November 17, 2021-In order to protect the sea surface and the long-term goal of protecting Posidonia, Sunce Association installed 40 environmentally friendly anchorages in the four bays of Kornati National Park through the SASPAS project. The technology used will not negatively affect the environment on the sea surface.

According to HrTurizam.hr, during July 2021, a total of 40 environmentally friendly anchorages were established in the bay through an Interreg Italy-Croatia SASPAS project in the Kornati National Park: Kravljačica, Strižnja, Šipnate and Tomasovac. According to the Nature, Environment and Sustainability Association, each of these bays has 10 anchorages for ships up to 16 meters long.

According to the association, each anchor point has a buoy, and all buoys are set up using the "earth anchor" system-a method in which sand and sea sediment are drilled into the surface of the rock, and then the anchor is shot directly into the seabed. In view of the nature of the setting, the impact on marine sediments is short-lived and can be ignored.

"During the installation process and during the subsequent mining process of the anchorage, there is no contact with vegetation cover, which is extremely important for the preservation of sea flowers, and compared with the installation of concrete blocks, this anchoring system is more environmentally friendly. Each anchorage is composed of It is composed of a circular sea area, with an anchor bolt in the center, and an anchor buoy next to the final mooring ring of the anchor rope. It should be emphasized that this solution was chosen to ensure that the anchor chain is also at the lowest water level. Will not touch the seabed. The working method of anchoring is to moor the ship on the anchor line and rotate around the anchor buoy according to the influence of the wind on the ship.” Sunce Association said.

The installation of 40 environmentally friendly anchorages is one of the goals of the SASPAS project, which includes a campaign aimed at raising public awareness, especially boat people, on the importance of protecting and preserving sea flowers, with a special emphasis on Posidonia.

A special focus is to protect Posidonia (Posidonia oceanica), a strictly protected species. Posedonia is a sea flower unique to the Mediterranean. Posidonia meadows are considered to be the most important ecosystem in the Mediterranean because they are oxygen factories and carbon dioxide storage tanks. Marine life, mainly fish, seek shelter in their leaves, lay eggs and reproduce. Despite their widespread existence, they are threatened by countless human actions, and the greatest threat is freedom anchoring.

With the successful installation of this type of anchoring system, as part of the SASPAS project, the long-term goal of Kornati National Park is to establish anchorages in all 19 bays and completely prohibit free anchoring in the national park.

The Sunce Association was founded by a group of Split intellectuals in 1998 to respond to the growing needs of society, that is, an independent professional organization to provide solutions to environmental and natural protection issues. Today, the association appears at the national and international levels as one of Croatia’s leading organizations for nature and environmental protection.

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