Training for quick reaction in case of stranded Cetaceans along the Black Sea coast

The event was organized together with MoEW and the Green Balkans NGO within the “Building capacities of Bulgarian Black Sea municipalities on Cetaceans strandings” Project, supported by the Secretariat of ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area).

The training was attended by representatives of Black Sea municipalities (Shabla, Kavarna, Avren, Nessebar, Pomorie, Burgas, Primorsko and Tsarevo), the Ministry of Environment and Waters (MoEW), the Executive Agency on Fishery and Aquacultures (EAFA) - Burgas, the Regional Inspectorates on Environment and Waters - Burgas and Varna. The main aim of the training was to discuss the issue of stranded Cetaceans along the Bulgarian beaches, which raises serious public reactions, as well as to seek effective solutions for dealing with such situations.

Tihomira Slaveykova from the NSNP at MoEW - national coordinator for ACCOBAMS - presented the Agreement and the decisions, made at the last Conference of the Parties, which are also bonding for Bulgaria as a signee of the Agreement. Dimitar Popov and Gradimir Gradev from the Green Balkans NGO delivered lectures on Cetaceans in the Black Sea coast, the ways to identify them and what information is needed to adequately report cases of stranding. The participants were introduced to the international database for collecting information on Cetaceans - MEDACES. The Plan for Conservation of the Black Sea Cetaceans, developed under the aegis of ACCOBAMS and the Black Sea Commission in 2007 was also presented. The national coordinator introduced the legal framework and possibilities for solving the issue of stranded Cetaceans and presented the required permits for disposal of the carcasses. Mechanisms for reaction in various situations related to stranded or distressed Cetaceans were presented.

Within the follow-up discussion, municipal ecologists, experts of EAFA and RIEW shared their personal experience for reacting in such emergency situations. Various ways of tackling the problem were presented, as well as the possibilities for improving the coordination among the institutions responsible in case of stranded Cetaceans.

The training was the first, mainly theoretical one, out of a series of trainings still to come. The next stage will involve expert on-site assistance from the experts of Green Balkans to the municipal ecologists in cases of stranded Cetaceans. The on-site trainings will aim at transferring direct experience in identifying particular species and filling special forms for submission at global databases for registering cases of stranding within ACCOBAMS - MEDACES and OBIS SEAMAP.

For more details, please contact:
Phone: +359 32 626977
Mobile phone: + 359 885 108712

Dimitar Popov
Project coordinator
Green Balkans