Coastal bays and lagoons, in particular the largest, near Velipoja in Albania, arc crucial as spawning and nursery areas for a number of commercially-important fish species. Nowadays, the expansion of tourism areas and related infrastructure, combined with significantly increasing disturbance from visitors, and boat and car traffic (including off-road), represent a threat, especially for attractive, and at the same time sensitive, coastal habitats. The development of urban settlements, roads, agriculture, tourism, and industry in the catchment basin, with the associated increased abstraction of water, provides additional pressures on the downstream wetland ecosystems.