Black Sea Aquaculture: Legacy, Challenges & Future Opportunities
Authors: Massa Fabio , Aydın Ilhan , Fezzardi Davide , Akbulut Bilal , Atanasoff Alexander , Beken Atife Tuba , Bekh Vitaliy , Buhlak Yuliia , Burlachenko Irina , Can Erkan , Carboni Stefano , Caruso Fabrizio , Dağtekin Murat , Demianenko Kostiantyn , Deniz Hayri , Fidan Dilek , Fourdain Linda , Frederiksen Marco , Guchmanidze Archil , Hamza Housam , Harvey Jessica , Nenciu Magda , Nikolov Galin , Niţă Victor , Özdemir Muhammed Doğan , Petrova-Pavlova Elitsa , Popescu Gabriel , Rad Ferit , Can Şafak Seyhaneyildiz , Theodorou John A. , Thomas Behnan , Tonachella Nicolò , Tribilustova Ekaterina , Yakhontova Irina , Yesilsu Ahmet Faruk , Yücel-Gier Güzel 
Published: August 2021

Responsible aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, is a sustainable strategic sector for land and coastal communities. It significantly contributes to food security and enhancement of economic development; it provides employment opportunities and often contributes to the ecological services provided by the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the contribution of aquaculture to the global food security is widely demonstrated by an astounding industry growth of 7.5% per year since 1970. In 2018, aquaculture reached the all-time highest production of 114.5 million tonnes in live weight with a total farm gate sale value of USD 263.6 billion. This makes aquaculture a key player within the Blue Growth concept and a strong contributor to some of its key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This is particularly true in geographical areas where dependence of local economies on fishery products is high, and yet access to sustainable landings is hampered by ecological barriers. One such area is represented by the Black Sea basin. Whilst the Black Sea annual capture fishery production has varied considerably since 1990 and its current landings are significant, growing attention is currently given to boost aquaculture development along the Black Sea bordering countries, with marine aquaculture being considered as an important contributor to the total fisheries production. Nonetheless, aquaculture development in this region is not homogenous and its development has, so far, been limited by environmental, economic, social, and
more generally governance issues. This paper, for the first time, attempts to provide a comprehensive fresh outlook of the aquaculture sector in the Black Sea, stressing the importance of regional cooperation as an essential pillar to support the sustainable development of the industry. The paper addresses aquaculture in the Black Sea from
different perspectives: it outlines the key characteristics of the Black Sea environment; it discusses the most common farmed aquatic species and the potential for new ones; it frames the national approaches to aquaculture development, sharing information about success stories, while shedding light on the main challenges and priorities ahead. This collective endeavour will represent a helpful contribution to Black Sea riparian countries to answer the many questions they have, and expectations they hold from the aquaculture sector.