Abstract

The study was conducted by examining stranded cetaceans while explicitly searching for dead marine mammals. Observations were made through covering transects along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The data collection was in compliance with the standard form of the Mediterranean Data Base of Cetacean Strandings (MEDACES). The data gathered in this study encompass the three common cetacean species met in the Black Sea and covers the period January – September 2015.
As a result of the research, it was found that the most abundant species strandings were of Phocoena phocoena (46%), followed by Tursiops truncatus (14%) and Delphinus delphis (7%).The most significant number of strandings was observed in August (19 cases). The “hot points” with the highest number of strandings were the beaches of Varna (14% of all strandings), Shabla (10%), Zlatni Piasatsi and Krapets (9%). The number of reported incidents was higher in comparison with the available data from the last few years. The actual information for cetacean strandings along the Bulgarian Black Sea provided could be used for improving of the conservation measures taken for these vulnerable species.