Aquatika freshwater aquarium and river museum in Karlovac a popular tourist attraction

(Photo credit: Aquatika freshwater aquarium and river museum)

ZAGREB, 27 Feb (Hina) – The director of the Aquatika freshwater aquarium and river museum, Margarita Marušikić Kulaš, said that Aquatika had 72,320 visitors last year, including 21,396 children, that there were 27,178 family visits, and that 10% of the visitors were from abroad.

“We find the school and family segment the most interesting. It is an opportunity to educate young people about the need to preserve our rivers and life in them,” said Maruškić Kulaš.

The director added that all the activities organised during the coronavirus crisis had paid off, adding that the situation had made them stronger.

“Last year’s budget was HRK 6.7 million (€899,243), which is 22% more than in 2021. We had a surplus of HRK 376,000 (€49,904). We had 16 employees and six student jobs,” said the director.

(Photo credit: Aquatika freshwater aquarium and river museum)

The city of Karlovac financially supports the institution whose founder it is — this year €422,000 has been provided from the city budget. 

Deputy Mayor Ivana Fočić said that the city followed how Aquatika worked and thought.

Aquatika, designed on a plot size of over 8,000 square metres, was the first of this type of aquarium in Croatia and in Europe when it opened in 2016. 

The Aquarium represents flora and fauna of Croatian rivers and lakes, the geological past, traditional culture and the history of the basin of four Karlovac rivers.

(Photo credit: Aquatika freshwater aquarium and river museum)

Last week, Aquatika was accepted into the European Network of Science Centres and Museums.

Goran Jakšić from that institution said that in cooperation with other institutions they were investigating how much poison there was in fish, how toxic the sediment was at bathing sites, they were especially investigating the huchen, the largest European trout, and they were also working on the eradication of foreign species of fish in the National Park “Plitvice Lakes”.