Croatia is a complex mix of coastline and 1,246 fringing islands. Many of these islands have full-time resident populations, while many others are visited regularly by recreational bathers in season. The Croatian coastline is home to 1.68 million people, which represents about 38 percent of the total national population (WRI, 2005). During the summer, an additional one million tourists visit the coast (MMTPR, 2005). In addition, the Adriatic Sea receives human and industrial waste from a resident watershed population of 15 million. Wastes from this watershed system make up approximately 35 percent of the total pollution load flowing into the Mediterranean (Kucpilic, 2005) (see Bowen et al., in press; Dewailly and Knap, this issue; Dewailly, this issue; Dufour and Wymer, this issue).

Bowen, R.E., A. Frankic, and M.E. Davis. 2006. Croatia. Oceanography 19(2):67, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.67.

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