STORY: Fishing captain Dinko Cvjetojevic stands on his boat moored in Dubrovnik.
His day's work halted by the cost of fuel that has soared since war erupted in Iran, thousands of miles to the east.
The busy summer season was fast approaching but Cvjetojevic has done his calculations.
"Since the war in the Middle East started, the price of fuel has increased dramatically. This resulted in a large increase in our costs. Before, fuel was around 40 to 50% of our business costs, but now it has reached 80 to 90%."
He had stockpiled some fuel before prices rose, allowing him to keep a second vessel running for now.
"If this situation continues for another month, I think we will go out of business. That will be it. Everything is leading to that."
Commercial fishing is a small but important sector along Croatia's coast...
It employs several thousand people and supplies fresh fish to restaurants and hotels during the peak tourist season.
Tourism accounts for about one-fifth of Croatia's GDP, leaving a large part of the economy exposed if fuel prices remain high through the summer.
Cvjetojevic said his boats typically supply markets from Dubrovnik to Istria...
with part of the catch exported to Italy and Slovenia.
But he has scaled down his operation and is only selling locally.
