CROATIA VOTES TO ACTIVATE ADRIATIC FISHING ZONE IN 2008

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 001504 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EUR/SCE BALIAN AND RIEHL BUDAPEST FOR ESTH HUB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIS ECIN HR SUBJECT: CROATIA VOTES TO ACTIVATE ADRIATIC FISHING ZONE IN 2008 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Amid no small amount of political posturing, the Croatian parliament voted to activate Croatia's self-declared Protected Ecological and Fishing Zone (ZERP) in the Adriatic as of January 1, 2008. The ZERP, first enacted prior to the last round of parliamentary elections in 2003, has never been activated as a result of EU opposition, led by Italy and Slovenia and Croatia's fear that its accession negotiations could be harmed as a result. The intent of the ZERP is to extend regulations on sizes and seasons of catches that currently apply only to Croatia's small domestic fishing fleet to foreign-flagged vessels fishing within Croatia's Adriatic Exclusive Economic Zone. In the December 15 vote, opposition parties took maximum advantage to force the Government's hand in advance of next year's elections. However, the activation of the zone in 2008 is anything but certain. Not only are Italy and Slovenia likely to continue their opposition, but Croatia does not have the capacity for enforcement over such a large area of open sea. End Summary. History of the ZERP -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In 2003, just prior to the last round of parliamentary elections, the Croatian parliament passed a law declaring the creation of a Protected Ecological and Fishing Zone (ZERP) in the area of the Adriatic between the outer edge of Croatia's territorial waters and the midpoint of the Adriatic where Croatia's Exclusive Economic Zone meets Italy's. The creation of the ZERP, long sought by Croatia's fishing industry, provoked a quick reaction from Italy, whose large, subsidized fishing fleet regularly trawls the waters of the Croatian half of the Adriatic. With EU membership negotiations still hanging in the balance, the new government that came to power in December of 2003 quickly moved to exempt EU member state countries from the ZERP. ¶3. (SBU) Croatia's fishing industry is small, old and at a decided disadvantage in the competition for diminishing Adriatic fish stocks. In calling for the ZERP, Croatian fishermen hoped that imposing more stringent restrictions on Italian vessels would help bolster their position and preserve Croatia's natural heritage from Italy's rapacious, industrial fishing fleet. These restrictions include limits on size, quantity, fishing seasons and vessel size and horsepower. Croatians who follow this issue are quick to point out the fact that the Italian side of the Adriatic is virtually devoid of marine life after years of over-fishing. However, when the new Government decided in 2004 not to extend the ZERP to EU member states, the result was that the new rules applied only to the Croatian fleet and Italian boats continued to fish on the Croatian side of the Adriatic without any restrictions. This has led to charges of "discrimination" against Croatian fishermen that found new political traction with the 2007 elections already in sight. Italians Fishing Off Croatia's Pier -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Relations with Italy, a former colonial power on Croatia's Dalmatian coast, are always delicate. Opinion among Croatian fishermen, politicians and environmentalists is that Italian fishing practices are destroying the Adriatic ecosystem. Assistant Minister for Fisheries Ivan Katavic told us recently that Italy's subsidized fleet is many times larger than Croatia's and, in fact, has significant over-capacity. Italian boats regularly fish on the Croatian side of the Adriatic and even enter Croatia's territorial waters, which include some of the few places with still plentiful stocks. According to Katavic, the Italians do not follow Croatian regulations on the size or quantity of fish caught, as there is a substantial Italian domestic market for gourmet delicacies made of small, juvenile fish. ¶5. (SBU) Croatian police periodically detain Italian fishermen, but as Katavic told us, the Italians have developed the incursions to an art form, allowing only decrepit decoy vessels to be caught while the more modern vessels get away with the catch. Croatia, which has no coast guard, also has few resources with which to patrol thousands of kilometers of coastline. GOC Between a Rock and the EU -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Having begun negotiations for EU membership in October 2005, the GOC is loath to do anything that could slow what is its single most important foreign policy goal. As the Croatian government took the issue up this month, reaction from the European Commission was that Zagreb should refrain from "unilateral" and "non-neighborly" acts. Croatian PM Sanader, already feeling significant pressure over the issue, accused the resident EU ambassador of being misinformed and overstepping his mandate. ¶7. (SBU) EU pressure on Croatia over the ZERP comes from Italy and, to a lesser degree, Slovenia, both of which have also declared protected areas in the Adriatic. Slovenia's self-declared zone even extends into Croatian territorial waters, part of the on-going contretemps between the two countries over their maritime boundary. ZAGREB 00001504 002 OF 002 However, with Slovenia set to become the first 2004 accession country to take over the EU presidency in 2008, the stakes for Zagreb are high. ¶8. (SBU) The Government managed to beat back opposition calls for the immediate activation of the ZERP, delaying its application to EU member states until January 1, 2008. With this, Sanader has succeeded in neutralizing the issue for the 2007 elections, but the larger question of relations with Italy and Slovenia and, therefore, the EU still looms. Whether Croatia will risk further friction with Brussels over this issue is unclear, since the measures will likely only be temporary. Once Croatia does join the EU, Croatia's waters will become EU waters and fisheries management will be decided in Brussels. Biggest Losers: The Fish -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Despite Croatia's insistence that the ZERP will help preserve fish stocks in the Adriatic, the GOC is also subsidizing the construction of a more modern fishing fleet in order to capture anticipated EU quotas upon Croatia's entry into the Union. While Croatia's harvest is therefore likely to increase over the coming years, the lack of any means to actually control Italian fishing in the Adriatic means that the ZERP is not likely to change much, even if Croatia does stick to its guns and apply the measure to EU member states after January 1, 2008. BRADTKE