Due to the lack of shellfish hatcheries in the Republic of Croatia, all breeders in the Republic of Croatia depend on the natural reception of fry.

This case study will develop the pilot production of a floating pontoon with a circulation system for fry pre-growth – FLUPSY. This pontoon would enable sustainable fry production. After collecting the fry from the wild, the fry would be kept in tanks on a pontoon, with a constant inflow of seawater (with variable depth targeting optimal conditions) with controlled growth / pre-growth conditions provided until they reach the necessary size for transplanting to the breeding fields.

In addition to established species (oysters and mussels), FLUPSY could also be used for the growth of commercially very interesting species (scallops, small scallops, vongole), whose young can still be collected from nature in some localities, and there is an urgent need to protect and recover this population which can be achieved with an innovative pontoon specially designed for Croatian conditions.