Ecogeographical assessment of the possible impact of mariculture on coastal waters in the Eastern Black Sea

Trends in mariculture development in Russia are studied. Global experience in controlling the after-effects of fish farm operation for the marine environment are analyzed. Statistical procesing of the data of field oceanographic surveys, carried out in 1957–1989 in a one-mile coastal zone in the Eastern Black Sea, was implemented. Results of studying natural factors determining the input of organic pollutants and the rate of their biogeochemical transformation, as well as the conditions of sediment accumulation and water aeration in the Russian part of the Black Sea coast were systematized. It was found that powerful natural self-purification mechanisms of aquatic environment act along the North Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. The conclusion on almost complete environmental safety of a marine underwater fish farm, which is under construction in the Sochi Region (Khosta Settl.) was made. Attention is attracted to the need to take into account the high hydrodynamic activity in the investigated region in the process of fixing keepnets on anchors while anchoring the fish farm.