Govt Extends Fishing Zone to Include Whole Bay of Piran

Ljubljana, 05 January

The Slovenian cabinet adopted Thursday a decree on the Slovenian fishing area that encompasses the whole of the disputed Bay of Piran as well as open seas included in its protective ecological zone in the Adriatic.

According to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, the decree is a direct response to the decision taken by Croatia last month to extend the borders of its fishing zone to the middle of the Bay.
The decree breaks down the Slovenian fishing area into three zones: Zone A incorporates internal waters covering the whole Bay of Piran; zone B covers territorial waters adjacent to the Italian and Croatian borders; and zone C covers the Slovenian ecological zone at open seas.
As the maritime border between Slovenia and Croatia is the subject of a dispute between the countries, Slovenia has used a provision from the border agreement reached by the former prime ministers of Slovenia and Croatia, Janez Drnovsek and Ivica Racan, as the southern limits of zone B.
The Drnovsek-Racan agreement was never implemented by the countries due to widespread opposition in Croatia, which has since rejected the document. Today's move by Slovenia is therefore expected to anger its southern neighbour.
The Slovenian Foreign Ministry said the decree was temporary and would be in place only until the two countries either implement the fishing provisions from the bilateral border transport and cooperation agreement or reach a border deal.
This is the latest development in a series of tip-for-tat measures taken by the two countries in relation to the disputed border.
In mid-December, Croatia extended the borders of its fishing zone to the middle of the Bay of Piran, provoking a protest from the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, which labelled the move a land grab.
The ministry added that the Croatian move was the "latest in a series of one-sided measures with which Croatia is trying to predetermine a final solution on the border between the countries".
At the same time, the ministry said it expected Croatian authorities to respect the state on the ground from 25 June 1991 - the date the two countries declared independence from the former Yugoslavia - and the accord on avoiding incidents that the two governments signed in June 2005.
Croatia responded to Slovenia's note of protest on 23 December, but the Slovenian ministry has so far not disclosed the document's contents.

Govt Extends Fishing Zone to Include Whole Bay of Piran

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