The Adriatic Sea is more than just a body of water separating two countries. We rely on it for our livelihoods, travel across it, and relax by it, but it is much more than that: a complex ecosystem that needs to be understood and protected. With that in mind, the Interreg project ASPEH – Adriatic SPEcies and Habitats of coastal areas was created, bringing together Croatian and Italian partners with a shared goal: to increase knowledge and improve the effectiveness of protecting vulnerable marine habitats and species in the Adriatic.
As part of the project, from October 6 to 8, Sunce organized a cross-border training in Komiža titled “Strengthening Capacities fot the Implementation of Habitat Conservation Measures”. The first day also included a meeting of the project partners. In addition to the partners, various representatives from institutions responsible for nature protection and habitat management participated. The training focused on three habitats that form the biological and ecological backbone of the Adriatic: Posidonia meadows, natural beaches, and marine caves.
It was an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest findings, challenges, and practical solutions for the conservation of selected Adriatic habitats, through both classroom-based theory and hands-on field activities. Discover how, over three days of expert training, we were strenghtening our capacities for implementing marine and coastal habitat conservation measures.
Posidonia – the endangered guardian of the seabed
Its dense underwater “forest” may sometimes seem mysterious or even intimidating, but this seagrass is not a threat, it is the heart and lungs of our sea. Posidonia plays an immensely important ecological role in the Mediterranean, yet unfortunately, its meadows are disappearing under multiple pressures: anchoring, coastal development, pollution, and rising sea temperatures.
As one of the most endangered habitats in the Mediterranean, Posidonia meadows require careful monitoring. Dr. Andrea Rismondo (SELC Cooperative Company), working within the Interreg BIOPRESSADRIA project, emphasized the importance of tracking the condition of these meadows. According to Rismondo, monitoring seagrasses is crucial for identifying threats to the habitat and finding solutions before it’s too late.
– Although Posidonia meadow protection is clearly defined in European directives, implementation at the local level is often inconsistent. Protection measures are unequal and sometimes remain only on paper. It is necessary to monitor each location individually and implement applicable measures to ensure real and not just declarative protection. The ‘from small to large’ approach (upscaling) has proven more effective than universal rules, which are difficult to apply across different sites. In this sense, projects like BIOPRESSADRIA and ASPEH show how monitoring can have a direct, practical role in protecting marine ecosystems, – Rismondo said.
To make the monitoring discussion tangible, we visited Stončica beach on Vis, where Sunce staff members Matea Špika and Karla Jelić demonstrated fieldwork. Drawing on years of diving experience, they showed what underwater monitoring looks like and what divers actually record.
– We count the Posidonia shoots within a square plot placed at around 12 meters underwater. Counting underwater is very challenging, and it’s possible to survey only up to two sites per day. But it’s all worth it because by monitoring the density and coverage of the seabed with Posidonia, Sunce has been helping protected areas improve their management for nearly two decades, – Špika explained.
Natural beaches – geological heritage
The training also focused on beaches, specifically muddy and sandy seabeds that are not covered by the sea at low tide. Although a recognizable face of the Adriatic, beaches are among its most vulnerable habitats. They are dynamic, alive, and subject to constant change brought by waves, winds, and currents.
Dr. Kristina Pikelj, a marine geologist studying seabed and coastal sediment processes, spoke about this habitat.
– This habitat may not have high biodiversity, but it holds great ecological value and therefore must be protected. In conservation, we often focus on species, but what about geological heritage? For example, some Croatian beaches contain biogenic sand, which forms from the remains of living organisms rather than the breakdown of rocks, as with conventional mineral sand. This is a rarity globally, yet few are aware of it. On our side of the Adriatic, knowledge of beaches has been limited; we have only recently started to understand the problem of erosion, – said Pikelj, who is also associate professor at the Department of Geography, University of Zagreb.
Due to lack of awareness, beaches today face multiple pressures – from tourism, pollution, and coastal interventions to climate change-induced sea-level rise.
– As sea levels rise, coastal habitats shift inland. But when the coast is built up, the beach has nowhere to expand and may simply disappear, something I’m sure no one in Croatia wants to see happen, – Pikelj warned.
This dynamic was clear during the field visit to Stončica beach, where Pikelj demonstrated practical beach research. Using surveying equipment, she showed how beaches are profiled and what these measurements reveal; from sand movement to the impacts of waves and human activities. On-site, it was evident how the construction of houses and retaining walls along the coast disrupts the natural dynamics by blocking the necessary supply of material to the beach.
– Despite the presence of marine litter, among the material washed ashore, traces of life can still be found: shells, snails, cuttlefish bones, and wolk eggs. These details remind us that beaches are a mix of diverse natural processes, yet spaces that require careful management. Profiling and monitoring changes are the first steps in understanding how to protect them because once a beach disappears, it is nearly impossible to restore it, – Pikelj explained.
Marine caves – worlds in the dark
The third part of the training focused on submerged and semi-submerged marine caves – mysterious spaces shaped by waves and time, hosting an entire hidden world. These are geomorphological natural monuments and sensitive ecosystems that respond to even minor changes.
– Within ASPEH, we monitored the state of the Green Cave, but this is only a single monitoring effort. A program of continuous cave monitoring, especially for those under high visitor pressure, needs to be established nationally. Humans exert the greatest pressure on these habitats. Everyone wants the ultimate experience while on vacation; many want to enter the caves without guides… People are unaware, and shocked when we explain that this threatens both the cave and its living world. To protect these habitats, we first need to understand them, but unfortunately, very few people do, – clarified Jelena Kurtović Mrčelić from the Public Institution “Sea and Karst”.
Although about 300 marine caves have been recorded in Croatia, it is estimated there are more than a thousand. Apart from Dr. Donat Petricioli and Dr. Tatjana Bakran-Petricioli, no one in Croatia systematically studies the biology of these habitats.
– We have very few young speleologists and biologists, which makes this field particularly valuable and demanding. Additionally, diving regulations are insufficient, and working in marine caves is, for safety reasons, only safe for experienced divers and speleologists! – the Petriciolis warned
For the practical part, Josip Boban from Public Institution “Sea and Karst” put on a diving gear and all the necessary equipment to demonstrate the challenges of working in marine caves.
ASPEH for marine habitat conservation
During this three-day event, Sunce also organized an exhibition from the Adriatic Treasures photo contest, showing how nature photography can be an excellent tool for raising awareness about nature conservation.
Vida Zrnčić from Sunce concluded the training with a key thought: awareness is the foundation of a sustainable future – not only for protected areas but for the entire coastal zone, which increasingly feels the pressures of tourism and climate change.
This is why ASPEH runs the Adriatic Treasures campaign, emphasizing that Posidonia meadows, natural beaches, and marine caves are not just parts of the landscape – they are symbols of both the richness and fragility of the Adriatic. In November, a similar training will take place in Puglia, Italy, focusing on three species whose protection the project aims to enhance: the kentish plover, the ferruginous duck, and the loggerhead turtle.
Follow our campaign to discover why every species counts and why every habitat matters!
