Almost 25 thousand tourists have visited the Skadar Lake National Park since the beginning of this year, and the biggest challenges during the upcoming summer season will be to put an end to illegal activities - fishing, illegal construction, waste disposal and the transportation of tourists in violation of regulations, that is, without the necessary permits and tickets.
This was stated to "Vijesti" by, among other things, the Public Company for National Parks of Montenegro (NPCG), headed by Marinela Đuretić, which manages this protected area in the territory of the Bar municipality.
Since the beginning of the year, Skadar Lake National Park has been visited by exactly 24.949 tourists, with the highest number of visits recorded during April and May. Since the beginning of 2026, they have noticed a lower number of visits to protected areas.
In addition to global events that are also affecting tourism trends, the NPCG believes that the number of visits was also affected by months of bad weather conditions that prevented those interested from staying safely in nature. After the improvement in weather conditions, an increased number of tourists was recorded.
When asked what NPCG has specifically done since the end of the last summer season to make this one more successful, they replied that in the previous period they had worked on improving the tourist infrastructure through the renovation of signage, markings in the park, and the installation of information and promotional boards. The renovation of the Expo area near the administrative building in Vranjina is also underway.
In cooperation with the Zeta Tourist Organization, a promotional bird watching tour was organized last weekend as a special offer of the Skadar Lake NP. Educational activities are also being continuously conducted to raise awareness among the youngest population about the importance of protecting biodiversity and the value of parks.
A combination of natural and cultural heritage
They noted that the Skadar Lake National Park was also nominated for the "Živa Awards 2026" award, within the framework of the Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK), and on that occasion an evaluation visit was carried out by the jury members, within which it was assessed that the Skadar Lake National Park has serious potential for success, especially in the "Best Slavic Heritage Site" category, which values sites of exceptional natural and cultural value, as well as the way they are interpreted and managed.
The park's advantage is reflected in its unique blend of natural and cultural heritage - monasteries, fishing villages, tradition and cultural landscape - as well as its international significance through Ramsar status and potential UNESCO perspective. NPCG points out that the dedication to the ways in which heritage is interpreted for visitors is additionally highlighted, where visitor centers, trails, publications, innovations and projects come into play.
"Given that biodiversity protection is a key task of the JPNPCG, we emphasize that the Service for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development has continuously carried out activities to monitor plant and animal species, which includes numerous field surveys that provide us with guidelines on the steps that need to be taken in order to protect and improve their condition. Special attention was paid to the monitoring of bird species, and at the beginning of the year, the IWC winter bird count was also carried out," they told the newspaper.
When asked what the biggest challenges they foresee in the Skadar Lake NP for this summer season and how they are preparing to respond to them, the NPCG said that preventing all forms of illegal activities is a challenge they face in this national park throughout the year.
"In addition to illegal fishing, illegal construction, and waste disposal, during the summer months, protection services also encounter irregularities related to the transportation of tourists without the necessary permits and tickets," they specified.
During the fishing ban in the Skadar Lake National Park, which lasts from March to May, the campaign "Today one - tomorrow a thousand" was implemented, with the aim of raising public awareness about the importance of preserving fish stocks and combating poaching, which negatively affects the entire wildlife of Lake Skadar.
During the past year, efforts were made to strengthen the capacities of the Protection Service and improve material and technical resources for field work. As reported by "Vijesti", several outboard motors were purchased, and a new vessel was purchased within the framework of the project "Skadar Lake Basin - Transboundary Biosphere Reserve".
In May of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, in accordance with the Order on Fishing Prohibitions, Fishing Season and Minimum Sizes of Fish and Other Aquatic Organisms Below Which Catching is Prohibited, banned fishing for all species of fish except eel on Lake Skadar until mid-May.
This measure aims to preserve fish and other aquatic organisms during the spawning period, as well as to protect the biodiversity of this protected natural resource.
Also, the new Law on Freshwater Fisheries, which came into force this March, provides for significantly greater penalties for anyone who violates the regulations.
Missing supervisor
Last year, as "Vijesti" wrote at the time, the NPCG hired private security to check ticket collection, which was met with outrage from the locals of Virpazar and boatmen who transport tourists on the lake. When asked by the editorial staff whether this would be the case this year, they replied that the control would be carried out by supervisors from the Skadar Lake NP Protection Service in cooperation with the Control and Monitoring Service and the relevant inspections (tourism, environmental, communal).
"The reason for the earlier engagement of external monitoring agencies was the insufficient number of employees in the Skadar Lake NP Protection Service. The JPNPCG has repeatedly advertised for these positions, however, the difficult conditions and complexity of the work that involves field work, as well as low salaries, have resulted in the lack of candidates for this position," said the state-owned company.
They add that after a certain number of employees retired, the Skadar Lake NP is lacking employees with certain certificates that are necessary for organizing navigation patrols.
Although the Skadar Lake NP has employees with the title of boat manager, it was necessary to ensure that some of the employees also acquire the title of sailor and motorman, which, as they claim, they have done and expect that after the ongoing training, they will receive the necessary certificates in order to perform work tasks in the field in accordance with the adopted laws.
"However, all our efforts to strengthen the Protection Services are not enough, but stronger state support is needed in the coming period in order to restore our dilapidated fleet, and financial resources are especially needed to provide better working conditions and higher salaries for supervisors," they added.
The protection of the most valuable natural resources requires stable, trained and motivated staff, they concluded, otherwise they face a serious shortage of employees. This is precisely why there is a strategic need for external engagement during the months, they point out, when visitor pressure is most pronounced, “although their priority is to avoid such a practice through continuous advertising and strengthening their own staffing capacities.”
Annual ticket promotion
The NPCG is paying special attention during this period of the year to the promotion of Annual Tickets for National Parks, which, at a price of 13,50 euros, give nature lovers the opportunity to enter all five national parks an unlimited number of times during the calendar year.
In cooperation with a commercial bank, the "Visit Them All" campaign continued, within which card users of that bank were provided with a 50 percent refund for online purchases of annual tickets, i.e. at a price of 6,75 euros.
NPCG also participates in events organized by local tourist organizations with the aim of promoting active vacation offers, as well as presenting the natural and cultural values of these areas.
"Considering the statistical data and the trend of annual growth in visits of around 30 percent, we can assess that activities in both promotion and control of park areas have yielded positive results. We would like to remind you that last year, five national parks recorded almost a million visits," they said.
In addition to the primary role of the NPCG, as they stated, which is focused on protecting and enhancing the natural values of parks and biodiversity, one of the segments of its work is the promotion of national parks as areas of exceptional value at the domestic and international levels.
"National park areas have been continuously promoted on international markets through the participation of the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, and the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro most often participates in fairs specializing in nature, outdoor tourism and active vacations," they concluded.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
