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UPDATED STATE OF SMALL SCALE FISHERIES ON THE
ROMANIAN BLACK SEA AREA
Cristian Sorin Danilov, George Țiganov, Cătălin Păun, Dragoș Diaconu, Daniel Grigoraș
ABSTRACT
Romanian small scale fisheries are practiced along the Black Sea coast in five fishing ports (Sulina, Cape Midia, Tomis, Constanta and Mangalia) and other 18 small fishing stations,
located between Sulina - Vama Veche, at depths ranging between 2 - 20 m and sometimes up to 50 m, when practicing specialized turbot fisheries. Of significant importance is fishing
with divers for the Rapana venosa, the species with the greatest impact on the landed catches. In the coastal area, between Vama Veche and Sulina, which also represents an important
area for the reproduction, feeding and rearing of some important fish species, the small-scale fishing is practiced with fixed and active gear, throughout the year, mainly using the
following types of fishing gears: pound nets, gillnets, longlines, beach seines, cages/traps, handlines and from 2013 with beam trawl. Catch and fishery productivity vary from year to year,
depending on environmental conditions, fishing effort, status of main commercial species and human factors. During the analyzed period (2019 - 2023), catches in shallow waters were
between 7149 and 3127 tons, which has an increasing trend compared to the previous period (2012 – 2017).
Keywords: small scale fisheries, landed catches, Romanian Black Sea area
National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa”, 300, Mamaia Blvd., 900591,
Constanta, Romania, *Corresponding author: cdanilov@alpha.rmri.ro
2nd International Joint Conference MARBLUE 2024
23-25 October, Constanta, Romania
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The data contained in this paper were analyzed from the Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF) and from the Annual Report on data collection in the fisheries and
aquaculture sectors (NDCP).
The techniques and methodology used for data collection, verification, processing and analysis and for the assessment of fish stocks are those generally accepted for the Black Sea
basin, and by international methodology. The quantitative and qualitative composition of the fish catches was obtained from the fishing statistics obtained by centralizing, overtime
periods, the data obtained from the commercial companies in the field that operate on the Romanian coast.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Fig. 2. Number of fishing boats used during 2019-2023 (NIMRD data)
Regarding the distribution of fishing boats in the last four years, the most
active port is Cape Midia with 27.8957 of the total number of fishing boats,
followed by Mangalia with 18.38%, Constanta with 14.34%, Agigea with
8.64%, Sulina with 7.72%, Costinesti with 7.54%, Vama Veche with 4.96%,
Olimp with 4.41%, Gura Portitei with 4.04% and Vadu with 2.39 (Fig. 3).
Fig. 1. Fishery ports and other collection and first sale
(original map NIMRD)
Fig. 4. Catch dynamics evolution in small-scale coastal
fisheries (NIMRD data)
Fig. 3. Distribution of fishing boats at the Romanian coast
during 2020 – 2023 (NAFA data)
Between 2019 and 2023, a total number of between 130 -
143 licensed active vessels/year were reported in small-
scale coastal fishing in Romania, of which 8 - 12% were
boats smaller than 0 - 6 m and 87 - 91% boats 6 - 12 m
long. The number of ships tended to remain constant,
close to 105 - 119 ships per year (Fig. 2). Most of these
boats are equipped with engines (56 - 69%).
The total catches on the Romanian coast had a major downward trend, du-ring
the year 2021, when they decreased by more than 4,000 t compared to 2019,
when a catch of approximately 7,150 t was achieved. In recent years, the total
catches had a tendency the easy growth, respectively 7149 t, in 2019, 4462 t,
in 2020, 3127 t in 2021, 3175 t in 2022, respectively 3295 t in 2023 ) officially
registered (Fig. 4).
Acknowledgements: This research was carried-out in the frame of the Project “Services for the realization and implementation of the National Program for Data Collection of the Romanian fishing sector,
2023”.
The Romanian fishing fleet is operating in the area of competence of the
Regional Fisheries Management Organisations - GFCM, Area 37 -
Mediterranean and Black Sea, Subarea 37.4., Division 37.4.2, GSA 29. Sea
fishing is conducted along the Romanian coastline and is limited to the
marine waters areas up to 60-70 meter isobaths, exclusively in the EEZ.
Romanian fleet operates up to 30-35 marine miles out of shore. Fishing
activity is seasonal because of the strict dependence on climate conditions
and implicitly on the presence of living aquatic resources in the area.
Marine fishing on the Romanian coast is mainly practiced with stationary
fishing, in shallow coastal areas, using fixed gear such as gillnets, longlines,
and nets/traps, but since 2013 the LOA (overall length) category of vessels
between 6-12 m practiced active fishing using boat trawls and pelagic
trawls. The fish caught is mainly landed in the 4 ports (Sulina, Capul Midia,
Constanța and Mangalia) and in 18 other collection and first sale stations
along the Romanian coast. The fishing activity is carried out at depths
between 1-30 m and occasionally more than 50 m, when the target species
is turbot (Fig. 1).
CONCLUSIONS
In the last five years, small-scale fishing in Romania was considered to be in decline, because in the last 10 years Rapana venosa constituted a percentage over 50% of the total
annual catch, and the fish catches still have low values.
Small-scale fishing involves the use of several types of tools throughout the year because fishing is carried out seasonally depending on the targeted species.
This paper updates the state of the fishing sector on the Romanian coast of the Black Sea for the last five years.
Fishing is one of the sectors most affected by the changes in the Black Sea ecosystem. It is imperative to implement a special policy to preserve and improve the situation of fisheries
resources and to ensure that the fisheries sector is adapted to the Black Sea basin.
The diversity of the fish population structure indicates, as in previous years, the presence in catches of a large
number of species (25 in number), in which small species predominate (sprat, anchovy, whiting, gobies), as well as
the largest (turbot and Danube shad). The low share of some species, such as: dogfish, horse mackerel, mullet,
and bluefish, but also the appearance as isolated specimens of brown meager, Black Sea trout, tub gurnard,
European seabass, shi drum have been reported. The main species in the catches of 2019 were: rapa whelk 1243
t; anchovies (68 t), mussel (116 t); black horse mackerel (23 t), turbot (39 t); Danube shad (4 t) and red mullet (1 t)
(Fig. 5). The main catches are obtained with trawls, pound nets and gillnets.
Fig. 5. Total catches and structure on species at the Romanian coast,
during 2019 – 2023 (NIMRD data)