European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

In the Black Sea, cetaceans are represented by three species: Phocoena phocoena relicta, Tursiops truncatus ponticus and Delphinus delphis ponticus. The main threat and cause for the decline of the Black Sea dolphins are fishing nets. They are victims of the so-called bycatches.

To protect the dolphin populations in the Romanian Black Sea area, the NGO "Mare Nostrum" started a series of activities in partnership with:

• the National Institute for Marine Research and Development "Grigore Antipa" Constanța
• the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority
• the National Agency for Fishing and Aquaculture
• the Natural Science Museum Complex "Dolphinarium" Constanța
• the Border Police Inspectorate of Constanța County

This was done in conformity with the objectives of the "National Action Plan for Conservation of Dolphins" and the "Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the contiguous Atlantic Area", and was financed by the European Union through the Sectorial Operational Programme - Environment. Among these activities we will present in the following study the situation of strandings and by-catch of dolphins in the Romanian costal waters during 2010 and 2011.

The data were collected from the entire Romanian coast, from Sulina to Vama Veche. During the study more than 100 expeditions were done over land and water along the coast. The collected data recorded over 140 dead cetaceans and 1 alive. The maine cause of this mortality was due to drowning in the fishing nets. To reduce the number of bycatched dolphins we are studying the effect of pingers (ADD/Accustic Deterent Devices) on cetaceans and fishes. Therefore data were collected from five fishing units (Sulina, Vadu, Corbu, Midia, Costinești) equipped with these technologies. This measure of protecting the dolphins from the fishing nets is also proposed in ACCOBAMS.

Observations were made by the border police (20 m boat), or on board small boats between 5-12 m long. Supplemental shore-based observations are available: Cetaceans along Romanian Black Sea Coast from shore 2010-2011 (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/833).