STORY: This bay on Croatia’s Adriatic coast is known to residents as the Karin Sea.
Now the country is pushing to have it officially designated as the world’s smallest sea by the Guinness World Records.
Located more than 18 miles east of the coastal city of Zadar, the Karin Sea covers an area of just over 2.3 square miles.
The current record for the world’s smallest sea is held by Turkey’s Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul.
:: Istanbul, Turkey
Tomo Aracic is head of the Karinska Riviera tourist association:
“First, the tourist potential is currently great, but if declared the smallest sea in the world, I expect it to be a major contribution. After that, it is also necessary to maintain a high level of sea cleanliness and environmental protection.”
Guinness defines seas as “smaller bodies of water than oceans, but still large water bodies, partly enclosed by a land mass and connected to an ocean.”
The Karin Sea has been marked as a sea on maps for centuries.
It is home to protected marine life such as dolphins and sea turtles.
Danko Vivodinac is a local resident:
“This is the most beautiful sea for me. If we manage to do this (officially declare it the smallest sea in the world), then it will be really great that someone takes care that it is known about.”
