The Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries was founded in 1930 as the first national scientific institution dedicated to marine research. The scientific activity of the Institute has been multidisciplinary from the beginning, encompassing biological, chemical and physical oceanography as well as sedimentology, fishery and mariculture.
Today, the basic orientation of the Institute’s work is fundamental scientific research in the framework of various projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ). A significant part of this research aims at detecting complex interactions that shape the Adriatic marine environment, since understanding the ecosystem’s functioning represents a necessary prerequisite to creating measures for the protection of ecosystem and its biological resources, with a view to sustainable exploitation.
In addition, numerous projects funded by the European Commission or different commercial entities, enable us to carry out monitoring of populations and stocks of marine organisms, biotope mapping, initial assessments of the marine environment and various studies on environmental state and impacts. The physical, chemical and biological long-term data series collected by the Institute represent a valuable basis for the implementation of European directives, aiming at aquatic environment management and protection (MSFD, WFD).
