Adriatic Sea

{{Short description|Body of water between the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas}} {{Redirect|Adriatic}} {{good article}} {{pp-move}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Adriatic Sea  | image = Adriatic Sea 2003.jpg | alt = Satellite image of the Adriatic Sea and its shorelines | caption = Satellite image of the Adriatic Sea | image_bathymetry = | alt_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry =  | location = [[Southern Europe]] | coordinates = {{Coord|43|N|15|E|type:waterbody_scale:5000000|display=inline,title}} | type = [[Sea]] | etymology = From the ancient city of [[Adria]] | part_of = | inflow = [[Adige]], [[Buna (Adriatic Sea)|Buna]], [[Drin (river)|Drin]], [[Krka (Croatia)|Krka]], [[Neretva]], [[Po (river)|Po]], [[Soča]] | rivers = | outflow = [[Ionian Sea]] | oceans = | catchment = {{convert|235000|km2|abbr=on}} | basin_countries = ''Bordering'': [[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Italy]], [[Montenegro]] and [[Slovenia]] ''Not bordering'': [[Austria]], [[France]], [[Greece]], [[Kosovo]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Serbia]] and [[Switzerland]] ([[drainage basin]]s for inflow rivers)<ref>{{cite report|title=Drainage Basin of the Mediterranean Sea|url=https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/publications/assessment/English/J_PartIV_Chapter6_En.pdf|publisher=[[United Nations Economic Commission for Europe|UNECE]]|page=253|docket=|access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref> | designation = | date-built =  | engineer = | date-flooded =  | length = {{convert|800|km|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|200|km|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|138600|km2|abbr=on}} | depth = {{convert|252.5|m|abbr=on}} | max-depth = {{convert|1233|m|abbr=on}} | volume = {{convert|35000|km3|acre.ft|abbr=on}} | residence_time = 3.4±0.4 years | salinity = 38–39 [[Practical salinity unit|PSU]] | shore = {{convert|3739.1|km|abbr=on}} | elevation =  | temperature_high = {{convert|28|C|F}} | temperature_low = {{convert|9|C|F}} | frozen = | islands = [[List of islands in the Adriatic|Over 1300]] | islands_category = | sections = | trenches = | benches = | cities = [[Ancona]], [[Bari]], [[Dubrovnik]], [[Durrës]], [[Koper]], [[Neum]], [[Pescara]], [[Rijeka]], [[Rimini]], [[Split, Croatia|Split]], [[Šibenik]], [[Trieste]], Venice, [[Vlorë]], [[Zadar]]  | website = | reference = | mapframe-zoom = 4 }}

The '''Adriatic Sea''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|eɪ|d|r|i|ˈ|æ|t|ᵻ|k}}) is a body of water separating the [[Italian Peninsula]] from the [[Balkans|Balkan Peninsula]]. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], extending from the [[Strait of Otranto]] (where it connects to the [[Ionian Sea]]) to the northwest and the [[Po Valley]]. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are [[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Italy]], [[Montenegro]], and [[Slovenia]].

The Adriatic contains more than 1,300 islands, mostly located along its eastern coast. It is divided into three basins, the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest, with a maximum depth of {{convert|1233|m}}. The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto. Tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight, although [[acqua alta|larger amplitudes]] occur occasionally. The Adriatic's [[salinity]] is lower than the Mediterranean's because it collects a third of the fresh water flowing into the Mediterranean, acting as a [[dilution basin]]. The surface water temperatures generally range from {{convert|30|C|F}} in summer to {{convert|12|C|F}} in winter, significantly moderating the [[Adriatic Basin]]'s climate. The Adriatic Sea sits on the [[Apulian Plate|Apulian or Adriatic Microplate]]. In the [[Late Oligocene]], the [[Italian Peninsula]] first formed, separating the Adriatic Basin from the rest of the Mediterranean. The western coast is [[Flat coast|alluvial]] or [[Marine terrace|terraced]], while the eastern coast is highly indented with pronounced [[karst]]ification. There are dozens of [[marine protected area]]s in the Adriatic, designed to protect the sea's habitats and biodiversity—more than 7,000 species are identified as native to the Adriatic, many of them [[Endemism|endemic]], rare and threatened ones.

The Adriatic's shores are populated by more than 3.5 million people; the largest cities are [[Bari]], Venice, [[Trieste]] and [[Split, Croatia|Split]]. Early settlements on the Adriatic shores were [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]], [[Illyria]]n, and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]]. By the 2nd century BC, the region was under [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]'s control. In the [[Middle Ages]], the sea was controlled, to a varying extent, by a series of states—most notably the [[Byzantine Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)|Croatian Kingdom]], the [[Republic of Venice]], the [[Habsburg monarchy]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The [[Napoleonic Wars]] resulted in the [[Austrian Empire]] gaining control of most of the eastern Adriatic shore and the Po Valley, while the [[Kingdom of Italy]] gradually took control of the remaining Italian coast during the 19th century. Following the collapse of [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1918, control of the eastern coast passed to Yugoslavia and Albania, which agreed on their maritime boundaries with Italy in 1975 and 1992 respectively. After [[Breakup of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia's dissolution]] during the 1990s, its four coastal successor states—Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro—continued to recognise the previous maritime border with Italy, but have disputed the borders between themselves.

[[Fisheries]] and [[tourism]] are significant sources of income along the Adriatic coast. [[Maritime transport]] is also a significant branch of the area's economy—there are 19 seaports in the Adriatic that each handle more than a million [[tonne]]s of cargo per year. The largest Adriatic seaport by annual cargo turnover is the [[Port of Trieste]], while the [[Port of Split]] is the largest by passengers served per year.

== Name ==

The [[Etymology|origins]] of the name ''Adriatic'' are linked to the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] settlement of [[Adria]], which probably derives its name from [[Illyrian languages|Illyrian]] ''adur'' 'water, sea'.{{sfn|Room|2006|p=20}} In [[classical antiquity]], the sea was known as ''Mare Adriaticum'' (''Mare Hadriaticum'', also sometimes simplified to ''Adria'') or, less frequently, as ''Mare Superum'' '[the] upper sea'.<ref>{{cite journal|page=504|publisher=F. and C. Rivington|date=November 1812|journal=The British Critic|volume=40|first=James|last=Playfair|title=System of Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQEwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA504}}</ref> The two terms were not synonymous, however. ''Mare Adriaticum'' generally corresponds to the Adriatic Sea's extent, spanning from the [[Gulf of Venice#Geography|Gulf of Venice]] to the Strait of Otranto. That boundary became more consistently defined by Roman authors{{--}}early Greek sources place the boundary between the Adriatic and Ionian seas at various places ranging from adjacent to the [[Gulf of Venice]] to the southern tip of the [[Peloponnese]], eastern shores of [[Sicily]] and western shores of [[Crete]].{{sfn|Calmet|Taylor|1830|pp=53–54}} ''Mare Superum'' on the other hand normally encompassed both the modern Adriatic Sea and the sea off the Apennine peninsula's southern coast, as far as the [[Strait of Sicily]].{{sfn|Anthon|2005|p=20}} Another name used in the period was ''Mare Dalmaticum'', applied to waters off the coast of [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]] or [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]].{{sfn|Tacitus|1853|p=380}} During the [[early modern Italy|early modern period]], the entire sea was also known as the '''Gulf of Venice''' ({{langx|it|golfo di Venezia}}),<ref>{{citation|contribution-url=https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/A/adria-or-adriatic-sea.html|contribution=Adria|title=Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature|editor-last=McClintock|editor-first=John|editor-last2=Strong|editor-first2=James|display-editors=0|publisher=Harper & Bros.|location=New York|date=1880}}.</ref> although [[Gulf of Venice|that name]] is now informally applied only to the northern area of the sea, from Maestra Point in the [[Po River|Po]] [[river delta|Delta]] to Cape Kamenjak on the [[Istrian Peninsula]].

The names for the sea in the languages of the surrounding countries include {{langx|sq|Deti Adriatik}}; {{langx|egl|Mèr Adriatic}}; {{langx|fur|Mâr Adriatic}}; {{langx|el|Αδριατική θάλασσα|Adriatikí thálassa}}; {{langx|ruo|Marea Adriatică}}; {{langx|it|Mare Adriatico}}; {{langx|sh|Jadransko more}}, Јадранско море; {{langx|sl|Jadransko morje}}; {{langx|vec|Mar Adriàtico}}. In Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, the sea is often referred to as simply ''Jadran''.

== Geography == The Adriatic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea,{{sfn|Moranta et al.|2008|p=3}} bordered in the southwest by the [[Apennine peninsula|Apennine or Italian Peninsula]], in the northwest by the Italian regions of [[Veneto]] and [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]], and in the northeast by Slovenia, Croatia, [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]], and Albania—the [[Balkan peninsula]]. In the southeast, the Adriatic Sea connects to the [[Ionian Sea]] at the {{convert|72|km|adj=on}} wide [[Strait of Otranto]].{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=1–2}} The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] (IHO) defines the boundary between the Adriatic and the Ionian seas as a line running from the [[Butrint|Butrinto River]]'s mouth ([[latitude]] 39°44'N) in Albania to the Karagol Cape in [[Corfu]], through this island to the Kephali Cape (these two capes are in latitude 39°45'N), and on to the [[Santa Maria di Leuca|Santa Maria di Leuca Cape]] (latitude 39°48'N).<ref name="IHO-boundary">{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas|edition=3|year=1953|access-date=28 December 2020|publisher=[[International Hydrographic Organization]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho-ohi.net/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S23_1953.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> It extends {{convert|800|km}} from the northwest to the southeast and is {{convert|200|km}} wide. It covers {{convert|138600|km2}} and has a volume of {{convert|35000|km3}}. The Adriatic extends northwest from [[40th parallel north|40°]] to [[45th parallel north|45°]]47' north, representing the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]'s northernmost portion.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=1–2}} The sea is geographically divided into the Northern Adriatic, Central (or Middle) Adriatic, and Southern Adriatic.{{sfn|Lipej|Dulčić|2004|p=291}}

The Adriatic Sea [[drainage basin]] encompasses {{convert|235000|km2}}, yielding a land–sea ratio of 1.8. The drainage basin's mean elevation is {{convert|782|m}} above sea level, with a mean slope of 12.1°.<ref name="Drainage Basin">{{cite journal|journal=Progress in Oceanography|volume=80|issue=3–4|pages=199|title=River discharges of water and nutrients to the Mediterranean and Black Sea: Major drivers for ecosystem changes during past and future decades?|first1=Wolfgang|last1=Ludwig|first2=Egon|last2=Dumont|first3=Michel|last3=Meybeck|first4=Serge|last4=Heussnera|year=2009|doi=10.1016/j.pocean.2009.02.001|bibcode=2009PrOce..80..199L}}</ref> Major rivers discharging into the Adriatic include the Po, [[Soča]], [[Krka (Croatia)|Krka]], [[Neretva]], [[Drin (river)|Drin]], [[Buna (Adriatic Sea)|Buna]], and [[Vjosë]].<ref name="Rivers Discharging">{{cite web|publisher=[[United Nations Economic Commission for Europe]]|url=http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/publications/assessment/English/J_PartIV_Chapter6_En.pdf|title=Drainage Basin of the Mediterranean Sea|access-date=27 January 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Bombace|1992|pp=379–382}} In the late 19th century, [[Austria-Hungary]] established a [[Geodesy|geodetic]] network with an [[Metres above the Adriatic|elevation benchmark]] using the average Adriatic Sea level at the Sartorio pier in [[Trieste]], Italy. The benchmark was subsequently retained by Austria, adopted by Yugoslavia, and retained by the states that emerged after [[breakup of Yugoslavia|its dissolution]].{{sfn|Koler|2006|pp=224–225}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[International Cartographic Association]]|title=Cartography in Croatia 2007–2011 – National Report to the ICA|first1=Dražen|last1=Tutić|first2=Miljenko|last2=Lapaine|url=http://icaci.org/documents/national_reports/2007-2011/Croatia.pdf|year=2011|access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> In 2016, Slovenia adopted a new elevation benchmark referring to the upgraded [[tide gauge]] station in the coastal town of [[Koper]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arso.gov.si/o%20agenciji/novice/|title=S pomočjo mareografske postaje v Kopru do novega geodetskega izhodišča za Slovenijo|language=sl|trans-title=With the Help of a Tide Gauge Station in Koper to A New Geodetic Origin Point for Slovenia|publisher=Slovenian Environment Agency|date=23 November 2016}}</ref>

The Alps, which also have a large meteorological impact on the Mediterranean, touch the Adriatic in the area around Trieste towards [[Duino]] and [[Barcola]].<ref>[https://www.alpenpaesse-wasserscheiden.at/italien/das-alpine-einzugsgebiet-der-adria-excl-po-gebiet-innerer-alpenbogen/das-triestiner-kuestengebiet/ Die Alpen: Hydrologie und Verkehrsübergänge (German)]</ref> [[File:Bucht von Kotor.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bay of Kotor]], a [[ria]] in the Southern Adriatic|alt=Looping river]] [[File:Gjipe beach, Albania.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[Karaburun Peninsula, Albania|Gjipe Canyon]] in southern Albania, where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea]]

{|class="wikitable" |+Length in kilometres of Adriatic coastlines{{sfn|Blake|Topalović|Schofield|1996|pp=1–5}}<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/01-11.pdf|chapter=Territory and climate|at=p. 38 ("Length of the state border")|title=Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Slovenia 2011|publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia]]|issn=1318-5403|access-date=2 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515095910/http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/01-11.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref> |- ! Country ! Mainland ! Islands ! Total ! Coastal fronta |- align=center | align=left|{{CRO}} || 1,777.3 || 4,058 || 5,835.3 || 526 |- align=center | align=left|{{ITA}} || 1,249 || 23b || 1,272 || 926 |- align=center | align=left|{{ALB}} || 396 || 10 || 406 || 265 |- align=center | align=left|{{MNE}} || 249 || 11 || 260 || 92 |- align=center | align=left|{{SLO}} || 46.6 || 0 || 46.6 || 17 |- align=center | align=left|{{BIH}} || 21.2 || 0 || 21.2 || 10.5 |- ! Total ! 3,739.1 ! 4,102 ! 7,841.1 ! 1,836.5 |- | colspan=5|Notes: a The distance between the extreme points of each state's coastline, b Not including islands in coastal lagoons<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leisoletremiti.it/index.php/isola-di-san-domino-tremiti|title=Isole Tremiti|date=24 August 2008|language=it|trans-title=Tremiti Islands|access-date=30 March 2012}}</ref> |- {{jctbtm}} {{clear}}

The Adriatic Sea contains [[List of islands in the Adriatic|more than 1,300 islands and islets]], most along the Adriatic's eastern coast—especially in Croatia, with 1,246 counted.<ref name="Duplancic-Cala-Ujevic">{{cite journal|title=Coastline lengths and areas of islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea determined from the topographic maps at the scale of 1 : 25 000|journal=Geoadria|location=[[Zadar]]|volume=9|issue=1|pages=5–32|date=June 2004|last1=Duplančić Leder|first1=Tea|last2=Ujević|first2=Tin|last3=Čala|first3=Mendi|doi=10.15291/geoadria.127|doi-access=free}}</ref> The number includes islands, islets, and rocks of all sizes, including ones emerging at [[wikt:Ebb tide|ebb tide]] only.<ref>{{cite journal|publisher=[[University of Zadar]]|first1=Josip|last1=Faričić|first2=Vera|last2=Graovac|first3=Anica|last3=Čuka|pages=145–185|title=Croatian small islands – residential and/or leisure area|journal=Geoadria|volume=15|issue=1|date=June 2010|doi=10.15291/geoadria.548|doi-access=free}}</ref> The Croatian islands include the largest—[[Cres]] and [[Krk]], each covering about the same area of {{convert|405.78|km2}}—and the tallest—[[Brač]], whose peak reaches {{convert|780|m}} above sea level. The islands of Cres and the adjacent [[Lošinj]] are separated only by a narrow navigable canal dug in the time of [[classical antiquity]];<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Lošinj Port Authority|url=http://www.luckauprava-losinj.hr/pravilnici/osor-pravilnik.html|language=hr|title=Pravilnik za luku Osor|trans-title=Port of Osor ordinance|date=23 December 2005|access-date=25 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212195936/http://www.luckauprava-losinj.hr/pravilnici/osor-pravilnik.html|archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> the original single island was known to the Greeks as [[Apsyrtides]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Građevinar|issn=0350-2465|publisher=Croatian association of civil engineers|language=hr|trans-title=Old churches on Cres and Lošin and nearby islands|year=2010|volume=62|issue=2|first1=Krešimir|last1=Regan|first2=Branko|last2=Nadilo|url=http://www.casopis-gradjevinar.hr/dokumenti/201002/6.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715120841/http://www.casopis-gradjevinar.hr/dokumenti/201002/6.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 July 2012|access-date=25 March 2012|title=Stare crkve na Cresu i Lošinju te okolnim otocima}}</ref> The Croatian islands include 47 [[List of inhabited islands of Croatia|permanently inhabited ones]], the most populous among them being Krk, [[Korčula]] and Brač.<ref>{{Croatia Yearbook 2015|page=47}}</ref> The islands along the Adriatic's western (Italian) coast are smaller and less numerous than those along the opposite coast; the best-known ones are the 117 islands on which the city of Venice is built.{{sfn|Garwood|2009|p=481}} The northern shore of the Greek island of [[Corfu#Geography|Corfu]] also lies in the Adriatic Sea as defined by the IHO.{{sfn|Hughes|Flippin|Murphy|Duchaine|2010|p=58}} The IHO boundary places the [[Diapontia Islands]] (northwest of Corfu) in the Adriatic Sea.<ref name="IHO-boundary" /><ref>{{Google maps | url = https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cape+kephali,+greece&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=39.838068,19.25354&spn=1.090324,2.705383&sll=39.712469,19.647675&sspn=0.273083,0.676346&oq=Cape+&hnear=%C3%81kra+Kavokefal%C3%AD&t=m&z=9 | title = Cape Kephali, Corfu, Greece – the southernmost point of the Adriatic Sea | access-date = 29 January 2012}}</ref> {{wide image|Adriatic Sea islands.jpg|1000px|{{Center|Adriatic islands off Croatia's coast}}}}

===Exclusive economic zone=== [[Exclusive economic zones]] in Adriatic Sea:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sea Around Us {{!}} Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez|access-date=2020-10-27|website=seaaroundus.org}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%" |- !width=75|Number !width=250|Country !width=100|Area (Km2) |- | align=center|1 || '''{{ITA}}''' || align=center|63,600 |- | align=center|2 || '''{{CRO}}''' || align=center|55,961 |- | align=center|3 || '''{{ALB}}''' || align=center|11,105 |- | align=center|4 || '''{{MNE}}''' || align=center|7,460 |- | align=center|5 || '''{{SLO}}''' || align=center|192 |- | align=center|6 || '''{{BIH}}''' || align=center|50 |- style="background:#9acdff;" !Total |'''Adriatic Sea''' || align=center|'''138,600''' |}

=== Bathymetry === [[File:Adriatic Sea Bathymetry.svg|thumb|right|Depth of the Adriatic Sea]] The Adriatic Sea's average depth is {{convert|259.5|m}}, and its maximum depth is {{convert|1233|m}}; however, the North Adriatic basin rarely exceeds a depth of {{convert|100|m}}.{{sfn|Blake|Topalović|Schofield|1996|pp=1–5}} The North Adriatic basin, extending between Venice and Trieste towards a line connecting [[Ancona]] and [[Zadar]], is only {{convert|15|m}} deep at its northwestern end; it gradually deepens towards the southeast. It is the largest Mediterranean [[continental shelf|shelf]] and is simultaneously a [[dilution basin]] and a site of bottom water formation.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|p=122}} The Middle Adriatic basin is south of the Ancona–Zadar line, with the {{convert|270|m|adj=on}} deep Middle Adriatic Pit (also called the Pomo Depression or the Jabuka Pit). The {{convert|170|m|adj=on}} deep Palagruža Sill is south of the Middle Adriatic Pit, separating it from the {{convert|1200|m|adj=on}} deep South Adriatic Pit and the Middle Adriatic basin from the South Adriatic Basin. Further on to the south, the sea floor rises to {{convert|780|m}} to form the Otranto Sill at the boundary to the Ionian Sea. The South Adriatic Basin is similar in many respects to the Northern Ionian Sea, to which it is connected.{{sfn|Bombace|1992|pp=379–382}} Transversely, the Adriatic Sea is also asymmetric: the Apennine peninsular coast is relatively smooth with very few islands and the [[Mount Conero]] and [[Gargano Promontory|Gargano]] promontories as the only significant protrusions into the sea; in contrast, the Balkan peninsular coast is rugged with numerous islands, especially in Croatia. The coast's ruggedness is exacerbated by the [[Dinaric Alps]]' proximity to the coast, in contrast to the opposite (Italian) coast where the [[Apennine Mountains]] are further away from the shoreline.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=2–6}}

=== Hydrology === [[File:Adriatic Sea Currents 2.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Schematic layout of Adriatic Sea currents {{legend-line|red solid 2px|surface currents}} {{legend-line|blue solid 2px|benthic currents}}]] The coastal water dynamics are determined by the asymmetric coasts and the inflow of the Mediterranean seawater through the Straits of Otranto and further on along the eastern coast.<ref name="Adriamed" /> The smooth Italian coast (with very few protrusions and no major islands) allows the Western Adriatic Current, which is composed of the relatively freshwater mass on the surface and the cold and dense water mass at the bottom, to flow smoothly.{{sfn|Del Negro|2001|p=478}} The coastal currents on the opposite shore are far more complex owing to the jagged shoreline, several large islands and the proximity of the Dinaric Alps to the shore. The last produces significant temperature variations between the sea and the hinterland, which leads to the creation of local jets.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=2–6}} The tidal movement is normally slight, usually remaining below {{convert|30|cm}}. The [[amphidromic point]] is at the mid-width east of Ancona.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|p=218}}

The normal tide levels are known to increase significantly in a conducive environment, leading to [[coastal flooding]]; this phenomenon is most famously known in Italy—especially Venice—as ''[[acqua alta]]''. Such tides can exceed normal levels by more than {{convert|140|cm}},{{sfn|Valiela|2006|pp=49–56}} with the highest tide level of {{convert|194|cm}} observed on 4 November 1966.{{sfn|Gower|2010|p=11}} Such flooding is caused by a combination of factors, including the alignment of the [[Sun]] and [[Moon]], meteorological factors such as [[sirocco]] related storm surges,{{sfn|Camuffo|2001|pp=107–108}} and the basin's geometric shape (which amplifies or reduces the astronomical component). Moreover, the Adriatic's long and narrow rectangular shape is the source of an oscillating water motion ({{langx|fr|[[seiche]]}}) along the basin's minor axis.{{sfn|Ferla|2005|p=101}} Finally, Venice is increasingly vulnerable to flooding due to coastal area soil [[subsidence]].{{sfn|Standish|2011|pp=5–6}} Such unusually high tides resulting in flooding have also been observed elsewhere in the Adriatic Sea, and have been recorded in recent years in the towns of [[Koper]], Zadar and [[Šibenik]] as well.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Nova TV (Croatia)]]|language=hr|url=https://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/svijet/u-zasnijezenoj-sloveniji-raste-vodostaj-rijeka-more-poplavilo-obalu.html|title=U Sloveniji more poplavilo obalu|trans-title=Sea floods shore in Slovenia|date=9 November 2010|access-date=26 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[Nova TV (Croatia)]]|language=hr|title=Zadar: Zbog velike plime more poplavilo obalu|trans-title=Zadar: Sea floods shore because of high tide|url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/zadar-zbog-plime-more-poplavilo-rivu.html|date=25 December 2009|access-date=26 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[Vijesti]]|language=hr|url=http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/jugo-i-niski-tlak-more-poplavilo-sibensku-rivu/526311.aspx|title=Jugo i niski tlak: More poplavilo šibensku rivu|trans-title=Sirocco and low pressure: Sea floods Šibenik quay|date=1 December 2010|access-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Vrulja kod Omiša.jpg|thumb|right|A [[submarine groundwater discharge|submarine spring]] near [[Omiš]], observed through sea surface rippling]] It is estimated that the Adriatic's entire volume is exchanged through the Strait of Otranto in 3.4±0.4 years, a comparatively short period. (For instance, approximately 500 years are necessary to exchange all the [[Black Sea]]'s water.) This short period is particularly important as the rivers flowing into the Adriatic [[Discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] up to {{convert|5700|m3/s}}. This rate of discharge amounts to 0.5% of the total Adriatic Sea volume, or a {{convert|1.3|m|adj=on}} layer of water each year. The greatest portion of the discharge from any single river comes from the [[Po (river)|Po]] (28%),<ref>{{cite journal|publisher=Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health|issn=0004-1254|journal=Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology|title=Marine Radioecology and Waste Management in the Adriatic|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=7507&lang=en|first1=Zdenko|last1=Franić|first2=Branko|last2=Petrinec|volume=57|issue=3|date=September 2006|pages=347–352|pmid=17121008}}</ref> with an average discharge from it alone of {{convert|1569|m3/s}}.{{sfn|Saliot|2005|p=6}} In terms of the annual total discharge into the entire Mediterranean Sea, the Po is ranked second, followed by the Neretva and [[Drin (river)|Drin]], which rank as third and fourth.{{sfn|Tockner|Uehlinger|Robinson|2009|loc=section 11.6.1.}} Another significant contributor of freshwater to the Adriatic is the [[submarine groundwater discharge]] through submarine springs ({{langx|hr|vrulja}}); it is estimated to comprise 29% of the total water flux into the Adriatic.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jbmartin/website/Classes/Surface_Groundwater/Class%206/Taniguchi%20et%20al.%202002%20Hydrological%20processes%20review.pdf|title=Investigation of submarine groundwater discharge|journal=Hydrological Processes|issn=1099-1085|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2002|pages=2115–2159|volume=16|first1=Makoto|last1=Taniguchi|doi=10.1002/hyp.1145|last2=Burnett|first2=William C|last3=Cable|first3=Jaye E|last4=Turner|first4=Jeffrey V|issue=11|bibcode=2002HyPr...16.2115T|s2cid=13234853}}</ref> The submarine springs include [[thermal springs]], discovered offshore near the town of [[Izola]]. The thermal spring water is rich with [[hydrogen sulfide]], has a temperature of {{convert|22|to|29.6|C|F}}, and has enabled the development of specific ecosystems.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://zgs.zrc-sazu.si/Portals/8/Geografski_obzornik/go_2004_2.pdf|journal=Geografski Obzornik|year=2004|volume=51|issue=2|issn=0016-7274|publisher=Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia|language=sl|first=Jože|last=Žumer|title=Odkritje podmorskih termalnih izvirov|trans-title=Discovery of submarine thermal springs|pages=11–17}} {{in lang|sl}}</ref> The inflow of freshwater, representing a third of the freshwater volume flowing into the Mediterranean,{{sfn|Bombace|1992|pp=379–382}} makes the Adriatic a [[dilution basin#Dilution basin|dilution basin]] for the Mediterranean Sea.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|p=145}} The Middle and [[South Adriatic Gyre]]s (SAG), are significant [[gyre|cyclonic circulation]] features, with the former being intermittent and the latter permanent. The SAG measures {{convert|150|km|abbr=off}} in diameter. It contributes to the flow of [[bottom water]] from the Adriatic to the [[Levantine Sea|Levantine Basin]] through the Ionian Sea. Through that process, the Adriatic Sea produces most of the East Mediterranean deep water.{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=126–130}}

=== Temperature and salinity === The Adriatic's surface temperature usually ranges from {{convert|22|to|30|C|F}} in the summer, or {{convert|12|to|14|C|F}} in the winter, except along the western Adriatic coast's northern part, where it drops to {{convert|9|C|F}} in the winter. The distinct seasonal temperature variations, with a longitudinal gradient in the Northern and transversal gradient in the Middle and Southern Adriatic,<ref name="Artegiani">{{cite journal|journal=[[Journal of Physical Oceanography]]|issn=0022-3670|publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]]|title=The Adriatic Sea General Circulation. Part I: Air–Sea Interactions and Water Mass Structure|volume=27|date=1997|pages=1492–1514|last1=Artegiani|first1=A|first2=E|last2=Paschini|first3=A|last3=Russo|first4=D|last4=Bregant|first5=F|last5=Raicich|first6=N|last6=Pinardi|doi=10.1175/1520-0485(1997)027<1492:TASGCP>2.0.CO;2|issue=8|bibcode=1997JPO....27.1492A|doi-access=free}}</ref> are attributed to the continental characteristics of the Adriatic Sea: it is shallower and closer to land than are oceans.{{sfn|Zore-Armanda|1979|p=43}} During particularly cold winters, [[sea ice]] may appear in the Adriatic's shallow coastal areas, especially in the [[Venetian Lagoon]] but also in isolated shallows as far south as [[Tisno]] (south of Zadar).{{sfn|Lionello|Malanotte-Rizzoli|Boscolo|2006|pp=47–53}}<ref>{{cite news|work=[[RTL Televizija]]|url=http://www.rtl.hr/vijesti/novosti/24169/led-okovao-svjetionik-u-tisnom-smrznulo-more/|language=hr|title=Led okovao svjetionik, u Tisnom smrznulo more|trans-title=Ice covers a lighthouse, sea freezes at Tisno|date=16 December 2010|access-date=2 February 2012|archive-date=31 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731011818/http://www.rtl.hr/vijesti/novosti/24169/led-okovao-svjetionik-u-tisnom-smrznulo-more/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Southern Adriatic is about {{convert|8|to|10|C-change}} warmer during the winter than the more northerly regions.{{sfn|Lipej|Dulčić|2004|p=293}} The Adriatic's [[salinity]] variation over the year is likewise distinct:{{sfn|Zore-Armanda|1979|p=43}} it ranges between 38 and 39 [[Practical salinity unit|PSUs]], somewhat higher than the range of 32 to 37 PSUs for the open ocean.<ref name="Artegiani" /> The southern Adriatic is subjected to saltier water from the Levantine Basin.{{sfn|Lipej|Dulčić|2004|p=293}}

=== Climate === [[File:Köppen Climate Zones Balkan peninsula.png|thumb|As seen from the map, most of the landmass surrounding the Adriatic sea is classified as ''Cfa'', with the southern region (near the [[Ionian Sea]]) being ''Csa''.]] According to the [[Köppen climate classification]], the upper half of the Adriatic is classified as [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa''), with wetter summers and colder and drier winters, and the southern Adriatic are classified as [[Hot-summer Mediterranean climate|hot-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csa'')]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[University of Salento]]|first=Piero|last=Lionello|url=http://www.dsm.unisalento.it/webutenti/piero.lionello/public/book/mb_0_PL/chapter0_V6.pdf|title=Mediterranean climate: Background information|access-date=27 January 2012|archive-date=30 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730201419/http://www.dsm.unisalento.it/webutenti/piero.lionello/public/book/mb_0_PL/chapter0_V6.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|publisher=[[University of Zadar]]|first1=Tomislav|last1=Šegota|first2=Anita|last2=Filipčić|language=hr|pages=17–37|title=Köppenova podjela klima i hrvatsko nazivlje|trans-title=Köppen climate classification and Croatian terminology|journal=Geoadria|volume=8|issue=1|date=June 2003|doi=10.15291/geoadria.93|doi-access=free}}</ref> The air temperature can fluctuate by about {{convert|20|C-change}} during a season.<ref name="Artegiani" />

The predominant winter winds are the [[Bora (wind)|bora]] and [[sirocco]] (called ''jugo'' along the eastern coast). The bora is significantly conditioned by wind gaps in the Dinaric Alps bringing cold and dry continental air; it reaches peak speeds in the areas of Trieste, [[Senj]], and [[Split, Croatia|Split]], with gusts of up to {{convert|180|km/h|kn mph}}. The sirocco brings humid and warm air, often carrying [[Sahara]]n sand causing [[rain dust]].{{sfn|Cushman-Roisin|Gačić|Poulain|2001|pp=6–8}}

{|class="wikitable" |- |+Climate characteristics of some major Adriatic cities |- ! rowspan=3|City ! colspan=4|Mean temperature (daily high) ! colspan=6|Mean total rainfall |- ! colspan=2| January ! colspan=2| July ! colspan=3| January ! colspan=3| July |- ! °C ! °F ! °C ! °F ! mm ! in ! days ! mm ! in ! days |- align=center | [[Bari]] | {{convert|12.1|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|28.4|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|50.8|mm|in|disp=table}} | 7.3 | {{convert|27.0|mm|in|disp=table}} | 2.6 |- align=center | [[Dubrovnik]] | {{convert|12.2|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|28.3|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|95.2|mm|in|disp=table}} | 11.2 | {{convert|24.1|mm|in|disp=table}} | 4.4 |- align=center | [[Rijeka]] | {{convert|8.7|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|27.7|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|134.9|mm|in|disp=table}} | 11.0 | {{convert|82.0|mm|in|disp=table}} | 9.1 |- align=center | [[Split, Croatia|Split]] | {{convert|10.2|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|29.8|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|77.9|mm|in|disp=table}} | 11.1 | {{convert|27.6|mm|in|disp=table}} | 5.6 |- align=center | Venice | {{convert|5.8|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|27.5|C|F|disp=table}} | {{convert|58.1|mm|in|disp=table}} | 6.7 | {{convert|63.1|mm|in|disp=table}} | 5.7 |- | colspan=11|Source: [[World Meteorological Organization]]<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[World Meteorological Organization]]|url=http://www.worldweather.org/europe.htm|title=World Weather Information Service|access-date=27 January 2012}}</ref> |}

=== Population === {| style="text-align:center; width:97%; margin-right:10px; font-size:90%" |+Most populous urban areas on the Adriatic coast |- !rowspan=23 width:150| [[File:Bari 1301765417.jpg|border|135px|Bari]] Bari [[File:Venezia aerial view.jpg|border|135px|Venice]] Venice ! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Rank ! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|City ! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Country ! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Region/County ! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Population (urban) !rowspan=23 width:150| [[File:Trieste-IMG 3064.JPG|135px|Trieste]] Trieste [[File:Panorama of Durres Port.jpg|135px|Durrës]] Durrës |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|1||align=left|'''[[Bari]]'''||Italy||[[Apulia]]||320,475 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|2||align=left|'''Venice'''||Italy||[[Veneto]]||270,884 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|3||align=left|'''[[Trieste]]'''||Italy||[[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]||205,535 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|4||align=left|'''[[Durrës]]'''||Albania||[[Durrës County|Durrës]]||199,073 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|5||align=left|'''[[Split, Croatia|Split]]'''||Croatia||[[Split-Dalmatia County|Split-Dalmatia]]||178,102 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|6||align=left|'''[[Rimini]]'''||Italy||[[Emilia-Romagna]]||150,009 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|7||align=left|'''[[Rijeka]]'''||Croatia||[[Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|Primorje-Gorski Kotar]]||128,384 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|8||align=left|'''[[Pescara]]'''||Italy||[[Abruzzo]]||123,103 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|9||align=left|'''[[Vlorë]]'''||Albania||[[Vlorë County|Vlorë]]||117,850 |- | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|10||align=left|'''[[Ancona]]'''||Italy||[[Marche]]||101,210 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Sources: 2011 Croatian census,<ref name="Croatian Census 2011">{{Croatian Census 2011|url=http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/census2011/results/htm/e01_06_01/E01_06_01.html|title=Population in major towns and municipalities, 2011 census}}</ref> Italian National Institute of Statistics (2011),<ref name="Italian Census 2011">{{cite web|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)]]|language=it|url=http://demo.istat.it/pop2011/index.html|title=Vista per singola area|trans-title=Individual area review|access-date=30 January 2012|year=2011|archive-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925105754/http://demo.istat.it/pop2011/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 2011 Albanian Census<ref name="Albanian Census 2011">{{cite web|url=http://census.al/Resources/Data/Census2011/Instat_print%20.pdf|title=Population and Housing Census in Albania page 17|year=2011|publisher=Institute of Statistics of Albania|access-date=21 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112022139/http://census.al/Resources/Data/Census2011/Instat_print%20.pdf|archive-date=12 January 2012}}</ref> |} {{clear}} On the Adriatic Sea's coasts and islands, there are numerous small settlements and a number of larger cities. Among the largest are (counterclockwise) Trieste, Venice, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara and Bari in Italy; Vlorë and Durrës in Albania; Split, Zadar and Rijeka in Croatia; Koper in Slovenia. In total, more than 3.5 million people live on the Adriatic coasts.<ref>{{cite journal|publisher=Croatian Geographic Society|issn=1331-5854|journal=Hrvatski geografski glasnik|first1=Bogdan|last1=Sekulić|first2=Ivan|last2=Sondi|volume=59|issue=1|date=December 1997|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=95871|title=Koliko je Jadran doista opterećen antropogenim i prirodnim unosom tvari?|language=hr|trans-title=To What Extent is the Adriatic Sea Actually Burdened with Man-induced and Natural Inflow of Substances}}</ref> There are also some larger cities that are located very near the coast, such as the Italian cities of [[Ravenna]] and [[Lecce]].

== Coastal management == [[File:Chioggia aerial.jpg|thumb|right|Venetian Lagoon and the barrier islands. The [[MOSE]] project is a system consisting of rows of mobile gates that can be raised to seal off the [[Venetian Lagoon]] from the Adriatic Sea during [[acqua alta|high tides]].]] Venice, which was originally built on islands off the coast, is most at risk due to subsidence, but the threat is present in the Po [[river delta|delta]] as well. The causes are a decrease in [[Sedimentation#In geology|sedimentation]] rate due to loss of sediment behind dams, the deliberate excavation of sand for industrial purposes, agricultural use of water, and removal of ground water.<ref name=WW>{{cite web|title=Facing Water Challenges in the Po River Basin, Italy: A WWDR3 Case Study|url=http://waterwiki.net/index.php/Facing_Water_Challenges_in_the_Po_River_Basin,_Italy:A_WWDR3_Case_Study|publisher=waterwiki.net|year=2009|access-date=6 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801063518/http://waterwiki.net/index.php/Facing_Water_Challenges_in_the_Po_River_Basin%2C_Italy:A_WWDR3_Case_Study|archive-date=1 August 2009|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name=AM>{{cite web|title=Po Basin Case study status report|first1=Meri|last1=Raggi|first2=Davide|last2=Ronchi|first3=Laura|last3=Sardonini|first4=Davide|last4=Viaggi|publisher=AquaMoney|date=4 April 2006|access-date=21 March 2012|url=http://aquamoney.org/sites/download/poit.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614004339/http://aquamoney.org/sites/download/poit.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 June 2020}}</ref>

The sinking of Venice slowed after [[Artesian aquifer|artesian wells]] were banned in the 1960s, but the city remains threatened by the ''acqua alta'' floods. Recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking,<ref>{{cite news|title=Technology: Venetians put barrage to the test against the Adriatic|issue=1660|work=[[New Scientist]] magazine|date=15 April 1989|url=http://media.newscientist.com/article/mg12216602.900-technology-venetians-put-barrage-to-the-test-against-theadriatic-.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011072114/http://media.newscientist.com/article/mg12216602.900-technology-venetians-put-barrage-to-the-test-against-theadriatic-.html|archive-date=11 October 2007|access-date=10 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Venice's 1,500-year battle with the waves|publisher=BBC News|date=17 July 2003|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3069305.stm|access-date=10 October 2007}}</ref> but a state of alert remains in place. In May 2003, then-Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]] inaugurated the [[MOSE project]] ({{langx|it|Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico}}), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of inflatable gates. The project proposes laying a series of 79 inflatable [[pontoon (boat)|pontoons]] across the sea bed at the three entrances to the [[Venetian Lagoon]]. When tides are predicted to rise above {{convert|110|cm}}, the pontoons will be filled with air and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work was due to be completed by 2014,<ref>{{cite news|title='Moses project' to secure future of Venice|work=Telegraph News|date=11 January 2012|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/3629387/Moses-project-to-secure-future-of-Venice.html|access-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> but as of November 2020 is expected to be completed in 2021.<ref name="The Architect's Newspaper">{{cite news|title=Venice's MOSE flood barriers rise for the first time|work=The Architect's Newspaper|date=14 October 2020|url=https://www.archpaper.com/2020/10/venices-mose-project-flood-barriers-rise-for-the-first-time/|access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref> Implemented for the first time on 3 October 2020,<ref name="The Architect's Newspaper"/> the barriers are made to seal off three inlets that lead to the Venetian Lagoon and counteract floods of up to ten feet; in addition to protecting the city from flooding, the barrier system is also intended to stabilize Venice's water levels so as to minimize erosion of the brick walls and, subsequently, the foundations of various buildings in the city. However, concern has been raised regarding the frequency of its use—while only necessary a few days a year, the worst-case sea level rise scenario between 2050 and 2100 would prompt deployment up to 187 days a year, essentially cutting off the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. Among other possible adverse effects, this can be expected to lower the lagoon's oxygen levels and trap pollution inside of the city.

== Geology == [[File:Adriatic Plate.jpg|thumb|left|[[Apulian Plate|Adriatic Microplate]] boundaries]] Geophysical and geological information indicate that the Adriatic Sea and the [[Po Valley]] are associated with a [[tectonic plate|tectonic]] [[List of tectonic plates#Microplates|microplate]]—identified as the [[Apulian Plate|Apulian or Adriatic Plate]]—that separated from the [[African Plate]] during the [[Mesozoic]] [[Era (geology)|era]]. This separation began in the [[Middle Triassic|Middle]] and [[Late Triassic]], when [[limestone]] began to be deposited in the area. Between the [[Norian]] and [[Late Cretaceous]], the [[Adriatic Carbonate Platform|Adriatic]] and [[Apulia Carbonate Platform]]s formed as a thick series of carbonate sediments ([[dolomite (rock)|dolomite]]s and limestones), up to {{convert|8000|m}} deep.<ref name="Surić">{{cite journal|publisher=[[University of Zadar]]|issn=1331-2294|journal=Geoadria|title=Submerged Karst – Dead or Alive? Examples from the eastern Adriatic Coast (Croatia)|first=Maša|last=Surić|pages=5–19|volume=10|issue=1|date=June 2005|doi=10.15291/geoadria.71|doi-access=free}}</ref> Remnants of the former are found in the Adriatic Sea, as well as in the southern [[Alps]] and the [[Dinaric Alps#Geology|Dinaric Alps]], and remnants of the latter are seen as the [[Gargano Peninsula|Gargano Promontory]] and the [[Maiella]] mountain. In the [[Eocene]] and early [[Oligocene]], the plate moved north and north-east, contributing to the [[Alpine orogeny]] (along with the [[African Plate|African]] and [[Eurasian Plate]]s' movements) via the [[tectonic uplift]] of the Dinarides and Alps. In the [[Chattian|Late Oligocene]], the motion was reversed and the [[Apennine Mountains#Apennine orogeny|Apennine Mountains' orogeny]] took place.<ref name="Juračić">{{cite web|publisher=[[University of Zagreb]], Faculty of Science, Geology Department|language=hr|title=Mladen Juračić|trans-title=Geology of the sea, Mediterranean and Adriatic|url=http://geol.pmf.hr/~mjuracic/predavanja/Geologija.mora/Geol.mora.13.Med.Jadran.pdf|access-date=28 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> An unbroken zone of increased seismic activity borders the Adriatic Sea, with a belt of [[thrust fault]]s generally oriented in the northeast–southwest direction on the east coast and the northeast–southwest normal faults in the Apennines, indicating an Adriatic counterclockwise rotation.{{sfn|Muço|2006|p=352}}

An active {{convert|200|km|adj=on}} [[Fault (geology)|fault]] has been identified to the northwest of Dubrovnik, adding to the [[Dalmatia]]n islands as the Eurasian Plate slides over the Adriatic microplate. Furthermore, the fault causes the Apennine peninsula's southern tip to move towards the opposite shore by about {{convert|0.4|cm}} per year. If this movement continues, the seafloor will be completely consumed and the Adriatic Sea closed off in 50–70 million years.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=National Geographic News|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080125-europe-fault.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128113313/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080125-europe-fault.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 January 2008|title=New Fault Found in Europe; May "Close Up" Adriatic Sea|first=Sara|last=Goudarzi|date=25 January 2008|access-date=28 January 2012}}</ref> In the Northern Adriatic, the coast of the [[Gulf of Trieste]] and western [[Istria]] is gradually subsiding, having sunk about {{convert|1.5|m}} in the past two thousand years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Antonioli|first1=F.|last2=Anzidei|first2=M.|last3=Lambeck|first3=K.|last4=Auriemma|first4=R.|last5=Gaddi|first5=D.|last6=Furlani|first6=S.|last7=Orrù|first7=P.|last8=Solinas|first8=E.|last9=Gaspari|first9=A. | last10 = Karinja | first10 = S.|last11=Kovačić|first11=V.|last12=Surace|first12=L.|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.06.022|title=Sea-level change during the Holocene in Sardinia and in the northeastern Adriatic (central Mediterranean Sea) from archaeological and geomorphological data|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=26|issue=19–21|pages=2463–2486|year=2007|bibcode=2007QSRv...26.2463A}}</ref> In the Middle Adriatic Basin, there is evidence of [[Permian]] volcanism in the area of [[Komiža]] on the island of [[Vis (island)|Vis]] and the volcanic islands of [[Jabuka (island)|Jabuka]] and [[Brusnik (island)|Brusnik]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Zadarski list]]|url=http://www.zadarskilist.hr/clanci/30042011/ostaci-prastarog-vulkana-u-jadranu|language=hr|title=Ostaci prastarog vulkana u Jadranu|trans-title=Remains of an ancient volcano in the Adriatic Sea|first=Branimir|last=Vukosav|date=30 April 2011|access-date=24 February 2012}}</ref> Earthquakes have been observed in the region since the earliest historical records.{{sfn|Muço|2006|p=351}} A recent strong earthquake in the region was the [[1979 Montenegro earthquake]], measuring 7.0 on the [[Richter magnitude scale|Richter scale]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Montenegro seismological observatory|url=http://www.seismo.co.me/Historical.htm|title=Historical Seismicity of Montenegro|access-date=6 February 2012}}</ref> [[Historical earthquakes]] in the area include the [[1627 Gargano earthquake|1627 Gargano]] peninsula and the [[1667 Dubrovnik earthquake|1667 Dubrovnik]] earthquakes, both followed by strong tsunamis.{{sfn|Soloviev et al.|2000|pp=47–52}} In the last 600 years, fifteen tsunamis have occurred in the Adriatic Sea.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Natural Hazards|doi=10.1007/s11069-011-9916-3|volume=61|issue=2|title=Historical tsunamis in the Adriatic Sea|year=2012|issn=1573-0840|publisher=International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards|first1=Mira|last1=Pasarić|first2=B|last2=Brizuela|first3=L|last3=Graziani|first4=A|last4=Maramai|first5=M|last5=Orlić|pages=281–316|bibcode=2012NatHa..61..281P|s2cid=128392992}}</ref>

=== Seafloor sediment === [[File:Spring Runoff in the Adriatic Sea.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Sediment]] billowing out from Italy's shore into the Adriatic|alt=Greenish band around the Adriatic coast of Italy]] All types of [[seafloor sediment]]s are found in the Adriatic Sea. The Northern Adriatic's comparatively shallow seabed is characterised by relict sand (from times when the water level was lower and the area was a sandy beach), while a muddy bed is typical at depths below {{convert|100|m}}.<ref name="Adriamed">{{cite web|publisher=FAO AdriaMed|url=http://www.faoadriamed.org/pdf/publications/td13/mmm-td-13.pdf|title=Adriatic Sea Fisheries: outline of some main facts|first1=Piero|last1=Mannini|first2=Fabio|last2=Massa|first3=Nicoletta|access-date=29 January 2012|last3=Milone}}</ref>{{sfn|Schwartz|2005|p=575}} There are five [[Geomorphology|geomorphological]] units in the Adriatic: the Northern Adriatic (up to {{convert|100|m}} deep); the North Adriatic islands area protected against sediments filling it in by outer islands (pre-[[Holocene]] [[karst]] relief); the Middle Adriatic islands area (large Dalmatian islands); the Middle Adriatic (characterized by the Middle Adriatic Depression); and the Southern Adriatic consisting of a coastal [[Continental shelf|shelf]] and the Southern Adriatic Depression. Sediments deposited in the Adriatic Sea today generally come from the northwest coast, being carried by the Po, [[Reno (river)|Reno]], [[Adige]], [[Brenta (river)|Brenta]], [[Tagliamento]], [[Piave (river)|Piave]] and Soča rivers. The volume of sediments carried from the eastern shore by the [[Rječina]], [[Zrmanja]], Krka, [[Cetina]], [[Ombla]], [[Dragonja]], [[Mirna (Croatia)|Mirna]], [[Raša (river)|Raša]] and [[Neretva#Neretva Delta|Neretva]] rivers is negligible, because these sediments are mostly deposited at the river mouths. The Adriatic's western shores are largely either [[Flat coast|alluvial]] or [[Marine terrace|terraced]], whereas the eastern shores are predominantly rocky, except for the southernmost part of the shore located in Albania that consists of sandy coves and rocky capes.<ref name="Juračić" />

=== Coasts === [[File:Island Brac (20964156612).jpg|thumb|[[Pebble]] beach at [[Brač]] island, in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia]] The eastern Adriatic shore's Croatian part is the most indented Mediterranean coastline.{{sfn|Randić|2002|pp=155–156}} Most of the eastern coast is characterised by a karst topography, developed from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform's exposure to weathering. Karstification there largely began after the Dinarides' final uplift in the Oligocene and the [[Miocene]], when [[carbonate rock|carbonate deposits]] were exposed to atmospheric effects; this extended to the level of {{convert|120|m}} below the present sea level, exposed during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]]. It is estimated that some karst formations are from earlier sea level drops, most notably the [[Messinian salinity crisis]].<ref name="Surić" /> Similarly, karst developed in [[Apulia]] from the Apulian Carbonate Platform.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Acta Carsologica|volume=40|issue=1|pages=73–93|year=2011|first=Mario|last=Parise|title=Surface and subsurface karst geomorphology in the Murge (Apulia, Southern Italy)|issn=0583-6050|publisher=[[Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts]]|doi=10.3986/ac.v40i1.30|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Riviera del Conero e Colli dell'Infinito - www.rivieradelconero.info.jpg|thumb|Coast of [[Mount Conero]] in Italy]] The largest part of the eastern coast consists of carbonate rocks, while [[flysch]] (a particular type of sedimentary rock) is significantly represented in the Gulf of Trieste coast, especially along Slovenia's coast where the {{convert|80|m|adj=on}} [[Strunjan cliff]]—the highest cliff on the entire Adriatic and the only one of its type on the eastern Adriatic coast—is located,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2008/strunjan_cela_1009.pdf|title=Zavarovano območje narave: Krajinski park Strunjan / Area prottetta: Parco naturale di Strugnano|trans-title=Protected Area of Nature: Strunjan Landscape Park|publisher=Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation|year=2008|access-date=5 February 2012|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331064341/http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2008/strunjan_cela_1009.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> on the [[Kvarner Gulf]] coast opposite Krk, and in Dalmatia north of Split.{{sfn|Tomljenović|Csontos|Márton|Márton|2008|pp=146–149}} Rocks of the same type are found in Albania and on the western Adriatic coast.{{sfn|Beccaluva|Shallo|Coltorti|Premti|1997|pp=7–16}}{{sfn|Vezzani|Festa|Ghisetti|2010|pp=6–56}}

There are alternations of maritime and alluvial [[sediment]]s occurring in the [[Po Valley#Geology|Po Valley]], at the Adriatic's north-west coast, and as far west as [[Piacenza]], dating to the [[Pleistocene]] as the sea advanced and receded over the valley. An advance began after the Last Glacial Maximum, which brought the Adriatic to a high point at about 5,500 years ago.{{sfn|McKinney|2007|pp=123–132}} Since then, the Po delta has been [[progradation|prograding]] (expanding/extending). The rate of coastal zone progradation between 1000 BC and 1200 AD was {{convert|4|m}} per year.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Distributary channels and their impact on sediment dispersal|first1=James P M|last1=Syvitski|journal=Marine Geology|volume=222–223|issue=15|pages=75–94|doi=10.1016/j.margeo.2005.06.030|date=October 2005|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|last2=Kettner|first2=Albert J|last3=Correggiari|first3=Anna|last4=Nelson|first4=Bruce W|issn=0025-3227|bibcode=2005MGeol.222...75S}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In the 12th century, the delta advanced at a rate of {{convert|25|m}} per year. In the 17th century, the delta began to become a human-controlled environment, as the excavation of artificial channels started; the channels and new [[Distributary|distributaries]] of the Po have been prograding at rates of {{convert|50|m}} per year or more since then.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Theseus Project|url=http://www.theseusproject.eu/wiki/Geological_processes_in_the_Anthropocene:_the_Po_River_Delta|access-date=28 January 2012|title=Geological processes in the Anthropocene: the Po River Delta}}</ref> There are more than 20 other rivers flowing into the Adriatic Sea in Italy alone, also forming [[alluvial]] coastlines,{{sfn|Barrocu|2003|p=210}} including the lagoons of [[Venice Lagoon|Venice]], [[Marano-Grado Lagoon|Grado]] and [[Caorle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dsa.unipr.it/lagunet/med03/abstracts_Conference.pdf|title=Ecological indicators of estuarine features on hard substrata in the large North Adriatic lagoons|author=Renato Sconfietti|access-date=31 March 2012|publisher=Institute for Environment and Sustainability Inland and Marine Waters Unit|work=Proceedings of the International Conference on Southern European Coastal Lagoons: The Influence of River Basin-Coastal Zone interactions|date=November 2003|archive-date=10 July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040710004856/http://www.dsa.unipr.it/lagunet/med03/abstracts_Conference.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are smaller eastern Adriatic alluvial coasts—in the deltas of the Dragonja,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Government of Slovenia]]|url=http://www.vlada.si/en/about_slovenia/geography/the_slovenian_sea/|title=Slovenian Sea|access-date=3 February 2012|archive-date=19 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719181245/http://www.vlada.si/en/about_slovenia/geography/the_slovenian_sea/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Buna (Adriatic Sea)#Border river and the mouth|Buna]] and Neretva rivers.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=EURONATUR|url=http://www.euronatur.org/uploads/media/Chapt_1-3_Rapid_assessment_of_the_Ecological_Value_of_the_Bojana-Buna_Delta_01.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202160923/http://www.euronatur.org/uploads/media/Chapt_1-3_Rapid_assessment_of_the_Ecological_Value_of_the_Bojana-Buna_Delta_01.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=Rapid assessment of the Ecological Value of the Bojana-Buna Delta|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Croatian Medical Journal|publisher=Medicinska Naklada|title=The Neretva Delta: Green Pearl of Coastal Croatia|first=Jasmina|last=Mužinić|pmc=2121601|date=April 2007|volume=48|issue=2|pages=127–129}}</ref>

== Biogeography and ecology == The Adriatic Sea is a unique water body in respect of its overall [[Biogeochemistry|biogeochemical]] physiognomy. It exports inorganic nutrients and imports particulate organic carbon and nitrogen through the Strait of Otranto—acting as a mineralization site. The exchange of the substances is made more complex by bathymetry of the Adriatic Sea—75% of water flowing north through the strait recirculates at the Palagruža Sill and North Adriatic adds no more than 3–4% of water to the South Adriatic.{{sfn|Gačić|Civitarese|Ursella|1999|p=356}} This is reflected in its [[biogeography]] and [[ecology]], and particularly in the composition and properties of its [[ecosystem]]s.{{sfn|Lipej|Dulčić|2004|pp=291–300}} Its main biogeographic units are the Northern Adriatic, the Central Adriatic, and the Southern Adriatic.{{sfn|Bianchi|2007|p=10}}

=== Flora and fauna ===  The unique nature of the Adriatic gives rise to an abundance of [[endemism|endemic]] flora and fauna. The Croatian National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan identified more than 7,000 animal and plant species in the Adriatic Sea. The Central Adriatic is especially abundant in endemic plant species, with 535 identified species of [[Green algae|green]], [[Brown algae|brown]] and [[red algae]].<ref name="USAID-Bio">{{cite web|publisher=Natural Resources Management & Development Portal|url=http://rmportal.net/library/content/118_croatia/view?searchterm=en|title=Biodiversity assessment for Croatia|date=31 December 2000|author=Chemonics International Inc|access-date=31 January 2012|archive-date=2 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202161413/http://rmportal.net/library/content/118_croatia/view?searchterm=en|url-status=dead}}</ref> Four out of five Mediterranean [[seagrass]] species are found in the Adriatic Sea. The most common species are ''[[Cymodocea nodosa]]'' and ''[[Zostera|Zostera noltii]]'', while ''[[Zostera marina]]'' and ''[[Posidonia oceanica]]'' are comparatively rare.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Aquatic Botany]]|volume=77|year=2003|pages=17–25|title=Genome size of Adriatic seagrasses|url=http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/57225.pdf|issn=0304-3770|first1=Jasna Dolenc|last1=Koce|first2=Barbara|last2=Vilhar|first3=Borut|last3=Bohanec|first4=Marina|last4=Dermastia|issue=1|doi=10.1016/S0304-3770(03)00072-X|bibcode=2003AqBot..77...17K}}</ref>

A number of [[Rare species|rare]] and [[threatened species]] are also found along the Adriatic's eastern coast; it is relatively clearer and less polluted than the western Adriatic coast—in part because the sea currents flow through the Adriatic in a counterclockwise direction, thus bringing clearer waters up the eastern coast and returning increasingly polluted water down the western coast. This circulation has significantly contributed to the biodiversity of the countries along the eastern Adriatic coast; the [[common bottlenose dolphin]] is frequent in the eastern coast's waters only, and the Croatian coast provides refuge for the critically endangered [[Mediterranean monk seal|monk seal]] and sea turtles.<ref name="USAID-Bio" /> Recent studies revealed that [[cetacean]]s and other marine [[megafauna]]s, that were once thought to be vagrants to Adriatic Sea, migrate and live in the semi-closed sea on larger scales.<ref name=ebsaws>D. Holcer D.. Fortuna M.C.. Mackelworth C. P.. 2014. [https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ebsaws-2014-03/other/ebsaws-2014-03-submission-rac-spa-sr-01-en.pdf Status and Conservation of Cetaceans in the Adriatic Sea] (pdf). [[United Nations Environment Programme]]. Mediterranean Action Plan. Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas. Retrieved on 4 September 2017</ref> Largest of these live normally is the [[fin whale]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tethys.org/tethys/fin-whales-in-the-adriatic/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425203511/http://www.tethys.org/tethys/fin-whales-in-the-adriatic/|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 April 2016|title=Fin whales in the Adriatic – Tethys Research Institute|date=25 April 2016}}</ref> and [[sperm whale]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4i3ACEANwk|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/z4i3ACEANwk|archive-date=2021-11-14|url-status=live|title=Kitovi kod Tijata|last=Neven Cukrov|date=9 September 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> the largest of toothed whales also migrate but less common than fin whales, followed by [[Cuvier's beaked whale]]s.<ref name=ebsaws /> [[Basking shark]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVciA9I2Rbw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103101830/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVciA9I2Rbw|archive-date=2017-01-03|url-status=dead|title=Incontro ravvicinato nel Mar Adriatico con uno squalo di 8 metri|last=Alessandro Vatalakis|date=16 April 2015|via=YouTube}}</ref> and [[manta ray]]s are some of migrant species to the sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edesabata.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/cetorino-mancusi-cybium.pdf|title=On the presence of basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) in the Mediterranean Sea}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Ce3GLaNPw|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/d0Ce3GLaNPw|archive-date=2021-11-14|url-status=live|title=Morski pas kod Ilovika|last=Grlograb Brudi|date=9 May 2011|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/jadransko-more-je-puno-morskih-pasa--kitova--kornjaca-i-dupina/880217/?foto=2|title=Jadransko more je puno morskih pasa, kitova, kornjača i dupina|access-date=14 April 2016|archive-date=27 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827124401/http://www.jutarnji.hr/jadransko-more-je-puno-morskih-pasa--kitova--kornjaca-i-dupina/880217/?foto=2|url-status=dead}}</ref> Historical presences of depleted or extinct species such as [[North Atlantic right whale]]s (extinct or functionally extinct), [[Atlantic Gray Whale|Atlantic gray whales]] (extinct), and [[humpback whale]]s have been speculated as well.<ref>The MORSE Project – [http://morse.cefe.cnrs.fr/?p=84. Ancient whale exploitation in the Mediterranean: species matters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220073138/http://morse.cefe.cnrs.fr/?p=84. |date=20 December 2016 }}</ref>

Tuna has been caught by the locals in the upper Adriatic for thousands of years. The very large schools consisted mainly of [[little tunny]] and moved as far as the [[Gulf of Trieste]]. However, increasing fishing prevented the migration of large schools of fish to the north. The last major tuna catch was made there in 1954 by the fishermen from Santa Croce, Contovello and [[Barcola]].<ref>Andrea Di Matteo "Santa Croce, 1954: ultima grande pescata di tonni", Il Piccolo, 23. August 2014.</ref>

The Northern Adriatic in particular is rich in endemic fish fauna.{{sfn|Bombace|1992|pp=379–382}} Around thirty species of fish are found in only one or two countries bordering the Adriatic Sea. These are particularly due to or dependent upon the [[karst]] morphology of the coastal or submarine topography; this includes inhabiting subterranean habitats, karst rivers, and areas around freshwater springs.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ministry of Culture (Croatia)]]|first=Ivna|last=Vukšić|url=http://www.min-kulture.hr/userdocsimages/priroda/4th_NR%20to%20CBD.pdf|title=Fourth national report of the Republic of Croatia to the Convention on Biological Diversity|date=18 May 2009|access-date=22 March 2012|archive-date=26 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826202726/http://www.min-kulture.hr/userdocsimages/priroda/4th_NR%20to%20CBD.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are 45 known [[subspecies]] endemic to the Adriatic's coasts and islands. In the Adriatic, there are at least 410 species and subspecies of fish, representing approximately 70% of Mediterranean taxa, with at least 7 species endemic to the Adriatic. Sixty-four known species are threatened with extinction, largely because of overfishing.<ref name="USAID-Bio" /> Only a small fraction of the fish found in the Adriatic are attributed to recent processes such as [[Lessepsian migration]], and escape from [[mariculture]].{{sfn|Lipej|Dulčić|2004|p=300}}

=== Protected areas === [[File:Tremiti 00.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tremiti Islands]] protected area]] {{see also|Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance}} The biodiversity of the Adriatic is relatively high, and several [[marine protected area]]s have been established by countries along its coasts. In Italy, these are [[Miramare]] in the Gulf of Trieste (in the Northern Adriatic), [[Torre del Cerrano]] and [[Tremiti Islands]] in the Middle Adriatic basin and [[Torre Guaceto]] in southern Apulia.<ref name="EU-Casestudy" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torredelcerrano.it/dove-siamo.html|language=it|work=Torre del Cerrano|title=Dove Siamo|trans-title=Where We Are|access-date=24 March 2012|year=2010|archive-date=10 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210110437/http://www.torredelcerrano.it/dove-siamo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Miramare protected area was established in 1986 and covers {{convert|30|ha}} of coast and {{convert|90|ha}} of sea. The area encompasses {{convert|1.8|km}} of coastline near the Miramare promontory in the Gulf of Trieste.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=La Riserva Marina di Miramare|url=http://www.riservamarinamiramare.it/riserva/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040918143056/http://www.riservamarinamiramare.it/riserva/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 September 2004|title=La Riserva|trans-title=The reserve|language=it|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> The Torre del Cerrano protected area was created in 2009, extending {{convert|3|nmi|km mi}} into the sea and along {{convert|7|km}} of coastline. Various zones of the protected area cover {{convert|37|km2}} of sea surface.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Marine Protected Area Torre Cerrano|url=http://www.torredelcerrano.it/en/the-marine-protected-area.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514071109/http://www.torredelcerrano.it/en/the-marine-protected-area.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 May 2013|title=The Marine Protected Area|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> The Tremiti Islands reserve has been protected since 1989, while the Tremiti islands themselves are part of the [[Gargano National Park]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=tremiti.eu|url=http://www.tremiti.eu/isole/riserva_marina/parco.aspx|language=it|title=Riserva Marina delle Isole Tremiti|trans-title=Tremiti Islands Marine Reserve|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> The Torre Guaceto protected area, located near [[Brindisi]] and [[Carovigno]], covers a sea surface of {{convert|2227|ha}} and is adjacent to the Torre Guaceto State Reserve covering {{convert|1114|ha}} of coast and sharing an {{convert|8|km|adj=on}} coastline with the marine protected area.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Consorzio di Gestione di Torre Guaceto|url=http://www.parks.it/riserva.marina.torre.guaceto/Epar.php|title=Protected Area|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> Furthermore, there are 10 [[List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance|internationally important (Ramsar) wetland reserves]] in Italy located along the Adriatic coast.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ramsar Convention]]|url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-anno-italy/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16565_4000_0__|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707134657/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-anno-italy/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16565_4000_0__|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2013|title=The Annotated Ramsar List: Italy|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Levrnaka bay.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kornati]] National Park]] There are seven marine protected areas in Croatia: [[Brijuni]] and the [[Lim (Croatia)|Lim Canal]] off the Istria peninsula's coast, near [[Pula]] and [[Rovinj]] respectively; [[Kornati]] and [[Telašćica]] in the Middle Adriatic basin, near [[Zadar]]; and [[Lastovo]], [[Bay of Mali Ston]] ({{langx|hr|Malostonski zaljev}}) and [[Mljet]] in southern Dalmatia.<ref name="EU-Casestudy" /> The Brijuni [[national park]] encompasses the {{convert|743.3|ha|adj=on}} archipelago itself and {{convert|2651.7|ha}} of surrounding sea;<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Brijuni]] national park|url=http://www.brijuni.hr/en/general_info|title=General Info|access-date=31 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114031922/http://www.brijuni.hr/en/general_info|archive-date=14 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> it became a national park in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Brijuni]] national park|url=http://www.brijuni.hr/en/o_nama/documents_and_reports|title=Documents and reports|access-date=31 January 2012|archive-date=2 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202162138/http://www.brijuni.hr/en/o_nama/documents_and_reports|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Lim Canal is a {{convert|10|km|adj=on}} [[ria]] of the [[Pazinčica]] river.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=City of [[Rovinj]]|url=http://www.rovinj.hr/rovinj/rovinj/priroda/limski-kanal|title=Limski kanal|trans-title=Lim Canal|language=hr|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> The Kornati national park was established in 1980; it covers approximately {{convert|220|km2}}, including 89 islands and islets. The marine environment encompasses three-quarters of the total area, while the island shores' combined length equals {{convert|238|km}}.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Kornati]] national park|url=http://www.kornati.hr/index.php/en/about-park|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809181343/http://www.kornati.hr/index.php/en/about-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 August 2013|title=About Park|access-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> Telašćica is a nature park established on [[Dugi Otok]] in 1988. The park covers {{convert|69|km}} of coastline, {{convert|22.95|km2}} of land and {{convert|44.55|km2}} of sea.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Telašćica nature park|url=http://www.telascica.hr/opci-podaci.php?lang=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723164440/http://www.telascica.hr/opci-podaci.php?lang=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2009|title=Nature Park Telašćica|access-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> The Bay of Mali Ston is located at the border of Croatia and Bosnia–Herzegovina, north of the [[Pelješac]] peninsula. The marine protected area covers {{convert|48|km2}}.<ref name="EU-Casestudy" /> The Lastovo nature park was established in 2006, and it includes 44 islands and islets, {{convert|53|km2}} of land and {{convert|143|km2}} of sea surface.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Lastovo nature park|url=http://www.pp-lastovo.hr/en/lastovo/about-us/nature-park|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202162625/http://www.pp-lastovo.hr/en/lastovo/about-us/nature-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=About Us|access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref> The Mljet national park was established in 1960, covering a {{convert|24|km2|adj=on}} marine protection area.<ref name="EU-Casestudy" /> In addition, there is a Ramsar wetland reserve in Croatia—the [[Neretva#Ramsar site|Neretva river's delta]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ramsar Convention]]|url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-anno-croatia/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16461_4000_0__|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202163227/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-anno-croatia/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E16461_4000_0__|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=The Annotated Ramsar List: Croatia|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Karavasta.jpg|thumb|left|[[Karavasta Lagoon]] in Albania]] In Slovenia, the marine and coastal protected nature areas are the [[Sečovlje Salina Landscape Park]], [[Strunjan Landscape Park]], [[Škocjan Inlet|Škocjan Inlet Nature Reserve]], and the [[Debeli Rtič]], [[Cape Madona]] and [[Lakes in Fiesa]] natural monuments.<ref name="SI-PAs">{{cite journal|url=http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2011/Vidmar_Turk_2538.pdf|pages=159–170|issn=0506-4252|first1=Barbara|last1=Vidmar|first2=Robert|last2=Turk|title=Marine protected areas in Slovenia: How far are we from the 2012/2020 target?|date=September 2011|publisher=Nature Conservation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia|volume=Suppl.|issue=1|journal=Varstvo Narave|access-date=10 August 2012|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331065317/http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2011/Vidmar_Turk_2538.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zrsvn.si/sl/informacija.asp?id_meta_type=63&id_informacija=651|title=Naravni spomenik Jezeri v Fiesi|language=sl|trans-title=The Fiesa Lakes Natural Monument|publisher=Nature Conservation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia|access-date=4 February 2012|archive-date=10 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310223411/http://www.zrsvn.si/sl/informacija.asp?id_meta_type=63&id_informacija=651|url-status=dead}} {{in lang|sl}}</ref> The Sečovlje Salina Landscape Park was established in 1990, covers {{convert|721|ha}}, and includes four [[nature reserve]]s.<ref name="SORSYB11-40">{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/01-11.pdf|chapter=Territory and climate|at=p. 40 ("Enlarged protected areas of nature – natural parks")|title=Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Slovenia 2011|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia|issn=1318-5403|access-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515095910/http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/01-11.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.dedi.si/dediscina/430-secoveljske-soline|title=Sečoveljske soline|trans-title=Sečovlje Saltworks|encyclopedia=Enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem – DEDI|first=Primož|last=Pipan|editor1-last=Šmid Hribar|editor1-first=Mateja|editor2-last=Torkar|editor2-first=Gregor|editor3-last=Golež|editor3-first=Mateja|editor4-last=Podjed|editor4-first=Dan|editor5-last=Kladnik|editor5-first=Drago|editor6-last=Erhartič|editor6-first=Bojan|editor7-last=Pavlin|editor7-first=Primož|editor8-last=Jerele|editor8-first=Ines|access-date=3 February 2012|language=sl|archive-date=15 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715105338/http://www.dedi.si/dediscina/430-secoveljske-soline|url-status=dead}} {{in lang|sl}}</ref> In 1993, the area was designated a Ramsar site;<ref name="SI-PAs" /> it is also a site of international importance for [[water bird|waterbird]] species.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unep-aewa.org/meetings/en/mop/mop4_docs/national_reports/pdf/slovenia2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120102824/http://www.unep-aewa.org/meetings/en/mop/mop4_docs/national_reports/pdf/slovenia2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 November 2012|title=Report of the Republic of Slovenia on the implementation of the Agreement in the period 2005–2007|publisher=[[Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds]]|year=2008|access-date=21 June 2012}}</ref> The {{convert|429|ha|adj=on}} Strunjan Landscape Park was established in 2004 and comprises two nature reserves.<ref name="SI-PAs" /><ref name="SORSYB11-40" /> It includes a {{convert|4|km}} long cliff, the northernmost Mediterranean [[salt evaporation pond|salt field]] and the only Slovenian [[lagoon]] system.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/pdfs/Synthesis_Report_web.pdf|chapter=Saltpans of Strunjan, Slovenia – proposal|title=Landscape Management Methodologies: Synthesis report of thematic studies|pages=286–291|first=Nataša|last=Bratina Jurkovič|publisher=[[United Nations Environment Programme]]|date=April 2011|access-date=5 February 2012|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924063931/http://www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/pdfs/Synthesis_Report_web.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also the northernmost point of growth of some Mediterranean plant species.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2011/Putrle_2532.pdf|title=Landscape Park Strunjan|first=Dejan|last=Putrle|journal=Varstvo Narave|page=187|date=September 2011|publisher=Nature Conservation Institute of the Republic of Slovenia|issn=0506-4252|volume=Suppl.|issue=1|access-date=5 February 2012|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331064311/http://www.zrsvn.si/dokumenti/63/2/2011/Putrle_2532.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Škocjan Inlet Nature Reserve was established in 1998 and covers {{convert|122|ha}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://skocjanski-zatok.org/rezervat/osebna-izkaznica/|title=Osebna izkaznica|language=sl|trans-title=Identity Card|access-date=4 February 2012|publisher=Bird Watching and Bird Study Society of Slovenia}} {{in lang|sl}}</ref> The Debeli Rtič natural monument covers {{convert|24|ha}},<ref name="GEOPEDIA.SIZO-BDG">{{cite web|url=http://www.geopedia.si/?params=L11499#T105_L11499_F364_x399238_y50410_s16_b4|title=Zavarovana območja: Debeli rtič|language=sl|trans-title=Protected Areas: Debeli Rtič|access-date=31 August 2012|work=Geopedia.si|date=May 2007|publisher=Agencija RS za okolje; Zavod Republike Slovenije za varstvo narave; Synergise, d. o. o.|archive-date=31 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731001301/http://www.geopedia.si/?params=L11499#T105_L11499_F364_x399238_y50410_s16_b4|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Cape Madona natural monument covers {{convert|12|ha}},<ref name="GEOPEDIA.SIZO-RM">{{cite web|url=http://www.geopedia.si/lite.jsp?locale=en&params=T105_L11499_F364_x399986_y50090_s15_b4#T105_L11499_F12_x388259_y43840_s17_b4|title=Zavarovana območja: Rt Madona v Piranu|language=sl|trans-title=Protected Areas: Cape Madona in Piran|access-date=31 August 2012|work=Geopedia.si|date=May 2007|publisher=Agencija RS za okolje; Zavod Republike Slovenije za varstvo narave; Synergise, d. o. o.}}</ref> and the Lakes in Fiesa natural monument, with the coastal lake as the only [[brackish water|brackish lake]] in Slovenia,<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/20762|title=Microplanktonic and Microbenthic Algal Assemblages in the Coastal Brackish Lake Fiesa and the Dragonja Estuary (Slovenia)|last1=Krivograd Klemenčič|first1=Aleksandra|last2=Vrhovšek|first2=Danijel|last3=Smolar-Žvanut|first3=Nataša|journal=Natura Croatica|publisher=Croatian Natural History Museum|volume=16|issue=1|date=31 March 2007}}</ref> covers {{convert|2.1|ha}}.<ref name="GEOPEDIA.SIZO-LF">{{cite web|url=http://www.geopedia.si/lite.jsp?locale=en&params=T105_L11499_F364_x399986_y50090_s15_b4#T105_L11499_F29_x389600_y43143_s17_b4|title=Zavarovana območja: Jezeri v Fiesi|language=sl|trans-title=Protected Areas: Lakes in Fiesa|access-date=31 August 2012|work=Geopedia.si|date=May 2007|publisher=Agencija RS za okolje; Zavod Republike Slovenije za varstvo narave; Synergise, d. o. o.}}</ref>

In 2010, Albania established its first marine protection area, the [[Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park]] at the [[Karaburun Peninsula, Albania|Karaburun Peninsula]] where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet. The park covers a total of {{convert|12570|ha}}.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=shqiperia.com|url=http://lajme.shqiperia.com/lajme/artikull/iden/1046857853/titulli/VENDIM-PER-SHPALLJEN-PARK-KOMBETAR-TE-EKOSISTEMIT-NATYROR-DETAR-PRANE-GADISHULLIT-TE--KARABURUNIT-DHE-ISHULLIT-TE-SAZANIT#minimize|title=Vendim për shpalljen "Park Kombëtar" të ekosistemit natyror detar pranë gadishullit të Karaburunit dhe ishullit të Sazanit|language=sq|trans-title=Decision to declare as a "National Park" the maritime natural ecosystem of Karaburun Peninsula and Sazan Island|access-date=31 January 2012}} {{in lang|sq}}</ref> Two additional marine protection areas are planned in Albania: the [[Cape of Rodon]] ({{langx|sq|Kepi i Rodonit}}) and [[Porto Palermo]].<ref name="EU-Casestudy" /> In addition, Albania is home to two Ramsar wetland reserves: [[Karavasta Lagoon]], and [[Butrint]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ramsar Convention]]|url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-annotated-ramsar-17050/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E17050_4000_0__|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525104329/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-pubs-annolist-annotated-ramsar-17050/main/ramsar/1-30-168%5E17050_4000_0__|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 May 2012|title=The Annotated Ramsar List: Albania|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref> Neither Bosnia–Herzegovina nor Montenegro have or plan to establish any marine protection areas.<ref name="EU-Casestudy" />

=== Pollution ===  The Adriatic Sea ecosystem is threatened by excessive input of nutrients through drainage from agricultural land and wastewater flowing from cities; this includes both along its coast and from rivers draining into the sea—especially from the [[Po River]].{{sfn|Chin|2006|pp=5–6}} Venice is often cited as an example of polluted coastal waters where shipping, transportation, farming, manufacturing and wastewater disposal contribute to polluting the sea.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=CNN|url=http://articles.cnn.com/1999-09-23/nature/9909_23_venice.enn_1_greenpeace-activists-pollution-mussels?_s=PM:NATURE|title=Woes of Venice Lagoon tackled in U.S.|date=23 September 1999|access-date=27 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102140506/http://articles.cnn.com/1999-09-23/nature/9909_23_venice.enn_1_greenpeace-activists-pollution-mussels?_s=PM:NATURE|archive-date=2 November 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> A further risk is presented by [[Ballast water discharge and the environment|ballast water discharge]] by ships, especially [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]]. Still, since most of the cargo handled by the Adriatic ports, and virtually all liquid (tanker) cargo handled by the ports, is coming to—not coming from—the Adriatic Basin, the risk from ballast water (from tankers expelling ballast water then loading in the Adriatic) remains minimal. However, proposed export oil pipelines were objected to specifically because of this issue. Oil spills are a major concern in terms of potential environmental impact and damage to tourism and fisheries.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[University of Zagreb]]|url=http://www.fsb.unizg.hr/sorta2004/abstract/t11-3-jelavic.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202164124/http://www.fsb.unizg.hr/sorta2004/abstract/t11-3-jelavic.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=Ecologic risks from crude oil tankers in Croatian part of Adriatic Sea|first1=Vedran|last1=Jelavić|first2=Damir|last2=Radan|year=2004|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref> It is estimated that if a major oil spill happened, a million people would lose their livelihoods in Croatia alone.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Jutarnji list]]|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/tankerska-havarija-u-jadranu-bez-prihoda-bi-ostavila-milijun-ljudi/770990/|language=hr|title=Tankerska havarija u Jadranu bez prihoda bi ostavila milijun ljudi|trans-title=A tanker disaster in the Adriatic would cost a million people their livelihood|date=14 May 2010|first1=Sergej|last1=Trajković|first2=Nevenka|last2=Horvat|access-date=27 March 2012|archive-date=12 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112052759/http://www.jutarnji.hr/tankerska-havarija-u-jadranu-bez-prihoda-bi-ostavila-milijun-ljudi/770990/|url-status=dead}}</ref> An additional risk is presented by oil refineries in the Po River basin where oil spills have occurred before,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Environmental disaster warning as oil spill reaches the Po, Italy's biggest river|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/24/oil-spill-po-italy-river|date=24 February 2010|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref> in addition to accidents occurring in the Adriatic already, so far with no significant environmental consequences.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]|url=http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Crna-kronika/tabid/70/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/71121/Default.aspx|title=Havarija tankera na Hvaru: pijani kormilar vozio, kapetan boravio u – zahodu|trans-title=Tanker disaster on Hvar: drunken crewmember at the helm while the captain went to the toilet|language=hr|date=22 September 2009|first=M|last=Budimir|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref> Since 2006, Italy has been considering the construction of an offshore and an onshore [[liquified natural gas|LNG]] terminal in the [[Gulf of Trieste]], as well as a pipeline, in the immediate vicinity of the Slovenian–Italian border.{{sfn|Malačič|Faganeli|Malej|2008|pp=375–376}} The Slovenian government and municipalities,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=s&id=1659936|title=Coastal Town Mayors Protest over Italy's Gas Terminal|date=25 July 2011|work=STA: Slovenian Press Agency|access-date=27 March 2012|archive-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109002458/http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=s&id=1659936|url-status=dead}}</ref> the municipal council of Trieste,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1728281|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202164321/http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1728281|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=Minister Welcomes Trieste Council Decision against Gas Terminals|date=21 February 2012|work=STA: Slovenian Press Agency}}</ref> and non-governmental organisations have voiced concern over their environmental hazards, effect on transport and effect on tourism.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=s&id=1411690|title=Environmental NGO Labels Trieste Gas Terminal Time Bomb|date=21 July 2009|work=STA: Slovenian Press Agency|access-date=27 March 2012|archive-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109002412/http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=s&id=1411690|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[United Press International]]|url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/08/11/Slovenia-slams-Italys-Trieste-LNG-plans/UPI-33571313057100/|title=Slovenia slams Italy's Trieste LNG plans|date=11 August 2011|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref>

Another source of pollution of the Adriatic is solid waste. Drifting waste—occasionally relatively large quantities of material, especially waste plastic—is transported northwest by the sirocco.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]|url=http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Dubrovnik/tabid/75/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/125165/Default.aspx|title=Nevrijeme i Božićni blagdani: smeće u starom Portu|trans-title=Poor weather and Christmas holidays: waste in the old port|language=hr|date=26 December 2011|first=Ahmet|last=Kalajdžić|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref> Air pollution in the [[Adriatic Basin]] is associated with the large industrial centres in the Po River valley and the large industrial cities along the coast.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/world/europe/11iht-pollute.4.6099107.html?pagewanted=all|title=Made in Italy: Fashion, food, Fiat, pollution|first=Elisabeth|last=Rosenthal|date=11 June 2007|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Novi list]]|language=hr|url=http://www.novilist.hr/Vijesti/Rijeka/Kvaliteta-zraka-u-Rijeci-Mlaka-Urinj-i-Visevac-crne-tocke-zagadenja|title=Kvaliteta zraka u Rijeci: Mlaka, Urinj i Viševac crne točke zagađenja|trans-title=Quality of air in Rijeka: Mlaka, Urinj and Viševac are black spots of pollution|first=Marinko|last=Glavan|date=12 October 2011|access-date=27 March 2012}}</ref>

Italy and Yugoslavia established a joint commission to protect the Adriatic Sea from pollution in 1977; the organization later changed with Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro replacing Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection (Croatia)]]|url=http://www.mzoip.hr/default.aspx?id=10251|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715111220/http://www.mzoip.hr/default.aspx?id=10251|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 July 2012|title=The Joint Commission for the protection of the Adriatic Sea and coastal area from pollution|access-date=27 March 2012|year=2008}}</ref> Future pollution hazards are addressed and pollution hotspots are assessed not only by nations in the basin but also through regional projects with [[World Bank]] support. 27 such hotspots have been determined as of 2011, 6 warranting an urgent response.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Western Balkans Investment Framework|url=http://wbif.eu/lib_documents/0000/0188/WB_Adriatic_Sea_Environment_Program.pdf|date=November 2011|title=Addressing Adriatic Hot Spots: A Proposed Adriatic Environmental Program|access-date=27 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315131958/https://wbif.eu/lib_documents/0000/0188/WB_Adriatic_Sea_Environment_Program.pdf|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== History == [[File:The new old amphitheater in Pula Istria (19629095974).jpg|thumb|right|[[Pula Arena]], one of the six largest surviving Roman amphitheatres]] Settlements along the Adriatic dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC appear in Albania and [[Dalmatia]] on the eastern Adriatic coast, related to the [[Cardium pottery]] culture.{{sfn|Cunliffe|2008|pp=115–116}} During classical antiquity, [[Illyria]]ns inhabited the eastern coast,{{sfn|Wilkes|1995|pp=91–104}} and the western coast was inhabited by the [[Ancient peoples of Italy|peoples of Ancient Italy]], mainly [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]], before the [[Roman Republic]]'s rise.{{sfn|Hall|1996|pp=2–14}} [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] colonisation of the Adriatic dates back to the 7th and 6th centuries BC when the ancient cities of [[Epidamnos]] and [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Apollonia]] were founded. The Greeks soon expanded further north establishing several cities, including [[Ancona#Greek colony|Ancona]], [[Black Corcyra]], [[Epidaurus (Dalmatia)|Epidaurus]], [[Issa (colony)|Issa]], with trade established as far north as the [[Po (river)#Cultural history|Po]] River delta, where an [[Emporia (ancient Greece)|emporium]] (trading station) was founded in [[Adria]].{{sfn|Gruen|1986|p=359}}

=== Roman era === Roman economic and military influence in the region began to grow with the creation by 246 BC of a major naval base at Brundisium (now [[Brindisi]]), which was established to bar [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian]] ships from the Adriatic during the [[Punic Wars]]. This led to conflict with the [[Illyrians]], who lived in a collection of semi-[[Ancient Greece|Hellenized]] kingdoms that covered much of the Balkans and controlled the eastern shore of the sea, resulting in the [[Illyrian Wars]] from 229 to 168 BC. The initial Roman intervention in 229 BC, motivated in part by a desire to suppress Illyrian piracy in the Adriatic, marked the first time that the [[Roman navy]] crossed that sea to launch a military campaign.{{sfn|Grant|1978|pp=131–132}}<ref name="UNRV">{{cite web|url=http://www.unrv.com/provinces/illyricum.php|title=Illyricum – Dalmatia|publisher=UNRV|access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref> Those wars ended with the eastern shore becoming a province of the Roman Republic.{{sfn|Cabanes|2008|pp=155–186}} However, resistance to Roman rule continued sporadically and Rome did not completely consolidate control of the region until [[Augustus]]'s general [[Tiberius]] put down the [[Great Illyrian Revolt]], a bitter struggle waged from 6 to 9 AD.<ref name="UNRV" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hungarianheraldry.org/bosnia/|title=Bosnia-Herzegovina|access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref> Following the repression of the revolt the Roman province of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] was split into [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]] and [[Pannonia (Roman province)|Pannonia]]. Most of the eastern shore of the Adriatic was part of Dalmatia, except for the southernmost portion, part of the province of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]], and the peninsula of [[Istria]] on the northern part of the eastern shore; Istria contained the important Roman colony at [[Pula]] and was incorporated into the province of [[Italy (Roman Empire)|Italy]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

During the Roman period, Brundisium, on the western shore, and Apollonia and Dyrrachium (originally called Epidamnos, now [[Durrës]] in Albania) on the eastern shore became important ports. Brundisium was linked by the [[Appian Way|Via Appia]] road to the city of Rome, and Dyrrachium and Apollonia were both on the [[Via Egnatia]], a road that by about 130 BC the Romans had extended eastward across the Balkans to Byzantium (later [[Constantinople]], now Istanbul).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/images/Egnatian.htm/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010320080626/http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/images/Egnatian.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 March 2001|title=Via Egnatia|publisher=Crandall University|access-date=15 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.montclair.edu/chss/center-heritage-archaeological-studies/news-and-events/via-egnatia/|title=Via Egnatia: a journey across the lower Balkans through time|publisher=Montclair State: The College of Humanities and Social Sciences|access-date=15 August 2012}}</ref> This made the sea passage across the Adriatic between Brundisium and Dyrrachium (or Apollonia) a link in the primary route for travelers, trade, and troop movements, between Rome and the East. This route played a major role in some of the military operations that marked the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the [[Roman Empire|imperial period]]. [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]] used it during the [[First Mithridatic War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/vi-vr/via_egnatia/via_egnatia.html|title=Via Egnatia|publisher=Livius|access-date=15 August 2012|archive-date=18 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918002446/http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/via_egnatia/via_egnatia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> During [[Caesar's Civil War]], there was a three-month delay in [[Julius Caesar|Caesar's]] Balkan campaign against [[Pompey]] caused when winter storms on the Adriatic and a naval blockade held up [[Mark Antony]] from reaching him from Brundisium with reinforcements; after the reinforcements finally arrived Caesar made an unsuccessful [[Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC)|attempt to capture Dyrrachium]] before the campaign moved inland.{{sfn|Grant|1978|p=231}} Marc Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) crossed the Adriatic to Dyrrachium with their armies in their campaign against two of Caesar's assassins, [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]], that culminated in the [[Battle of Philippi]].{{sfn|Grant|1978|pp=242–243}} Brundisium and Dyrrachium remained important ports well after the Roman period, but an earthquake in the 3rd century AD changed the path of a river causing Apollonia's harbor to silt up, and the city to decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://albca.com/albania/apollonia.html|title=Apollonia, Illyria|publisher=Albanian Canadian Information Service|access-date=16 August 2012}}</ref>

Another city on the Italian coast of the Adriatic that increased in importance during the Roman era was [[Ravenna]]. During the reign of Augustus, it became a major naval base as part of his program to re-organize the Roman navy to better protect commerce in the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Grant|1978|pp=263–264}} During the 4th century AD the emperors of the [[Western Roman Empire]] had moved their official residence north from Rome to [[Mediolanum]] (now Milan) in order to be better able to control the military frontier with the Germanic tribes. In 402 AD, during a period of repeated Germanic invasions of Italy, the capital was shifted to Ravenna because nearby marshes made it more defensible, and the Adriatic provided an easy escape path by sea.{{sfn|Grant|1978|pp= 395–427}} When the Western Empire fell in 476 AD Ravenna became the capital of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] of Italy.{{sfn|Grant|1978|p=464}}

=== Middle Ages === [[File:Justinian mosaik ravenna.jpg|thumb|Mosaic of [[Emperor Justinian]] and his court, from the [[Basilica of San Vitale]] in [[Ravenna]], Italy]] In the [[Early Middle Ages]], after the [[decline of the Roman Empire|Roman Empire's decline]], the Adriatic's coasts were ruled by [[Ostrogoths]], [[Kingdom of the Lombards|Lombards]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]].{{sfn|Paul the Deacon|1974|pp=326–328}}{{sfn|Burns|1991|pp=126–130}} The Ostrogothic Kingdom ruled Italy following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. However, during the reign of [[Justinian]] the Byzantine Empire sent an army under the general [[Belisarius]] to regain control of Italy, resulting in the [[Gothic War (535–554)]]. The Byzantines established the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]] and by 553 AD their viceroy (Exarch) ruled almost the entire Italian peninsula from that city. In 568 AD the Lombards invaded northern Italy, and over the course of the next century or so the importance of the Exarchate declined as the territory under Lombard control expanded and as the Byzantine outpost of Venice became increasingly independent. In 752 AD the Lombards overthrew the Exarchate, ending the influence of the Byzantine Empire on the western shore of the Adriatic for a few centuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/ItalyRavenna.htm|title=Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna AD 552 – 754|publisher=The History Files|access-date=22 August 2012}}</ref>

The last part of the period saw the rise of the [[Carolingian Empire]] and then the [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Frankish Kingdom of Italy]], which controlled the Adriatic Sea's western coast,{{sfn|Goodrich|1856|p=773}} while [[Byzantine Dalmatia]] on the east coast gradually shrunk into [[Dalmatian city-states]] following the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avar]] and [[Principality of Dalmatian Croatia|Croatian]] invasions starting in the 7th century.{{sfn|Paton|1861|pp=218–219}} The [[Republic of Venice]], one of the [[maritime republics]], was founded during this period and went on to become a significant maritime power after receiving a Byzantine tax exemption in 1082.{{sfn|Buckley|Hebbert|Hughes|2004|pp=360–362}} The end of the period brought about the [[Holy Roman Empire]]'s control over the Kingdom of Italy (which would last until the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648),{{sfn|Nanjira|2010|pp=188–190}} the establishment of an independent [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Kingdom of Croatia]] and the Byzantine Empire's return to the southern Apennine peninsula.<ref name="Posavec">{{cite journal|journal=Radovi Zavoda Za Hrvatsku Povijest|volume=30|issue=1|issn=0353-295X|pages=281–290|title=Povijesni zemljovidi i granice Hrvatske u Tomislavovo doba|trans-title=Historical maps and borders of Croatia in age of Tomislav|language=hr|first=Vladimir|last=Posavec|date=March 1998|access-date=16 October 2011|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=62779}}</ref>{{sfn|Norwich|1997|pp=250–253}} In addition, the [[Papal States]] were carved out in the area around Rome and central Italy in the 8th century.{{sfn|Hinson|1995|pp=296–298}}

[[File:Canal Grande Chiesa della Salute e Dogana dal ponte dell Accademia.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Republic of Venice]] was a leading maritime power in Europe.]] The [[High Middle Ages]] in the Adriatic Sea basin saw further territorial changes, including the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy]] ending the Byzantine presence on the Apennine peninsula in the 11th and 12th centuries (the territory would become the [[Kingdom of Naples]] in 1282){{sfn|Brown|2003|pp=3–5}}{{sfn|Fremont-Barnes|2007|p=495}} and the control of a substantial part of the eastern Adriatic coast by the [[Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of Hungary]] after a [[personal union]] was established between Croatia and Hungary in 1102.<ref name="HR-HU-Heka">{{cite journal|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|issn=1332-4853|publisher=Hrvatski institut za povijest – Podružnica za povijest Slavonije, Srijema i Baranje|title=Hrvatsko-ugarski odnosi od sredinjega vijeka do nagodbe iz 1868. s posebnim osvrtom na pitanja Slavonije|trans-title=Croatian-Hungarian relations from the Middle Ages to the Compromise of 1868, with a special survey of the Slavonian issue|language=hr|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68144|first=Ladislav|last=Heka|date=October 2008|volume=8|issue=1|pages=152–173|access-date=16 October 2011}}</ref> In this period, the Republic of Venice began to expand its territory and influence.{{sfn|Norwich|1997|p=72}} In 1202, the [[Fourth Crusade]] was diverted to conquer [[Siege of Zara|Zadar]] at the behest of the Venetians—the first instance of a [[Crusades|Crusader force]] attacking a Catholic city—before proceeding to sack [[Constantinople]].{{sfn|Sethre|2003|pp=43–54}} In the 13th century, Venice established itself as a leading [[Economic history of Venice|maritime nation]]. During much of the 12th and 13th centuries, Venice and the [[Republic of Genoa]] were [[Venetian–Genoese Wars|engaged in warfare]] culminating in the [[War of Chioggia]], ousting the Genoese from the Adriatic.{{sfn|Braudel|1992|pp=118–119}} Still, the 1381 Treaty of Turin that ended the war required Venice to renounce claims to Dalmatia, after losing the territory to Hungary in 1358. In the same year, the [[Republic of Ragusa]] was established in Dubrovnik as a city-state after it was freed from Venetian suzerainty.{{sfn|Shaw|1976|p=48}}

Venice regained Dalmatia in 1409 and held it for nearly four hundred years, with the republic's apex of trading and military power in the first half of the 15th century.{{sfn|Crouzet-Pavan|Cochrane|2005|p=79}} The 15th and the 16th centuries brought about the Byzantine Empire's destruction in 1453 and the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s expansion that reached Adriatic shores in present-day Albania and Montenegro as well as the immediate hinterland of the Dalmatian coast,{{sfn|Browning|1992|p=133}}{{sfn|Reinert|2002|p=270}} defeating the Hungarian and Croatian armies at [[Battle of Krbava field|Krbava]] in 1493 and [[Battle of Mohács|Mohács]] in 1526.{{sfn|Frucht|2005|pp=422–423}} These defeats spelled the end of an independent Hungarian kingdom, and both [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatian]] and [[Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867)|Hungarian]] nobility chose [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] of the [[House of Habsburg]] as their new ruler, bringing the [[Habsburg monarchy]] to the shore of the Adriatic Sea, where it would remain for nearly four hundred years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sabor.hr/Default.aspx?sec=404|title=Povijest saborovanja|trans-title=History of parliamentarism|language=hr|publisher=[[Sabor]]|access-date=18 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202061135/http://www.sabor.hr/Default.aspx?sec=404|archive-date=2 December 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The Ottomans and Venetians fought a [[Ottoman–Venetian War|series of wars]], but until the 17th century these were not fought in the Adriatic area.{{sfn|Crouzet-Pavan|Cochrane|2005|pp=80–82}} Ottoman raids on the Adriatic coasts effectively ceased after the massive setback in the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in October 1571.{{sfn|Prothero|Leathes|Ward|1934|p=495}}

=== Early modern period === [[File:Battle of Lissa 1811.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Lissa (1811)|Battle of Lissa]], 1811]]

{{sfn|King|2003|p=241}} The 17th century's final territorial changes were caused by the [[Morean War|Morean or Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War]], when in 1699 Venice slightly enlarged its possessions in Dalmatia.{{sfn|Ivetic|2011|p=66}} In 1797, the Republic of Venice was abolished after the [[Napoleonic Wars|French conquest]].{{sfn|Martin|Romano|2002|p=219}} The Venetian territory was then handed over to [[Venetian Province|Austria]] and briefly ruled as part of the [[Archduchy of Austria]]. The territory was turned back over to France after the [[Peace of Pressburg (1805)|Peace of Pressburg]] in 1805 when the territory in the [[Po Valley#Early modern|Po valley]] became an integral part of the new [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]].{{sfn|Stephens|2010|pp=192, 245}}

The new kingdom included the province of [[Romagna]], thus removing the Papal State from the Adriatic coast;{{sfn|Levillain|2002|p=1103}} however, Trieste, Istria and Dalmatia were joined into a set of separate provinces of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]]: the [[Illyrian Provinces]].{{sfn|Stephens|2010|pp=192, 245}} These were created in 1809 through the [[Treaty of Schönbrunn]]; they represented the end of Venetian rule on the eastern Adriatic coast, as well as the end of the Republic of Ragusa.{{sfn|Grab|2003|pp=188–194}} The Adriatic Sea was a minor [[Theater (warfare)|theatre]] in the Napoleonic Wars; the [[Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814]] involved the [[Royal Navy]] contesting the Adriatic's control by the combined navies of France, Italy and the Kingdom of Naples. During the campaign, the British navy occupied Vis and established its base there in [[Vis (town)|Port St. George]].{{sfn|Henderson|1994|p=112}}

The campaign reached its climax in the 1811 [[Battle of Lissa (1811)|Battle of Lissa]],{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} and ended with British and [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] forces seizing the coastal cities on the eastern Adriatic coast from the French.{{sfn|James|Lambert|2002|p=180}} Days before the Battle of Waterloo, the [[Congress of Vienna]] awarded the Illyrian Provinces (spanning from the Gulf of [[Trieste#History|Trieste]] to the [[Bay of Kotor]]) to Austria.{{sfn|Nicolson|2000|pp=180, 226}} The Congress of Vienna also created the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]] which encompassed the city of Venice, the surrounding coast and a substantial hinterland, and was controlled by Austria.{{sfn|Schjerve|2003|p=200}} In the Apennine peninsula's south, the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] was formed in 1816 by unifying the kingdoms of Naples and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]].{{sfn|Sarti|2004|p=601}}

=== Modern period === [[File:Soerensen Seeschlacht bei Lissa 1866 Rammstoss.jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Lissa (1866)|Battle of Lissa]], 1866]] The process of [[Italian unification]] culminated in the [[Second Italian War of Independence]], resulting in the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] annexing all territories along the western Adriatic coast south of [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]] in 1860, and the 1861 establishment of the [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Kingdom of Italy]] in its place. The Kingdom of Italy expanded in 1866: it [[Third Italian War of Independence|annexed Venetia]],{{sfn|Noble|Strauss|Osheim|Neuschel|2010|pp=619–622}} but [[Regia Marina|its navy]] was defeated in the Adriatic near [[Battle of Lissa (1866)|Vis]].{{sfn|Monzali|2009|pp=73–76}} Following the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]] and the [[Croatian–Hungarian Settlement]] of 1868, the control of much of the eastern Adriatic coast was redefined. The [[cisleithania]]n (Austrian) part of Austria-Hungary spanned from the [[Austrian Littoral]] to the Bay of Kotor, with the exception of the [[Croatian Littoral]] mainland. In the territory outside the Austrian Littoral, [[Corpus separatum (Fiume)|special status]] was given to [[Fiume]] (modern-day [[Rijeka]]) as a separate part of the [[Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen|Kingdom of Hungary]]. The rest of the territory was made a part of the [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]], which in turn was also in the [[Transleithania]]n part of the dual monarchy.<ref name="HR-HU-Heka" /> The Adriatic coastline controlled by the Ottoman Empire was reduced by the [[Congress of Berlin]] in 1878, through recognition of the independence of the [[Principality of Montenegro]], which controlled the coast south of the Bay of Kotor to the Bojana River.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=225}} The Ottoman Empire lost all territories along the Adriatic following the [[First Balkan War]] and consequent [[Treaty of London (1913)|1913 Treaty of London]] that established an independent Albania.{{sfn|Tucker|2009|p=1553}}

[[File:Affondamento Santo Stefano.jpg|thumb|right|The last moments of [[SMS Szent István|SMS ''Szent István'']], hit and sank by the Italian [[MAS (boat)|MAS]]]] The [[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|World War I Adriatic Campaign]] was largely limited to blockade attempts by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] and the [[Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1917)|effort]] of the [[Central Powers]] to thwart the British, French and Italian moves.{{sfn|Tucker|2005|p=39}} Italy joined the Allies in April 1915 with the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London]], which promised Italy the Austrian Littoral, northern Dalmatia, the [[port of Vlorë]], most of the eastern Adriatic islands and Albania as a [[protectorate]].{{sfn|Tucker|1996|p=440}} The treaty provided the basis for all the following divisions between Italy and Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Lipušček|2005|p=446}} In 1918, the Montenegrin national assembly voted to unite with the [[Kingdom of Serbia]], giving the latter access to the Adriatic.{{sfn|Palmer|2000|p=298}} Another short-lived, unrecognised state established in 1918 was the [[State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]], formed from parts of Austria-Hungary, comprising most of the former monarchy's Adriatic coastline. Later that year, the Kingdom of Serbia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]—subsequently renamed Yugoslavia. The proponents of the new union in the [[Croatian parliament]] saw the move as a safeguard against Italian expansionism as stipulated in the Treaty of London.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|pp=4–16}} The treaty was largely disregarded by Britain and [[French Third Republic|France]] because of conflicting promises made to Serbia and a perceived lack of Italian contribution to the war effort outside Italy itself.{{sfn|Burgwyn|1997|pp=4–6}} The 1919 [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] did transfer the Austrian Littoral and Istria to Italy but awarded Dalmatia to Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Lee|2003|p=318}} Following the war, a [[Gabriele d'Annunzio|private force]] of demobilized Italian soldiers seized Rijeka and set up the [[Italian Regency of Carnaro]]—seen as a harbinger of [[Fascism]]—in order to force the recognition of Italian claims to the city.{{sfn|D'Agostino|2004|pp=127–128}} After sixteen months of the Regency's existence, the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|1920 Treaty of Rapallo]] redefined the Italian–Yugoslav borders, among other things transferring Zadar and the islands of Cres, Lastovo and [[Palagruža]] to Italy, securing the island of Krk for Yugoslavia and establishing the [[Free State of Fiume]]; this new state was abolished in 1924 by the [[Treaty of Rome (1924)|Treaty of Rome]] that awarded Fiume (modern Rijeka) to Italy and [[Sušak, Rijeka|Sušak]] to Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Singleton|1985|pp=135–137}}

=== Late 20th century === [[File:Benito e Romano Mussolini, spiaggia di Riccione 1932.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Duce]] [[Benito Mussolini]] in a beach of [[Riccione]], in 1932]] During [[World War II]], the Adriatic saw only [[Adriatic Campaign of World War II|limited naval action]], starting with the [[Italian invasion of Albania]] and the joint [[Axis invasion of Yugoslavia]]. The latter led to the annexation of a large part of Dalmatia and nearly all the eastern Adriatic islands by Italy and the establishment of two [[puppet state]]s, the [[Independent State of Croatia]] and the [[Kingdom of Montenegro (1941–1944)|Kingdom of Montenegro]], which controlled the remainder of the former Yugoslav Adriatic coast.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|pp=130–139, 233–234}} In 1947, after the [[Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces]] and the war's end, Italy (now a [[1946 Italian constitutional referendum|republic]]) and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] signed the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|Treaty of Peace with Italy]]. The treaty reversed all wartime annexations, guaranteed the independence of Albania, created the [[Free Territory of Trieste]] (FTT) as a city-state, and gave [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|communist Yugoslavia]] most of the [[Slovenian Littoral]], as well as Istria, the islands of Cres, Lastovo and Palagruža, and the cities of Zadar and Rijeka.{{sfn|Klemenčič|Žagar|2004|pp=198–202}} The FTT was partitioned in 1954: Trieste itself and the area to the North of it were placed under Italian control, while the rest came under Yugoslav control. This arrangement was made permanent in the 1975 [[Treaty of Osimo]].{{sfn|Navone|1996|pp=141–142}}

During the [[Cold War]], the Adriatic Sea became the southernmost flank of the [[Iron Curtain]] as Italy joined [[NATO]],<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[NATO]]|title=History|url=http://www.nato.int/history/index.html|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref> while the [[Warsaw Pact]] established bases in Albania.{{sfn|Polmar|Noot|1991|pp=169–170}} After the [[fall of communism]], [[Breakup of Yugoslavia#Secession and War (1991–1992)|Yugoslavia broke apart]]: [[Ten-Day War|Slovenia]] and [[1991 Croatian independence referendum|Croatia]] declared independence in 1991,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/26/world/2-yugoslav-states-vote-independence-to-press-demands.html|title=2 Yugoslav States Vote Independence To Press Demands|author=Chuck Sudetic|date=26 June 1991|access-date=12 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110162855/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/26/world/2-yugoslav-states-vote-independence-to-press-demands.html|archive-date=10 November 2012|url-status=live|author-link=Chuck Sudetic}}</ref> and Bosnia–Herzegovina followed in 1992,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1066981.stm|title=Bosnia-Hercegovina timeline|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref> while Montenegro remained in a federation with Serbia, officially called [[Serbia and Montenegro]].<ref name="MNE-Timeline">{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/5075632.stm|title=Timeline: Montenegro|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref> The ensuing [[Croatian War of Independence]] included limited naval engagements and a blockade of Croatia's coast by the [[Yugoslav Navy]],{{sfn|O'Shea|2005|pp=21–25}} leading to the [[Battle of the Dalmatian channels]] and a later withdrawal of Yugoslav vessels.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20041115/temedana01.asp|title=Admiral Letica je naredio: Raspali!|language=hr|trans-title=Admiral Letica ordered: Fire!|first=Stjepan|last=Bernardić|date=15 November 2004|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref> Montenegro declared itself independent in 2006, effectively land-locking Serbia.<ref name="MNE-Timeline" /> The period also saw the Adriatic Sea as the theatre of several NATO operations, including the [[Operation Maritime Guard|blockade of Yugoslavia]],{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} [[NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina|intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and the [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|1999 bombing of Yugoslavia]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Cohen|title=NATO and the UN quarrel in Bosnia as Serbs press on|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/27/world/nato-and-the-un-quarrel-in-bosnia-as-serbs-press-on.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=27 November 1994|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/310748.stm|title=Heart of Belgrade bombed|date=3 April 1999|access-date=1 February 2012}}</ref>

== Boundaries ==

Italy and Yugoslavia defined their Adriatic continental shelf delimitation in 1968,{{sfn|Blake|Topalović|Schofield|1996|pp=11–13}} with an additional agreement signed in 1975 on the Gulf of Trieste boundary, following the Treaty of Osimo. The boundary agreed in 1968 extends {{convert|353|nmi|km mi}} and consists of 43 points connected by straight lines or circular [[Arc (geometry)|arc segments]]. The additional boundary agreed upon in 1975 consists of 5 points, extending from an end point of the 1968 line. All successor states of former Yugoslavia accepted the agreements. In the Adriatic's southernmost areas the border was not determined in order to avoid prejudicing the location of the [[tripoint]] with the Albanian continental shelf border, which remains undefined. Before the breakup of Yugoslavia, Albania, Italy and Yugoslavia initially proclaimed {{convert|15|nmi|km mi|adj=on}} [[territorial waters]], subsequently reduced to international-standard {{convert|12|nmi|km mi}} and all sides adopted [[Baseline (sea)|baseline]] systems (mostly in the 1970s). Albania and Italy determined their sea border in 1992 according to the [[equidistance principle]].<ref name="Geoadria-Borders">{{cite journal|journal=Geoadria|publisher=[[University of Zadar]]|issn=1331-2294|title=The maritime boundaries of the Adriatic Sea|first1=Mladen|last1=Klemenčić|first2=Duško|last2=Topalović|pages=311–324|volume=14|issue=2|date=December 2009|doi=10.15291/geoadria.555|doi-access=free}}</ref> Following [[Accession of Croatia to the European Union|Croatian EU membership]], the Adriatic became an [[internal waters|internal sea]] of the EU.<ref name="NCL-Zerp">{{cite web|publisher=[[Nacional (weekly)]]|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/40630/zerp-je-nepotrebna-avantura|language=hr|title=ZERP je nepotrebna avantura|trans-title=ZERP is a needless adventure|first=Robert|last=Bajruši|date=6 December 2007|access-date=2 February 2012|archive-date=30 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730235509/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/40630/zerp-je-nepotrebna-avantura}}</ref> The [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] defines the Adriatic Sea as an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea.{{sfn|Vukas|2006|p=205}}

=== Adriatic Euroregion === [[File:The Adriatic Sea near the port of Izola, Slovenia.JPG|thumb|The town of [[Izola]] in the [[Gulf of Koper]], southwestern Slovenia]] The [[Adriatic Euroregion]] was established in Pula in 2006 to promote trans-regional and trans-national cooperation in the Adriatic Sea area and serve as an Adriatic framework to help resolve issues of regional importance. The Adriatic Euroregion consists of 23 members: the Apulia, [[Molise]], [[Abruzzo]], [[Marche]], [[Emilia-Romagna]], Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions of Italy; the municipality of Izola in Slovenia; the [[Istria County|Istria]], [[Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|Primorje-Gorski Kotar]], [[Lika-Senj County|Lika-Senj]], [[Zadar County|Zadar]], [[Šibenik-Knin County|Šibenik-Knin]], [[Split-Dalmatia County|Split-Dalmatia]] and [[Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Dubrovnik-Neretva]] counties of Croatia; the [[Herzegovina-Neretva Canton]] of Bosnia–Herzegovina; the municipalities of [[Kotor]] and [[Tivat]] in Montenegro; the [[Fier County|Fier]], [[Vlorë County|Vlorë]], [[Tirana County|Tirana]], [[Shkodër County|Shkodër]], [[Durrës County|Durrës]] and [[Lezhë County|Lezhë]] counties of Albania; and the Greek prefectures of [[Thesprotia]] and [[Corfu (regional unit)|Corfu]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Adriatic Euroregion]]|url=http://adriaticeuroregion.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=53&lang=en|title=About the Adriatic Euroregion|access-date=21 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909044610/http://adriaticeuroregion.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=53&lang=en|archive-date=9 September 2012}}</ref>

=== Disputes === The former Yugoslav republics' land borders were decided by demarcation commissions implementing the [[AVNOJ]] decisions of 1943 and 1945,<ref name="Kraljević-Razgraničenje-1947">{{cite journal|first=Egon|last=Kraljević|publisher=[[Croatian State Archives]]|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=41791|language=hr|title=Prilog za povijest uprave: Komisija za razgraničenje pri Predsjedništvu Vlade Narodne Republike Hrvatske 1945–1946|trans-title=Contribution to the history of public administration: commission for the boundary demarcation at the government's presidency of the People's Republic of Croatia, 1945–1946|date=November 2007|journal=Arhivski vjesnik|volume=50|issue=50|pages=121–130|issn=0570-9008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Časopis Za Suvremenu Povijest|issn=0590-9597|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|title=Kriza međunarodnih odnosa – studija slučaja: Hrvatska i Slovenija – granica u Istri|language=hr|trans-title=International relations crisis – a case study: Croatia and Slovenia – border in Istria|first=Tatjana|last=Tomaić|pages=391–414|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=109846|volume=43|issue=2|date=October 2011}}</ref> but the exact course has not been agreed upon by the successor states, which makes the maritime boundaries' definition difficult;{{sfn|Blake|Topalović|Schofield|1996|p=20}} the maritime borders were not defined at all in the time of Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Vukas|2007|pp=553–566}} In addition, the maritime boundary between Albania and Montenegro was not defined before the 1990s.<ref name="Geoadria-Borders" />

Croatia and Slovenia started negotiations to define maritime borders in the [[Gulf of Piran]] in 1992 but failed to agree, resulting in a dispute. Both countries also declared their economic zones, which partially overlap.<ref name="Geoadria-Borders" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukom.gov.si/fileadmin/ukom.gov.si/pageuploads/dokumenti/dogodki/Kronologije_arhiv/chronology05.pdf|title=Chronology of Events 2005|publisher=Government Communication Office, Republic of Slovenia|access-date=25 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719011408/http://www.ukom.gov.si/fileadmin/ukom.gov.si/pageuploads/dokumenti/dogodki/Kronologije_arhiv/chronology05.pdf|archive-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Croatia's application to become an [[Member state of the European Union|EU member state]] was initially suspended pending resolution of its [[Croatia-Slovenia border disputes|border disputes with Slovenia]].<ref name="Geoadria-Borders" /> These disputes with Slovenia were eventually settled with an agreement to accept the decision of an [[international arbitration]] commission set up via the [[United Nations|UN]], enabling Croatia to progress towards EU membership.<ref name=BBC2009>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8250441.stm|title=Slovenia unblocks Croatian EU bid|publisher=BBC News|access-date=12 September 2009|date=11 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=BBC2010>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10248037|title=Slovenia backs Croatia border deal in referendum vote|publisher=BBC News|access-date=7 June 2010|date=6 June 2010}}</ref><ref name=Durham>{{cite news|url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/news/boundary_news/?itemno=12176|access-date=14 March 2012|title=Croatia and Slovenia submit arbitration agreement to UN|publisher=[[Durham University]]}}</ref> Croatia is still not following the resolution of the international arbitration for the Gulf of Piran. A dispute over the gulf is still on going with the Croatians handing out fines to Slovenian fishermen that are following the agreed economic.<ref>{{Cite web|last=B|first=T. K.|title=ESČP: Tožbe slovenskih ribičev proti Hrvaški neutemeljene. Vlada nad sodbo neprijetno presenečena.|url=https://www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/escp-tozbe-slovenskih-ribicev-proti-hrvaski-neutemeljene-vlada-nad-sodbo-neprijetno-presenecena/708412|access-date=2024-08-03|website=rtvslo.si|language=sl}}</ref> Aside from the EU membership difficulty, even before its settling the dispute has caused no major practical problems.<ref name="Geoadria-Borders" />

The maritime boundary between Bosnia–Herzegovina and Croatia was formally settled in 1999, but a few issues are still in dispute—the [[Klek (peninsula)|Klek peninsula]] and two islets in the border area. The Croatia–Montenegro maritime boundary is disputed in the Bay of Kotor, at the [[Prevlaka]] peninsula. This dispute was exacerbated by the peninsula's occupation by the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] and later by the (Serbian–Montenegrin) [[Military of Serbia and Montenegro|FR Yugoslav Army]], which in turn was replaced by a [[United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka|United Nations observer mission]] that lasted until 2002. Croatia took over the area with an agreement that allowed Montenegrin presence in the bay's Croatian waters, and the dispute has become far less contentious since Montenegro's independence in 2006.<ref name="Geoadria-Borders" />

== Economy ==

=== Fishing === [[File:Pescara 2006 -trabocco sul porto canale di Pescara- by-RaBoe 020.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Trabucco]], old fishing machine typical of [[Abruzzo]] region in Italy]] The Adriatic Sea [[fishery]]'s production is distributed among countries in the basin.<ref name="FAO-Stat2009">{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/CDrom/CD_yearbook_2009/booklet/ba0058t.pdf|title=Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics|year=2011|location=Rome|issn=2070-6057|server=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|url-status=dead|access-date=11 August 2012}}</ref> In 2000, the nominal—on a live weight basis—total landings of all Adriatic fisheries reached {{convert|110000|t|LT|abbr=off|lk=on|sigfig=3}}.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=FAO AdriaMed|url=http://www.faoadriamed.org/pdf/publications/td13/mmm-td-13.pdf|title=Adriatic Sea Fisheries: outline of some main facts|first1=Piero|last1=Mannini|first2=Fabio|last2=Massa|first3=Nicoletta|last3=Milone|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> [[Overfishing]] is a recognised problem—450 species of fish live in the Adriatic Sea, including 120 species threatened by excessive commercial fishing, a problem exacerbated by pollution and [[global warming]]. Overexploited species include [[common dentex]], [[Scorpaena scrofa|red scorpionfish]], [[Lophius piscatorius|monkfish]], [[John Dory]], [[blue shark]], [[spiny dogfish]],<ref name="Vjesnik-Fish">{{cite news|newspaper=[[Vjesnik]]|url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx?ID=fea1770b-bfb7-4d7b-9e05-ee1a763e174f|archive-date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430004039/http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx?ID=FEA1770B-BFB7-4D7B-9E05-EE1A763E174F|title=Talijanski ribari optužuju hrvatsku flotu da im kradu ribu|language=hr|trans-title=Italian fishermen accuse Croatian fleet of fish theft|date=29 April 2011|author=Damir Herceg|access-date=10 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]], [[Mullus barbatus|red mullet]], [[Nephrops norvegicus|Norway lobster]],{{sfn|Houde|Jukić-Peladić|Brandt|Leach|1999|p=344}} as well as [[Merluccius merluccius|European hake]],<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20030826/temedana01.asp|language=hr|title=U Jadranu je 40 posto manje ribe|trans-title=Adriatic Sea fish stock drops 40 percent|date=26 August 2003|author=Lola Wright|access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> and [[sardine]]s.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Nova TV (Croatia)]]|url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/prosvjed-zbog-prekomjernog-izlova-srdele.html|language=hr|title=Prosvjed zbog prekomjernog izlova srdele|trans-title=Protest over overfishing of sardines|date=30 September 2011|access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> [[Turtle]]s and [[common bottlenose dolphin]]s are also being killed by fishing nets. The depleted fish stock, and Croatia's [[Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone]] (ZERP) contributed to accusations of overfishing exchanged between Italian and Croatian fishermen.<ref name="Vjesnik-Fish" /> ZERP was introduced in 2003, but its application to EU member states was suspended in 2004.<ref name="NCL-Zerp" /> The depleted stocks of fish are being addressed through a new proposed EU fisheries policy that was scheduled to take effect in 2013, when [[Accession of Croatia to the European Union|Croatia acceded to the EU]],<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Vjesnik]]|language=hr|title=Potpisan pristupni ugovor: budućnost EU-a i u hrvatskim je rukama|trans-title=Accession Treaty Signed: EU Fortune is in Croatian Hands too|url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx?ID=F24D43C3-8BCE-45EF-94A5-9ADAA413A225|archive-date=26 May 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240526010314/https://www.webcitation.org/68Pa7dl5j?url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx%3FID=F24D43C3-8BCE-45EF-94A5-9ADAA413A225|date=9 December 2011|access-date=7 January 2012|author=Bruno Lopandić|url-status=dead}}</ref> and restore the stocks to sustainable levels by 2015.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Vjesnik]]|url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx?ID=80d01339-ecfa-49a3-82e9-5e20dd72fcb0|archive-date=26 May 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240526010354/https://www.webcitation.org/68PcQkynw?url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Article.aspx%3FID=80d01339-ecfa-49a3-82e9-5e20dd72fcb0|language=hr|title=Kako ispraviti promašaj ribolovne politike?|trans-title=How to fix failure of fisheries policy?|date=14 July 2011|author=Alen Legović|access-date=10 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The largest volume of fish harvesting was in Italy, where the total production volume in 2007 stood at {{convert|465637|t|LT|abbr=out}}.<ref name="FAO-Stat2009" /> In 2003, 28.8% of Italian fisheries production volume was generated in the Northern and central Adriatic, and 24.5% in Apulia (from the Southern Adriatic and Ionian Sea). Italian fisheries, including those operating outside the Adriatic, employed 60,700 in the [[Primary sector of the economy|primary sector]], including [[aquaculture]] (which comprises 40% of the total fisheries production). The total fisheries output's gross value in 2002 was $1.9 billion.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/DOCUMENT/fcp/en/FI_CP_IT.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518220134/ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/DOCUMENT/fcp/en/FI_CP_IT.pdf|archive-date=2017-05-18|url-status=dead|title=Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles – Italy|access-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> [[File:Kamerlengo Castle and the Fishing Boat (5975779114).jpg|thumb|[[Fishing vessel|Fishing boat]] in [[Trogir]], Croatia]]

In 2007, Croatia's production in live weight reached {{convert|53083|t|LT|abbr=out}}.<ref name="FAO-Stat2009" /> In 2006, the total Croatian fisheries production volume was {{convert|37800|t|LT|abbr=out}} of catch and {{convert|14200|t|LT|abbr=out}} from marine aquaculture. Croatian fisheries employed approximately 20,000. The 2006 marine capture catch in Croatian waters consisted of [[sardine]]s (44.8%), [[anchovy|anchovies]] (31.3%), [[tuna]]s (2.7%), other [[pelagic fish]] (4.8%), [[hake]] (2.4%), [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]] (2.1%), other [[demersal fish]] (8.3%), [[crustacean]]s (largely [[lobster]] and ''[[Nephrops norvegicus]]'') (0.8%), [[shellfish]] (largely [[oyster]]s and [[mussel]]s) (0.3%), [[cuttlefish]] (0.6%), [[squid]]s (0.2%) and [[octopus]]es and other [[cephalopod]]s (1.6%). Croatian marine aquaculture production consisted of tuna (47.2%), oysters and mussels (28.2% combined) and [[Bass (fish)|bass]] and [[bream]] (24.6% combined).<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|url=ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/DOCUMENT/fcp/en/FI_CP_HR.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518220127/ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/DOCUMENT/fcp/en/FI_CP_HR.pdf|archive-date=2017-05-18|url-status=dead|title=Fishery Country Profiles – Croatia|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, Albanian fisheries production amounted to {{convert|7505|t|LT|abbr=out}},<ref name="FAO-Stat2009" /> including aquaculture production, which reached {{convert|1970|t|LT|abbr=out}} in 2006. At the same time, Slovenian fisheries produced a total of {{convert|2500|t|LT|sigfig=3}} with 55% of the production volume originating in aquaculture, representing the highest ratio in the Adriatic. Finally, the Montenegrin fisheries production stood at {{convert|911|t|LT|abbr=out}} in 2006, with only 11 tonnes coming from aquaculture.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=FAO AdriaMed|url=http://www.faoadriamed.org/html/country_p/AllCProfile.html|title=Country Fishery Information|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> In 2007, the fisheries production in Bosnia–Herzegovina reached volume of {{convert|9625|and|2463|t|LT|abbr=out}} in Slovenia.<ref name="FAO-Stat2009" />

=== Tourism === The countries bordering the Adriatic Sea are significant tourist destinations. The largest number of tourist overnight stays and the most numerous tourist accommodation facilities are recorded in Italy, especially in the Veneto region (around Venice). Veneto is followed by the Emilia-Romagna region and by the [[NUTS of Croatia|Adriatic Croatian]] [[Counties of Croatia|counties]]. The Croatian tourist facilities are further augmented by 21,000 nautical ports and [[Mooring (watercraft)|moorings]]; [[nautical tourism|nautical tourists]] are attracted to various types of marine [[Protected areas of Croatia|protected areas]].<ref name="EU-Casestudy" />

All countries along the Adriatic coast, except Albania and Bosnia–Herzegovina, take part in the [[Blue Flag beach]] certification programme (of the [[Foundation for Environmental Education]]), for beaches and [[marina]]s meeting strict quality standards including environmental protection, water quality, safety and services criteria.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Foundation for Environmental Education]]|url=http://www.fee-international.org/en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815203855/http://www.fee-international.org/en|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 August 2008|title=FEE is|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> As of January 2012, the Blue Flag has been awarded to 103 Italian Adriatic beaches and 29 marinas, 116 Croatian beaches and 19 marinas, 7 Slovenian beaches and 2 marinas, and 16 Montenegrin beaches.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Foundation for Environmental Education]]|url=http://www.blueflag.org/Menu/Awarded+sites|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609190312/http://www.blueflag.org/Menu/Awarded%2Bsites|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 June 2011|title=Blue Flag Beaches and Marinas|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> Adriatic tourism is a significant source of income for these countries, especially in Croatia and Montenegro where the tourism income generated along the Adriatic coast represents the bulk of such income.<ref name="MNE-Stat">{{cite web|publisher=Statistical office of Montenegro|url=http://www.monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=43&pageid=43|title=Tourism|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Institute for Tourism (Croatia)|url=http://www.mint.hr/UserDocsImages/Izvj-04_SRTRH.pdf|language=hr|editor1-first=Siniša|editor1-last=Horak|first1=Davor|last1=Krasić|first2=Petra|last2=Gatti|first3=Mladen|last3=Gledec|first4=Alen|last4=Jugović|first5=Blanka|last5=Kesić|first6=Zoran|last6=Klarić|first7=Damir|last7=Krešić|first8=Ivo|last8=Kunst|first9=Eduard|last9=Kušen | first10=Dubravko | last10=Milojević|first11=Stanislav|last11=Pavlin|title=Glavni plan i strategija razvoja turizma Republike Hrvatske|trans-title=General plan and strategy of development of tourism in the Republic of Croatia|date=November 2011|access-date=30 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725061539/http://www.mint.hr/UserDocsImages/Izvj-04_SRTRH.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The direct contribution of travel and tourism to Croatia's GDP stood at 5.1% in 2011, with the total industry contribution estimated at 12.8% of the national GDP.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[World Travel and Tourism Council]]|url=http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research/country-reports/c/croatia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106111844/http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research/country-reports/c/croatia/|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2011|title=Croatia – Key Facts at a Glance|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> For Montenegro, the direct contribution of tourism to the national GDP is 8.1%, with the total contribution to the economy at 17.2% of Montenegrin GDP.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[World Travel and Tourism Council]]|url=http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research/country-reports/m/montenegro/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202022048/http://www.wttc.org/research/economic-impact-research/country-reports/m/montenegro/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2011|title=Montenegro – Key Facts at a Glance|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> Tourism in Adriatic Croatia has recently exhibited greater growth than in the other regions around the Adriatic.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The [[Rimini]] Centre for Economic Analysis|url=http://www.rcfea.org/papers/WS1/Quintiliani.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014023720/http://www.rcfea.org/papers/WS1/Quintiliani.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 October 2012|title=International tourism in the coastal regions of five Mediterranean countries|first=Fabio|last=Quintiliani|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" widths="200px"> File:Beach of Rimini (14-07-2012).jpg|[[Rimini]] is a major seaside tourist resort in Italy. File:Miramare con Barcolana n. 2.jpg|The [[Barcolana regatta]] in [[Trieste]], Italy, was named "the greatest sailing race" by the [[Guinness World Record]] for its 2,689 boats and over 16,000 sailors on the starting line.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sail-world.com/news/218597/Barcolana-the-largest-regatta-in-the-world|title=Barcolana, the largest regatta in the world is presented in London|website=Sail World}}</ref> File:Ulcinj, Montenegro - Sept. 2010.jpg|View of [[Ulcinj]], Montenegro File:Golden Cape.jpg|The [[Zlatni Rat]] (Golden Cape) on the island of [[Brač]] File:Split center from the air 1.jpg|The [[Palace of the Emperor Diocletian]] in [[Split, Croatia|Split]] File:Neum, costa.jpg|The coast of [[Neum]], the only town to be situated along Bosnia and Herzegovina's {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=on}} of coastline File:Palace Hotel Portoroz.JPG|[[Portorož]] is the largest seaside tourist centre in Slovenia. </gallery>

{|class="wikitable sortable" |+Tourism in the Adriatic Sea area<ref name="MNE-Stat" /><ref name="Tourism-Eurostat">{{cite web|publisher=[[Eurostat]]|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/tourism/data/main_tables|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016163606/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/tourism/data/main_tables|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2012|title=Eurostat – Tourism|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Neum]] municipality|title=Intervju: Načelnik općine Neum dr. Živko Matuško za BH. Privrednik|trans-title=Interview: Municipal mayor dr. Živko Matuško for BH Privrednik|date=17 October 2011|language=bs|access-date=30 January 2012|url=http://www.neum.ba/index.php/81-vijesti/126-intervju|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109004542/http://www.neum.ba/index.php/81-vijesti/126-intervju|archive-date=9 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|url=http://kfbih.com/udoc/10102011Izvozna_strategija_za_sektor_turizma.pdf|language=bs|title=Pregled sektora turizma|trans-title=A review of tourism sector|year=2011|access-date=30 January 2012|archive-date=2 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202171616/http://kfbih.com/udoc/10102011Izvozna_strategija_za_sektor_turizma.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)]]|url=http://www.mtkrs.gov.al/web/Treguesit_statistikore_te_turizmit_30_1.php|language=sq|trans-title=Tourism statistical indicators|title=Treguesit statistikorë të turizmit|access-date=30 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119055056/http://www.mtkrs.gov.al/web/Treguesit_statistikore_te_turizmit_30_1.php|archive-date=19 January 2012}} {{in lang|sq}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/25-11.pdf|chapter=Tourism|page=423|title=Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Slovenia 2011|publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia|issn=1318-5403|access-date=25 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515110656/http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/25-11.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.stat.si/doc/statinf/21-SI-O16-1101.pdf|issn=1854-1275|title=Tourism – Hotels, Slovenia, 2008–2010 – final data|journal=Statistične Informacije – Rapid Reports|date=27 September 2011|volume=16|author=Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia|page=5|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 June 2022|title=Turizam u 2021.|trans-title=Tourism, 2021|url=https://podaci.dzs.hr/media/gwcghawn/si-1700_turizam-u-2021.pdf|access-date=8 January 2022|website=Državni zavod za statistiku|page=60|language=hr, en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=31 August 2021|title=Turizam u brojkama 2021|trans-title=Tourism in numbers in 2021|url=https://www.htz.hr/sites/default/files/2022-08/HTZ%20TUB%20HR_%202021.pdf|access-date=8 January 2023|website=Hrvatska turistička zajednica|page=16|language=hr}}</ref> |- ! Country ! Region ! CAF beds* ! Hotel beds ! Overnight Stays |- align=center | Albania || {{n/a}} || {{dunno}} || {{dunno}} || 2,302,899 |- align=center | [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] || [[Neum]] municipality || {{circa}} 6,000 || 1,810 || 280,000 |- align=center | Croatia || [[NUTS of Croatia|Adriatic Croatia]] || 1,028,793 || 119,042 || 67,231,198 |- align=center | rowspan=7|Italy || [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] || 152,847 || 40,921 || 8,656,077 |- align=center | [[Veneto]] || 692,987 || 209,700 || 60,820,308 |- align=center | Emilia-Romagna || 440,999 || 298,332 || 37,477,880 |- align=center | Marche|| 193,965 || 66,921 || 10,728,507 |- align=center | Abruzzo || 108,747 || 50,987 || 33,716,112 |- align=center | Molise || 11,711 || 6,383 || 7,306,951 |- align=center | [[Apulia]]** || 238,972 || 90,618 || 12,982,987 |- align=center | [[Montenegro]] || {{n/a}} || 40,427 || 25,916 || 7,964,893 |- align=center | Slovenia || Seaside municipalities || 24,080 || 9,330 || 1,981,141 |- class="sortbottom" | colspan=5|{{small|*Beds in all collective accommodation facilities; includes "Hotel beds" figure also shown separately **Includes both Adriatic and Ionian sea coasts}} |}

=== Transport === {{See also|Ship transport}} There are nineteen Adriatic Sea ports (in four different countries) that each handles more than a million tonnes of cargo per year. The largest cargo ports among them are the [[Port of Trieste]] (the largest Adriatic cargo port in Italy), the Port of Venice, the [[Port of Ravenna]], the [[Port of Koper]] (the largest Slovenian port),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.si/letopis/2011/21-11.pdf|title=Transport|publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia]]|year=2011|access-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> the [[Port of Rijeka]] (the largest Croatian cargo port), and the [[Port of Brindisi]]. [[File:Porto nuovo di Trieste 1.4.2012.jpg|upright=2.25|thumb|Port of [[Trieste]], the largest cargo port in the Adriatic]] The largest passenger ports in the Adriatic are the [[Port of Split]] (the largest Croatian passenger port) and ports in [[Ancona#Transportation|Ancona]] (the largest Italian passenger seaport in the Adriatic).<ref name="IT-Ports" /><ref name="HR-ports" /><ref name="AL-ports" /><ref name="SI-ports">{{cite web|publisher=[[Raiffeisen Zentralbank]]|work=limun.hr|url=http://limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=779703|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202171431/http://limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=779703|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|title=Slovenia's Luka Koper 2011 Cargo Throughput Up 11%|date=17 January 2012|access-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> The largest seaport in Montenegro is the [[Port of Bar]].<ref>{{cite news|work=[[B92]]|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/business-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=08&dd=26&nav_id=61375|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829055017/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/business-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=08&dd=26&nav_id=61375|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 August 2009|title=Serbia eyes Montenegro's largest port|date=26 August 2009|access-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> In 2010, the Northern Adriatic seaports of Trieste, Venice, Ravenna, Koper and Rijeka founded the [[North Adriatic Ports Association]] to position themselves more favourably in the EU's transport systems.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure (Croatia)]]|url=http://www.mppi.hr/default.aspx?id=6598|title=Signed the founding of the NAPA in Trieste, Rijeka is expected to join in|date=2 March 2010|access-date=21 March 2012|work=Ministarstvo pomorstva, prometa i infrastrukture|location=Zagreb|archive-date=15 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215054249/http://www.mppi.hr/default.aspx?id=6598|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[North Adriatic Ports Association]]|url=http://www.portsofnapa.com/index.php?t=news&id=6|date=29 November 2010|title=Port of Rijeka – Fifth Star of NAPA|access-date=27 August 2011}}</ref>

The port of Trieste is of particular importance for Central Europe because this is where the [[Transalpine Pipeline]] begins, supplying 100 percent of southern Germany, 90 percent of Austria and 50 percent of the Czech Republic with crude oil.<ref>Thomas Fromm "Pipeline durch die Alpen: Alles im Fluss" In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 26 December 2019.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Major Adriatic ports*, annual transport volume |- !Port !Country, Region/County !Cargo (tonnes) !Passengers |- align=center | [[Ancona]]||Italy, [[Marche]]||10,573,000||1,483,000 |- align=center | [[Bari]]||Italy, [[Apulia]]||3,197,000||1,392,000 |- align=center | [[Barletta]]||Italy, Apulia||1,390,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Brindisi]]||Italy, Apulia||10,708,000||469,000 |- align=center | [[Chioggia]]||Italy, [[Veneto]]||2,990,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Port of Durrës|Durrës]]||Albania, [[Durrës County|Durrës]]||3,441,000||770,000 |- align=center | [[Port of Koper|Koper]]||Slovenia, [[Slovenian Istria]]||18,000,000||100,300 |- align=center | [[Manfredonia]]||Italy, Apulia||1,277,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Monfalcone]]||Italy, [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]||4,544,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Ortona]]||Italy, [[Abruzzo]]||1,340,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Port of Ploče|Ploče]]||Croatia, [[Dubrovnik-Neretva County|Dubrovnik-Neretva]]||5,104,000||146,000 |- align=center | [[Porto Nogaro]]||Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia||1,475,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Rabac]]||Croatia, [[Istria County|Istria]]||1,090,000||669,000 |- align=center | [[Port of Ravenna|Ravenna]]||Italy, [[Emilia-Romagna]]||27,008,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | [[Port of Rijeka|Rijeka]]||Croatia, [[Primorje-Gorski Kotar County|Primorje-Gorski Kotar]]||15,441,000||219,800 |- align=center | [[Port of Split|Split]]||Croatia, [[Split-Dalmatia County|Split-Dalmatia]]||2,745,000||3,979,000 |- align=center | [[Port of Trieste|Trieste]]||Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia||39,833,000||{{n/a}} |- align=center | Venice||Italy, [[Veneto]]||32,042,000||1,097,000 |- class="sortbottom" |colspan=4| *Ports handling more than a million tonnes of cargo or serving more than a million passengers per year Sources: [[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|National Institute of Statistics]] (2007 data, Italian ports, note: the Port of Ancona includes Ancona and [[Falconara Marittima]];<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Port of Ancona Authority|url=http://www.autoritaportuale.ancona.it/files/RAPPORTO%20STATISTICO%202011.pdf|language=it|title=Rapporto statistico 2011|trans-title=Statistical report 2011|access-date=22 May 2012}}</ref> passenger traffic below 200,000 is not reported),<ref name="IT-Ports">{{cite web|title=Trasporti e telecomunicazioni|trans-title=Transport and communications|url=http://www3.istat.it/dati/catalogo/20101119_00/PDF/cap19.pdf|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)]]|language=it|access-date=2 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812170735/http://www.istat.it/dati/catalogo/20101119_00/PDF/cap19.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Croatian Bureau of Statistics]] (2008 data, Croatian ports, note: the Port of Rijeka includes the Rijeka, [[Bakar, Croatia|Bakar]], [[Bršica]] and [[Omišalj]] terminals;<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Port of Rijeka]] Authority|url=http://www.portauthority.hr/en/infrastructure/general_information|title=General information|access-date=22 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109003843/http://www.portauthority.hr/en/infrastructure/general_information|archive-date=9 January 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Port of Ploče includes the [[Ploče]] and [[Metković]] terminals),<ref name="HR-ports">{{cite web|publisher=[[Croatian Bureau of Statistics]]|url=http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv_Eng/ljetopis/2009/PDF/21-bind.pdf|title=Traffic of ships, passengers and goods by harbour master's offices and statistical ports, 2008|access-date=1 February 2012|archive-date=14 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114063139/http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv_Eng/ljetopis/2009/PDF/21-bind.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Port of Ploče]] Authority|url=http://www.port-authority-ploce.hr/html/eng/capacities.asp|title=Capacities|access-date=22 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121044905/http://www.port-authority-ploce.hr/html/eng/capacities.asp|archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> Durrës' Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Albania (2007 data, Port of Durrës),<ref name="AL-ports">{{cite web|publisher=Durrës' Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Albania|url=http://www.ccidr.al/files/durres_a_good_business_choise.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513183732/http://www.ccidr.al/files/durres_a_good_business_choise.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 May 2013|access-date=2 February 2012|page=14|title=Durrës, a good business choice}}</ref> SEOnet (2011 data, Port of Koper)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seonet.ljse.si/file.aspx?AttachmentID=26225|title=Ladijski pretovor v letu 2011|language=sl|trans-title=Ship Transloading in 2011|publisher=Port of Koper|date=17 January 2012}} {{in lang|sl}}</ref> |}

=== Oil and gas === [[Natural gas]] is produced through several projects, including a joint venture of the [[Eni]] and [[INA (company)|INA]] companies that operates two platforms—one is in Croatian waters and draws gas from six wells, and the other (which started operating in 2010) is located in Italian waters. The Adriatic gas fields were discovered in the 1970s,<ref name=Ianniello>Ianniello, A., Bolelli, W., and Di Scala, L., 1992, Barbara Field, Adriatic Sea, Offshore Italy, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978–1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, {{ISBN|0-89181-333-0}}</ref>{{rp|265}} but their development commenced in 1996. In 2008, INA produced 14.58 million [[Barrel of oil equivalent|BOE]] per day of gas.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[INA (company)|INA]]|url=http://www.ina.hr/UserDocsImages/Ina_casopis/zima09-10/44-45%20annamaria.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226113102/http://www.ina.hr/UserDocsImages/Ina_casopis/zima09-10/44-45%20annamaria.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2014|title=Annamaria offshore oil rig starts trial run|access-date=30 January 2012|year=2009}}</ref> About 100 offshore platforms are located in the Emilia-Romagna region,<ref name="EU-Casestudy">{{cite web|publisher=[[European Union]]|url=http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/documentation/studies/documents/case_study_adriatic_sea_en.pdf|title=The potential of Maritime Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea – Case study report: The Adriatic Sea|date=5 January 2011|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> along with 17 in the Northern Adriatic.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Nacional (weekly)]]|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/77341/muski-zivot-na-plinskoj-kraljici|title=Muški život na plinskoj kraljici|trans-title=A bachelors' life on a gas queen|language=hr|first=Marko|last=Biočina|date=7 February 2012|access-date=9 February 2012|archive-date=30 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730234333/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/77341/muski-zivot-na-plinskoj-kraljici}}</ref> Eni estimated its [[Concession (contract)|concessions]] in the Adriatic Sea to hold at least {{convert|40000000000|m3|cuft}} of natural gas, adding that they may even reach {{convert|100000000000|m3|cuft}}. INA estimates, however, are 50% lower than those supplied by Eni.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Raiffeisen Zentralbank]]|work=limun.hr|title=Natural gas reserves in the Adriatic may be up to 100 billion cubic meters|url=http://www.limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=312553|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202173714/http://www.limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=312553|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|access-date=30 January 2012|date=22 July 2008}}</ref> Oil was discovered in the Northern Adriatic at a depth of approximately {{convert|5400|m}}; the discovery was assessed as not viable because of its location, depth and quality.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Rudarsko-geološko-naftni Zbornik|publisher=[[University of Zagreb]]|issn=0353-4529|title=Istraživanje i proizvodnja ugljikovodika u Hrvatskoj|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=20803|trans-title=Oil exploration and production in Croatia|language=hr|volume=8|issue=1|date=December 1996|pages=19–25|first1=Josip|last1=Sečen|first2=Žarko|last2=Prnić}}</ref> These gas and oil reserves are part of the [[Po basin]] Province of Northern Italy and the Northern Mediterranean Sea.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1999/ofr-99-0050/OF99-50M/occurrence.html|title=Petroleum Systems of the Po Basin Province of Northern Italy and the Northern Adriatic Sea|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref>

In the 2000s, investigation works aimed at discovering gas and oil reserves in the Middle and Southern Adriatic basins intensified, and by the decade's end, oil and natural gas reserves were discovered southeast of the Bari, Brindisi—Rovesti and Giove oil discoveries. Surveys indicate reserves of 3 billion [[Barrel (unit)|barrels]] of [[oil in place]] and {{convert|2000000000000|cuft|m3|order=flip}} of gas in place.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Proactive Investors Australia|url=http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/18214/northern-petroleum-to-expand-exploration-of-rovesti-and-giove-oil-discoveries-18214.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131202174739/http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/18214/northern-petroleum-to-expand-exploration-of-rovesti-and-giove-oil-discoveries-18214.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|date=29 July 2011|access-date=2 December 2012|title=Northern Petroleum to expand exploration of Rovesti and Giove oil discoveries|first=Jamie|last=Ashcroft}}</ref> The discovery was followed by further surveys off the Croatian coast.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Nafta|volume=60|issue=2|pages=68–82|year=2009|title=New Commercial Oil Discovery at Rovesti Structure in South Adriatic and its Importance for Croatian Part of Adriatic Basin|first1=Sanjin|last1=Grandić|first2=Slobodan|last2=Kolbah|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=71383|publisher=[[Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts]], Scientific commission for oil|issn=0027-755X}}</ref> In January 2012, INA commenced prospecting for oil off Dubrovnik, marking the resumption of [[oil exploration]] along the eastern Adriatic coast after surveys commenced in the late 1980s around the island of Brač were cancelled because of Yugoslavia's breakup and [[Croatian War for Independence|war in Croatia]]. Montenegro is also expected to look for oil off its coast.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Slobodna Dalmacija]]|language=hr|url=http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Hrvatska/tabid/66/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/160871/Default.aspx|title=Naftu i plin vadit ćemo kod Dubrovnika|trans-title=Oil and gas will be pumped near Dubrovnik|date=11 January 2012|first=Jasmina|last=Mrvaljević|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref> As of January 2012, only 200 [[exploration well]]s had been sunk off the Croatian coast, with all but 30 in the Northern Adriatic basin.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Business.hr]]|url=http://www.business.hr/dogadjaji/milanovic-ponistio-kosoricin-natjecaj-za-istrazivanje-nafte-i-plina-106895|title=Milanović poništio Kosoričin natječaj za istraživanje nafte i plina|trans-title=Milanović cancels Kosor's oil and gas exploration tender procedure|language=hr|first=Miho|last=Dobrašin|date=3 January 2012|access-date=31 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220123038/http://www.business.hr/dogadjaji/milanovic-ponistio-kosoricin-natjecaj-za-istrazivanje-nafte-i-plina-106895|archive-date=20 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Gallery == <gallery caption="Ports in the Adriatic" widths="200px"> File:Durres harbor from the sea.jpg|[[Port of Durrës]], the largest port in Albania File:Luka brajdica 040408.jpg|[[Port of Rijeka]], the largest cargo port in Croatia File:Koper (39).jpg|[[Port of Koper]], the largest port in Slovenia File:Triest Port1.JPG|[[Port of Trieste]], the largest cargo port in the Adriatic File:The port of Bar, view from Vrsuta mnt (39372956332).jpg|[[Port of Bar]], the largest seaport in Montenegro File:Porto_ancona.jpg|Port of [[Ancona]], a large passenger port Port of Split from the air 1.jpg|[[Port of Split]], largest passenger port in Croatia Dubrovnik - port - panoramio.jpg|[[Gruž|Dubrovnik Port]], second largest passenger port in Croatia </gallery>

== See also == * [[Geography of Albania]] * [[Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] * [[Geography of Croatia]] * [[Geography of Europe]] * [[Geography of Italy]] * [[Geography of Montenegro]] * [[Geography of Slovenia]]

== References == {{Reflist}} {{Clear}}

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==Further reading==

* {{cite magazine|date=1986|first=Darko|last=Kovačić|title=Kitovi Jadranskog mora|pages=281–283|magazine=Priroda: popularni časopis hrvatskog prirodoslovnog društva|issn=0351-0662|volume=74|issue=9–10|url=http://library.foi.hr/lib/casopis.php?sqlx=S00001&H=&E=&lok=&broj=198609-10&sqlid=1|trans-title=Whales of the Adriatic Sea}}

== External links == {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons}} {{EB1911 poster|Adriatic Sea}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110912063606/http://www.charts.noaa.gov/NGAViewer/Region_5_NGA_ViewerTable.shtml Region 5 – Western Africa, Mediterranean, Black Sea Nautical Charts] from the [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110731095550/http://www.charts.noaa.gov/NGAViewer/54131.shtml Nautical Chart 54131 (Adriatic Sea)] from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * [http://www.obala.hr/ the seashore of our posterity] – video recording of Albanian, Croatian, and Montenegrin coasts

{{List of seas}} {{Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean}} {{Albania topics}} {{Italy topics}} {{Croatia topics}} {{Hydrography of Croatia}} {{Slovenia topics}} {{Portal bar|Oceans|Italy|Croatia|Slovenia|Bosnia and Herzegovina|Europe}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Adriatic Sea| ]] [[Category:European seas]] [[Category:Marginal seas of the Mediterranean]] [[Category:Seas of Italy]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Croatia]] [[Category:Seas of Albania]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Montenegro]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Slovenia]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] [[Category:Bodies of water of the Slovene Littoral]]