In the bay of Mali Ston on the Peljesac peninsula in southern Dalmatia, an unprecedented massive mussel mortality has occurred. According to preliminary estimates, almost 80% of the mussel population in the bay of Brijesta, which is known for the largest mussel production in this area, has died off.

Shellfish farmers attribute this to the high temperatures of the seawater.

The Lazic brothers, who farm mussels on an area of around ten hectares, have lost almost 90% of their mussels, reports the public broadcaster HRT.

Zdravko Lazic, who grows mussels in Brijesta Bay, says he can not remember there ever being such a death before.

The reason for this could be the undersea springs in Bistrina Bay

The mussel farmers suspect that the reason for the mussel mortality is the extremely high temperature of the sea water, which is almost 30 degrees Celsius in this area.

Unlike mussels, oysters are not affected.

The mussel farmers in Bistrina and the neighbouring bays say that they have not noticed any dead mussels, but are monitoring the situation closely.

Ana Bratos-Cetinic from the Institute of Applied Ecology at the University of Dubrovnik said the incident was being investigated by a veterinary inspector. She speculated that undersea springs in Bistrina Bay, which cool the sea water, could be the reason why the mussels in that bay were not affected, but emphasised that the incident still needed to be investigated.