Conservation Status of the Fish Fauna in the Danube Delta Marine Zone

Establishing the necessary measures for the conservation of habitats and species of the Marine Zone of the Danube Delta (ROSCI 0066) is based on the assessment of their current conservation status. Conservation measures instituted aimed at maintaining or restoring the species and habitats for which the site was designated, at an appropriate stage of conservation. The marine protected area ROSCI 0066 (overlapping the Danube Delta – marine zone) is a national protected area within the Natura 2000 European ecological network (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, Romanian Government Emergency Ordinance 57/2007, Minister’s of Environment, Water and Forests Order no. 46/2016), and also has the status of Ramsar and UNESCO site. The overall assessment of the conservation status of marine species and habitats derived from Annex E (V) matrix of the EC official reporting format. It was performed for marine fish species of Community interest, whose presence is certain and confirmed by research in the marine protected area’s perimeter. According to the results, Alosa immaculata Bennet, 1835 (Pontic shad) and Alosa tanaica Grimm, 1901 (Black Sea shad) have a favorable conservation status; Huso huso Linnaeus, 1758 (Beluga) and Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771 (Starry sturgeon) have an unfavorable conservation status – inadequate U1, while Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt and Ratzeburg 1833 (Danube sturgeon) – unfavorable conservation status – bad U2. Assessing the conservation status of marine fish species contributes to the development of good management measures for biodiversity conservation in the marine protected area (MPA).