The 4th meeting programmed within the “Marine Turtle Vet Improvement” project, funded by the “Leonardo da Vinci Partnerships” action of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission, has just finished in the Aquarium Pula, Croatia.

The meeting took place at the facilities of the Aquarium Pula, host of this meeting, an old fortification set in the coast. Professionals from Croatia, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Spain involved in sea turtle rehabilitation and conservation took part in this meeting, sharing experiences and discussing possibilities for future collaborations. The main subject was cold-stunning, an affection very common in this part of the Adriatic, with water temperatures dropping in winter to below 10⁰C. As in other editions, participants also had time to present their own clinical cases and ask for inputs and new points of view from other professionals.

Attendants also had time to visit the National Park of Brijuni, a group of islands located 3 km from the coast of Pula, with some of the richest and healthiest fish populations in its waters, after 60 years closed to fishing. In the main island of the National Park turtles at the last stage of rehabilitation spend some weeks in a large and deep pool, getting fit and ready to be released.

We would like to thank the staff at the Aquarium Pula for the organization of this meeting, and for all their help with logistics.