Fascinating Facts on  the Boka Kotorska Bay

• The Boka Kotorska Bay looks like a fjord with a coastline of about 100km
• Sastoji se od četiri međusobno povezane manje uvale (uvale Herceg Novi i Tivat čine spoljašnji deo, dok uvale Risan i Kotor čine unutrašnji deo) i dva tjesnaca, od kojih jedan povezuje otvoreno more sa Hercegnovskim zalivom, a drugi (Verige) povezuje Tivat s zalivima Risan i Kotor.
• Kotor-Risan Bay is protected by UNESCO as a cultural and natural heritage
• Na osnovu jedinstvenog geološkog, geomorfološkog, biološkog i kulturnog nasljeđa, Bokokotorski zaliv je uvršten u UNESCO-ov popis svjetske kulturne i prirodne baštine od 1979. godine.
• The highest rainfall in Europe was measured in the hinterland of Boka Kotorska, in Crkvice (>7000 mm)
• Selo Crkvice, na planini Orjen, 1.097 m iznad Risanskog zaliva, ima evropsku maksimalnu godišnju prosečnu količinu padavina od 4.742 mm, što je 8 puta više od Londona. Maksimalno je zabilježena količina padavina od 8.063 milimetara .
• Vrulja is submarine spring which creates specific and rare habitat
• Postoji veliki broj podmorskih izvora, jedinstvenih za jadranski krški kraj, posebno za Kotorsko-risanski zaliv. Ti izvori i veliki priliv kopnene slatke vode kroz dve reke – Škurdu i Ljutu (Kotor) uzrokuju značajan pad temperature, slanosti i prozirnosti morske vode u periodu novembar-april.
• Assemblages of gold coral Savalia savaglia are specific and probably unique in the Mediterranean
• 200 tons of mussel and 120 tons of fish are annually farmed in the Boka Kotorska Bay
• Mariculture in Montenegro is currently focused mainly on fish farming (sea bass and sea bream) and farming of two species of bivalves – mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and oysters (Ostrea edulis). In the Boka Kotorska bay, there are about 20 farming sites with the annual mussel production reaching 200 tones and fish production around 120 tones.
• Sopot spring near Risan after heavy rain appears 20 m above the Bay of Kotor
• With a maximum discharge of 350 m³/s water one of the biggest karst springs, the Sopot spring near Risan, is a remarkable indicator of seasonality. Most of the time it is inactive but after heavy rain, a remarkable waterfall appears 20 m above the Bay of Kotor.
• Joca used to be a most famous dolphin in the Boka Kotorska Bay
• The Boka Kotorska Bay is regularly visited only by bottlenose dolphins.  The presence of solitary dolphin Joca is deeply impressed in the memory of locals and tourists in the 1990s. The local assembly of the City of Kotor placed him under protection. Unfortunately, he disappeared between 1992 and 1993. It is assumed he was killed as a result of the wrong perception that dolphins harm fishery.
• The Center for Adriatic Biodiversity Conservation “Aquarium Boka” promotes the biodiversity and needs to protect itThe Center for Adriatic Biodiversity Conservation is designed within the project “Marine Biodiversity Conservation Center “Boka Aquarium” – MonteAqua”, which is implementing by the Institute of Marine Biology of the University of Montenegro in cooperation with the Center for Fisheries and Biodiversity Conservation of Inland Waters, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, under the grant provided by The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade. Setting up the Center is the main MonteAqua project activity, planned for the period from December 2017 to June 2020.

  The Center is designed with two main units: Aquarium Boka and Rescue Center. The Aquarium Boka is designed as the first Montenegrin public aquarium and conservation advocacy center. Its role will be to promote the implementation of marine protected areas in Montenegro and all means of marine biodiversity protection. The particular role will be in the promotion of sustainable seafood choices. It is expected that Aquarium Boka will become the main player in the conservation and restoration of key threatened marine wildlife species in Montenegrin Adriatic, and beyond. The Rescue center is designed with four main roles: (1) Animal welfare: short-term shelter, care, and rehabilitation center with the goal of finding a more suitable placement of threatened species for longer-term stay elsewhere; (2) Law enforcement: receiving confiscated animals, providing expert testimony, helping the police, customs, and wildlife authorities pursue the prosecution of traffickers and animal abusers; (3) Raising awareness; and (4) Nature conservation and biodiversity.

• Marine invertebrates from Boka Kotorska Bay represent a “gold mine” with value over 40 billion EUR
• Marine sponges from the Boka Kotorska Bay represent a gold mine for both marine pharmacology, biotechnology, and bioinspired materials science. The average value of bromotyrosines which are synthesized exclusively in sponges (e.g. in Aplysina aerophoba) is 500 EUR per milligram. Using novel methods of extraction, it is possible to get 1 g of Aeroplysinin-1 from 100 g of dry sponge, meaning 1 kg of a wet sponge. It indicates a 40 billion EUR value of Aeroplysinin-1 from the estimated natural stock of 8 tons of A. aerophoba in Kotor Bay.

  The ichthyoplankton research shows that a large number of fish species of commercial importance choose the waters of the Bay for spawning. Among them, the largest number of individuals belongs

  The Boka Kotorska Bay is home for 59 fish species

• The ichthyoplankton research shows that a large number of fish species of commercial importance choose the waters of the Bay for spawning. Among them, the largest number of individuals belongs in the summertime to the Engraulis encrasicolus, then Diplodus annularis, Coris julis, Diplodus puntazzo, Gaidropsaurus mediterraneus, Serranus hepatus, Sardinella aurita, while the species Sardina pilchardus is predominant in wintertime.

Back to Fascinating facts