**2.1 Sampling areas 2.1.1 Western Black Sea**

The Black Sea covers an area that is about one third of the area of continental Europe. The Istanbul Strait connects the Black Sea to the world's oceans. The second largest river of Europe (Danube), also large rivers such as Dnieper, Don and Dniester all flow to the Black Sea. The salinity of the Black Sea is considerably lower (about 22-26 psu) than the Mediterranean. The population in Sile, western Black Sea, the sampling area, rises to 200,000 during the months of July and August due to recreational activities, compared with 50,000 during the other months. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the increasing anthropological activity on the bacteriological pollution of the seawater and *C. gallina* samples.
