Juveniles of 33 non-resident fish collected in three sheltered shallow coves (eastern Adriatic) fell into three groups: (a) occasional (10 species); (b) present in the study site only for short periods and at small sizes, in transit to a nearby Krka Estuary (11 species); and (c) species that spend most or all of their juvenile phase in sheltered coves (12 species). This note provides suggestive evidence that shallow water habitats inside sheltered coves could play an important role as nurseries for fish groups (b) and (c) during their early life stages.