Research and Restoration of the Essential Filters of the Sea (REEFS), Romanian Black Sea Coast

Abstract

Black Sea, as any other basin, has its ecological problems related to human activities, and because it is almost isolated from World Ocean, the problems are more intense. Massive prefertilization of Black Sea, disposal of insufficient purified wastewaters, degradation of bottom algal communities, oxygen deficiency in near – bottom water layers, overfishing and bottom trawling are just a few of these important problems. These negative aspects emphasize the need to begin concrete actions to improve the marine environment. The purpose of construction and placement of 8 artificial reefs in Black Sea Romanian coastal waters is to enhance the fish resources, to improve the hydro biological conditions of marine water, to increase production and biomass in the aquatic ecosystems and to increase self-purifying intensity. The study of artificial reefs is done in the frame of the project “Research and Restoration of the Essential Filters of the Sea (REEFS)”. REEFS project a joint cross-border initiative of five partners from the riparian countries – Bulgaria (Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation), Ukraine (Odessa Branch of the Institute for Biology of the Southern Seas), Romania (Mare Nostrum NGO), Georgia (Ilia State University) and Turkey (Karadeniz Technical University), within Joint Operational Programme “Black Sea Basin 2007 - 2013”, under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.