If you are wondering where the saltiest sea water can be found on the Romanian seashore, marine biologists seem to know the answer. They also say that a healthier marine ecosystem can be found where the salt concentration is higher. The Romanian Black Sea is twice sweeter than the Mediterranean, so one can hardly spot clear, turquoise water in here, precisely due to its poor salinity.
However, the very salty location in the Black Sea is at Vama Veche resort, the southernmost place of the Romanian sea shore, near the border with Bulgaria.
Marine biologists say that the salinity level of the country is depending on the distance to the Danube’s river mouths.
“It’s natural that, as we go from Chilia to the south, to the border with Bulgaria, the salinity should rise,” Simion Nicolaev, director of the National Institute of Marine Research told Digi 24. He also says that for the same reason, the number of marine species in the Black Sea is no more than 3,600, while the Mediterranean is hosting more than 7,000.
Thus, in Vama Veche area, the salinity mounts to about 20 grams per liter. However, the percentage is much lower than in other seas or oceans. For instance, the average salinity of the Mediterranean is 35 per thousand.
For the salinity is high in the Vama Veche area, the ecosystem is more numerous here.
Specialists say that Vama Veche-2 mai area is the richest one on marine species on the entire Romanian Black Sea coastline. It’s also the only place here when one can track down seahorses.
Vama Veche, the most nonconformist resort of the Romanian seashore
Ever since communism, Vama Veche had the reputation of a non-mainstream travel destination. During the communist era, concern for border patrol sight lines spared Vama Veche the development that occurred in other Romanian Black Sea resorts. It became a hangout for intellectuals; for reasons that are not exactly clear, the generally repressive regime of the communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu chose to tolerate this countercultural oasis, as long as people had their identity papers with them.
Accommodations mostlu consisted of tents or rooms rented from peasants or fishermen. While camping is theoretically banned, to this day, many visitors or semi-permanent residents still stay in tents on the beach.
Famous for its nude beach, since the late 1990s Vama Veche has experienced development and gentrification, which has led to a “Save Vama Veche” campaign that is lobbying for the area’s environmental conservation and a halt to development and mass tourism. Nudism is still common on the beach nowadays, especially on the Northern part where the beach ends and the area is less crowded.