"Shell cemetery" in Ankaran waiting to be protected

The shell dune was created in the 1990s when port operator Luka Koper deepened the seabed for its second pier and deposited the silt where the Rižana flows into the Adriatic Sea. The material was then exposed to rain, wind and sea waves, which washed away the silt and a white shell dune appeared.

Debeli Rtič Landscape Park guards say the shells of dead mollusca are important as a base where sea weed, sponges and other organisms can attach themselves, and also as a home for hermit crabs and micro-organisms, while also reducing coastal erosion.

Risks to this rare habitat, the only of its kind in Slovenia, come from shells crumbling as people walk on them while they also pick shells to take them home.

While this is not an offence, environmentalists do not recommend it if the area is to be preserved. "At some point in the future, shells will in any case become fine sand. Walking and picking up shells speeds up this process, so the dune changes more quickly than it would otherwise," they told the STA.

This is why the environmentalists and the municipality of Ankaran would like the area to be protected, perhaps like a nearby Mediterranean salt meadow was, which was included the Natura 2000 protected area, and visitors can walk through it only on a raised wooden walkway.

The municipality also believes the shell dune has a lot of potential for tourism. However, the area is governed by the national spatial plan for the port of Koper where a third pier is planned, which the municipality says would destroy nature in the area.

Ankaran is currently not considering giving an initiative to protect the dune, saying it would have to be coordinated with the owner, the state, "which has plans for other activities there".

Luka Koper is meanwhile currently not working on a third pier. "We are giving priority to the development and expansion of warehousing and handling areas within the first and second piers, where we have all the necessary infrastructure and developed logistics," the company told the STA.

Debeli Rtič Park guards meanwhile urge the public to behave in line with the basic goals of nature conservation, advising people not to walk outside paths, not to disturb animals or pick "organisms for keepsake. And don't leave behind anything, especially no litter. Take away peace, satisfaction and a beautiful photo or two," they say.

The park and the municipality are planning to erect an info board there this year to provide the basic information about the shell dune.