Bulgarian Researchers: Black Sea Fish Cleaner than Mediterranean Fish

Black Sea fish does not contain concentrations of harmful chemicals above normal, according to the results of a testing of the 10 most popular types of fish found in Bulgarian coastal waters.

The data was presented Friday during a work meeting titled "Health from the Sea and Safe Seafood" at the Institute of Fish Resources in the Black Sea city of Varna.

Analyses have shown that fish found in Bulgarian Black Sea Waters is cleaner than fish found in the Mediterranean Sea and in other parts of the Black Sea.

According to Assoc. Prof. Mona Stancheva, manager of the "Black Sea Seafood Safety and Nutritional Value" project, the comparisons were drawn using fish caught around Spain and the Gulf of Naples.

The project was implemented by the Department of Chemistry at the Medical University in Varna with funding from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Science.

The testing for pollutants in seafood and the comparisons with global and European norms were carried out for the first time in Bulgaria.

The monitoring of fish, mussels and Veined rapa whelks lasted 5 years.

The samples were taken from fish caught by local fishermen and from fish sold on the market.

The tests showed that the fish caught in the Gulf of Varna was cleaner than the fish caught further north, near Durankulak, Krapets and Shabla, where Danube currents carry more pollutants.

The fish and mussels caught in the Varna Gulf were as clean as the species caught deeper into the sea.

The results of the study will be included in a National Action Plan for the Management of Persistent Organic Polluters of the Ministry of Environment and Waters and in the report Bulgaria is to present for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention.

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