Between July and October 2019, a field study on marine habitats, coordinated by PAP/RAC with the support of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, was carried out by the experts of the Institute of Marine Biology (IBM) within the framework of the GEF Adriatic project. One of its results was that nearly 1000 colonies of protected Gold Coral were counted in Boka Kotorska Bay. It is double compared to all the other known colonies in the whole Mediterranean Sea. The study also highlighted the need to protect the habitats of golden coral communities (lat. Savalia savaglia), as the sites are significantly affected by human activities.
Based on these conclusions, the Institute of Marine Biology and Public enterprise for coastal zone management of Montenegro decided to install buoys on Dražin vrt and Sopot locations, which were two of the research sites were this need was more obvious. By the end of August, two underwater fields of Gold Coral communities at these locations were cleaned by experts from the Institute, as it was necessary to carefully collect waste in order not to damage the corals. After that, information boards were set up at the locations with information about the underwater fields of this coral, as well as about the ban on fishing and anchoring vessels in fenced locations. Dražin vrt and Sopot were finally surrounded by surface buoys in order to physically prevent the passing and anchoring of vessels, so to protect the the Gold Coral habitat.
In order to inform the public, an informative brochure was made, which presented the story of the life of the Gold Coral in the Bay of Kotor. The brochure will be distributed to fishermen, schools and all interested citizens.
