Island of Losinj and Researches

Taught by Dominik Mitrovic and Una Radojcic (Croatia)

Have you ever heard of a very small piece of sea called the Blue World?
It is situated in the area around the island of Losinj, in the northern Adriatic. It is protected under the Croatian Law on nature. It is the Special Zoological Reserve for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). There, you will be faced to the most serious protection regime.
Any new human activities are not allowed there.
It is the place dedicated especially for the protection of one dolphin population in the Mediterranean Sea. The area is about 526 square km. It is the biggest marine protected area in the Adriatic Sea.
Besides bottlenose dolphins, this Reserve conserves many of other endangered and protected species of flora and fauna. Some of them are loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), sea grass (Posidonia oceanica), coral biocenoses, etc. Their habitats are there. This is the place where they belong.
Now we know that there are:
- 152 identified species of marine flora
- 303 species of marine invertebrates (7 of them are strictly protected, 9 protected)
- 112 species of fish (19 endangered species in Croatia) in the area of Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.

A wonderous replica of Lizip's Apoksymenons archeo statue spent centuries under the sea together with dolphins, turtles, corals and fish.
It was discovered some time ago and will will tell you about it later.
Let's sail to Losinj!