- Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone
The Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (Croatian: "Zaštićeni ekološko-ribolovni pojas", ZERP) is a protected fishing area over
Croatia 'sExclusive Economic Zone .ZERP was initiated by the
Croatian Peasant Party , then a member of Croatia's governing coalition. [http://hss.javno.info/gn.php?m=1&rbr=20307&kategorija=0 Protected Ecological Fishery Zone: Now or Never] ] It was then legislated by theCroatian Government ofIvica Račan onOctober 3 2003 , and came into effect exactly one year later, excludingEuropean Union member states. The government informed theUnited Nations Secretariat of the decision prior to the2004 enactment of the zone. OnJanuary 1 2008 the zone came into full effect as it began to be enforced for EU nations. [ [http://www.mmtpr.hr/default.asp?id=4440 Enactment of ZERP for members of EU] ]The zone has an area of 23,870 square kilometres. [ [http://www.mmtpr.hr/default.asp?ID=4441 Size of ZERP is 23,870 square kilometres] ] The exact boundaries of the zone date back to treaties between what was then
SFR Yugoslavia andItaly in1968 and between Croatia andFR Yugoslavia in2001 . [ [http://izbori.nacional.hr/articles/izbori_2007/38706/35/ Protection of the Sea and Interests] ] Prior to ZERP's declaration, Italian ships annually caught 300 millioneuros worth of fish from the zone - ten times the amount which Croatian ships caught. [http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/01/04/feature-01 Croatia seizes Italian boat days after fishery zone comes into force] ] In its enactment of the zone, the Croatian Government also cited the danger of thePrestige oil spill being repeated on the Croatian Adriatic, which would seriously affect the country's tourism industry. [ [http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/HRV_2003_Decision.pdf Decision on the Extension of the Jurisdiction of the Republic of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea, 3 October 2003] ]The zone has widespread support in Croatia. All major political parties support the zone, including the Social Democratic Party,
Croatian Peasant Party , andDemocratic Centre [ [http://www.demokratski-centar.hr/content/view/573/48/ Support for fishermen and ecological zone] ] . TheCroatian Democratic Union has been a cautious supporter, wary of the EU's response. [ [http://www.balkantimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/newsbriefs/2007/12/18/nb-01 Croatia's new cabinet may be formed by year end] ]In 2008, Luigi Giannini, leader of Italian fisherman organization Federcoopesca, has declared that 1/3 of all Italian fishing activity is coming from ZERP [ [http://www.liderpress.hr/Default.aspx?sid=34750 Lider Press on Croatian] ] .
On
10 March 2008 , the HDZ-led government decided not to enforce ZERP for EU members from15 March 2008 onwards. [ [http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2008/03/11/nb-01 Croatian government gives up ZERP for sake of EU accession talks (SETimes.com) ] ] [ [http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/03/13/feature-02 Croatia gives up ZERP (SETimes.com) ] ]Enforcement
So far no ship has been caught within the zone. However, on
January 3 2008 , theCroatian Navy intercepted an Italian boat which had passed through the zone and was actually in Croatian territorial waters. The fishing boat was escorted toVis by a Navy warship and the three fishermen were arrested.On
February 6 ,2008 , the Turkish cargo ship "UND Adriyatik" caught fire just outside the Zone. According to the Croatian media, it was seen as a test for the ZERP. [ [http://www.jutarnji.hr/dogadjaji_dana/clanak/art-2008,2,6,,107702.jl Specijalci s Kurska gase požar unutar plamtećeg broda - Jutarnji.hr ] ]References
External links
* [http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/HRV_2003_Decision.pdf Decision on the Extension of the Jurisdiction of the Republic of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea, 3 October 2003]
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