Conservation and Protection of the Black Sea Biodiversity in the coastal area of Romania

Many coastal and offshore ecosystems continue to be degraded by anthropogenic causes, despite efforts to control or limit them. The causes of degradation are numerous, and can include:

• pollutants;
• runoff (carrying sediment and chemicals) from land;
• coastal development;
• introduction of non-native or invasive species;
• overfishing and by catch;
• habitat alteration;
• rising sea level and climate change.

MPAs designation was made based on the data stored in the National Informatics System (NIS), created specifically for the purpose to extend the European ecological network into Romania. The NIS was created and nourished with available data/information by the national scientific community. NIMRD was part of the national team, having the responsibility of providing and completing the NIS with data/information about the marine environment. During the process, the scientists noticed that most of the provided data were old, while there was little information about the present diversity of marine species and habitats, and their spatial distribution. Meanwhile, the Black Sea ecosystem has changed a lot over the last decades, which strongly imposes the need for actualizing of the data/information in the NIS and their regular update.

The criteria for selection of areas suitable for MPAs designation are defined according to the objectives to be achieved at the protected sites. When the main goal is biodiversity conservation and maintenance of vital ecological processes, priority is given to ecological criteria with emphasis on uniqueness or rarity of ecosystems, diversity and representativeness of habitats, occurrence of threatened species and habitats and preserved naturalness. In case the protected areas aim at ensuring sustainable fisheries, the criteria should focus on identification of critical marine habitats associated with the life functions (breeding, nurseries, feeding, migration roots, etc.) of the target species. If the objectives are mainly to safeguard areas for tourism and recreation in wilderness settings, the criteria could emphasize scenic value, remarkable seascapes and features of non-living nature, the presence of such other interests as cultural or archaeological sites, accessibility and carrying capacity; i.e., the number of visitors the area can sustain without degrading the environment or destroying the quality of the wilderness experience by crowding.

The Romanian Black Sea spans a coast length of 245 km (6% of the total Black Sea coast), with a shelf area of 30,000 km2 (16%), and an EEZ (1986) of 30,000 km2. The Romanian MPA network consists of 8 sites and has a total area of 1,162.86 km2, which amounts to 4.65% of the EEZ and 3.88% of the Romanian shelf zone, while the marine part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve represents 88.57% of the whole network‘s area.

Besides the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR), for which there is a special protection and administration law concerning the economic and social development and water infrastructure, the Dobrogea region in Romania holds another 39 protected areas. In Romania, the national network of marine protected areas comprises two Marine Reserves at present: the 2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve (5.000 ha) and the marine part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (buffer zone – about 103.000 ha). Under the Habitats Directive there are 8 sites designated and 1 is under the Birds Directive.

2 Mai – Vama Veche Marine Reserve (Figure 1): important through the presence of some habitats of European interest. It is also an MPA in the national network of protected areas, part of the ―Natural reserve‖ category (corresponding to category IV IUCN – Protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention – Habitat/Species Management Area), having the aim of protecting and conserving marine natural habitats and species. The surface of this Reserve is of about 5.000 ha. The Reserve comprises a mosaic of NATURE2000 habitat subtypes. It is rich in benthic and pelagic life and a refuge and breeding area for many marine species.

Figure 1. Underwater landscapes from the Marine Reserve 2 Mai – Vama Veche. Photos: D. Micu (NIMRD)

It is an important area both due to its biodiversity and location (the southern limit being at the Romania-Bulgaria border). Within the reserve there is a minor anthropogenic impact due to: overdevelopment of human settlements, unregulated touristic activities, Mangalia shipyard, sand and rock exploitation, illegal wastewater discharges, and illegal fishing.

Underwater sulphide seeps from Mangalia: the seeps occur on both rocky, sandy and peat bottoms and are connected to the Dobrogea plateau‘s karst complex. A detailed interdisciplinary study is needed in order to identify the causes of the emissions and their effects on the marine ecosystem. Although small (approx. 360 ha), this site is a biodiversity hot – spot, harbouring the highest diversity of habitats and species along the Romanian coast. Among them are ecosystem – engineering species like the seagrass Zostera noltii, the perennial brown alga Cystoseira barbata and the lugworm Arenicola marina. Extension of this highly valuable site is envisioned.

Cape Tuzla marine area: Along the Romanian coast, around Cape Tuzla rocky reefs (Figure 6) reach their maximum depth (at 28m). The underwater landscape of the reefs is very diverse, with plateaus, canyons, drop-offs, overhangs and small caves. These several microhabitats are populated by a rich marine fauna. The area is severely affected by road building along the coast, especially nearby beaches. Massive amounts of clay are being dumped into the sea, infilling small gulfs. In 2011, in the area there were realized coastal defence works in the aim to protect the coast against further erosion.

The submerged beach from Eforie Nord– Eforie Sud: Along the southern Romanian coast, only here the hydrodynamic processes and natural habitats, specific for an exposed beach, are yet present.

This is the only place at the Romanian shore where the bivalves Donacilla cornea and Donax trunculus up to date still survive. In the past (years 1950s-60s), Donacilla cornea and Donax trunculus were widespread in the midlittoral and upper infralittoral of sandy beaches from the southern Romanian Black Sea. Due to their environmental requirements (water purity, oxygen concentration, salinity), the mere presence of these two species was an indicator of good water quality. Both species were presumed extinct as reported in the Romanian scientific literature between 1980 and 2000 (the period of progressive eutrophication and ecological decline of the Black Sea), yet in 2005 a small extant population was found here (Micu, 2006).

Today, the submerged beach is affected by: tourism-associated pollution and trampling, and freshwater discharges (non-compliant with standards). The size of the marine protected area is of about 140 ha.

Methanogenic submerged structures from Sfantu Gheorghe: present in the NW part of the Black Sea, between depths of 15 and 784 m, the submerged carbonate structures built by bacteria and archaea around methane emissions grow larger beyond the oxic/anoxic interface characteristic for the Black Sea. The shallow occurences are the eastern limit of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, which gives opportunity for a joint management with the other Natura 2000 site ROSCI0066 Danube Delta marine zone (overlapping on the buffer zone of DDBR). Beside the 1180 habitat, other sedimentary habitat types are present here, types that make part of the EUNIS categories ―Biogenic structures over sublittoral sediments‖ and ―Deep shelf sediments habitats‖.

The importance of the site is due to the existence of the unique carbonate-cemented sand structures. The anthropogenic pressure on this site is insignificant, due to it being relatively far offshore positioned. Some impacts may occur due to navigation and non-living resources exploration/exploitation in this part of the Black Sea (namely gas and oil). The area is public domain, part of the territorial sea and Economic Exclusive Zone of Romania. The surface of the marine protected area is of about 6.000 ha.

Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve – marine part: It is a natural protected area in the RO national network, Ramsar site and UNESCO site. It corresponds to the geographical unit of the reserve – the coastal area of the Black Sea, from the Danube discharge – Chilia branch, down to Midia Cape to the South, and up to the 20 m isobath to the East (Figure 9). Apart from the historical conditions that favoured the forming of the Danube Delta, at the Danube discharging points in the Black Sea (they are three – Chilia, Sulina and Sf. Gheorghe) at least four current conditions are reunited, and these are:

– the existence of the limanic gulf having an almost triangular shape on the continental platform (shelf) that have depths of a few meters at shore and gets deeper up to 180 – 200 m on a distance of 180 km;

– small tide amplitude (30 cm);

– littoral currents that bring alluvia from the North – Western shore and block the Danube mouths;

– large quantity of alluvia transported by the Danube River itself.

Cape Aurora and RO0293 Costinesti – 23 August, the newly designated sites: As mentioned above, the aim of their designation is to protect some sub-types of 1170-Reef habitat, including 1170-2-Biogenic reefs with Mytilus galloprovincialis, insufficiently covered in the other sites at the Romanian coastline .

Sources:

http://www.blacksea-commission.org/_convention-protocols-biodiversity.asp

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019322317

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01790558/document

http://msfd.eu/site/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/D8.5.pdf

Author: Camelia Franț – ECOM Team Romania