From June 3 to 14, these two vessels carried out the initial stage of a trawl survey to count pre-anatomical pink salmon in the Sea of Okhotsk basin. Three transects were made, located parallel to the Kuril Islands ridge within the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation. The intermediate data obtained from the three transects in the northwestern Pacific Ocean are average compared to the figures from previous years. The operational estimates are preliminary and will be updated as further research is carried out.
In the coastal area of the Bering Sea, the research vessel Professor Kaganovsky made the first cut-off section.
Based on the analysis of the data they collect during the complex pelagic trawl survey, scientists will assess the stocks of Pacific salmon, common nekton and plankton species, including the hydroacoustic echointegration method, and study the features of their habitat in the epipelagic zone of the Kuril waters, the western and central parts of the Bering Sea.
The goal of the research of aquatic biological resources is to assess the productivity of generations, the dynamics of stocks, their structure, distribution, and to clarify the features of the conditions for the formation of commercial aggregations.
As the expedition leader (head of the laboratory) – assistant captain for scientific work Alexey Somov noted, “expeditions to count the number and distribution of Pacific salmon in the Far Eastern seas are comprehensive in nature and have been conducted by the branch annually since 1980, when the principles of systematic study of the structure and dynamics of pelagic ecosystems were formed by Professor V.P. Shuntov and his associates in the laboratory of applied biocenology.
The data that will be obtained during the scientific expeditions of the R/V Professor Kaganovsky and R/V TINRO are necessary for scientific support of the salmon fishing season.
The composition of both marine expeditions includes participants of the Research Internship project, aimed at replenishing the personnel reserve of the industry with young specialists.
Press service of VNIRO