This large-scale study will allow us to assess the results of natural reproduction this year of key commercial species - anchovy and sprat, which play an important role in the fisheries of the Rostov Region, Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, and the regions of the Northern Azov region.
For 16 days, a team of scientists will collect materials for research in the field of ichthyology, hydrobiology, hydrochemistry, and hydrology. The lampara, a type of purse seine, will be used as a fishing gear.
The comprehensive monitoring will cover the entire water area of the Sea of Azov and the Taganrog Bay. At this stage, the researchers will have to establish how favorable the habitat is for the growth and development of larvae and fry of common plankton-eating fish (anchovy, sprat), young herring that has migrated to the sea, and other aquatic bioresources, and assess their food supply.
For this purpose, hydrological and hydrochemical studies of the habitat will be conducted during the expedition: water temperature, salinity, waves, color, transparency, speed and direction of the current, oxygen regime, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, primary production, suspended matter. To determine the state of the food supply, samples of phyto- and zooplankton will be taken.
At the same time, the branch staff will assess the distribution and biomass of gelatinous organisms (jellyfish, comb jellies), which are the main food competitors of the larvae and early fry of anchovy and sprat.
Thanks to the conducted research, more objective and complete data will be obtained on the habitat of aquatic hydrobionts and the current state of the ecosystem, and the forecast for the stock of pelagic plankton-eating fish in the Sea of Azov for the next 1-2 years will be refined.
Press service of VNIRO