Chapter 2. State of the Caucasus Environment and Policy Measures: a retrospective from 1972 to 2002

2.5 Coastal and Marine Waters

During the Soviet era, the Azov Sea was polluted from multiple sources. Heavy volumes of waste-water from industry, households and agriculture were regularly discharged into the Sea and the rivers of its basin. Waste-waters mostly were carrying heavy metals, chlororganic chemicals, phosphates and pesticides. In the late 1980s, the sea encountered the problem of intrusion of alien species: jellyfish Mnemiopsis, which inhabits Atlantic Ocean coastal waters in USA. The species was introduced in the Azov Sea in 1989. The jellyfish eats almost entire zooplancton, causing the change in biota. Non-sustainable use and pollution of Kuban River, which drains into the Azov Sea, destroy the natural balance of ecosystems in the basin, including marine ecosystems. Regular non-returnable water abstractions from the Kuban, without taking into consideration the minimum ecological flow hinder the natural breeding of major commercial fish species. Building of large-scale hydro projects on these two rivers also result in the loss of natural breeding grounds for many valuable fish.

Overall, 10-fold decline in fish productivity has been reported for major fish breeding grounds. According to 1995 data, annual commercial catch in Azov Sea, which in the past was one of the most productive Seas, amounts about 5 thousand tons annually, while the figure was 120-160,000 tons annually in 1935-36 years. Seal catch has been almost zero since 1992 (Ministry of Environment and Nature Resources Protection, Russian Federation 1996). Although, Russia and Ukraine take some measures to retain existing fish stocks, without joint measures by these countries to regulate fresh water discharge and control pollution, it will not be possible to recover the fish stock to traditional levels.

The Black Sea has an international importance, since it washes several countries and is rich in unique ecosystems. The number of total population within its basin is about 170 million. In the Caucasus, Georgian and Krasnodar kray’s share the coastline of the Sea. Sea level rising together with degradation of unique marine ecosystems and water pollution is the major issue for the Sea.

The Black Sea, as a part of the World Ocean, is affected by global warming. Long-term sea level observations indicate that the Black Sea level rising has begun since 1923-1925 with a rate of 2.5 mm per year (UNDP/GEF-Government of Georgia, 1999). Sea level rise created following vulnerability to the sea coastlines: increased probability of catastrophic floods on some rivers; salinization and bogging of pastures and washing out of beaches; and damage to amenities: communications, municipal buildings and facilities. In Georgia, the most vulnerable places are Poti and Rioni delta regions. The regions have receded since the beginning of this century by up to 0.52 m relative to the sea and it is assumed the process will continue in the future. In addition to above phenomena, the trend of cooling of the Black Sea surface has been observed, which reached 1⁰C for the last 50-70 years at the coastal zone of Georgia. This itself will result in the decline of recreation and tourism periods as well as vegetation spell for subtropical crops, such as citrus and tea, hence reducing the revenues for local population (UNDP/GEF-Government of Georgia, 1999).

The part of the Caucasus washed by the sea has serious environmental impacts on the Black Sea in terms of seawater pollution. Some of the major resorts, harbours and industrial centres are located there and have a significant impact on the sea.

In the 1970s and 1980s, millions of cubic metres of domestic and industrial waste-waters were discharged into the sea from large cities, resorts and industries. During tourist seasons, the concentrations of BOD, COD, and surfactants were exceeding existing water quality standards several times. Water pollution by coliform bacteria was common as well. Water oil content was also high along coastal line, where large harbours: Novorossiisk, Tuaphse, Poti, Batumi, Sukhumi, etc. were located. Different industries were developed within the basin. Waste-waters from ferrous, chemical, mechanical plants, oil refineries and mines were discharged into the rivers or directly into the sea. Batumi oil refinery alone, for example, discharged more than 500 tons of oil wastes into the sea annually in 1980s. Gulp discharges from the plant also were not rare, bringing about 115 km sq. water surface pollution on average annually (State Committee of the USSR on Nature Protection, 1989). Agriculture also had significant impact on coastal waters. Georgia produced almost the entire citrus and tea crops of the FSU and about 90% of these products were exported to other republics of the FSU. Tea and citrus plantations were concentrated along the coastline and agriculture run-off from these areas discharged significant amounts of fertilisers and pesticides into the sea. Return agricultural flow from ploughed fields, fodder fields and perennial crops in Krasnodarsky kray also contributed highly to the pollution of surface and coastal waters.

The demise of the Soviet Union was followed by economic decline. At present, the problem of seawater pollution is mainly related to domestic sewage and oil spills from cargo ships and storage tanks. Although, industries continue working at low loads, resulting in reduced industrial waste-water loads, non-optimal operation regimes, out of date technologies and reduced control from law enforcement officers may offset the situation.

Oil products were one of the major seawater pollutants in the 1970s and 1980s and remain such at present. Studies conducted by Georgian scientists in 1993-95 showed that oil products significantly polluted the seawater in Batumi and Poti harbours. Water oil content in water samples varied from 1 to 24 times the existing water quality standard (0.05 mg/l) in Batumi and from 1 to 14 times the standard in Poti. The highest concentrations were recorded in days with high sun radiation. Phenol concentrations also were high in warm seasons and they were not only discharged from rivers, but also formed in the seawater as an intermediate product of the degradation of oil products. Sediments were also polluted by oil products and might cause the secondary pollution during high turbulence. In addition to oil products, trace levels of chlororganic pesticides and surfactant, sometimes exceeding existing limits 2-5 times, were detected. (Institute of Hydro-meteorology, Georgian Academy of Science, 1998).

In the past, the Black Sea was rich in fish stocks. Over the last 30 years, the maximum catch was in 1976 and amounted to about 315,000 tons (Ministry of Environment and Nature Resources Protection, the Russian Federation, 1995). Over-catching and water pollution has significantly reduced fish populations. Currently the bulk of the commercial fishing consists of hamsa and Sprattus. The industrial catch of sturgeon has extremely reduced, while carp and bream stocks are more stable. Shamaya, pilengas and rybets became very rare (IUCN, 2000).

The problem with invasion of alien species is common to the Black Sea. In the mid 1980s, a jelly-fish-like species (Mnemiopsis leidyi), which was accidentally introduced to the Black Sea from the eastern seaboard of America in the ballast water of a ship, invaded the Black Sea. It quickly reached a total mass of 900 million tons. Though declining, Mnemiopsis continues to nourish in the Black Sea.

Finally, recent large-scale development projects for the Caspian oil transportation and the expansion of the Black Sea harbours within TRACECA project may significantly affect the Black Sea in the near future. Thus, environmental considerations should be taken into account during construction and operation phases.

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