Catshark Ranger Station
The Catshark Ranger Station is Rovinj Diving's catshark project on Red Island, launched in 2020 with 4 European universities. Together with Aquarium Pula we place catshark eggs in the bay. You can join in on the Catshark Tour for €168.
The project
2020
Since 2020 we've been protecting and rebuilding the catshark population on Red Island. It all began as a university project with four European universities.
Bay surveyed
We mapped and surveyed the entire bay. That's how we found the best spot for rearing the eggs.
Eggs in the bay
Together with Aquarium Pula we place catshark eggs in the bay.
Coming years
Over the coming years we want to count and document the hatched eggs.
Our partners are DiveDict, Aquarium Pula and Mares.
Catshark project video on YouTube ↗Biology
Catsharks owe their name to their cat-like eyes. They're bottom-dwelling sharks and mostly under 1 m long. They feed on marine worms, crustaceans, cephalopods and echinoderms.
Three species live in the Mediterranean: Scyliorhinus duhamelii, Scyliorhinus canicula (small-spotted catshark) and Scyliorhinus stellaris (greater spotted catshark). You can tell them apart by body and head shape, size, colour and pattern.
In spring the eggs are laid on rocks or corals. They take 6–12 months to develop. With a torch you can see the embryo inside the egg, and sometimes it moves.
Threats
Catsharks suffer from overfishing and habitat loss. On top of that come coastal development and pipelines on the seabed.
Construction work causes vibration and destruction, and nature recovers from it only slowly. Yet sharks are the sea's clean-up crew.
Catshark Ranger Station
Since 2023 you can join us on a Catshark Tour. It includes 1 hour of theory and briefing, 3 deep dives and searching at different sites. The package costs €168; book by email or WhatsApp.