by cruisers during the past five years. The increased number of cruising guests in the port of Split is associated with more marine litter produced and directly increases a potential impact on the marine environment. To sustainably manage its resources, the city of Split should carefully consider the positive and negative effects of the cruising industry, set up a quality control system in cruising and consider how potential profit impacts on the environment and natural resources.

This study presents the first references available for the length-weight relationships (LWRs) of eels from six karstic rivers in Croatia. A total of 380 European eels 13.0-76.0 cm long were collected by electro-fishing from six karst catchments of the Adriatic basin between 2004 and 2007. Eels of 34.0 cm in length dominated (over 50%) the catches, while abundance of eel smaller than 15.0 cm was very low. Value b of LWRs remained within the range between 2.5957 and 2.8155, which indicates a negative allometric growth. CPUE (g 100 m -1 ) rapidly declined during the period of sampling, probably due to environmental changes, but also due to global disappearance of this species.

A fouling assemblage (including density, species richness and diversity, and biomass) growing on netting of fish farm cages was investigated in Stracinska Bay--Location 1 and Peles Bay--Location 2 (Croatia) in order to test the efficiency of fouling as a bioindicator of organic pollution. A total number of 40 algal taxa in Location 1 and total number of 22 algal taxa in Location 2 were identified, with a dominance of opportunistic species (ESG II). We found domination of algal species over animal species and absolute dominance of Rhodophyta which are typical fouler in the Adriatic Sea. Low diversity and species richness with increase in value of the R/P index (occasionally higher than 6) were recorded in Location 2, indicating a certain impact of nutrient enrichment from fish culture facilities on a fouling community structure.