black sea seabirds project

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FINAL REPORT Covering the project activities from 16/04/2012 to 16/04/2014 Preparing the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird Areas along the southern Black Sea Coast (Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey) Data Project Grant agreement reference: 07.020400/2012/617393/SUB/D2 Project start date: 16/04/2012 Project end date: 16/04/2014 Total budget 239.541EC contribution: 215.141(%) of eligible costs 89,91% Data Beneficiary Name Beneficiary Doğa Derneği Contact person Ms. Ayşe Sargın Postal address Kızılay Mahallesi - Menekşe 2 Sokak - 33\5 Çankaya/Ankara Turkey Telephone +90 312 481 25 45 Fax: +90 312 481 25 09 E-mail [email protected] , [email protected] Project Website http://dogadernegi.org/karadeniz-deniz-kuslari.aspx

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Page 1: Black Sea Seabirds Project

FINAL REPORT

Covering the project activities from 16/04/2012 to 16/04/2014

Preparing the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird Areas along the southern Black Sea Coast (Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey)

Data Project

Grant agreement reference: 07.020400/2012/617393/SUB/D2

Project start date: 16/04/2012

Project end date: 16/04/2014

Total budget 239.541€

EC contribution: 215.141€

(%) of eligible costs 89,91%

Data Beneficiary

Name Beneficiary Doğa Derneği

Contact person Ms. Ayşe Sargın

Postal address Kızılay Mahallesi - Menekşe 2 Sokak - 33\5

Çankaya/Ankara Turkey

Telephone +90 312 481 25 45

Fax: +90 312 481 25 09

E-mail [email protected], [email protected]

Project Website http://dogadernegi.org/karadeniz-deniz-kuslari.aspx

Page 2: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. LIST OF KEY-WORDS AND ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... 3

1.1 Key-words ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 3

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 4 3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Description of Project Management ......................................................................................... 2 3.2 Organigramme of the Project Team and the Project Management Structure ...................... 2

4. RESULTS AND OUTCOMES ................................................................................................................... 11 4.1 Action A.1: Training on Standard boat-based and land-based survey methods ................. 11 4.2 Action A.2: Training on GIS methods and seabird database ............................................... 11 4.3 Action A.3: Training on Marine IBA data analysis-Black Sea Marine IBA Workshop ..... 12 4.4 Action B.1: Standardised boat-based surveys in some sectors of the coast within territorial

waters in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey .................................................................................... 12 4.5 Action B.2: Identification, survey and assessment of colony and sites using land-based

observations .................................................................................................................................... 14 4.6 Action B.3: Collection of supporting data for Marine IBAs/SPAs: Oceanographic,

meteorological, biological and fisheries data ............................................................................... 17 4.7 Action C.1: Creating a GIS database for seabirds in the Black Sea ..................................... 18 4.8 Action C.2: Production of a preliminary Marine IBA inventory for southern Black Sea

coast ................................................................................................................................................ 18 4.9 Action C.3: Production of After-project conservation plan .................................................. 19 4.10 Action D.1: Media Work ....................................................................................................... 20 4.11 Action D.2: Organisation of Project Launch and closing event -DD and BSPB ................ 21 4.12 Action D.3: Project dissemination through New Media ...................................................... 22 4.13 Action D.3: Production of Layman’s Report ....................................................................... 23

5. REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 23 6. ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................................... 27

Annex 1: Photo and Picture Gallery of Project Implementation ............................................... 27 Annex 2: Kick Off Meeting Programme ...................................................................................... 30 Annex 3: Kick Off Meeting – List of Participant ........................ Hata! Yer işareti tanımlanmamış. Annex 4: Kick Off Meeting Press Release .................................................................................... 32 Annex 5: Kick Off Meeting Press clippings ................................................................................. 33 Annex 6: The Black Sea Seabirds Project On Internet Media ................................................... 35 Annex 7: Training on Standard boat-based and Land-based Survey Methods Agenda .......... 37 Annex 8: Project Poster designed for MED MPA Forum 2012 .................................................. 38 Annex 9: GIS Methods and Data Management Training Report .............................................. 39 Annex 10: Layman’s Report ......................................................................................................... 44 Annex 11: Technical Report .......................................................................................................... 44

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1. LIST OF KEY-WORDS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1.1 Key-words

Black Sea Basin

Seabirds

Yelkouan Shearwater

European Shag

Puffinus yelkouan

Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii

Marine IBAs

EU Birds Directive

Natura 2000

1.2 Abbreviations

BSBP Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds

ESAS European Seabirds at Sea (boat based survey method)

DD Doğa Derneği (coordinating beneficiary)

GIS Geographical Information System

HOS Hellenic Ornithological Society (associated beneficiary)

Marine IBAs Marine Important Bird Areas

SPA Special Protected Area (Natura 2000)

SOR Romanian Ornithological Society (associated beneficiary)

PMG Project Management Group

SPA Special Protected Area (Natura 2000)

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2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Project « Preparing the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird

Areas along the southern Black Sea Coast » is implemented by the Doğa Derneği (DD) in

collaboration with the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), Bulgarian Society for the

Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR), in the Southern

Black Sea during the period 16/04/2012 to 16/04/2014 with a total duration of 24 months. The

Black Sea Seabirds Project aims to create the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird

Areas (IBAs) focused on two species; Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) and

Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii). The Black Sea project also aims

to train staff and volunteers from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey on seabird research and

conservation methods. The present final report refers to the period from the 1st up to and

including the 24th

month of project implementation.

A management and coordination mechanism was set up in the form of a Project

Management Group (PMG), established during the initial stage of the project, and that

ensured coordinated, synchronized and effective implementation of the project and its actions

through regular communication and meetings. This PMG is comprised of the Project

Manager, DD Conservation Manager, HOS Conservation Manager, BSPB Conservation

Manager, SOR Conservation Manager and relevant personnel of the associated beneficiaries.

The project was formally launched with a “Kickoff Meeting” (Action D2) which was

held in İstanbul/Turkey on the 5th of July, 2012. 48 participants attended the Kickoff

Meeting, including the Director General of Doğa Derneği, Conservation Managers and staff

of associated beneficiaries, (HOS, BSPB and SOR), a representative of the Commission on

the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, the Country Programme Officer of the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, representatives from Ministry Of Forestry and

Water Affairs and Ministry of Environment and Urbanism, NGO co-workers and

academicians. On the same day, a press conference gathered 15 journalists from different

media groups, and a press-release was produced by DD and sent to all Turkish press. This

meeting was then subsequently reported in more than 20 newspapers and internet portals –

please find enclosed in the Annex a programme of the meeting, list of participants, press

release as well as some of the press clippings about the meeting.

Parallel to the kickoff meeting, a technical meeting with the steering committee and

project staff was also held on the 5th

of July. A roadmap for the project has been drawn with

the contribution of partners.

Three trainings have been implemented during the project with the participation of 50

people including project staff, NGO representatives and volunteers from Turkey, Bulgaria and

Romania. Trainings have achieved all the foreseen objectives, namely the preparation and

operation of seabird survey tools (protocols, datasheets, and manuals), preparation and

implementation of theoretical and practical training in seabird survey methods.

37 pilot standardized boat-based surveys were conducted within territorial waters of

the three countries from January to November of 2013. Boat based observations were carried

using standardised methods implemented by the European Seabirds At Sea (ESAS). This

methodology was adapted to project needs. Project volunteers and staffs were confident with

ESAS Methodology. Transects were devised based on the most efficient use of resources,

manpower and logistics.

Identification, survey and assessment of the colony and sites using land-based

observations supplemented the data collected from boat-based observations (Action B1). All

Page 5: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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Mediterranean shag colonies along the Black Sea Coast of Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria

have been surveyed by the project research team with the assistance of Conservation Directors

of project partners.

In addition, coastal counts were undertaken to record the number of birds and were

particularly important to allow a better understanding of Yelkuans shearwater's behavior,

whose highest number observed in Romania and Bulgaria. All marine bird species have been

recorded, including their time of sighting, direction and distance from the shore and

behaviour. Data collected from this action was stored in the GIS database created for this

purpose.

Standardized data collection sheets were adapted to project needs and distributed to

local ornithologists for use during sea-watching observations. These data sheets included

information such as distance from shore, the behaviour of birds (rafting/flying/feeding)

number of birds, time of day etc.

Supporting data, oceanographic and biological, was collected during 2013 in order to

carry out the analysis data and modelling to identify Marine IBAs. They were downloaded

from specific web sites and converted into a proper format to be used in GIS environment.

Then, they were spatially and statistically analysed along with the seabird data collected to

finally identify optimal marine areas for Mediterranean Shag and Yelkouan Shearwater.

The existing DD website (www.dogadernegi.org), which currently receives over

20,000 visitors/year from 50 countries, is hosting pages for the Black Sea Seabirds Project

(http://dogadernegi.org/karadeniz-deniz-kuslari.aspx) (Action D3). There is an interactive

banner which links to the project’s main web page. The project page has promoted the project

objectives and the expected outcomes, and contains information on the project actions, the

partnership and the seabirds in English and Turkish. Publications, news and social media links

photos are uploaded on the web page.

People who are interested in the project received updates on project news. A Facebook

page, a twitter account and a YouTube channel dedicated to the project has been created and

the press releases, events, videos, photos and news are being posted on a regular basis.

DD Conservation Manager participated at the Meeting of The Black Sea Economic

Cooperation (BSEC) Working Group on Environmental Protection in İstanbul, on 11-12

October 2012 and presented there the Black Sea Seabirds Project.

Project Manager has delivered a speech about the actions and objectives of the project

on 20th

of October, at the 14th

Bird Conference/Turkey, which was held in Erzurum Province

at the North East Turkey.

A presentation of the project aims, activities and expected results was presented to the

Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) of Bulgaria on 18th

October 2012 in Sofia by

Anna Stenava (Project Administrator-BSPB) mainly from the “Natura 2000” secretariat, ten

representatives of MOEW have been participated.

The same presentation was presented to the BSPB’s members and volunteers in the

regional office of BSPB in Varna. During the meeting, the opportunities for volunteering for

the project have been presented.

Page 6: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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Doğa Derneği attended workshops and poster sections on the 2012 MEDPAN Forum

which was held from 25 to 28 November in Antalya, Turkey and organized with the

collaboration of "The network of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MedPAN) and its

partners, the General Directorate of Natural Assets Protection (Turkey) and the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A poster about The Black Sea Project has been

presented.

DD, BSPB and SOR staff kept in touch with the local authorities by visiting them at

their offices during the survey trips. The project staff also informed the relevant ministries

about the progress of the work.

DD and project partners worked very closely with their national administrations and

BSC. Local Directorate of Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs in Sinop-Turkey takes part

for the Actions B1-B2 and B3. The Local Directorate has put a fieldwork assistant in charge

for ESAS Surveys and colony surveys. DD has also contributed to the Red data book of Black

Sea, which is a publication prepared for BSC, based on the seabirds data that is collected

through project activities. Raw data set, generated by surveys are available upon request to

national and international administrations, NGOs and academicians.

Since the marine SPA’s are already designated in Romania, the Romanian team had

engaged in the further step, which was creating the management plan. SOR is actively

involved in the communication with the Ministry of Environment for preparing the

management plan for the Marine SPA with the methods derived/adopted from the capacity

building component of the project.

In Bulgaria, the data gathered during the project was used by BSPB during the process

of actualization of Natura 2000 Standard Data Forms, implemented by the Ministry of

Environment and Water of Bulgaria in April 2014.

In reply to the invitation of the River Basin Directorate for the Black Sea Region

(BSBD) in Varna, on April 16th

and 17th

BSPB has presented the standardized ESAS

methodology, as well as the project activities, aims and results during a workshop with the

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), dedicated to the integrated

monitoring. The accent of the meeting was the European Marine Strategy and the need of

further planning, monitoring and reporting of the status of marine habitats, flora and fauna,

and designation of marine IBAs in Bulgarian Black Sea waters according to the prescriptions

of the EC. Consequently, this meeting has resulted in further collaboration with BSBD on the

elaboration of monitoring schemes for marine birds under the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive.

Conservation Manager of Doğa Derneği gave a speech about the Black Sea Seabirds

Project on CBD AG meeting and MISIS Project workshop.

Closing meeting was held in Burgas/Bulgaria on March 20 and 21, 2014 with the

participation of project staff, academics, volunteer and press members. A field trip has been

organized to the recently discovered Mediterranean Shag breeding site near Burgas.

Page 7: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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2.(a) TIMETABLE FOR EACH STAGE OF THE ACTION SHOWING MAIN DATES AND ACHIEVED RESULTS FOR EACH STAGE

Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 3 Semester 4

Activity

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A3. Training on Marine IBA data

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B1. Standardised boat-based

surveys in some sectors of the

coast within territorial waters in

Romania. Bulgaria and Turkey

B2. Identification, survey and

assessment of colony and sites

using land-based observations

Page 8: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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B3. Collection of supporting data for Marine IBAs/SPAs:

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meteorological…

C1. Creating a GIS database

for seabirds in the Black Sea

C2 - Production of a

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Sea coast

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3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

3.1 Description of Project Management

DD has overall responsibility for the Management of the Project. DD has employed a

Project Manager for the project who works closely with DD’s conservation manager, who

also has experience in directing projects. The close working relationship which DD has with

the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife in the UK) is beneficial, as the

Project Manager and the project itself receive support from the expertise within the RSPB on

project management and communications related work. The overall Project is overseen by all

beneficiaries represented on a Steering Committee for the Project.

The steering committee, composed of one manager from each partner (DD, BSPB,

SOR and HOS), and the project manager, evaluates the success or otherwise of Actions.

There were only minor changes in the executive project management structure during

the reporting period… However it should be noted that Mr. Matis Attila replaced Ms. Lavinia

Raducescu on the position of the SOR Project Administrator in June, 2012.

In July 2012, Sebastian Bugariu (SOR) was replaced by Emil Todorov at the position

of Asst. Researcher, who has prior experience in field work. Communication officer Alida

Barbu no longer works for the project.

In Romania, Communication officer Teodora Ivanova from BSPB left the project in October

2012 for maternity leave.

Project Administrator and Communication Assistant of DD - respectively Hasan

Gumus and Yucel Sonmez - are replaced with Ayse Sargin and Derya Engin in 2013.

3.2 Organigramme of the Project Team and the Project Management Structure

The current structure of the Project Management Group (PGM) and the project team is

given in the Organigramme on the following page below.

Page 10: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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Steering Group

DD, BSPB, SOR and

HOS, plus project

manager

Project Manager

Hayri Dagli (DD)

Project Administrator P/T

Ayse Sargin

Communications assistant

P/T – Derya Engin

Conservation manager P/T

Sureyya Isfendiyaroglu

DD BSPB

Project Administrator P/T –

Anna Staneva

Communications assistant

P/T – Teodora Ivanova

Conservation manager P/T

Stoycho Stoychev

Asst Researcher P/T

Minko Madzharov

SOR

Project Administrator P/T

Ciobanu Geolea Antoaneta

Communications assistant

P/T – Marin Valentin

Conservation manager P/T

Ciprian Fantana

Asst Researcher P/T

Emil Todorov

HOS

Project Administrator P/T

–Jakob Fric

Communications assistant

P/T – Roula Trigou

Conservation manager P/T

–Thanos Kastritis

GIS trainer P/T –

Aris Manolopoulos

Seabird surveys trainer P/T –

Danae Portolou

Marine IBA trainer P/T –

Jakob Fric

Project Management

Group (PMG)

PROJECT

ORGANIGRAMME

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4. RESULTS AND OUTCOMES

4.1 Action A.1: Training on Standard boat-based and land-based survey methods

Description: The action involves the preparation of standardized protocols surveys of

seabird distribution and abundance at sea by means of European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) and

coastal counts methods as well as protocols for the Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax

aristotelis) colony surveys. The protocols were prepared on the basis of protocols developed

by the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS) in the framework of a privately funded project

“Survey and Conservation of Seabirds in Greece” and a LIFE project “Concrete conservation

actions for the Mediterranean Shag and Audouin’s Gull in Greece, including the inventory of

relevant marine IBAs”, LIFE07 NAT/GR/000285, and adapted to the needs of the current

project.

The methodologies produced were presented to the 25 participants of project staff and

volunteers from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania at a training seminar which took place in

Istanbul on the 6th

and 7th

July 2012. The seminar included theoretical training in all

aforementioned methods and their demonstrative implementation on the ferry boat in

Bosporus for ESAS method and for coastal counts and Shag colony surveys methods.

The action was implemented by HOS project staff in cooperation with DD. The action

has achieved all the foreseen objectives, namely the preparation and operation of seabird

survey tools (protocols, datasheets, and manuals), and preparation and implementation of

theoretical and practical training in seabird survey methods.

No difficulties have been encountered during the implementation of the action.

The action has been completed. After the training, the capacity raised in these training

had kept on collecting data in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Additional volunteers to

participate the surveys were trained by the training participants during the ESAS surveys prior

to and during the data collection process. Technical support in survey methods and data

collection is provided by the HOS in the framework of actions B1, B2 and B3.

4.2 Action A.2: Training on GIS methods and seabird database

Description: A series of lessons on GIS, statistical and GIS data analysis, as well as

on the ESAS database have been prepared and presented at the 2nd

project’s workshop that

took place in Istanbul on the 3rd

-4th

November 2012. The training workshop was attended by

24 participants of the project staff, academicians, NGO Representatives and volunteers from

Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Additionally, data managers from each project partner were

provided additional training in setting up and operation of the database. The action was

implemented by HOS project staff in cooperation with DD. The action has achieved all the

foreseen objectives, namely the preparation and operation of data management tools

(protocols, database), preparation and implementation of GIS and data management training.

No difficulties have been encountered during the implementation of the action.

Technical support in data management is provided by the HOS in the framework of

action C3.

The implementation of the 2nd

project’s training seminar has been delayed in regard to

the initially foreseen implementation period in order to allow for the first survey data to be

collected in the Black Sea in order to increase the output of the training seminar by using

actual data from the Black Sea.

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The action has been completed.

4.3 Action A.3: Training on Marine IBA data analysis-Black Sea Marine IBA Workshop

Description: The training for Marine IBA data analysis has been implemented on

30th, 31st of October and 1st of November2013 (3 days). The training workshop was attended

by 24 participants of the project staff, academicians, NGO Representatives and volunteers

from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

The action has been completed. Technical support on Marine IBA data analysis is

provided by the HOS in the framework of action C3.

4.4 Action B.1: Standardised boat-based surveys in some sectors of the coast within

territorial waters in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey

Description: Pilot standardized boat-based observation transects were conducted

within territorial waters of the three countries during 2013 (Figure 1). Boat based observations

were carried using standardised methods implemented by the European Seabirds at Sea

(ESAS) programme for recording seabirds at sea to allow the data collected to be incorporated

into the wider European database. This methodology has been adapted to project needs.

Project volunteers and staffs were confident with ESAS Methodology. Transects were devised

based on the most efficient use of resources, manpower and logistics. Boat-based transects

recording distribution, behaviour and movements of all seabirds present with special emphasis

on recording sightings of the target Puffinus yelkouan and Phalacrocorax aristotelis.

Figure 1 Boat-based transects carried out during 2013 by each country

Turkey:

ESAS field surveys were carried out during 17 trips from Zonguldak, a city in the

Black Sea region, to Evpatoria and Sevastopol (Ukraine) from March to November of 2013

using the RO RO Ships and covering a distance of 435 Km approximately. Since the duration

of each trip took around 16 to 17 hours, census was stopped at night and restarted at sunrise.

For this reason the map shows discontinued red lines, where gaps indicate sleep time.

7 volunteers joined ESAS surveys, having the opportunity to practice their knowledge that

they gained at trainings.

Page 13: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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Bulgaria:

The surveys were planned twice per month from February to June, and once per month

during the rest of the year, so the valuable and detailed data about the distribution, activity

and behaviour of the two target species could be collected during the whole year, but

especially in the breeding season. As conducting the boat-based surveys depends extremely

on weather conditions in the sea and boat availability, the research initiated in January 2013

with the first sailing along the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast and finished in October. A

total of 22 boat-based trips were conducted between January 2013 and April 2014, within

which 9 along the northern Bulgarian coast and 13 along the southern Bulgarian coast

(including one trip to Istanbul), up to 12 nautical miles from the coast.

In Bulgaria the surveys were divided into two areas: boat-based survey along the

southern coast between Bourgas and Rezovo (around 70 km distance, up to 12 km from the

coast), and boat-based survey along the northern coast between Kavarna and Tiulenovo

(around 40 km distance, up to 8 km from the coast). The two areas were chosen according to

historical data about wintering, nesting, feeding or migrating birds from the two target

species, as well as according to the suitability of the habitat.

Within the most important findings of the boat-based surveys was the confirmation of

nesting Shags on the southern coast, as before these studies the only breeding Shags in

Bulgaria were known from the area of Cape Kaliakra in the north. The first attempts of

nesting birds (1-2 pairs) were observed in March 2013. In the consecutive 2014, during the

International Mid-winter Counts in mid-January, and afterwards through coastal counts and

ESAS surveys, the BSPB team confirmed the presence of nesting Shags on the eastern side of

the small Islands of St. Peter and St. Ivan, situated in front of the bay of Sozopol. The definite

number of 11 nesting pairs was registered in the beginning of April 2014, when the project

team reached the islands through a small boat. These observations confirmed the new and

second for Bulgaria breeding colony of Shags.

The data gathered during the boat-based surveys was used by BSPB during the process

of actualization of Natura 2000 Standard Data Forms, implemented by the Ministry of

Environment and Water of Bulgaria in April 2014.

All data have been collected in the standardized forms and consecutively entered into

the ESAS database. GIS maps were produced based on the collected data.

It was very hard to find available study boats in Bulgaria during the winter season.

There were no line boats/ships, and the fishermen ones were in most cases inappropriate for

the bad weather conditions in winter. This is the reason that it was very difficult to provide

regularity in the boat-based surveys – something that the standardized methodology can

compensate up to certain point.

Romania:

The observations were conducted starting with April and finishing in November 2013,

with 7 boat-based surveys in total.

The area covered by the boat surveys is presented in figure 2 in red. With the boat

surveys SOR covered all the Romanian shore: Constanta-Vama Veche – Constanta (1 day)

and Constanta-Sfantu Gheorghe (Sulina)–Constanta (2 days).

Page 14: Black Sea Seabirds Project

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The data was collected using the methodology described by HOS/BirdLife partner in

Greece – ESAS census method and were included in the GIS database created in Action C1.

Figure 2 Coastal counting points and boat-based transects cover during the monitoring activities by the SOR team

4.5 Action B.2: Identification, survey and assessment of colony and sites using land-

based observations

Description: This action supplements the data collected from boat-based observations

(Action B1) to establish the main colonies and rafting/foraging sites. The majority of the

onshore breeding sites were already known, and these were re-surveying in Bulgaria, with a

single breeding site of shag, and Turkey with several breeding areas for shag along the

Turkish Black Sea coast. In order to know fully the number of pairs of this specie, direct

counts and mapping of apparently occupied nests were performed in Bulgaria and Turkish

Black Sea coast.

At selected study colonies, coastal counts were undertaken from 2012 until 2014

through almost 60 vantage points (Figure 3) along the southern Black Sea coast. All marine

bird species were recorded, including their time of sighting, direction and distance from the

shore and behaviour. Data collected from this action was stored in the GIS database created

for this purpose.

Standardised data collection sheets was adapted to project needs and distributed to

local ornithologists for use during sea-watching observations. These data sheets include

information such as distance from shore, direction and behaviour of birds

(rafting/flying/feeding) number of birds, time of day etc.

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Figure 3 Vantage points in each country (Romania in black, Bulgaria in yellow and Turkey in red color)

Turkey:

All European shag colonies along the Black Sea coast of Turkey has been surveyed by

DD research team during 2012 and 2013. We have identified 47 key locations and confirmed

the breeding at 45 of them, whereas two of them were used for only wintering. The breeding

range of Shags are wide, covering a large area beginning from Kıyıköy in Thrace extending to

Hopa, which is the eastern most district located at the Georgian border. Our efforts also

focused on identifying possible breeding sites in the range states. However our work in Black

Sea has revealed no new yelkouan shearwater colonies. In Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria

there are no confirmed breeding records of yelkouan shearwater and our efforts have failed to

find any breeding colony in Black Sea.

A further survey was carried out in order to find out the maximum number of

individuals and breeding success of European shags. The colonies with the greatest number of

pairs were in Zonguldak with 152, followed by Haydarpaşa with 88 and Şile with 53 breeding

pairs.

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Figure 4 European shag colonies surveyed by the DD team

In addition, from March of 2013 until January of 2014 we conducted regular coastal

counts in Kırklareli, Zonguldak, Sinop, Giresun, Trabzon and Artvin provinces of Turkey

(Figure 4), trying to cover the coast from west to east. In 2013, 12 days with many sessions of

coastal counts were carried out and 2 days in 2014. These surveys were carried out by DD

research team and their volunteers using the standardised data collection sheets. Then, data

collected was integrated into the GIS database.

Bulgaria:

The surveys were planned twice or once per month during the whole project period.

The research was initiated in November 2012 and finished in December 2013. In Bulgaria the

surveys were divided into two areas: coastal counts along the northern coast between Kaliakra

and Shabla, and coastal counts along the southern coast between Bourgas and Rezovo making

a total of 41 locations. In 2012, 2 surveys were done and 35 in 2013, from January until

December. The two areas were chosen according to historical data about wintering, nesting,

feeding or migrating birds from the two target species, as well as according to the suitability

of the habitat.

Within the most important findings of the coastal counts in Bulgaria was the

observation of certain displacement to the north of the Kaliakra Shag colony. The number of

the breeding pairs was counted, obtaining 26 pairs… There were also observed congregations

of tens and hundreds of Shags in the south during the winter time, and flocks of tens and

hundreds of Yelkouans were registered feeding and migrating in March and April along the

southern coast (mainly close to the border with Turkey).

Data were collected in the standardized forms and inputted into the GIS database.

Romania:

The land-based counts were conducted in Romania starting with November 2012 and

finishing in November 2013, twice per month in the winter and once per month starting with

spring. The SOR team used the standardized data collection sheets that included information

such as distance from shore, the behaviour of birds, number of birds, time of day etc. Data

collected were included in the GIS database created in Action C1.

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SOR has conducted 5 coastal counts sessions in 2012, and 30 in 2013 from 12

observation points, shown in figure 2. Most of the sessions were done in the winter season

(November 2012-March 2013) with the main purpose to register the movements of European

Shags. No significant movements were found, except two observations of solitary birds at

Vama Veche, near the border with Bulgaria. The coastal counts done in April 2013 were very

successful for the Yelkouan Shearwater movements within the Romanian Black Sea waters.

At the beginning of May a total of 7527 individuals were registered near Vadu, Constanta

County. The previous two weeks, in the same area, the maximum numbers were around 1000

individuals. Since May of 2013, no Yelkouan was counted during the coastal counts.

4.6 Action B.3: Collection of supporting data for Marine IBAs/SPAs: Oceanographic,

meteorological, biological and fisheries data

Description: From the beginning of the project a series of relevant oceanographic,

biological, meteorological, and fisheries datasets were identified on the basis of conclusions

of the 1st project training. Following that biological and oceanographic data were extracted

from environmental satellite images and related models including sea surface temperature,

chlorophyll-a, and bathymetry. These variables were chosen taking into account previous

works carried out by other partners such as Greece, Portugal and Spain, where this

environmental data has been shown to be useful in predicting seabird distribution at-sea.

Fisheries data could not be used because of the fact that this prey species do not have

commercial value and no published information exists.

Project team has also wanted to benefit from the MISIS Project findings, SOR had a

meeting with MISIS and National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore

Antipa “Constanta (www.rmri.ro) at the beginning of the project, where they evaluated

potential collaboration and data exchange. The supporting data hold by the Institute is from

few sampling points in Black Sea, which were not fitting our large scale research

requirements and needs. SOR seabird experts helped MISIS project several times with bird

expertise.

Satellite data was download from specific websites and converted into appropriate

format for Geographic Information System (GIS) environment (ArcGIS 10) using a free open-

source geoprocessing toolbox named Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools (Roberts et al., 2010)1

and later georeferenced.

This supporting data together with the seabird data collected during the project, were

analysed using different GIS techniques combined with MaxEnt program (Phillips et

al., 20062; Elith et al., 2011

3), a software for species habitat modelling, to identify optimal

marine areas.

We have acquired datasets from accountable open access sources:

1 Roberts JJ et. al (2010). Marine geospatial ecology tools: an integrated framework for ecological geoprocessing

with ArcGIS, Python, R, MATLAB, and C++. Environmental Modelling & Software 25: 1197-1207. 2 Phillips, S. J. et al. (2006). Maximum entropy modeling of species geographic distributions. Ecol. Model. 190:

231-259. 3 Elith, J., et. al. (2011). A statistical explanation of MaxEnt for ecologists. Diversity and Distributions17:43–57.

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- Sea Surface Temperature: Terra MODIS (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/). 11µ daytime,

monthly and 4-kilometer of resolution.

- Chlorophyll-a: Aqua MODIS Chlorophyll concentration (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/).

Monthly and 4-km resolution.

- Bathymetry: GEBCO (www.bodc.ac.uk)

Through the Bathymetry, Distance to the continental slope was calculated and used in the

models along with Distance to the coast derived from coast line data.

4.7 Action C.1: Creating a GIS database for seabirds in the Black Sea

Description: The GIS Database designed for Marine IBA Management which was

developed by the HOS in the framework of afore mentioned projects “Survey and

Conservation of Seabirds in Greece” and “Concrete conservation actions for the

Mediterranean Shag and Audouin’s Gull in Greece, including the inventory of relevant marine

IBAs”, was translated into English, customized and adapted to the need of the Black Sea

Birds Project. This Database is completely compatible with the databases that Birdlife uses

for data provision in the other European Countries. The GIS database has been used for all

seabird data collected during this project. This database has allowed for spatial analysis within

a GIS environment and enabled the data manager to monitor and plan the spatial coverage.

Moreover this database is a strong, user friendly tool to provide instant feedback to volunteers

and to produce reports for increasing the motivation of the volunteers.

The system operates on Microsoft Access and can easily export data to ESRI ArcGIS

and Google Earth. The central database was set up at Doğa Derneği and project beneficiaries

installed and worked on the same system. The data collected in the course of the project were

made available to all parties. The project partners sent the data to DD every month. DD

brought them together and shared with the parties after all the data sets were brought together.

Currently, the database contains all the data collected so far by the three countries and will

continue being managed by DD in order to store more data in future surveys and to be shared

with stakeholders.

4.8 Action C.2: Production of a preliminary Marine IBA inventory for southern Black

Sea coast

Description: Following the BirdLife’s International “Marine IBA Toolkit”, the

seabird hotspots identified during the project were classified under Seaward extensions to

breeding colonies, coastal congregations of nonbreeding seabirds for Mediterranean Shag

and High seas sites and migration bottlenecks for Yelkouan Shearwater.

All the sets of data collected from a range of actions B1, B2 and B3 relating to the

distribution and behaviour of all seabird species were analysed and statistically modelled

considering the environmental layers previously cited. This complex process is explained in

detail in the Technical Report (Annex 11) containing a site description, ornithological

importance, threats to the site and proposed management measures along with the relevant

maps.

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The list of hotspots are considered as only preliminary, and not a complete and final

inventory of Marine IBAs due to this being really only the first step in a long road.

4.9 Action C.3: Production of After-project conservation plan

We have conducted a small workshop with participation of the SOR, DD, HOS, BSPB

prior to the project meeting on 30th

of March 2014.

All the partners were satisfied with the achievements of the project, although the scope

of the project was significantly shorter than the other IBA projects, that were funded under the

framework of LIFE already concluded in Portugal, Greece and Malta yet the achievements

were remarkable with limited amount of resources. The participants pointed out the further

data collection on Yelkouan shearwater movements as a priority.

Conservation Priorities:

The majority of the Marine IBA’s are identified on Turkish coasts. Official letter shall

be sent to relevant government institutions in Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania emphasizing the

significance of the sites.

DD will continue to work with local partnerships established through the project

period. DD has initiated contact readily with Şile and Perşembe Municipalities. DD aims to

work with municipalities in order to prevent the local tourism developments harm the habitats

for seabirds.

In Romania through the project has been identified the main areas used by

the Yelkouan Shearwaters and the period when the species is more likely to appear in

Romanian waters. However due to the large surface of ROSPA Marea Neagra (ROSPA0076)

the monitoring of the species has to continue in the next period in order to reveal that the

areas identified through the project are a regular stop over and feeding areas for the species

and to identify new potential important areas for the species. These type of data is very

important for the development of the management plan of ROSPA0076 “Marea Neagra” as

well the potential threats for the species (petroleum drilling). SOR is intending to participate

actively in the development of the management plan of the site facilitating the access of the

custodian of the site to the data obtained through the project and participating in the public

debates for the development of the SPA management plan. In the same time SOR is working

to secure funding for the continuation of the monitoring of the species in the site.

SOR and the National Institute for Marine Research and Development agreed to sign

memorandum for collaboration, based on common monitoring efforts and data exchange. The

basic future actions that were foreseen are: the Institute can offer SOR’s experts on their

research ship for survey the seabird distribution during their expeditions. SOR can offer the

Institute with seabirds data and expertise of different projects and actions

BSPB has identified Kaliakra and Burgas as the Mediterranean shag IBAs in Bulgaria,

as their national priorities. BSPB will focus their research effort on Kaliakra IBA and improve

their understanding on seasonal movements of yelkouan shearwaters, as significant

congregations of this species is recorded here regularly. BSPB will actively continue

cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) and the River Basin

Directorate for the Black Sea Region (BSBD) for conservation for the management and

conservation of these IBA’s.

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Funding:

The partnerships can be funded from different funding bodies:

Bulgaria- Romania- Turkey:

The partners will unite under the scope of birdlife partnership to design a project for whole

Blacksea involving the missing partners such as GSCW from Georgia in order to expand the

coverage.

Bulgarian-Romania:

The Partners will seek opportunity to formulate a joint project from Norwegian Donors.

Bulgaria- Turkey:

There’s an opportunity to receive funding from Bulgaria- Turkey Cross- Border program.

4.10 Action D.1: Media Work

Description: A Project media plan has been developed at the beginning of the project.

The Media plan (as well as other communications actions) is focusing on the key messages,

disseminating awareness on the importance of the Black Sea for seabirds, EU legislation on

Marine Special Protection Areas and the importance and relevance of the work carried out by

this project and its outcomes.

Journalists have been invited to join the researchers at sea and at study sites for special

features. Press releases accompanied with good quality photos and where possible video

footage has been issued during planned events/activities such as the Project Launch and

interesting outcomes of certain actions as the project progresses. Project launch and key

project progress, findings and results have been disseminated through press releases and

feature articles.

As part of the project branding, a logo has been developed and displayed during press

conferences, Project Launch and other media and public events as well as on other

communications material. The project acronym “Black Sea Seabirds Project” is used in all

communications along with the project logo.

The key target audiences are decision takers, stakeholders (such as mariners and

fishermen) as well as the general public who are not currently aware of the importance of the

Black Sea for all seabird species.

One of Turkey’s largest media agencies called "Communication Partner" has accepted

to collaborate with DD for Black Sea Seabirds Project. During the reporting period 2,563,185

people are estimated to have been informed about the project, seabirds and their conservation,

via the information material available on the internet and media, according to DD’s external

media agency, Ajans Press. The advertisement value equivalency of the project press

coverage in two years is calculated as high as 391.020,52 $. These news clips covered an area

of 2.250,68 st*cm in newspapers and magazines. Additionally, more than 70 articles in local,

national and international media (followed by over 15.000 posts to online media) have further

supported project communication and dissemination.

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In Bulgaria:

One press-release on the Project Launch event, the project aims and activities has been

distributed within national and local media in Bulgaria. At least 10 publications were

published in on-line media. All news were published on BSPB’s official web site

(www.bspb.org).

One presentation of the project aims, activities and expected results was presented to

the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) of Bulgaria on 18th October 2012 in Sofia.

Ten representatives of MOEW have been participating, mainly from the “Natura 2000”

secretariat.

The same presentation was presented to the BSPB’s members and volunteers in the

regional office of BSPB in Varna. During the meeting, the opportunities for volunteering for

the project have been presented.

Between November 2012 and April 2014 the project aims, activities and ongoing

findings have been presented in more than 50 on-line publications, especially in local media

from Bourgas and Varna, as well as in national information agencies. These were results of

two press-releases: one about the start of the boat-based surveys, released on 23.01.2013, and

another about the first documented nesting of Shags on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea

coast, released on 16.03.2013.

Four articles about the project activities and success were prepared for the BSPB’s

magazines “Za pticite” and the English language magazine “Neophron”.

The Closing Event was presented with interviews for one television, 2 national radios

and one on-line media, as well as a press-release was published in one newspaper and at least

5 on-line media.

In reply to the invitation of the River Basin Directorate for the Black Sea Region

(BSBD) in Varna, on April 16th

and 17th

BSPB has presented the standardized ESAS

methodology, as well as the project activities, aims and results during a workshop with the

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), dedicated to the integrated

monitoring. The accent of the meeting was the European Marine Strategy and the need of

further planning, monitoring and reporting of the status of marine habitats, flora and fauna,

and designation of marine IBAs in Bulgarian Black Sea waters according to the prescriptions

of the EC. Consequently, this meeting has resulted in further collaboration with BSBD on the

elaboration of monitoring schemes for marine birds under the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive.

4.11 Action D.2: Organisation of Project Launch and closing event -DD and BSPB

Description: A project launch at a high profile venue has been organised on the 5th

of

July 2012, in İstanbul. During the launch, DD, along with the project partners, presented this

new project showing what actions and results are foreseen. The event was attended by Project

Partners, representatives from the Government and other invited decision makers,

representatives of other environmental NGOs and the University, as well as other local

stakeholders and members of the public. 49 participants attended representing government,

NGOs, media and interested individuals at the event. Attendees and others informed about

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Marine SPAs and the Natura 2000 network and the work planned to be undertaken through

this EU Funded project.

As the organizer of the meeting, Director General of Doğa Derneği, opened the

meeting, welcomed the participants and thanked all the attendees for their attention and

participation. He also thanked project partners and EU for their unsparing support and

cooperation for the project. Following the opening speech, Mr. Jose Tavares (Country

Programme Officer, RSPB) presented an overview of the current situation of Marine

Important Bird Areas and Seabirds in Europe. Ms. Valeria Abaza (Pollution Monitoring and

Assessment Officer, Black Sea Commission) presented the current situation with respect to

pollution in the Black Sea. She also informed the participants about actions agreed upon under

the Bucharest Convention to reduce nutrient pollution in the Black Sea. DD Conservation

Manager presented the framework for the project implementation, in-kind contributions by

the project partners, roles and responsibilities of major project stakeholders, the performance

indicators, administrative guidelines and project reporting system. Each Conservation

Manager of the partner organizations had 15 minutes to introduce their organizations

including their mission, priorities, specific working fields, methodologies, success stories and

their role in Black Sea Project. All participants expressed appreciation towards Doğa Derneği

for its excellent hospitality, meeting arrangements and professional expertise.

A Report of the successful Project Launch has been prepared after 15 days and

published on project website. Report includes list of attendees, the presentations made,

objectives and outcomes of the event.

Closing meeting was held in Burgas/Bulgaria on March 20 and 21, 2014 by BSPB in

collaboration with DD. The closing event consisted in 3 main parts: 1) technical meeting of

the project team 2) press-conference and 3) closing meeting for the wider audience. A field

trip to the project area and the newly discovered Shags colony around Sozopol was also

organized at the end of the Closing Event. The aim of the field trip was to present to the

participants of the meeting some key facts about the specifics and challenges of marine

conservation actions in Bulgaria. More than 30 persons participated it he Closing Events,

including representatives from local media, the Ministry of Environment and Water of

Bulgaria, the Institute of Oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, NGOs, the

project staff and volunteers. The Event was presented in the local and national media via on-

line newspapers, television and radio interviews.

4.12 Action D.3: Project dissemination through New Media

Description: People who are interested in the project has received updates on project

news. A Facebook page dedicated to the project (currently with 565 fans) has been created

and the press releases, events, videos, photos and news are being posted on a regular basis.

(https://www.facebook.com/BlackSeaSeabirdsProject). According to Facebook official

statistics, content of the project reaches around 3000 people, weekly.

Project and training videos have also been uploaded on YouTube for followers.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGKW6ysU8BA&feature=plcp)

Information about the project has been uploaded on BSPB’s official Facebook profile

and on the local profile of BSPB’s Office in Varna, as well as it was distributed within

BSPB’s members via e-mail and newsletter.

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The Facebook page and the YouTube channel, as well as the website, are also

referring people to the project Twitter website that posts updates on the project progress and

information about the birds. (https://twitter.com/Blackseaproject)

Figure 5 Black Sea Seabirds Project-Facebook Statistics

4.13 Action D.3: Production of Layman’s Report

A layman’s report outlining project objectives and achievements as well as the

methods and results of the research is prepared. The report is written and designed in a

manner and language that can be easily understood by anyone, from the public at large and

relevant organizations. The layman’s report is attached as a separate annex to this report

(Annex 10). It is printed in colour and distributed to project partners BSBP, SOR and HOS to

be shared with the officials working on Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

implementation in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Print copies of the technical report (Annex

11) is shared with the officials working on MSFD implementation in Turkey as well as the

Permanent Secretariat of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against

Pollution in Turkey, as attached to an official letter by DD outlining the significance of the

project. Electronic copies of the technical report and layman’s report are also shared with the

Permanent Secretariat and participants of the kick-off meeting of the project through e-mail.

Layman’s report is also shared with relevant NGOs in Turkey in print copies and through e-

mail.

5. REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Project has achieved its targets perfectly. The project has managed to bring “The Marine

Protected Areas Concept” to national agenda in Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. The project

team has involved the decision-makers, technical staff from governmentinstitutions,

academicians and NGO representatives and shared their findings with them. Scientific

publications such as Red Databook of Black Sea were prepared based on the data collected in

the project. The project findings had been disseminated to a wider audience by effective use

of press, internet press and other online media such as Facebook and twitter, reaching

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significant number of people improving the public awareness on the species through enhanced

media coverage.

The trainings received good attraction. The concepts introduced and practiced during

the trainings were pioneering approaches that were new to the local academia. European

Seabirds At Sea (ESAS) and coastal count methodologies were practiced widely in Black Sea

and these efforts initiated the very first ESAS Database, whose content was made available to

wider public. The future capacity to generate more data was developed and still in place.

DD, BSPB and SOR staff kept in touch with the local authorities by visiting them at their

offices during the survey trips. The project staff also informed the relevant ministries about

the progress of the work. Project team has also wanted to benefit from the MISIS Project

findings. SOR had a meeting with MISIS and National Institute for Marine Research and

Development “Grigore Antipa “Constanta (www.rmri.ro) at the beginning of the project,

where they evaluated potential collaboration and data exchange.

The implementation of the project in Bulgaria aroused the attention of two main

national institutions – the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) and the River Basin

Directorate for the Black Sea Region (BSBD), which is also coordinated by the MOEW.

In the beginning of the project, upon an invitation from the “Natura 2000” secretariat

of MOEW, a presentation about the project aims, activities and expected results was presented

on 18th

October 2012 in Sofia by the BSPB’s Project Administrator. The project aim to define

preliminary marine IBAs along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast provoked a brainstorming

discussion and BSPB was requested to regularly inform the Ministry about the project results.

In April 2014, as part of a continuous collaboration, BSPB supported the process of

actualization of Natura 2000 Standard Data Forms, implemented by the MOEW, analyzing

and resuming the data on marine bird species (especially the two target species) and their

habitats within the SPAs, gathered during the project.

In early 2014, a process of collaboration between BSPB and the River Basin

Directorate for the Black Sea Region (BSBD) has initiated. The focus of this collaboration

was the actual discussion on the European Marine Policy on national level. On April 16th

and

17th

2014, in reply to the invitation of the BSBD in Varna, BSPB has presented the

standardized ESAS methodology, as well as the project activities, aims and results during a

workshop with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), dedicated to

the integrated monitoring. The accent of the meeting was the European Marine Strategy

Framework Directive and the need of further planning, monitoring and reporting of the status

of marine habitats, flora and fauna, and designation of marine IBAs in Bulgarian Black Sea

waters according to the prescriptions of the EC. Consequently, this meeting has resulted in

further communication between BSPB and BSBD on the elaboration of monitoring schemes

for marine birds under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. During series of meetings,

it was agreed that the adapted standardized methodology and the data generated during the

project will be made available upon request to national and international administrations, as

well as that BSPB will collaborate with other research institutions as the Institute of

Oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Science for the forthcoming implementation of the

seabirds monitoring schemes. Ideas on common projects were discussed. The further

collaboration with MOEW on the future designation of marine IBAs continues.

There were also outstanding ornithological contributions of the project in Bulgaria.

These are:

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- The confirmation of new and second for Bulgaria breeding colony of Shags - on

the southern coast, as before these studies the only breeding Shags in Bulgaria

were known from the area of Cape Kaliakra in the north.

- The definition of the number of the breeding pairs of the Shag colony close to

Cape Kaliakra: 26 pairs.

- The registration of regular almost year-round presence of feeding and migrating

Shearwaters along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and identification of certain

“feeding” areas.

- The collection of interesting facts about the seasonal movements of the Shags.

The breeding inventory of Mediterranean Shag was the very first complete inventory

to cover the whole shoreline of the Southern Black Sea Coast. The figures collected in the

project was also used in the European Red list of Birds, Birds in Europe 3, which will be the

official Red list of EU member states.

DD and project partners worked very closely with their national administrations and

BSC. Local Directorate of Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs in Sinop-Turkey took part

in the Actions B1-B2 and B3 of the project. The Local Directorate had put a fieldwork

assistant in charge for ESAS Surveys and colony surveys. DD has also contributed to the Red

data book of Black Sea, which is a publication prepared for BSC, based on the seabirds data

that is collected through project activities. Raw data set generated by surveys are available

upon request to national and international administrations, NGOs and academicians. Doğa

Derneği attended workshops and poster sections on the 2012 MEDPAN Forum which was

held from 25 to 28 November in Antalya, Turkey and organized with the collaboration of

"The network of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MedPAN) and its partners, the

General Directorate of Natural Assets Protection (Turkey) and the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP). A poster about The Black Sea Project has been presented.

The majority of the Marine IBAs are identified on Turkish coasts. Official letters

pointing out to the significance of the sites, along with Technical Report produced within the

project are sent to relevant government institutions in Turkey responsible for the

implementation of Marine Strategy Framework Directive, as well as the Permanent

Secretariat of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution in Turkey.

DD will continue to work with local partnerships (particularly Şile and Perşembe

Municipalities) established through the project period as well as with national administration

in order to prevent the potential harm of the local tourism developments to the habitats for

seabirds.

Although the ferry and network was limited in Black Sea and the methodology itself

required discipline, the teams had managed to conduct 37 survey trips with the volunteers.

During ESAS surveys the teams had covered a distance accounting 2,428 km in total. The

dataset collected was used to generate the very first distribution model for Yelkovan

Shearwater. These models are key tools to delineate international offshore protected areas in

Black Sea under the Scope of Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The Romanian partner,

SOR has incorporated the inventory data in to the official management plan of the marine

SPAs. Since all member states are obligated to protect the Annex I species of the Birds

directive the recently discovered Mediterranean Shag Breeding site in Burgas, Bulgaria will

have to be revised based on the Marine IBA methodology.

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In Romania through the project the main areas used by the Yelkouan Shearwaters and

the period when the species is more likely to appear in Romanian waters have been identified.

However due to the large surface of ROSPA Marea Neagra (ROSPA0076) the monitoring of

the species has to continue in the next period in order to reveal that the areas identified

through the project are a regular stop over and feeding areas for the species and to identify

new potential important areas for the species. These types of data are very important for the

development of the management plan of ROSPA0076 “Marea Neagra” as well the potential

threats for the species (petroleum drilling). SOR is intending to participate actively in the

development of the management plan of the site facilitating the access of the custodian of the

site to the data obtained through the project and participating in the public debates for the

development of the SPA management plan. SOR is actively involved in the communication

with the Ministry of Environment for preparing the management plan for the Marine SPA

with the methods derived/adopted from the capacity building component of the project. In the

same time SOR is working to secure funding for the continuation of the monitoring of the

species in the site.

SOR and the National Institute for Marine Research and Development agreed to sign

memorandum for collaboration, based on common monitoring efforts and data exchange. The

basic future actions that were foreseen are: the Institute can offer SOR’s experts on their

research ship for survey the seabird distribution during their expeditions. SOR can offer the

Institute with seabirds data and expertise of different projects and actions.

The comprehensive threat assessments conducted also revealed the need for some

rapid responses such as the future campaign of the Romanian Partner against the offshore oil-

drillings. The future actions resulting from the project findings are all in line with the

Bucharest convention and the datasets will definitely contribute to future integrated coastal

management initiatives as stated in Black Sea Strategic action plan.

DD and project partners SOR, DD, HOS, BSPB conducted a small workshop prior to

the project meeting on 30th

of March 2014 to evaluate project results. All the partners were

satisfied with the achievements of the project, although the scope of the project was

significantly shorter than the other IBA projects, that were funded under the framework of

LIFE already concluded in Portugal, Greece and Malta yet the achievements were remarkable

with limited amount of resources. The participants pointed out the further data collection on

Yelkouan shearwater movements as a priority.

DD, BSBP and SOR are considering future follow-up projects in various possible

schemes of cooperation. DD, BSBP, SOR are considering to unite under the scope of BirdLife

partnership to design a project for whole Black Sea involving the missing partners such as

GSCW from Georgia in order to expand the coverage. BSBP and SOR are considering

seeking an opportunity to formulate a joint project from Norwegian Donors. For BSBP and

DD, there is an opportunity to receive funding from Bulgaria- Turkey Cross- Border

program.

Until new funding is available for wider multi-partner follow-up projects, DD will

continue data collection on Yelkouan shearwater movements as a basis for preparation of the

inventory of Marine IBAs through its newly initiated Marine Program, building on the

experience of this project. In the meantime, the data and the results of the surveys as well as

the outputs of the project are available for the wider public, academics and relevant national

and local administrations in Turkey and in partner countries. DD will also continue lobbying

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27

and advocacy targeting local and national administrations for the further dissemination of

project results in order to influence policies and programs relevant to conservation of these

habitats in the Black Sea in cooperation with project partners.

6. ANNEXES

Annex 1: Photo and Picture Gallery of Project Implementation

Figure 6 Kick Off Meeting, July 2012 © DD-TR

Figure 7 Technical Meeting , July, 2012 © DD-TR

Figure 8 Theoretical Training, June 2012 © DD-TR

Figure 9 Boat based Training, June 2012 © DD-TR

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Figure 10 Esas Survey, February 2013 © BSPB-BG

Figure 11 Yelkouan Shearwaters , February, 2013 © DD-TR

Figure 12 Common Dolphins, February 2013 © /DD-TR

Figure 13 Coastal Counts, March 2013 © DD-TR

Figure 14 ESAS Survey, April 2013 © DD-TR

Figure 15 Coastal Counts, February 2013 © SOR-RO

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Figure 16 Coastal Counts, February 2013 © SOR-RO

Figure 17 Colony Survey, January 2013 © /BSPB-BG

Figure 18 ESAS Survey, January 2013 © /BSPB-BG

Figure 19Field Trip, March 2014 © /BSPB-BG

Figure 20Training- Marine IBA Identification

Figure 21Closing Event, March 2014 © BSPB-BG

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Annex 2: Kick Off Meeting Programme

MEETING PROGRAMME

PRESS CONFERENCE

Audience: Journalists

10:00- 11:30 Press Conference

10:00-10:30 Refreshments

10:30-11:30 Press release

Audience: Project Team Members

08:30- 12:00 Technical Meeting

08:30-12:00 Technical Meeting for project team

12:00-13:00 Lunch at the Hotel (Elite world Hotel)

KICK OFF MEETING

Audience: Decision makers, NGO representatives, Government officials, Academicians

and project volunteers

12:30-13:00 Registration

13:00-13:40 Opening Remarks

13:00-13:15 Engin Yılmaz – Director General, Doğa Derneği

13:15-13:30 Cem Kıraç- Ministry Of Transport, Maritime Affairs And Communications

13:30-14:30 Presentations -Marine IBA’s, Conservation and Black Sea

13:30-13:50 Jose Tavares-RSPB-Marine important Bird Areas A global and European perspective

13:50-14:10 Valeria Abaza- Black Sea Commission- Actions agreed upon under the Bucharest

Convention

14:10-14:30 Süreyya İsfendiyaroğlu- Doğa Derneği- Black Sea Seabirds Project Presentation

14:30:15:00 Coffee Break

15:00-16:00 Partner Presentations

15:00-15:15 Stoycho Stoychev-Conservation Manager, BSPB

15:15-15:30 Ciprian Fantana -Conservation Manager, SOR

15:30-15:45 Thanos Kastritis- Conservation Manager, HOS

15:45-16:00 Süreyya İsfendiyaroğlu- Conservation Manager, Doğa Derneği

17:00-19:30 Cocktail on a boat ( from Kabataş)

(Shuttle from hotel to boat)

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Annex 3: Kick Off Meeting – List of Participants

BLACK SEA SEABIRDS PROJECT KICK OFF MEETING

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Project reference No: No.07.020400/2012/617393/SUB/D2

Meeting Venue and Date: İstanbul/Elite World Hotel 05/07/2012

No Name Organisation E-mail address Telephone

1. Stoycho Stoychev BSPB +359 888 601 801

2. Anna Staneva BSPB

3. Minko Madzharov BSPB + 359 889660571

4. Neli Mutafova Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria

+359 887 229 560

5. Ciprian Fantana SOR [email protected] 031 425 56 57

6. Sebastian Bugariu SOR [email protected] 031 425 56 57

7. Alida Barbu SOR [email protected] 0040 756 727 274

8. Matis Attila SOR [email protected] 031 425 56 57

9. Lavinia Raducescu SOR [email protected] 0040 722 74 64 76

10. Thanos Kastiris HOS [email protected]

11. Jacob Fric HOS [email protected]

12. Duygu Tuna Min. of For.and Water Affairs [email protected] 5305467857

13. Veli Mutotova Min. of Envir. and Urbanism 5467834524

14. Ahmet Taşar Yıldız Min. of For.and Water Affairs 5556799056

15. Jose Tavares RSPB

16. Engin Yılmaz Doğa Derneği [email protected]

17. Evrim Tabur Doğa Derneği [email protected]

18. Süreyya İsfendiyaroğlu Doğa Derneği [email protected]

19. Hayri Dağlı Doğa Derneği [email protected]

20. Yeşim Erbaşol Doğa Derneği [email protected]

21. Yücel Sönmez Doğa Derneği [email protected]

22. Seçil Sönmez Translation Services [email protected]

23. Dilek Şahin İKGT [email protected] 0538 645 98 67

24. Tansu Tuncalı İKGT [email protected] 0505 700 34 11

25. Akdoğan Özkan İKGT [email protected] 0532 673 24 44

26. Onur Başkurt Karaman Üniversitesi [email protected] 0539 621 94 92

27. Şebnem Samsa Çanakkale Üniversity [email protected] 0530 8758511

28. Hamdi Kılıç On Dokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi [email protected] 0506 298 11 62

29. Yiğit Sayın On Dokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi [email protected] 0546 782 75 67

30. Merve Önal Zonguldak University [email protected] 0537 423 68 78

31. Sezgin Bozkaya Zonguldak University

32. Tayyibe Ünver WWF Turkey [email protected] 5334118397

33. Fatoş Çırnaz Turkish Green Party [email protected] 5363970646

34. Seda Takmaz İstanbul University [email protected] 5364220506

35. Zeynep Şebnem METU [email protected]

36. Gonca Kuru Maltepe University [email protected] 5362740755

37 Yeliz Yımaz Istanbul Technical University [email protected] 5063466306

38. Nuray Gündoğdu Faruk Yalçın Zoo [email protected] 5553119411

39. Yücel Yılmaz Faruk Yalçın Zoo

40. Serap Santur Faruk Yalçın Zoo

41. Ekin Göktaş Faruk Yalçın Zoo

42 Koen Brouwer Faruk Yalçın Zoo

43. Canan Atay İKGT [email protected] 5323318811

44. Şebnem Samsa İKGT [email protected] 5308758511

45 Öznur Halilcikoğlu İstanbul University [email protected] 5446878795

46 Elif Eda Kandemir Dokuz Eylül University [email protected] 5308842851

47 Ezgi Nuibert İTU [email protected] 5467586984

48 Ümit İlban TRT [email protected] 5307772277

49 Özcan Yüksek Atlas Publishing [email protected]

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Annex 4: Kick Off Meeting Press Release

Press Release 04.07.2012

This Document is translated by Emre Özsahin:

4 countries following shearwater

Istanbul’s shearwater, great inspiration for poems as a bird, brought four countries together, due to its

fast diminishing population. Civil Society Organizations, that are Birdlife partners from European Union

member countries such as Greece, Bulgaria and Romania and also Nature Society from Turkey have come

together for a project called “Preparing a Stock for Essential Living Environments for Birds in Southern

Black Sea Region”.

Southern Black Sea coasts, the region where the project is focused on, hosts shearwater (Puffinus

yelkouan) and European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii) populations that are congregating in

these areas. Recently, the extinction status of shearwater breed is updated to be “Vulnerable”.

These birds are also located in countries such as Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. However for the

first time, these species in marine realms are going to be searched for identification of Marine SPA’s in

Southern Black Sea Coats according to Key Biodiversity Areas (ODA) and Important Bird Area (OKA)

identification methodology. This project will also allow researchers, academicians and volunteers from

Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey to enhance their knowledge and experience in bird research and

identification of priority sites.

Nature Conservation NGO’s from four different countries will hold the most extensive research in bird

conservation in Southern Black Sea Shore Region. The project, which is supported by the European Union

due to its outstanding importance, will explore the breeding, rafting and feeding areas of marine birds and

map those territories.The Conservation director of Bulgaria Society for Protection of Birds, Stoycho

Stoychev, expressed his opinions about this project “This project with multinational participation, will

improve the regional cooperation and indentify the marine IBA’s in Bulgaria and Romania. According to our

national legislations this sites will be proposed as Special Protected Areas, SPA’s.”

The director general of the Doga Dernegi, Engin Yilmaz, pointed out that “The global collapse of fish

populations throughout the world influenced the population trends of other species as well as sea birds

negatively. For this reason, identification and conservation of Key Biodiversity Areas and Important Bird

Areas play a vital role. There’re coastal or marine protected areas in Turkish part of Black sea and the

legislations, that should provide a basis to the mechanism should be improved. This circumstance reveals

the importance of this project in terms of conserving the marine ecosystems for endangered species. As

Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, we have to first improve our knowledge on endangered species,

then determine possible threats and solve them. I hope that this great unity will accomplish this goal.

However, primarily as people of Istanbul, the more essential thing is to preserve and support marine

ecosystems, which is the habitat for species like yelkouan shearwater and European shag. Otherwise, we

will remember yelkouan shearwaters only from nostalgic poems as an extinct bird species.”

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Annex 5: Kick Off Meeting Press clippings

Press Clipping 1 Hürriyet - 12.08.2012

Press Clipping 2 Eko IQ - 01.08.2012

Press Clipping 3 Vatan - 06.07.2012

Press Clipping 4 Evrensel - 27.06.2012

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Press Clipping 5 Taraf - 07.07.2012

Press Clipping 6 Cumhuriyet - 06.07.2012

Press Clipping 7 Belde Gazetesi - 28.06.2012

Press Clipping 8 Yeni Şafak Cumartesi - 14.07.2012

Press Clipping 9 Hürriyet - 12.08.2012

Press Clipping 10 Yeni Mesaj - 27.06.2012

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Annex 6: The Black Sea Seabirds Project On Internet Media

Media: Date: The name of network: Title and the link of the news:

İNTERNET 12.02.2013 KERASUSHABER.NET Doğa Doğa Derneği, Karadeniz Deniz Kuşlarının Peşinde

İNTERNET 12.02.2013 GAZETEARENA.COM Doğa Doğa Derneği, Karadeniz Deniz Kuşlarının Peşinde

İNTERNET 12.02.2013 SONDAKİKA.COM Karadeniz Deniz Kuşları Projesi

İNTERNET 12.02.2013 VİRAHABER.COM ‘Karadeniz Deniz Kuşları’

İNTERNET 12.02.2013 BEYAZGAZETE.COM

Doğa Derneği'nce Başlatılan Proje Kapsamında Tepeli

Karabatak ve Yelkovan Kuşlarının Yaşam Alanlarının Bilimsel

Olarak Haritalandırılması ve Korunmaya Alınmaları

Hedefleniyor

İNTERNET 13.02.2013 İLKHABERGAZETE.COM Kuşlar Korunuyor

İNTERNET 13.02.2013 TURKSESİGAZETESİ.COM KARADENİZ’E DENİZ KUŞLARI PROJESİ

İNTERNET 13.02.2013 KAPTANHABER.COM KARADENİZ DENİZ KUŞLARI HARİTALANDIRILIYOR

İNTERNET 13.02.2013 HABEROFİS.COM

Doğa Derneği'nce Başlatılan Proje Kapsamında Tepeli

Karabatak ve Yelkovan Kuşlarının Yaşam Alanlarının Bilimsel

Olarak Haritalandırılması ve Korunmaya Alınmaları

Hedefleniyor

İNTERNET 14.02.2013 DENİZHABER.COM.TR Karadeniz Deniz Kuşları Projesi başlıyor

İNTERNET 14.02.2013 BYEGM.COM.TR KARADENİZ’E ‘DENİZ KUŞLARI PROJESİ’

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 DHA.COM.TR Deniz kuşları sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 HABERFX.NET KARADENİZ'DEKİ DENİZ KUŞLARI SAYILIYOR

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 HABER3.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 AKTİFHABER.COM KARADENİZ'DEKİ DENİZ KUŞLARI SAYILIYOR

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 HABERLER.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 TELEHABER.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 SONTİRAJ.COM Karadeniz’deki kılavuz kuşlar tek tek sayılacak

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 AKDENİZGAZETE.COM Karadeniz'in kuşları sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 2HABER.COM Karadeniz’deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013

YEŞİLMAVİKARADENİZGAZETE

Sİ.COM Karadeniz’deki Deniz Kuşları Bilimsel Metotlarla Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 DAHAİYİYAŞAM.COM Sayılacak Kadar Tükendiler!

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 HABERTAKİP.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013

HABERİNYERİİ.BLOGSPOT.CO

M Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 BURSADABUGÜN.COM Deniz kuşları koruma altında

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 DÜZCEHABER.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 16.02.2013 YENİ.HABERLER.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 17.02.2013 HABERHİLAL.COM Karadeniz'deki deniz kuşları sayılıyor!

İNTERNET 17.02.2013 BULTURK.ORG Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 18.02.2013 AYDİNDERE.COM Doğa Derneği,Karadeniz Deniz Kuşlarının Peşinde

İNTERNET 18.02.2013 RİZENABIZ.COM UÇUN KUŞLAR UÇUN DOĞDUĞUNUZ YERE

İNTERNET 19.02.2013 GEZGİNDERGİ.COM Doğa Derneği,Karadeniz Deniz Kuşlarının Peşinde

İNTERNET 19.02.2013 HOPAM.COM Doğa Derneği,Karadeniz Deniz Kuşlarının Peşinde

İNTERNET 19.02.2013 GUNDEM.COM Deniz kuşlarının sayımına başlandı

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 ZAMAN.COM.TR Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 YURTGUNDEMİ.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 BASINOZETİ.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 NEFIUS.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 GAZETEDENOKU.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 MANSETTENHABER Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET LİMİTSİZENERJİ.COM

Doğa Derneği Karadeniz’deki Deniz Kuşları Hakkındaki En

Kapsamlı Çalışmayı Yürütüyor

İNTERNET BUGÜN.COM.TR Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

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İNTERNET F5HABER.COM Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET KONYAHABERLERİ.CO Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET SAKARYAPOSTASI.CO Karadeniz'deki Deniz Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 23.02.2013 TRAKUS.ORG Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET 22.02.2013 NTVMSNBC.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET 22.02.2013 DUZPORT.COM Karadeniz’deki deniz kuşları sayılıyor!

İNTERNET 26.02.2013 BİTKİBLOG.COM Haritasız Yol Bulan Deniz Kuşları

İNTERNET 22.02.2013 BİYOLOJİSİTESİ.NET Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET BARIŞGAZETESİ.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 GAZETEA24.COM Karadeniz'in kuşları sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 HABERCİNİZ.BİZ Karadeniz'in Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 HABERLER.COM Karadeniz'in Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 SİFALİSAGLİK.NET Haritasız Yol Bulan Deniz Kuşları

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 HABERCUK.COM KARADENİZ'İN DENİZ KUŞLARI GÖZLEM ALTINA ALINDI

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 VİRAHABER.COM "Karadeniz Deniz Kuşları" Trabzon'da

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 SONDAKİKA.COM Karadeniz'in Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 MYNET.COM Karadeniz'in Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 SONDAKİKA.COM Karadeniz'in Kuşları Sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 TAKVİM.COM.TR Kuşbakışı Karadeniz

İNTERNET 28.02.2013 TRTTURK.COM.TR Karadeniz'in kuşları sayılıyor

İNTERNET SUALTIGAZETESİ.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET CREWLAND.NET Deniz Kuşlarının Haritası Çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 10MARTHABER.COM Karadeniz'in kuşları sayılıyor

İNTERNET 27.02.2013 61HABER.COM KARADENİZ'İN KUŞLARI SAYILIYOR

İNTERNET 06.03.2013 DAGMEDYA.NET Doğa Derneği Karadeniz’de deniz kuşları çalışmaları yürütüyor

İNTERNET 05.03.2013 KARADENİZGAZETE.COM.TR BİR GARİP KUŞ SAYIMI!..

İNTERNET 07.03.2013 NAVİGAMAGAZİN.CO Teknenizde araştırmacılara yer verir misiniz?

İNTERNET 03.03.2013 GUNCEL-HABER

Doğa Derneği, Karadeniz'deki deniz kuşlarının haritasını

çıkarıyor

İNTERNET 06.03.2013 TRT.NET.TR Hafta Ortası

İNTERNET 03.03.2013 KKYD.ORG.TR Deniz kuşlarının haritası

İNTERNET 08.03.2013 GELBALDER.ORG Teknenizde araştırmacılara yer verir misiniz?

İNTERNET 08.03.2013 NAVİGAMAGAZİN.CO Teknenizde araştırmacılara yer verir misiniz?

İNTERNET 21.02.2013 HABERGEC.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

İNTERNET 21.03.2013 YENİSAFAK.MOBİ Onca sorun varken 'kuş saymak' da neymiş?

İNTERNET 13.04.2013 YENİSAFAK.COM.TR Yelkovanlar alıp başını gitmesin diye sayıyorlar

İNTERNET 29.03.2013 YOUTUBE.COM Doğa Derneği Karadeniz Deniz Kuşları Projesi

İNTERNET 11.03.2013 RSFMRADIO.COM Deniz kuşlarının haritası çıkarılıyor

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Annex 7: Training on Standard boat-based and Land-based Survey Methods Agenda

TRAINING AGENDA

(July 6-7, 2012) İstanbul/ Pera Museum

Audience: NGO representatives, Government officials, Academicians and project volunteers

1st Day (06/07/2012)

09:00-12:00 European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) method for recording seabirds at sea + ESAS data entry (theoretical training) (Pera Museum-Oditorium)

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-19:00 Field training on coastal counts and visiting the shag colony (Riva- İstanbul)

2nd Day(7/07/2012)

9:00-12:00 Field training on boat counts

12:30-13:30 Lunch

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Annex 8: Project Poster designed for MED MPA Forum 2012

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Annex 9: GIS Methods and Data Management Training Report

GIS METHODS AND DATA MANAGEMENT TRAINING

TRAINING REPORT

3rd and 4th of November 2012 at Fatih University, İstanbul, Turkey

Trainers:

Jakob Fric

Aris Manolopoulos

Overview of the Project: The Project « Preparing the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird Areas along the southern Black Sea Coast » is implemented by Doğa Derneği in collaboration with the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR), in the Southern Black Sea during the period 16/04/2012 to 16/04/2014 with a total duration of 24 months. The Black Sea Seabirds Project aims to create the basis for an inventory of Marine Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for two seabird species; Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) and European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii). The Black Sea project also aims to train staff and volunteers from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey on seabird research and conservation methods.

Objective of the Training: Mapping species can be used as a practical management tool as well as for interpretation and promoting public understanding of nature conservation.

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The training programme is designed to deliver a new and unique training package to participants (prospective and existing) enabling to use ArcGIS software to map, record and manage seabirds data. HOS data management and GIS experts have provided a theoretical and practical training in GIS, statistical and GIS data analysis and spatial management of collected seabirds that will assist in setting up database and GIS tools for effective data management. A specially designed European Seabirds at the Sea (ESAS) database which was developed by the HOS in the framework of afore mentioned project “Survey and Conservation of Seabirds in Greece” and “Concrete conservation actions for the Mediterranean Shag and Audouin’s Gull in Greece, including the inventory of relevant marine IBAs” was translated into English and adapted to the need of the current project. The training workshop was attended by 24 participants of the project staff, academicians and volunteers from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Additionally, data managers from each project partner were provided additional training in setting up and operation of the database. The action has achieved all the foreseen objectives, namely the preparation and operation of data management tools (protocols, database), preparation and implementation of GIS and data management training. No difficulties have been encountered during the implementation of the action. The implementation of the training has been delayed in regard to the initially foreseen implementation period in order to allow for the first survey data to be collected in the Black Sea

Conclusion (Learning/Feedback) The training was fruitful as the participants interacted and participated enthusiastically in knowledge & experience sharing. They appreciated all the theoretical information shared with them and were especially eager about the practical sessions that they felt brought clarity to the concepts that had been introduced in the course of this training. They admitted that these two days helped in boosting their confidence to use GIS Methods and to manage data in an effective manner.

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Photos:

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GIS METHODS AND DATA MANAGEMENT TRAINING

AGENDA

(November 4-5, 2012) İstanbul/ Fatih University

Audience: Project Partners, NGO representatives, Academicians and

volunteers

1st Day (04/11/2012)

09:00-12:00 Introduction to GIS and GIS for seabirds

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-18:00 Managing and handling of observation datasets

2nd Day(5/11/2012)

9:00-12:00 General concepts of ESAS data analysis

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-18:00 Interaction of geographic datasets and GIS with ms access databases

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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

N. NAME ORGANISATION E-MAIL ADDRESS COUNTRY

1 Cem Dalyan İstanbul Uni. [email protected] İstanbul*

2 Nilüfer Araç WWF [email protected] İstanbul*

3 Ozan Arif Kesik Fatih University [email protected] İstanbul*

4 Süreyya

İsfendiyaroğlu

Doğa Derneği sü[email protected] İstanbul

5 Derya Demiroğlu [email protected] Samsun*

6 Dilek Şahin İKGT [email protected] İstanbul*

7 Evrim Tabur Doğa Derneği [email protected] İstanbul*

8 Azize Atar Bilim University [email protected] İstanbul*

9 Ferdi Akarsu Doğa Derneği [email protected] Antalya*

10 Hakan Tabak [email protected] İstanbul*

11 Melek Erdal İTU [email protected] İstanbul*

12 Tuğçe

Küçükkurtoğlu

İTÜ [email protected] İstanbul*

13 Seda Yazgan Lets do it Turkey [email protected] İstanbul*

14 Serhat Ertuğrul İstanbul University [email protected] Ankara*

15 Hamdi Kiliç 19 Mayis University [email protected] Samsun

16 Aylin Akkaya İstanbul University [email protected] İstanbul

17 Elif Esen İTU [email protected] İstanbul

18 Emil Todorov SOR [email protected] Romania

19 Cristian Domsa SOR [email protected] Romania

20 Vladimir

Mladenov

BSBP [email protected] Bulgaria

21 Minko

Madzharov

BSPB [email protected] Bulgaria

22 Anna Stenava BSPB [email protected] Bulgaria

23 Emil Todorov SOR [email protected] Romania

24 Thanos Kastiris HOS [email protected] Greece

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Annex 10: Layman’s Report

Separately attached.

Annex 11: Technical Report

Separately attached.