On July 10, departed the research vessel “Professor Vodyanitsky” of the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas named after Kovalevsky of Russian Academy of Science. The expedition includes researchers from the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO (AzNIIRH) - hydrobiologist Dmitry Khrenkin and ichthyologist Alexei Efanov.
During the voyage, which will last 26 days, the staff of the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO will carry out an extensive research program in the Black and Azov seas. Their tasks include the collection of hydrobiological material, in particular, gelatinous organisms to assess their impact on the state of the food supply of plankton-eating commercial fish; ichthyoplankton.
Also an important task of the expedition for the representatives of the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO is monitoring clusters of the Black Sea sprat with the help of fish searching equipment in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation outside the traditional fishing areas, which will significantly expand the geography of research and specify the state of the Black Sea sprat stocks.
In addition, water samples will be taken and recorded for hydrochemical analysis and determination of pollutants.
“The main goal of the expedition at Professor Vodyanitsky is to obtain additional scientific material substantiating the accuracy of our forecasts of the state of stocks of commercial fish in the Azov-Black Sea basin,” said Valery Luznyak, head of the Directorate of Commercial Research of the Azov-Black Sea Branch of VNIRO.
The expedition is the next step in the development of cooperation between fisheries and academic science in the Azov-Black Sea fishery basin. The first of the three scheduled joint research cruises on the “Professor Vodyanitsky” took place in April-May of this year. A researcher from the laboratory of the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO Dmitry Burlachko participated in it. During the expedition, the hydrochemical regime of the deep-water and coastal areas of the Black Sea was studied, and samples were taken for studies of pollution of the water column and bottom sediments. The obtained materials supplemented the database on the state of habitat of aquatic bioresources in the Black and Azov seas.
Press Service of the Azov-Black Sea Branch VNIRO ("AzNIIRH")
