In a precisely defined part of fishing zone A, sardine fishers may operate for only five days per period for each licence. The new regulation has been in force since 5 September and expires at the end of 2026.
The five-day rule is now binding
The regulation published in Narodne novine 98/2026 limits sardine fishing with sardine purse seines in a defined part of fishing zone A to no more than five fishing days per licence and period. It was published on 4 September and entered into force the following day.
Compared with the twenty days previously cited by the ministry, this represents a mathematical reduction of 75%. The rule limits possible operating days, not automatically the catch on each individual day.
Four time windows run until the end of the year
The legal act specifies four time windows: from noon on 5 September to noon on 30 September, then until noon on 31 October, until noon on 30 November and finally until midnight on 31 December. In each period, each individual licence is permitted no more than five fishing days.
The regulation expires at midnight on 31 December 2026. This is neither an open-ended rule nor a complete fishing halt: permitted days remain, but their number is significantly restricted in the designated area.
A measurable decline in the stock triggered the proposal
The latest working group of the FAO General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean assessed sardines in Adriatic subareas 17 and 18 using data from the 2025 reference year. Its finding: biomass declined further and was below the limit reference point. The B/Blim ratio was 0.84; in this model, a value below 1 means that estimated biomass is lower than the defined limit.
Fishing pressure is even clearer. F/Fmsy stood at 2.39. This does not mean that 2.39 times as many fish are missing from the sea. It means estimated fishing mortality was 2.39 times the reference level associated with maximum sustainable yield.
Three assessments point in the same direction
The FAO working group’s time series has become increasingly unfavourable. For the 2023 reference year, B/Bmsy was 0.52 and F/Fmsy 1.45. One year later the reported figures were 0.32 and 1.82. For 2025, the biomass ratio fell to 0.25 while the fishing-mortality ratio rose to 2.39.
These indicators are model ratios, not a directly counted balance in tonnes. They depend on catch data, scientific surveys and assumptions about growth, mortality and age structure. That is precisely why the repeated direction across several assessments matters more than one dramatic figure.
Sardines and anchovies must not be conflated
Sardines and European anchovies—srdela and inćun in Croatian—are both small pelagic fish and are often managed together. However, the current FAO assessment does not describe their condition in the same way. Anchovy biomass was above the limit and precautionary reference points, while fishing mortality, at F/Fmsy 0.98, was just below the target value.
The ministry names the long-term sustainability of both stocks as its goal. The immediate warning value behind the proposed reduction, however, concerns sardines. An article turning this into a blanket collapse of all small Adriatic fish would be scientifically wrong.
Part of zone A is affected—not the entire Adriatic
Croatian fishing zone A lies along Istria’s northern and western coast. Within this zone, the new regulation further defines a specific area using coastal lines and coordinates. Even saying that it applies ‘throughout zone A’ would therefore be too broad.
The rule applies to individual commercial fishing licences for sardine purse seines. It is not a ban on recreational fishing or a general closure of the Adriatic. Outside the designated area, the relevant catch opportunities, closed seasons and spatial rules continue to apply.
Fishing days are real capacity for fishing businesses
A fishing day brings together crew, fuel, ice, nets, port logistics, processing and sales. If three quarters of the possible days disappear, a business cannot simply continue unchanged by working longer shifts on the remaining days. Weather and sea conditions also determine whether a formally permitted day is usable in practice.
The measure therefore affects more than the vessel and may also influence landings, processing and local trade. The scale depends on the final scope, how the season develops, catches from other areas and adaptations by operators. The ministry has not published a specific damage estimate or number of jobs at risk.
This does not yet guarantee a price jump at the fish market
Fewer permitted fishing days may change local supply. But neither an immediate restaurant price nor a definite shortage can be inferred from that. Prices also respond to the daily catch, weather, imports, refrigeration, demand and the fishing area from which the sardines on offer originate.
For visitors, this means sardines are not prohibited, and a higher menu price does not prove a connection to this rule. Only actual landings and transparent origin information will be meaningful. Alarmist forecasts of shortages or prices remain speculation.
Enforcement and the next stock data now matter
Publication and entry into force have clarified the status and duration. What remains open is how much the restriction will change actual landings and how consistently it will be enforced.
The scientific finding remains serious. A stock below the limit reference point and fishing mortality substantially above the target require a response. Whether five fishing days are the right and sufficient answer must be judged by stock development, compliance and the next independent assessments.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Pravilnik o ograničenju ribolova okružujućom mrežom plivaricom – srdelarom u dijelu ribolovne zone A – NN 98/2026Narodne novine · 4 September 2026; in force since 5 September 2026binding five-day limit, spatial scope, four periods and expiry at the end of the year
- Predstavljeni prijedlozi triju akata za sektore poljoprivrede i ribarstvaCroatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries · 26 August 2026, checked 27 August 2026official proposal for five instead of twenty fishing days in zone A, rationale, duration until the winter closure and procedural status
- Session on small pelagic species in the Adriatic Sea – reference year 2025FAO / General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean · 11–15 May 2026, checked 27 August 2026current stock indicators for sardines and anchovies in Adriatic subareas 17 and 18
- Session on small pelagics in the Adriatic Sea – reference year 2024FAO / General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean · 5–9 May 2025, checked 27 August 2026previous-year sardine biomass and fishing-mortality values for interpreting the trend
- Working Group on Stock Assessment of Small Pelagic Species – reference year 2023FAO / General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean · 6–8 May 2024, checked 27 August 2026starting values in the three-year comparison
- Pravilnik o granicama u ribolovnom moru Republike Hrvatske – NN 5/2011Narodne novine · legal description of zones checked 27 August 2026official spatial boundary of Croatian fishing zone A
- Pravilnik o obavljanju gospodarskog ribolova na moru okružujućom mrežom plivaricom – srdelarom – NN 52/2026Narodne novine · legal framework checked 27 August 2026current technical framework for commercial fishing with sardine purse seines
