In the present work, abundance, spatial distribution and qualitative composition, of benthic marine litter, were investigated in five study areas from the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas (Saronikos, Patras and Echinades Gulfs; Limassol Gulf; Constanta Bay). Surveys were performed using the monitoring protocol proposed by the Technical Group for Marine Litter. Densities ranged from 24items/km(2) to 1211items/km(2), with the Saronikos Gulf being the most affected area. Plastics were predominant in all study areas ranging from 45.2% to 95%. Metals and Glass/Ceramics reached maximum values of 21.9% and of 22.4%. The size distribution of litter items showed that ⩾50% fall into medium size categories (10×10cm, 20×20cm) along with an elevated percentage of small-sized (<5×5cm) plastic litter items. The comparative analysis of the data highlighted the dependence of the marine litter problem on many local factors (human sources and oceanographic conditions) and the urgent need for specific actions.

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Sprat is one of the fish species with special commercial importance in the Romanian marine area, but its share in the catches of the recent years has significantly diminished. The paper is a synthesis of long-term observations on catches of sprat in the Romanian area considering the evolution of fishing effort by both active and passive gears and considering the state of environmental conditions in the period. The main elements analysed are: dynamics of sprat catches and its share on fishing gears; evolution of fishing effort; sprat stock status and fishing agglomerations biomass; environmental conditions influence on the status and distribution of fishing agglomerations; evolution of biological parameters of the sprat.

Abstract. The pollution of the marine ecosystem is a world-wide problem. Heavy metals and organochlorine compounds are among the most harmful elemental pollutants and are of particular concern because of their toxicity to humans. Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus, Linnaeus 1758), small pelagic fish with a key ecological role in the marine food web, is an important link connecting the lower and upper trophic levels, being also a valuable species for human consumption. Thus, anchovy samples were collected from different stations along the Romanian Black Sea coast and the analyzed contaminants were organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu and Cr) in muscle tissue. Cd and Pb are the heavy metals that exceeded the allowed levels under the EU legislation (0.3 μg/g), Cd recorded values within the range 0.29-0.51 μg/g (average 0.36 ± 0.09 μg/g) and Pb recorded values within the interval 0.29-1.62 μg/g (average 0.75 ± 0.57 μg/g). Regarding organochlorine pesticides, the highest level was recorded by p,p′-DDE (6.76±1.21 ng/g/dry weight), followed by p,p′-DDD (3.88±0.97 ng/g/dry weight). Among PCB's, the highest level was recorded by PCB 28 (5.19±1.29 ng/g/dry weight). The results of this study revealed that heavy metals, pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls values identified in anchovy tissue, species of commercial interest from the Black Sea, are not threatening to human consumers.

With the growth of the human population, the need for food resources increases, so the pressure on living marine resources also increases. In addition to this aspect, the Black Sea ecosystem during recent decades suffered changes that determined the deterioration of all components of the marine ecosystem, which had direct impact on decreasing the biological diversity and productivity, affecting the quality of life and ecological balance. The species Alosa immaculata (Bennet, 1835) - Pontic shad is of high commercial value and with an important role in the livelihoods of many local communities across the Black Sea coast. However, the status of Pontic shad fisheries is unknown, mainly because is a status of data-poor fish stocks. Thus, growth parameters were determined in a total of 783 individuals with a biomass of 194.5 kg from 9 fishing points of the Romanian Black Sea Coast. For the estimated parameters of length-weight relation the combined data and sexes have been used, coefficient of determination (r²) was 0.794 and b value 2.879. A negative allometric growth has been observed for the species where b<3. The virtual population analysis (VPA) by lengths was performed using the FISAT II software. Catch data previously determined were used to apply the model: length class frequency set, coefficients a=0.0134 (2021) and b=2.879 (2021) of the length-weight relationship, natural mortality M=1.12/year, L∞=37.8, k=0.87/year. The main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current status and trends of this valuable resource.