Fishery and Mariculture

Comprehensive Sector Profile
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Brief History

History of mariculture in Zadar County

Zadar County has a long tradition of marine fish and shellfish farming, as is the case with the whole of Dalmatia. First documented activities of the farming of marine organisms (fish and shellfish) began in the Roman period.

First Dalmatian fish ponds for fish farming date back to the 1st century. Roman landowners, colonialists and deserving veterans frequently embellished their luxurious summerhouses with fish ponds. In the Middle Ages, fish and oyster farming developed in the proximity of the coastal monasteries. Feudal landowners soon joined this trend and for centuries onward they appropriated and exploited top locations for fish and shellfish farming. Fish pools and ponds were used for the farming of: mullets, gilthead sea breams, sea basses and eels.

Fishermen of Zadar County - the pioneers of mariculture

The project of cage farming of tuna began in the area of Zadar at the end of 1995, upon the initiative of a handful of emigrants from the town of Kali on the island of Ugljan. Because of the increased demand for tuna on the global and, in particular, on the Japanese market and its high prices, tuna fishing quotas were cut, at first in the southern hemisphere and then in our country too.

Kali Tuna was founded at the end of 1995. It was the first company in this part of the Mediterranean to start with tuna farming. Since then, tuna business has become extremely important for Croatian mariculture and is one of the most successful Croatian exporting projects. Kali Tuna initiated its experimental production in 1996 in its tuna farm along the island of Iž. During the first year of production it succeeded in farming and marketing 39 tons of tuna on the Japanese market. Several other companies followed the footsteps of Kali Tuna and started to farm tuna.

Adress: Put Murvice 14, Zadar
Phone: +385 23 492 880
Fax: +385 23 492 881
E-mail: zadra@zadra.hr