Economy and diversity of aquaculture production in Bulgaria: status and trends

Aquaculture production in Bulgaria has increased over the last decade, reaching 16 442 tonnes in 2019. Fish production has doubled in comparison with 2007, while that of mussels has increased tenfold. The Bulgarian contribution to EU aquaculture production has been increasing significantly in both volume and value over the years, making up 1.15% of the volume and 1.0% of the value of EU production in 2019. Freshwater aquaculture accounts for 78% of total production. Common carp dominates with about 29.4% (4836 t), followed by rainbow trout with 29.2% (4820 t) in 2019. The cultivation of sturgeon species and caviar production are among the most dynamically developing aquaculture segments. Mariculture in the Black Sea has increased in recent years, with the production of Mediterranean mussel reaching 2932 tonnes in 2019. An average of 405 farms operated during the period 2010-2019. Four regions (Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Burgas and Montana) account for 50% of the total fish production. Pond aquaculture is the dominant technology used in Bulgaria, and it serves as the basis for numerous other activities, including management of fish stocks in various water bodies mainly for recreational fishing. Approximately 35 net-cage farms currently operate in bigger dams. Recirculating fish farms output made up only 0.15% of the total amount of aquaculture for the period 2010-2019. The aquaculture sector exhibited difficulties in recovering from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, manifested by a slow growth for the period 2010-2014. From 2015 to 2019 there has been a significant growth, manifested in a sharp increase of total revenue and profitability, especially among the larger enterprises in the sector, as well as an increase in the number of employees, and the labour productivity. As a result, in 2019 the registered total revenue per enterprise and total revenue per employee were more than double the respective figures for 2010. The profits of larger enterprises increased more than three times on average, but smaller entities, micro-enterprises with less than 5 employees, operated at the border line between profit and loss. The COVID-19 crisis could have lasting consequences. Despite EUR 1.2 million direct payments in the sector in 2020, there has been a significant drop in the export of aquaculture products. Consumption of fish and other aquaculture products remains low compared to those in the other EU countries.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) Breakdowns and SCM Strategy Selection during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using the Novel Rough MCDM Model

Supply chain management (SCM) is deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic besides breakdowns occurred in all sectors. Nowadays, managers need techniques for protecting supply chains from serious and costly disruptions, establishing permanent relationships with the customers and partners and preventing breakdowns throughout the process. Each firm needs to determine SCM strategies to be prepared for breakdowns in an intense competitive environment. With COVID-19, the change in business and trade environments has taken a different dimension, and it has revealed a new relationship between the efforts to perpetuate supply chains and strategies for supply chain management and enabled new models. In this study, it is aimed to prioritize the factors that lead to SCM breaks needed in project management and the realization of projects, and to choose the most successful SCM strategy considering COVID-19. For this purpose, rough SWARA was used for weighting factors and rough MARCOS was used for the alternative selection. According to the findings, the transportation capacity factor was found to be the most important factor leading to SCM breakdowns. The most ideal supply chain management strategy has been the "collaborative supply chain management strategy.” In the food manufacturing sector, the study can be considered as a roadmap in terms of preventing supply chain management breaks during the COVID-19 process and helping to ensure a sustainable production. As another theoretical and practical importance of the study, it is aimed to propose a robust, powerful, and practical decision-making model that can cope with the current uncertainties.

FÍLYOS LÍMANI AÇISINDAN KARADENÍZ'DE HÍZMET VEREN RÖMORKÖRLERÍN SEVK SÍSTEMLERÍ ÜZERÍNE BÍR DEĞERLENDÍRME

En önemli taşımacılık sektörlerinden biri olan denizyolu taşımacılığında meydana gelen artış, doğal olarak yeni liman sahalarının kurulumuna yol açmaktadır. Son 10 yıllık süreçte, Türkiye'nin farklı bölgelerinde kurulu olan birçok liman, özellikle korona virüs pandemisinde, değerli malların taşınmasında tonaj bazında daha büyük paya sahip olan denizyolu taşımacılığının sürdürülebilirliği ve gelişimi için etkin rol almıştır. Karadeniz Bölgesinde kılavuzluk, römorkaj ve palamar hizmetleri, atık ve çöplerin tahliyesi, tatlı su ve elektrik tedariği sağlayan birkaç liman bulunmaktadır. Filyos Limanı ise fiziki ve konumsal avantajları ile birçok alanda liman hizmeti verebilecek ve bölgenin artan taşımacılık ihtiyacının karşılanmasına önemli katkı sağlayacaktır. Ayrıca son yıllarda bölgede keşfedilen doğalgaz rezervleri de limanın potansiyel ve önemini arttırmaktadır. Bu çalışmada Karadeniz Bölgesinde bulunan limanlar, boyutsal özellikleri ve verilen liman hizmetleri, özellikle römorkörlerle gerçekleşenler temel alınarak ifade edilmektedir. Küresel çevre algısı, deniz taşıtlarında sürdürebilirlik ve verimlilik, ulusal ve uluslararası düzenlemeler ve son yıllarda inşa edilen römorkörler dikkate alınarak, bu liman sahasında ileride hizmet verecek römorkörlerin sevk sistemleri hakkında değerlendirmeler yapılmaktadır.Alternate abstract:Growth in maritime transport, which is one of the most vital transportation sectors, naturally leads to establishment of new port areas. In last decade, many ports established in different regions of Turkey have taken an active role in sustainability and development of maritime transport, which has a larger share in the transportation of valuable goods on basis of tonnage, especially during coronavirus pandemic. Several ports in the Black Sea Region provide pilotage, tugboat and mooring services, discharge of waste and garbage, supply of fresh water and electricity. Filyos Port, moreover, will be able to provide port services in many areas with its physical and locational advantages and will make a significant contribution to meeting increasing transportation needs. Furthermore, natural gas reserves discovered in the region in recent years increase potential and importance of port. In this paper, ports in the Black Sea Region, dimensional features and provided port services are expressed on the basis of tugboats. Considering the global environmental perception, sustainability and efficiency in sea vehicles, national and international regulations and tugboats built in recent years, evaluations are made about the propulsion systems of tugboats that will serve in this port area in the future.

COVID-19 infection in pregnancy: A single-center experience in Rize in the Eastern Black Sea Region

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to share the clinical experiences of mothers and their babies (perinatal, natal) who encountered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy. Material(s) and Method(s): The study was carried out retrospectively, 62 pregnant individuals were diagnosed with the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Demographic characteristics, clinical course, laboratory and radiological findings and clinical results of the baby were evaluated by examining electronic and file records. Result(s): The average age of the 62 pregnant women included in the study was 29.8+/-4.7 (19-42) years, and the average gestational week at the time of admission was 28.5+/-10.4 (5-40) weeks. More than half of the patients (80,6%) on admission were in their third trimester. The most common initial symptoms were cough (45.2%), myalgia (43.5%),) fever (21%). In total, 15 of the pregnant women had evidence of COVID-19 pneumonia in lung involvement. The PCR test results of all pregnant women were positive. There were three cases admitted to the intensive care unit, one of whom was due to gestational diabetes. No maternal mortality was recorded. One gestation ended in a miscarriage and two women gave birth prematurely. One stillbirth occurred at the 33h week of gestation. Among 22 neonates, two were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Neonatal mortality, congenital malformation, and mother-to-child transmission were not observed in newborns. Discussion(s): The results of our study suggest that the clinical course of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women was mostly asymptomatic/mild.Copyright © 2022, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.

From source to sink: A comparative study of streamside and beach litter in the Black Sea.

The increasing amount of marine litter pollution and its impact on the marine environment raises global concern. This study aims to reveal the effect of streams on marine litter density and composition. A total of ten stations on the southeastern Black Sea and six stations on the Manahoz stream were seasonally surveyed. The litter density ranged between 0.838 ± 0.33 and 4.01 ± 0.55 items/m2 in the beach stations, and 0.93 ± 0.27 2.40 ± 2.18 items/m2 in the streamside stations. No significant difference was determined among the seasons for both beach and streamside (Kruskal-Wallis test, p > 0.05). On the other hand, the litter density was also similar in beach and streamside stations in the same season. The litter composition consisted of > 75% plastic. Principal component analysis and PERMANOVA determined no significant difference in litter composition among beach and streamside stations. The litter items mostly consisted of single-use items. Among them, plastic beverage containers were the most abundant litter subcategory during the study (ranging between 18.79% and 34.50%). The subcategory composition exhibited a significant difference among beach and streamside stations (ANOSIM, p < 0.05), which was mainly explained by plastic pieces, beverage containers, and foams according to SIMPER analysis. Personal protection equipment that was not reported before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. The results of our study can be used for marine litter modeling studies and legislation for restriction or ban of most abundant single-use litter items.

Differences in deficiency types causing ship detentions at the Black Sea Region during the Covid-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic.

Port State Control (PSC) is a crucial process that controls the compatibility of ships with maritime standards and regulations. PSC's duty is to provide a safe and secure maritime environment, as well as the protection of coastal regions, through inspections. After the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the PSC inspection process, and the number of inspections and detentions, has changed. This study aims to find the most influential deficiency types that cause ship detentions both before and during the pandemic with the Entropy-based Grey Relation Analysis (GRA) method and to study the hidden relationships of deficiency types by examining the frequency of co-occurrence of them with the Association Rule Mining (ARM) method, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Detention data was gathered from the Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Region covering the 1st of January 2018-31st December 2021 period. GRA analysis reveals that deficiencies related to Fire Safety and Emergency Systems are found as the most crucial deficiency types for ship detentions in both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. ARM analysis indicates that there is a strong relationship between International Safety Management (ISM) and Certificate and Documentation (CD) during the pandemic. The findings of this study imply that changes in the PSC regime during the pandemic period led to sub-standard inspections. Based on these results and implications, this study gives recommendations to improve the efficiency of PSC inspections during the pandemic and similar conditions.

THE IMPACT OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRUISE TOURISM IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

Not fully recovered from the two-year coma caused by the pandemic and its repetitive Covid-19 waves, the cruise industry has received another blow at the worst possible time. Geographically European military crisis has left almost no one aside and is impacting economic, political, and social life worldwide. The paper studies all the variables and aspects of the cruise industry on the scale of the region and recent events. The study aims at providing a thorough analysis of the crisis and its impact on the cruising perspectives of the region. The analysis is based on external and online desk research methods. The data contains market analyses, official journals, expert opinions, and industry reviews. © 2022 IAMUC. All Rights Reserved.

The Characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10 and Elemental Carbon Air Pollution in Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula

In most cities of the world, air pollution reaches critical levels. The air masses circulating over the Crimean Peninsula bring a significant amount of mineral dust, which contains soil particles, emissions from industrial enterprises, gases, etc. The purpose of this research is to study the processes and the factors influencing atmospheric pollution in Sevastopol (Crimea). Air pollutant concentration data, including elemental carbon, nutrients (inorganic fixed nitrogen, inorganic fixed phosphorus and silicon), PM10, and PM2.5, were collected during this research. Samples were collected at the station that is located at a distance from sources of pollution (background station). Our study has shown that even at the background site the daily-averaged concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 particles in the atmosphere of Sevastopol reach and even exceed the maximum permissible concentrations in the case of dust transported from deserts. Values of the daily-averaged concentrations of microparticles have exceeded the European maximum permissible concentration (MPC) values in 17 cases for PM2.5 particles and in 6 cases for PM10. The impact of both local sources and long-distance atmospheric transport depends on weather conditions. Concentrations of elemental carbon in air samples have never exceeded the maximum allowed by regulations concentration limits during our research. However, the elemental carbon concentration in air samples collected near highways with a traffic intensity of approximately 500–1000 cars per hour has exceeded the background values by 30–50 times.

INVOLVEMENT OF THE AFRICAN VETERINARY LABORATORIES OF THE MEDILABSECURE NETWORK IN THE COVID-19 CRISIS

MediLab Secure is an EU-funded project whose main objective is to create a framework for collaboration to promote surveillance of viral zoonoses under a One Health approach in 22 countries of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Sahel regions. During the COVID-19 crisis the project rapidly adapted to the emergency and provided technical assistance to the beneficiary countries in terms of diagnosis and surveillance in humans and animals. To evaluate the involvement of the veterinary laboratories of our network in the sanitary crisis and estimate the degree of intersectoral collaborations, an online survey was launched in April 2021. We received responses from 19 labs, 7 of them from African countries. Of these laboratories, 3 (Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania) were not involved in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis despite having trained staff and all the protocols implemented. In these countries the cooperation of vet labs was not requested by the Ministry of Health despite their offer to collaborate. Nevertheless, two of these labs donated equipment and reagents to their Public Health institutions to help with the overwhelming demand of diagnostic materials. Three laboratories (Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia) were involved in SARS-CoV-2 molecular and serological diagnosis but only in animal samples (pets and animal food products). Only one veterinary laboratory (Niger) established full collaboration with the Ministry of Health and was intensively involved in the molecular diagnosis of human samples from May to September 2020. Moreover, vet specialists from this lab were also involved in the disinfection of contaminated premises. The results of this survey show the willingness to help veterinary labs in North Africa and Sahel regions to face a Public Health crisis caused by a zoonotic pathogen. Although the degree of intersectoral collaboration was low in most of the countries, the successful One Health experience of Niger could be a good example for future sanitary emergencies.

Trends in the Environmental Conditions, Climate Change and Human Health in the Southern Region of Ukraine

The Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, being adjusted to the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, are located in the steppe zone and constitute the southern region of Ukraine. The environmental parameters and health indicators of the population of the region are sensitive to the impact of natural (e.g., climate change) and anthropogenic processes. An analysis of satellite remote sensing data (NOAA NDVI time series) for the assessment of vegetation condition demonstrates an increase in frequency and duration of drought events in the region during the last few decades. It may have a relation to climate change processes. Data analysis of local meteorological observations over the past 100 years proved alterations of some bioclimatic indexes. The Equivalent Effective Temperature (IEET) increases in winter and summer (due to the increasing repeatability of high anomalous temperatures) and remains stable in spring and autumn seasons. The increasing number and variability of climate anomalies can provoke an increase in cardiovascular and some other diseases in the local population. At the same time, an analysis of the statistical data of health indicators of the population (such as morbidity of digestion, breathing, and the endocrine and circulatory systems) shows a tendency to decrease morbidity (contrary to the indicators of the mountain regions’ population, which have higher values of life expectancy). Interrelations between environmental, climate change, and population health indicators in the Black Sea region are being discussed.

From traditional folk rituals to contemporary demonstrations: organization and meaning transformation of the Seventh of May Festival

With this study evaluated the Seventh of May Festival celebrations which is celebrated in the Eastern Black Sea section of Black Sea Region of Turkey. The focus has been on transforming traditional celebrations, which have been celebrated for centuries and registered as intangible cultural heritage by relevant institutions, into international festivals. Firstly, explanations were made about festival tourism and the content and traditional celebrations of the Seventh of May Festival. Then;celebrations turned into festivals in Giresun province and Besikd..z.. district of Trabzon have been evaluated as case studies. In the conclusion and discussion part, evaluations were made considering that the transformation of the celebrations into festivals negatively affected the sustainability of the cultural heritage and its value in the local community. The fact that festivals could not be held in both settlements due to the precautions taken within the scope of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale, did not make field research possible. For this reason, experiences from previous celebrations were taken into consideration in the evaluations and interpreted in the context of the subject with the support of literature. Despite this situation, which can be expressed as the limitation of the study, it is thought that it is important to present a perspective that is positioned against the extensive literature that states that festivals contribute positively to the sustainability of cultural heritage.

Сurrent Trends in the Interaction between the Black Sea Littoral States

The paper explores the сurrent peculiarities of the relations between the Black Sea littoral states (Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey) with the consideration of the coronavirus pandemic that has changed the ways of the external interaction. The author analyses the role of the Black Sea region in the political discourse of each littoral state and defines the trends of the economic and military-political interaction between the Black Sea states. It is shown that the pandemic has not led to the alleviation of the confrontation between the littoral states amidst the new common challenge. Neither has it stimulated them to reassess the current challenges and threats to maritime security. On the contrary, during the fight against the pandemic the conflicting nature of their interaction exacerbated under the conditions of the absence of the united strategic basis developed by the littoral states for their policy in the Black Sea region since the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The aspiration of Ukraine and Georgia to obtain military-political advantages in the Black Sea area prevailed with the support of the non-regional actors. © 2021 Institute of Europe Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON COASTAL SHIPPING IN MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on coastal shipping in the Mediterranean and Black Sea with emphasis on short sea bulk and general cargoes. Semi-structured interviews were with shipowners, and shipbrokers to enhance the qualitiative methodology and to gather more detailed responses. The result of the study shows that in the first quarter of 2020 shipowners and charterers signficantly reduced sailing with some ceasing operations altogether, due to the efect of COVID – 19. Trade stopped, factories shut down, ports slowed down and yet port congestion still occured. Shipyards and scrapyards also faced similar reduction in operations. Freight rates declined to new record lows (for a brief period of time) causing some shipowners to lay-up vessels. Crew change problems were faced and still continuing creatign more disruption in managing the human element of the maritime industry. By the third-quarter of 2020, as demand for raw materials and finished good inventories increased, so did the demand for charters. Fortunately for charterers, the increase in demand also caused an increase in freight rates. © 2021 21st Annual General Assembly, IAMU AGA 2021 - Proceedings of the International Association of Maritime Universities ,IAMU Conference. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of the Wind and Wave Climate along the European Seas Focusing on the Main Maritime Routes

European seas have a strong economic role both in terms of transport and tourism. Providing more knowledge, regarding the mean and extreme values of the wind and sea state conditions in the areas characterized by high maritime traffic, helps to improve navigational safety. From this perspective, six zones with high maritime traffic are studied. ERA5 database, a state-of-the-art global reanalysis dataset provided by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), is used to assess the average values and the percentiles for the wind speed and the main wave parameters in the target areas considering the period 2001–2020. The main European routes and the extreme conditions along them as well as the areas characterized by high values of wind speed and high waves were also identified. A more comprehensive picture of the expected dynamics of the environmental matrix along the most significant shipping routes is useful because in this way the most dangerous areas could be avoided by ships for the safety of passengers and transported goods.