Fishing captain Dinko Cvjetojevic stood on his boat moored in Dubrovnik, his day's work halted by the cost of fuel that has soared since war erupted in Iran, thousands of miles to the east.
The sun was out, the fish were plentiful and the busy summer season was fast approaching. But Cvjetojevic had done his sums.
Fuel now accounted for up to 90 per cent of operating costs, roughly double the proportion before the conflict choked off the key oil export route of the Strait of Hormuz. That made fishing "completely unprofitable".
"As you can see today, it’s a beautiful day, but the ships are moored," he told Reuters.
He had stockpiled some fuel before prices rose, allowing him to keep a second vessel running for now.
"I’m constantly trying to stay alive," he said. "If it stays like this, then one more month we can work and then after that we can go swimming."
Commercial fishing is a small but important sector along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, employing several thousand people and supplying fresh fish to restaurants and hotels during the peak tourist season.
Tourism, Croatia’s main economic engine, accounts for about one-fifth of gross domestic product when related activities are included, leaving a large part of the economy exposed if fuel prices remain high through the summer.
Cvjetojevic said his boats typically supply markets from Dubrovnik to Istria, with part of the catch exported to Italy and Slovenia. But he had now scaled down his operation and was only selling locally.
"Without state help, I see no solution," he said.
(Reporting by Antonio Bronic; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
