Long-Term Changes in Winter SST, Wind Stress and Anchovy Fishery in Relation to Climatic Indices along the South-Eastern Black Sea

A 47-year time series of winter Sea Surface Temperature (SST), wind stress and anchovy landing data from 1970 to 2016 was examined to assess long-term changes in these variables along the south-eastern coasts of the Black Sea in relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), East Atlantic West Russia (EAWR) and Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation (AMO) indices. An increase in winter SST at a rate of 0.02°C (r = 0.60; p<0.001) was observed over the period. Cumulative sums of the SST anomalies showed that there was a decrease in winter SST from 1985 to 1999, followed by an increase in SST from 2000 to 2014. Wind stress decreased throughout the time series, and it was inversely correlated with winter SST. Significant correlations detected between winter SST, wind stress, anchovy landings and winter values of the climate indices suggested that climate change is causing a decline in anchovy along the south-eastern coasts of the Black Sea.