Police allege that a 72-year-old removed 78 date mussels from rock near Kali using a hand tool. The protected shellfish are only part of the issue: extracting them damages the entire rocky habitat.
Police found 78 shellfish during an inspection
Police officers checked a 72-year-old man in Kali on the island of Ugljan at around 13:00 on 7 September. According to the Zadar Police Department, they found 78 prstaci—date mussels of the species Lithophaga lithophaga—and a hand tool allegedly used to remove them.
The shellfish and the tool were seized, and the fisheries inspectorate was notified. Police say they will file a criminal complaint on suspicion of destroying protected parts of nature. This is the status of an investigation, not a final conviction.
Date mussels grow inside rock, not on it
The elongated shellfish slowly bore into limestone and live protected within it. Unlike mussels attached to an exposed surface, they cannot simply be lifted off. The rock has to be broken open to reach them.
That is precisely why protection extends beyond the individual species. Every opened piece of rock loses cavities, edges and overgrown surfaces that also provide habitat for other organisms. The shellfish grows slowly, and the destroyed rock structure does not regenerate within a holiday season.
The figure 78 describes a seizure, not the full extent
What is confirmed is the seizure of 78 specimens during the inspection. The police statement does not say whether more shellfish had been removed, how large an area was damaged or how long the alleged activity had continued. Extrapolating the find to Ugljan or the entire Adriatic would be unsupported.
Nor does the statement mention a sale, an order from a restaurant or a commercial network. Such motives often appear as speculation in cases involving date mussels, but they do not belong in this specific case without an investigative finding.
Harvesting, possession and sale are not a grey area
Date mussels are strictly protected. Police note that collecting, possessing, buying, selling and other forms of marketing them are prohibited. A supposedly traditional dish or a request in a restaurant therefore does not make harvesting legal.
For visitors, the practical rule is simple: do not order, buy or take them home as a souvenir. An offer on a menu or under the counter is not evidence of an exemption. Anyone wishing to report a suspicion should document the place and situation without putting themselves at risk of confrontation.
The tool matters to the allegation
According to police, a hand tool found at the scene is alleged to have been used to extract the shellfish from the rock. The tool, shellfish and location therefore form the core of the suspicion. Whether and how the man actually used the tool remains part of the proceedings.
Journalistically, that distinction must be preserved: ‘allegedly’, ‘suspicion’ and ‘according to police’ are not courtesies, but the line between an official statement and a proven fact. Golden Beach does not publish the man’s name or further personal details.
Why damaged rock loses more than one shellfish
Rocky Adriatic shores support algae, sponges, worms, small crustaceans and many other organisms. When rock is broken open across an area, what remains is a simplified, bare structure. Extraction can therefore damage an entire small-scale habitat.
This also explains the seriousness of the alleged offence. The case is not only about 78 individual animals, but about a method that necessarily attacks the substrate. The precise extent of the damage in Kali must nevertheless remain open until a professional survey of the area is published.
What swimmers, divers and restaurateurs can do
Swimmers and divers should leave date mussels in the rock and avoid publicising their locations. Anyone who sees fresh break marks, tools being used or a sale can inform police or the fisheries inspectorate. In an ongoing situation, personal safety takes priority over confrontation.
Restaurants and buyers can break the chain of demand by refusing to offer or order the shellfish. Precisely because date mussels are romanticised as a rare delicacy, the refusal matters: a dish whose production destroys a rocky habitat is not culinary heritage.
What happens next
Police intend to file a criminal complaint with the competent state attorney’s office after completing the criminal investigation. The fisheries inspectorate has been informed of the find. Further decisions now lie with the investigative and judicial authorities.
Until there is a new official update, the matter remains an allegation. No penalty, guilt or total ecological damage has yet been finally established. The seizure of 78 protected shellfish is confirmed, however, as is the general reason why harvesting them is prohibited.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Kazneno prijavljen zbog kaznenog djela uništavanje zaštićenih dijelova prirodeZadar Police Department · 8 September 2026time and place of the inspection, age of the suspect, number of shellfish, tool, seizure, notification of the fisheries inspectorate and announced criminal complaint
- Zaštita prstacaCroatian Police · information leaflet, checked 8 September 2026life inside rock, habitat destruction caused by extraction, and prohibitions on collecting, possession and marketing
