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| 3.3.2023 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 80/84 |

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Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2023/C 80/13)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council [(1)](#ntr1-C_2023080EN.01008401-E0001) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Novigradska dagnja’

EU No: PDO-HR-02626 – 4.8.2020

PDO (X) PGI ( )

1.   Name(s)

‘Novigradska dagnja’

2.   Member State or Third Country

Republic of Croatia

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 1.7. Fresh fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and products derived therefrom

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is a bivalve mollusc of the Mediterranean mussel species Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819). The shell of ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is fan shaped, triangular or egg-shaped and elongated. The body is enclosed in two identical shells that are blueish-black on the outside and pale-pearlescent on the inside. The length of the longest part of a mollusc of consumption size is at least 6 cm, while the minimum weight is 20 g.

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is particularly well known for its high condition index, i.e. the amount of meat occupied by the area inside the shell, and the minimum condition index for consumable mussels is at least 12 %.

The fresh meat of ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is smooth to the touch, with a soft and elastic consistency and the characteristic aroma of the sea and seaweed. The surface of the meat is shiny, moist and smooth. The colour of the meat of ‘Novigradska dagnja’ depends on the gender of the mollusc. Mussels have separate genders – male mussels are mainly milky white or cream-coloured, while female mussels are reddish-orange.

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is supplied to the market live, with the shell intact, and cleaned of fouling organisms and other impurities. Traces of mussel fouling with sedentary polychaete Pomatoceros triqueter (Linnaeus, 1758) may be found on shells.

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is harvested each calendar year between 1 April and 30 November. Outside that period, mussels grown on farms in the Novigrad Sea and Novsko Strait may not be placed on the market under the name ‘Novigradska dagnja’.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

‘Novigradska dagnja’ feeds by continuously filtering sea water; it feeds in the aquatic environment mainly on phytoplankton, zooplankton, fine organic detritus, decomposed organic matter, inorganic particles and various bacteria. Nutrients brought by rivers as well as those washed in by the rain from forested hills create favourable conditions for the development of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Novigrad Sea. This ensures a good availability of food for organisms which feed by filtering sea water, including mussels. Farmed ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is not fed with any complementary feed or additives.

3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

The complete ‘Novigradska dagnja’ production cycle, from collecting juvenile mussels to their reaching consumption size, takes place in the Novigrad Sea and the Novsko Strait. The production cycle, from the time of collection to when the mussels reach consumption size, lasts at least 12 months.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

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3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

When placing the product on the market in any type of pre-packaging, the labelling must contain the name ‘Novigradska dagnja’, which must be clearly distinguishable by size, type and colour of the letters (typography) from any other inscription.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The full ‘Novigradska dagnja’ production cycle takes place in the Novigrad Sea and the connecting Novsko Strait. The Novigrad Sea is a bay in Zadar County. In its north western part it is connected to the Velebit Channel by the Novsko Strait. The Novsko Strait, as the connecting channel, has very similar environmental characteristics to the Novigrad Sea.

5.   Link with the geographical area

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area

The area of the Novigrad Sea is heavily influenced by karst surface water and groundwater, and numerous springs rise up along its shores. The Zrmanja river flows into the Novigrad Sea, as do the Bašćica, Draga, Slapaća and other smaller watercourses. Water flows from the Karin Sea, into which the Karišnica and Bijela watercourses flow, through the Karin Strait to the Novigrad Sea. The most important watercourse is the Zrmanja river, which is 69 km long with a basin area of 554 km2, and has an average flow rate of 373/s at its mouth. Each year, the Zrmanja river brings on average 2,3 times more water than the total volume of the Novigrad Sea, which strongly affects the physical, chemical, biological and general hydrogeological properties of the Novigrad Sea. The inflow of all the watercourses in certain periods significantly reduces the salinity of the Novigrad Sea. The entire bay is characterised by high stratification with a salt wedge and clear halocline. A freshened surface layer from the Novigrad Sea flows into the Velebit Channel. Offsetting this, a water body of greater salinity enters from the Velebit Channel through the bottom layer. The salinity on the surface varies between 17,3 ‰ and 33,8 ‰, and in deeper layers between 36,2 ‰ and 37,9 ‰. Annual sea temperatures range between 6,7 °C and 26,6 °C (on average 16.4 °C). On the basis of the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC), the water bodies of the part of the Zrmanja river downstream from Obrovac, the Novigrad Sea and the Karin Sea and Novsko Strait constitute transitional waters of the Zrmanja river and the Zrmanja river estuary. Given its biological parameters and the presence and abundance of marine species of phytoplankton, the Zrmanja river estuary is considered to be a moderately eutrophic area.

Studies conducted by Šarić and others have shown that the Novigrad Sea contains more chlorophyll a than other production areas for shellfish farming and harvesting in Zadar County. For example, the volume of chlorophyll a exceeds 4 mg/L in certain months, which is significantly higher than the values recorded in the open part of the Adriatic Sea (T. Šarić and others 2018 Quality parameters of Novigrad mussels for PDO application, Proceedings of the 53rd Croatian and 13th international symposium on agronomy, Vodice, p. 201).

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is farmed in a traditional way, applying local knowledge and skills in mussel farming in the specific geographical area. Mussels are grown in ‘pergolars’ (local expression for mesh tubing), which hang freely on load-bearing ropes on the farms. In order to ensure the optimal environmental farming conditions for the mussels, farmers lower mussels to a greater depth during inflows of large volumes of freshwater (most often in the autumn and winter), which remains on the surface of the Novigrad Sea and the Novsko Strait. Young farmed mussels are hand-planted during which time they are visually inspected – those that do not meet the appearance and size requirements are removed from further cultivation.

A problem associated with farming is the collection of too many juvenile mussels on those that have been already planted on ‘pergolars’, which stunts their growth. Furthermore, extensive overgrowth of polychaete on mollusc shells can hinder the shellfish from functioning and growing properly. To prevent this, it is important to plant the mussels during the optimal period of time and, during cultivation, to monitor the density of the planted mussels, the appearance of overgrowth and, where necessary, to thin and clean the mussels. This procedure relies largely on the traditional knowledge and skills of the producers acquired over a long history of mussel farming in the Novigrad region.

5.2.   Specificity of the product

Mussel growth and the mollusc condition index, i.e. the amount of meat occupied by the area inside the shell, are important factors in mussel farming. In fact, the condition index is one of the most important characteristics which the average buyer looks at when assessing mussel quality, and this is also one of the most important quality parameters of ‘Novigradska dagnja’. ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is renowned for its good meat ratio, and studies have shown that throughout the year the condition index for ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is greater than the condition index for mussels grown in integrated farming conditions for molluscs and fish in the Adriatic Sea, as well as in other registered mollusc farming areas. Measurements taken between October 2015 and August 2016 as part of a project entitled INOVaDA – Quality Research and Promotion of Novigrad Mussels at the University of Zadar (Department of Ecology, Agronomy and Aquaculture) established that the ‘Novigradska dagnja’ condition index was at its lowest in January at 10,72 % and highest in August at 18,98 %. Although the ‘Novigradska dagnja’ condition index is greater than that for mussels grown in other farming areas observed over the course of a year, shifts in the ‘Novigradska dagnja’ condition index are noticeable: it is lower during the winter months than during the rest of the year. In order to maintain the product’s high quality, the harvesting and marketing of fresh mussels under the name ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is limited to the period from 1 April to 30 November of each calendar year.

5.3.   Causal link between the specificity of the geographical area and the specificity of the product

Protection of ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is based on the product’s quality and the traditional farming method in the defined geographical area. The most important quality characteristic for which ‘Novigradska dagnja’ is renowned is its high condition index value, which depends primarily on the sexual cycle season, the presence of planktonic food and changes in environmental factors (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen concentration).

Nutrients brought by rivers as well as those washed in by the rain from forested hills create favourable conditions for the development of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Novigrad Sea. This ensures a good availability of food for organisms which feed by filtering sea water, including ‘Novigradska dagnja’. The volume of chlorophyll a characterises the Novigrad Sea and the Novsko Strait as a sea with increased productivity compared with the average for the Adriatic, which has a positive impact on the higher condition index for ‘Novigradska dagnja’.

Due to frequent and sudden changes in environmental conditions in the Novigrad Sea and the Novsko Strait (sudden fall in salinity due to an inflow of fresh water, changes in temperature due to the bora wind, etc.), the mussels are exposed to stimuli which encourage tissue preparation for spawning. Therefore, compared with mussels from other areas, ‘Novigradska dagnja’ spend more energy on tissue growth than shell growth. This preparation for spawning and the ready availability of nutrients result in a higher condition index for ‘Novigradska dagnja’, thanks to which these mussels are of higher quality over a longer period.

‘Novigradska dagnja’ is grown in a farming area which, in accordance with the microbiological classification of shellfish production areas, falls under the highest microbiological classification A. Shellfish farmed in unpolluted Class A seas may be placed directly on the market without prior purification.

Identifying the optimal growing conditions in the specific natural conditions of the Novigrad Sea, hand planting and selecting young mussels and thinning and cleaning where necessary, require the experience and traditional know-how of the local farmers and directly contribute to the proper functioning and growth of ‘Novigradska dagnja’.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/hrana/proizvodi\_u\_postupku\_zastite-zoi-zozp-zts/Specifikacija\_Novigradska\_dagnja052022.pdf

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[(1)](#ntc1-C_2023080EN.01008401-E0001)  [OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOL_2012_343_R_TOC).

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