Over 50% Less Lobsters in the Adriatic

Fishermen from the southern Dalmatian island of Vis have had a lobster catching season they would soon rather forget. This season, which ran from 15 May to 10 September, saw a drop of around 50 per cent in the amount of lobsters caught, leaving local fishermen on the island concerned.

After a poor start to the lobster catching season, around a third of fishermen decided to abandon their hunt for lobsters. Local fisherman say that the reason for such small quantities of lobster this season is due to poaching from fishermen from neighbouring Italy.

The low quantities has seen a sharp rise in the prices of lobster at restaurants on the island, with a kilogram fetching close to 100 euros, reports daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.

A few fishermen on the island have already decided to diversify, with some deciding to plant olive trees and others saying that next year instead of catching lobsters they will catch “tourists” and off them excursions on their boats