Local Abundance and Distribution of Phocoenidae and Delphinidae Families in the Territorial Waters of Romania

Abstract

The vulnerability of the ecosystem, and mostly the Black Sea marine ecosystem, to human pressures is advisable to be assessed through indicators. Either we are speaking about human pressure or fauna and flora species, one of these indicators are filled by the marine mammal populations. Long-lived, slow-reproducing dolphins and porpoises are already recommended world-wide. During ANEMONE project we were able to perform several vessel surveys along the 12 NM area of Romanian Black Sea, between Sulina (northern border city) and Vama Veche (southern border village). The surveys were performed following distance sampling line transect methods and analyzed with Distance 7.3. software. The data were collected during spring 2019, summer 2019 and spring-summer 2020 and brings in discussion the status of the three cetacean species, abundance and distribution, in light of the latest research, and regional context, compared to the 2013 ("Adverse fisheries impacts on Cetacean population in the Black Sea" under the European Commission's "Studies for Carrying out the Common Fisheries Policy" research programme) and 2019 (CeNoBS: "Support MSFD implementation in the Black Sea through establishing a regional monitoring system of cetaceans (D1) and noise monitoring (D11) for achieving GES") survey results. The article reveals the results of these efforts and discusses the present situation of the two cetacean families present in the Romanian coastal waters.