00:00The Adriatic Sea is renowned for its crystal clear waters and rich biodiversity.
00:06Yet, as part of the greater Mediterranean, it has not been spared from the catastrophic mass die-off of the noble penshell, Pina Nobilis, now teetering on the brink of extinction.
00:18Diver Ante Jono is very familiar with the bays and underwater landscapes near Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
00:25In past years, the seabed was dotted with countless penshells.
00:29Today, almost none remain.
00:32You can see that from the mass of the Periscope, there was no changes.
00:38I've seen the last few years two of them alive.
00:41However, in the previous period, they were lost.
00:45In the last few years, it was only one of them.
00:49In a short time, they were lost.
00:52Mass mortality among noble penshells is caused by the parasite Haplosporidium pina.
00:58First detected in 2016 off the coast of Spain, it quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean.
01:05Countless empty shells scattered across the seabed now mark a species on the brink of extinction.
01:12Yet, there is hope.
01:14At the Pula Aquarium in neighboring Croatia, a team of scientists is working tirelessly to protect this endangered clam,
01:21which has been placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
01:28The fact is that 99% of the Periscope in the Mediterranean have died in the Mediterranean.
01:36It is an endemic species, which means that if we lose the species in the Mediterranean, we lose it on the international level.
01:43These seawater tanks contain some of the last surviving Pina Nobili specimens found in the Adriatic.
01:50You can see the pseudophases if you want to.
01:55It means that they are healthy.
01:58I am just going to give you a little food.
02:02Six noble pen shells from the Venetian lagoon have been brought to these tanks.
02:09The final goal of the population here is their reproduction,
02:15so that small animals would return to nature and expect that a large number of these animals would be resistant to pathogens.
02:25Inside these tanks, scientists cultivate plankton – microscopic organisms that drift in water,
02:32under strictly controlled conditions, to provide food for the pen shells.
02:36The seawater, filtered multiple times, is continuously monitored to ensure that the surviving individuals remain safe and healthy.
02:45You always have microorganisms that live in adult periscs,
02:50in a certain concentration where they can affect juvenile periscs.
02:55So, we are done.
02:57Because the noble pen shell has never been commercially exploited,
03:01no previous attempts have been made to breed it in captivity.
03:05Much about its biology remains a mystery.
03:08What these scientists are attempting has never been done before –
03:12to breed the species through every stage of its life cycle,
03:16from larva through juvenile to adult.
03:19No one has never been able to close that cycle until the end.
03:22The most important life of juveniles is still in days.
03:26Noble pen shells are filter feeders that play a vital role in maintaining the cleanliness and balance of marine habitats.
03:34Each individual can filter up to 60 liters of water per hour, around 1500 liters a day.
03:41This remarkable capacity makes them essential for the health of the ecosystem.
03:47The second important role is that she lives in many organisms with the periscs.
03:55From the smallest microorganisms, such as a large number of bacteria,
04:00which are symbiotes of the periscs,
04:02to large organisms such as the drug.
04:05In the Croatian waters of the Adriatic, only about 20 noble pen shells remain alive.
04:11Separated by long distances, natural reproduction has become almost impossible.
04:17That's why the breeding efforts in these tanks may represent the species' last real chance for survival.
04:24I hope that one day we can release some resistant new baby peanuts to the sea.
04:32We will be grateful that the generations that will be behind us
04:39will be able to see these important species.
04:43These scientists are in a race against time.
04:46They know this may be the last opportunity to save the noble pen shell.
04:51Yet they remain hopeful that this remarkable clam will once again thrive on the seabeds of the Mediterranean.
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