Apparently prepared for a long time, the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, together with the Split region, carried out a concerted action against operators of buoy fields, especially on Hvar, Vis, Brac, Scedro and in the Split region. Their operators had apparently operated the fields illegally for years and on a large scale without a state license. The officers arrived with several work boats and heavy dishes and not only pulled in the buoys, but also lifted the concrete mooring blocks with cranes and took them with them. A total of 138 buoys and 18 anchors including chains from 17 fields were confiscated. There was also a 30-meter-long floating dock.
Also confiscated at the same time: concrete mooring blocks
The information for the raid came from local regulators as well as from water sports enthusiasts and locals who had complained that the cashiers at the illegal buoy fields had apparently not issued correct receipts. However, the fields were not completely illegal in all cases; in some cases, concessionaires simply laid out more buoys than permitted or simply continued operations despite the expiry of the concession.
With such practices, the ministry now wanted to clean up the region and prove that it is willing to punish violations. In addition, the buoy fields have now become a profitable business, with minimal investment for the tenants. Since the state has to share in the sales in addition to the fixed lease fee, it is also in the public's interest that the tenants account properly.
In the action, murings and buoys were removed from the following bays:
- Sičenica Bay, Sevid - 8 buoys with basic harness
- Bay Luka, Povlja, island Brac - 8 buoys with basic harness
- GradskLuka, Split - 7 buoys with basic harness
- Kašuni bay, Split - 5 buoys with basic harness
- Spinut Bay, Split - 2 buoys with basic harness
- BayPorat, island Biševo - 6 buoys with basic harness
- Budikovac Veli island, Vis - 12 buoys with basic harness
- Stari Rukavac bay, island of Vis - 11 buoys with basic harness
- Tepluš Bay, Vis island - 6 buoys with basic harness
- VelTravna Bay, Vis Island - 6 buoys with basic harness
- Borče Bay, Hvar Island - 21 buoys with basic harness
- Milna bay, Hvar island - 7 buoys with basic harness
- Zarače Bay, Hvar Island - 7 buoys with basic harness
- Lovisce Bay, Scekr Island - 4 buoys with basic harness
- Lovisce Bay, Scedro Island - 6 buoys with basic harness
- VelGarščkBay, island of Hvar - 12 buoys with basic harness
- Pribinj bay, island of Hvar - 28 buoys with basic harness
The cleared fields are already noted on the website www.wosamma.at of the Austrian Wolfgang Götzinger, who runs a blog on buoy fields and has a Google Earth overview of all systems. In the area guides, however, the evictions are not yet taken into account.