Fostering the Development of Western Black Sea Aquaculture: A Scientific Case Study for Finfish Cage Farming Allocated Zone Designation

Abstract

Mariculture offers enormous potential for providing sustainable food, playing a key role in achieving nutrition security, employment, and Blue Growth. This is particularly true in geographical areas where the dependence of local economies on fishery products is high and yet access to sustainable landings is hindered by environmental drawbacks. One such area is represented by the Black Sea, which offers different degrees of suitability for aquaculture development. While the southern and eastern shores are sheltered enough to allow for the development of large aquaculture activities, the north-western shoreline is characterized by wide environmental fluctuations and the strong influence of the Danube. This study aimed at investigating the suitability of a selected area of the Romanian coast (Mangalia) for finfish cage farming by adapting an internationally endorsed methodology for determining its Degree of Compatibility (DC). The development and expansion of finfish aquaculture depends on the availability of space, so designating Allocated Zones for Aquaculture (AZAs) is essential. The result obtained (DC = 80) indicates that the Mangalia area is suitable for finfish aquaculture activities: there is no major interference with other uses of the maritime space, no conflicts with nature conservation, and the environmental conditions are appropriate for fish culture in floating cages. The novel information provided by this study can be the building block for authorities to settle the governance gap that has so far impeded the development of marine aquaculture in Romania. At a larger scale, this study can serve as a good practice example at the regional Black Sea level.

Short communication: Forecasting Shellfish Aquaculture Threats. An Earth Observation Derived Tool Aiming at Avoiding Microbiological Public Health Hazards

“…At the Romanian coast, the suitable areas for aquaculture are very few, mostly due to the lack of sheltered areas, but also because of an overlapping of uses of the maritime space and potential conflicts (Nenciu et al, 2023). The most suitable area is in the southern part of Constanța port, at Agigea -Eforie (Fig.…”

Spatial Cumulative Assessment of Impact Risk-Implementing Ecosystem-Based Management for Enhanced Sustainability and Biodiversity in the Black Sea

“…The scenario developed for the Black Sea is based on information regarding the emergence or intensification of activities such as wind farms [66][67][68], aquaculture [69][70][71] military operations [72,73], shipping [74][75][76], and ongoing beach nourishment works [77,78]. Focusing solely on new emerging sectors, shipping activities have the most pronounced additional impact on the ecosystem due to the increased traffic in the context of the Ukraine war, with oil and gas activities for the new exploitation of the Neptun Deep field following closely behind (Figure 10).…”

Sensitivity of Dynamic Response of Truss-Type Aquaculture Platform to Floating Body Arrangement

“…The demand for shellfish and algae aquatic products such as oysters is increasing with the improvement of living standards, and the increase in the output of aquatic products mainly depends on marine fisheries [1][2][3][4]. However, in recent years, the offshore environment has been severely polluted, with the excessive concentration of aquaculture leading to a gradual decline in the quality and production of aquatic products [5][6][7][8].…”