Once the Black Sea, the largest landlocked sea in the world, was one of the most bountiful fisheries, easily supporting the many civilizations that grew up on it's shores.  Industrialization and regional population explosion have caused overfishing, eutrophication (the introduction of excessive nutrients into a body of water, encouraging increased algal growth and further decreasing the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water), and the flow of chemical and radioactive poisons into the sea.  Now this body of water, once an important source of food and recreation, is in danger of becoming a toxic and nearly lifeless place, an ecological disaster with few peers.  How did the Black Sea come to this fate? and what can be done to stop and reverse the damage being done?

The sources of the Black Sea's problems are myriad.  The rivers that drain into the Black Sea bring with them heavy metals, synthetic organic compounds, oil, nutrients, untreated sewage, and radionuclides from Chernobyl.  The dams on these rivers, as well as the need for freshwater for agriculture and domestic purposes, have drastically reduced the amount of freshwater flowing into the sea, which compounds the existing problems and alters the sea's salinity.  Seaside cities are an additional source of untreated sewage, while their ports are a large source of both oil contamination and the importation of non-native species.  Overexploitation of the Black Sea's fisheries have led to the commercial extinction of 21 of 26 species of fish.

The Danube River alone spews up to 280 tons of cadmium, 60 tons of mercury, 900 tons of copper, 4500 tons of lead, 6000 tons of zinc, 1000 tons of chromium and 50,000 tons of oil annually.  The other main rivers that feed into the Black Sea, (the Dniepr, Dniestr, Don, Kuban, Yuzhnyy and Belaya), deposit another 87 tons of cadmium, 1500 tons of copper, 825 tons of lead and 2600 tons of zinc annually.  These rivers are also the source of huge amounts of nitrates and phosphorus, as shown in table 1, which are the cause of increased algal and plankton blooms, reduction on dissolved oxygen concentrations and severe reductions in the fishery populations leading to changes in the food chain.

The coastal cities and ports ringing the sea are also a huge source of pollution with some cities like Odessa pumping raw sewage directly in to the sea.  The largest port on the Black Sea, Sevastopol Bay, has oil concentrations 100 times higher the the maximum permissible concentration than the Russian Federation water standards allow.

Extreme overfishing has led to the commercial extinction of 21 fish species, including pike, perch, dolphins, bonito and bluefish which were quite abundant as recently as 1970.  The remaining species are in danger from not only ecological issues, but also from the persisting inadequate fishing policy.

While the destruction of the Black Sea has not been at all ignored by those countries bordering it, only limited concerted action had been taken previous to the early 1990's and the ecological disaster was ignored internationally until recently.  All is not lost, however, as there are now many projects in action to save the Black Sea.

Individual action has included pollution controls and monitoring of contamination.  The Ukraine has led the way in the development of nature reserves and conservation areas.  While these are important strides, international action is terribly important.

as early as 1959 several nations implemented a Convention on Fishing in the Black Sea, but not all of the Black Sea nations signed it.  In 1985 the eight countries through which the Danube river flows signed the Bucharest Declaration in an effort to measure and control the level of pollution in that waterway, but due to economic and political restraints it has obviously not been as successful as hoped, although the document was strengthened in 1994.  In 1992, the six Black Sea countries signed a legal Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea providing the framework for more effective monitoring of pollution, and the restoration and conservation of the marine resources.

In the past few years, several nations have developed much more comprehensive and more truly international efforts to combat the environmental destruction.  In 1993, the six Black Sea nations signed the Black Sea Environmental Programme (BSEP).  Sponsors for this organization include UNDP's Global Environment Facility and the European Commission as well as the governments of France, Austria, Netherlands, UK and Japan.  BSEP used the initial funding to comprehensively study, understand and evaluate the nature and causes of the destruction.

There is much that needs to be done.  Cities and ports need funding to upgrade harbor facilities and sewers.  All of the nations that inhabit the Black Sea drainage region must rigorously monitor and control industrial and agricultural waste.  This is very expensive for these nations which are all struggling economically.  Also, the fishing industry needs to be brought under control--a very difficult task, as observed here in the United States.

How can you help?  Currently, the United States government is not supporting BSEP.  Our economic help could be useful in preventing an environmental catastrophe.  You can write our policy makers urging them to write legislation that would provide foreign aid to this end.  To find your Congressmen's address follow this link: Contacting the Congress.

ack Sea is the world's largest land-locked and anoxic sea.

• Huge source of information concerning not only the destruction of the Black Sea, but also of Europe's other seas--TPESP
• Great encyclopedic overview of the Black Sea from the Encyclopedia Brittanica
• The Text of the Convention Concerning Fishing in the Black Sea, 1959
• More information about the Black Sea Environment Programme from Georgia
• The Black Sea Environmental Programme's Black Sea University Summer School
• An example of how an introduced aquatic species can have a major impact on the commercial fish population in the Black Sea
• The Black Sea Dolphin and other information about whaling at Whales on the Net
• News-Journal Center:  Three Black Sea Articles
• The Los Angeles Times--"Black Sea: Hope for Ecosystem Near Death"
• Learn more about daily life and culture in the Black Sea region with GlobaLearn
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