Lošinj after the “Green Weekend” cleaner by more than two tonnes of waste: an underwater action gathered 150 volunteers and showed how technology can help protect the sea
The island of Lošinj is behind a weekend that was at the same time an environmental action, a public education effort, and a message about how much a local community can achieve when nature protection is not reduced only to declarations. As part of the “Green Weekend” event, which was held from 10 to 12 April 2026 at several locations on the island, the traditional underwater clean-up action “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” was carried out, and the final result speaks for itself: 15 cubic metres of waste were pulled out of the sea, that is, more than two tonnes of various discarded material. A total of 150 female and male volunteers took part in the three-day action, including 68 divers, and the organisers point out that this is yet another strong reminder of how serious marine waste is, but also how visible progress can be achieved through persistent joint work.
For Lošinj, which builds a large part of its identity on natural heritage, a clean sea, health tourism and life by the coast, actions like these have a much broader meaning than the one-off removal of waste. At the same time, they clean the area, bring the community together, involve children and young people in educational programmes, and give extra weight to the idea of sustainable development, which is often discussed in tourism and public policies, but is much harder to implement in practice. That is precisely why this year’s edition of the “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” action was important not only because of the amount of collected waste, but also because of the way it connected knowledge, volunteering, technology and local cooperation. For everyone planning a longer stay on the island during the spring and summer events,
accommodation offers in Mali Lošinj are also useful, especially during periods when events are held that attract a larger number of guests and participants.
The action covered several locations and expanded to Veli žal
According to available information from the organisation and the official announcements of the event, this year’s underwater clean-up action was carried out at several locations that are important both for the daily life of residents and for the tourist image of the island. In addition to the already traditional points in the port of Mali Lošinj and Čikat Bay, this year the action was also expanded to Veli žal Bay, thereby further increasing its scope. The official tourist announcement of the “Green Weekend” stated that the clean-up was organised at several locations in the Lošinj waters, among them in Mali Lošinj, Čikat and at Veli žal beach, which shows that the action is developing from year to year and is no longer tied exclusively to one point, but is increasingly taking on the characteristics of an island-wide environmental intervention.
Such an approach is especially important in places such as Lošinj, where the marine area is not perceived only as a natural resource, but also as an everyday living space, an economic foundation and a key element of the destination’s identity. Ports, bays and town beaches on the island are not only tourist scenery, but places of intensive use, so it is precisely there that the difference between declarative care for the environment and real readiness to solve problems in the field can most easily be seen. In that sense, the decision to expand the action to Veli žal seems logical: it is an area that has both recreational and tourist value, so its inclusion in such an action is an important message both to the local population and to guests. For those planning to come to Lošinj because of similar events,
accommodation options close to the event venue may also be useful, especially if they want to use the weekend for an active stay and following island events.
The volunteer turnout shows that sea protection is no longer a topic only for experts
One of the most striking pieces of data from this year’s action is the number of participants. A total of 150 female and male volunteers, including 68 divers, is not a small number even for larger urban environments, let alone for an island action carried out in the middle of spring. The organisers especially emphasised that some participants decided to spend the weekend on Lošinj precisely in order to take part in the clean-up and make a concrete contribution to preserving the marine environment. That detail is important for several reasons. First, it shows that environmental engagement is increasingly seen less as a side activity and more as a reason for coming, participating and connecting with the local community. Second, it confirms that such actions have the potential to go beyond local frameworks and become part of a broader culture of responsible travel.
In practice, this means that the image of a tourist destination is changing. Instead of passively consuming space, there are more and more examples in which visitors want to actively participate in protecting the place they are visiting. This can be especially important for Lošinj, because the island has been branding itself for years through health, nature and a high quality of stay. Actions like this give content and credibility to that identity. It is not the same to talk about sustainability and to show that in three days 150 people can be gathered who are ready to invest part of their free time in cleaning the sea. This kind of social capital is also a valuable message to younger generations: caring for the environment is not an abstract topic reserved for conferences and strategies, but work that must be done at concrete locations, among real people and with measurable results.
More than two tonnes of waste and 15 cubic metres of extracted material
The fact that 15 cubic metres of waste, that is, more than two tonnes, were collected from the seabed speaks sufficiently about the scale of the problem faced even by the most attractive parts of the Adriatic coast. Such figures have a double meaning. On the one hand, they show that the action was organisationally successful and that the great effort of the participants yielded a concrete result. On the other hand, they warn that waste in the sea continues to accumulate in quantities that cannot be ignored, even on an island that bases its development on a high perception of cleanliness, environmental quality and natural preservation.
The collected waste as a rule includes items that testify to long-term and diverse pressure on the coastal belt and the seabed: glass, metal, plastic, discarded pieces of equipment, remains of municipal waste and other materials that over time become a danger to marine life, but also to people. Such waste does not only undermine the visual impression of the area, but can damage habitats, endanger organisms and in the long term increase the risk of plastic fragmenting into microplastics, which today is one of the most serious problems of marine ecosystems. That is precisely why the weight of more than two tonnes in this story is not only a number for the headline, but an indicator of how systematic the work on prevention, education and remediation must be. It is especially important that all collected waste was properly disposed of with the help of partners from Komunalne usluge Cres-Lošinj, because removing waste from the sea does not have full meaning without responsible handling after the action itself.
FAUST V as an example of how technology is entering sea protection
One of the more interesting elements of this year’s edition was the engagement of the autonomous vessel FAUST V, which helped diving teams at the Veli žal Bay location by scanning the seabed in real time and facilitating the precise location of waste. This gave the action an important additional dimension: it showed that environmental protection today is not only a matter of human engagement and goodwill, but also a field in which digital tools, autonomous systems and the application of advanced solutions in field conditions play an increasingly important role.
According to publicly available data from the company Innovamare Technologies, FAUST V is an autonomous surface vessel developed for real-time sea monitoring, data collection and support for sustainable maritime operations. It is a technology that relies on precise collection of information from the sea and can help in better detecting changes in the field, including problems such as underwater waste. The inclusion of such a vessel in an environmental action on Lošinj therefore has both symbolic and practical value. Symbolically, because it shows that the Adriatic can be a space for the application of modern solutions, and not only a place where the need for modernisation is talked about. Practically, because it shortens search time and helps diving teams direct their effort more efficiently where it is most needed.
Additional context is provided by the fact that DIH Innovamare is an internationally oriented project that promotes innovation and sustainability in the Adriatic region, with an emphasis on knowledge transfer, technological development and cooperation between the research and private sectors. When such a project appears in the field, in a concrete environmental action, then it ceases to be only an administrative or developmental framework and becomes something tangible. For the local community, this means that modern technology can have a direct benefit in preserving the space in which people live and work, and for the public it sends the message that the green transition is not only a political phrase, but a set of very concrete tools and procedures.
Children’s education as an investment in long-term change
The programme did not remain only at the clean-up action. Already on the first day, guests from DIH Innovamare held an educational workshop for pupils of the Elementary School in Mali Lošinj as part of the “Clean Blue” project, with the aim of raising awareness about the problem of marine waste. This segment is often perceived by the public as a secondary addition, but in the long term it may be the most important part of the whole story. The reason is simple: the sea will not be protected only by occasional actions, but by changing habits, understanding consequences and developing a sense of responsibility from the earliest age.
In this respect, Lošinj has an important advantage because a strong tradition of educational and research activities related to the sea already exists on the island. The Blue World Institute has for years been developing programmes of scientific work and public education, and the Lošinj Marine Education Centre is recognised as a place where expert knowledge is brought closer to the wider public. The inclusion of children in the programme during the “Green Weekend” was therefore not incidental, but fully in line with the long-term direction of activity. Children who today learn in a workshop what marine waste means for the ecosystem will tomorrow be citizens, consumers, renters, fishers, caterers, boaters or decision-makers. In that sense, the educational part of the action is not accompanying content, but an investment in future patterns of behaviour.
The broader picture: Lošinj is trying to turn sustainability into practice
The “Green Weekend” on Lošinj was not limited only to the sea clean-up action. Official announcements by the Tourist Board of the Town of Mali Lošinj showed that the event was conceived more broadly, as a combination of sustainability, local tradition and citizen participation. The same programme included the flower fair “Lošinj Flower”, the eco-action “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” and the Lošinj asparagus festival. At first glance these are different events, but their common thread is clear: encouraging a more responsible relationship towards space and strengthening the identity of the destination through content that is not separated from local life.
Precisely such an approach is becoming increasingly important in tourist areas that want to avoid sustainability remaining merely a promotional word. When, in the same weekend, spatial improvement, local gastronomy, volunteering and education are linked, then a more complete picture is created of a place that does not live only for the season, but tries to manage its own resources in the long term. In the case of Lošinj, this is a particularly sensitive issue because it is an area of great natural value and strong tourist exposure. The more successful the destination is, the greater the pressure on its coast, traffic, infrastructure and marine area. That is why such events make sense only if they simultaneously carry both real content and real effect, and this year the action “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” truly showed that effect.
An organisation based on local cooperation
The action was organised by the Blue World Institute and the diving centre Subseason, in cooperation with the Tourist Board of the Town of Mali Lošinj, the Town of Mali Lošinj, the company Jadranka d.d. and a number of partners from the local community. The very composition of the organisers shows that such interventions are not possible without broad operational cooperation. Expert people who understand the sea and the seabed are needed, divers trained for demanding working conditions, logistics on land, support of local institutions, communication with the public and organised disposal of waste after the action. Only when all these parts are connected is it possible to achieve a result such as the one Lošinj recorded this weekend.
Such cooperation is important also because it shows that environmental protection is not the job of only one association or one institution. It includes scientific and expert institutions, the public sector, the municipal system, tourism stakeholders, citizens and volunteers. In this lies one of the key messages of the action as well: environmental responsibility is not delegated to someone else, but shared. When the local community works together to clean its own seabed, it sends the message that space is not only a resource for use, but also a value for which responsibility is assumed. In a tourist environment, this additionally means that care for the environment becomes an integral part of the quality of the destination, and not a separate topic for expert discussions.
Why actions like these have both social and economic weight
On the Adriatic, and especially on the islands, sea protection is not only a question of ecology in the narrower sense. It is at the same time a social and an economic issue. A clean sea affects the experience of the destination, the safety of bathing areas, the attractiveness of ports and bays, the quality of life of residents, but also the long-term sustainability of tourism, fisheries and other activities related to the coast. Because of this, every action that reduces the amount of waste in the sea is at the same time an investment in public space and an investment in the local economy.
In recent years, Lošinj has been systematically positioning itself as a destination of health, nature and sustainable holidays. But such a position can survive only if it is accompanied by concrete practice. Otherwise, it quickly turns into a marketing phrase. That is precisely why events such as “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” carry additional weight: they confirm that behind the destination’s identity there are also real efforts. For visitors who come to the island because of nature, promenades, swimming, sailing or recreational stays, it is important to know that the local community takes the preservation of the area seriously. And for all those who want to stay for several days, especially during spring events and weekend programmes, it is useful to check in advance
accommodation for visitors on Lošinj, especially if they want to be close to the centre of events, the coast or the bays that are part of the island’s offer.
The message after the action is clear: the result exists, but the work is not finished
After the three-day action, Lošinj is indeed cleaner by more than two tonnes of waste, but the value of this weekend is not only in the number, but in the broader impression it leaves. On the one hand, the result shows that a well-organised action can make a very concrete shift in a short time. On the other hand, the quantity of extracted waste itself warns that the problem has not disappeared and that similar actions will also be needed in the future. The sea does not remember only beautiful postcards, but also the traces of human carelessness, consumption and irresponsible waste disposal. That is precisely why the name of the action “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” sounds like an accurate summary of the reality with which many Adriatic communities live.
What is most important, however, is that Lošinj has shown that there is knowledge, people and will to respond to that problem. When volunteers, divers, schoolchildren, researchers, technological partners, city institutions and the municipal system come together in one place, then a model is created that can be important for other coastal communities as well. It is not only about cleaning one port, one bay or one beach, but about creating a culture of responsibility towards the sea. And it is precisely from such seemingly local actions that the most lasting changes are often born in the way a community understands the space in which it lives.
Sources:- Tourist Board of the Town of Mali Lošinj – official announcement of the “Green Weekend” event, with a description of the programme, dates and locations of the eco-action “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” (link)- Blue World Institute – overview of the organisation’s activities in the field of research, sea protection and public education (link)- Blue World Institute – report on the “The Sea Knows, the Island Remembers” action from 2025, as context for the continuity and previous results of the action on Lošinj (link)- Radio Jadranka / Radio Mali Lošinj – publication on the action programme in April 2026, with information on the start of events and the public invitation to participants (link)- Innovamare Technologies – description of the autonomous vessel FAUST V and its capabilities for sea monitoring and real-time data collection (link)- Interreg Italy-Croatia / DIH Innovamare – official description of the project focused on innovation and sustainability in the Adriatic region (link)
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