The first stage of the VNIRO Great Freshwater Expedition has been completed on the lower Don

 

The Large Freshwater Expedition is being carried out on the research vessel Akhtarets, which will travel along the main inland water bodies of the European part of Russia from Azov to St. Petersburg. VNIRO scientists will study the waters of the Don, Oka, Svir rivers, 10 reservoirs, as well as Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga.

 

The expedition will pass through the areas of responsibility of seven VNIRO branches: the Azov-Black Sea, Nizhny Novgorod, Middle Volga, Vologda, Karelian, St. Petersburg branches, as well as the branch for freshwater fisheries. As the research vessel moves forward, scientific groups from the branches will replace each other, collecting scientific data on the state of freshwater bodies in the European part of Russia. This information will help assess the resource potential of water bodies and outline ways for their sustainable development.

 

As part of the first stage of the expedition, which took place on the section of the Don River from the mouth to the dam of the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric complex, scientists from the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO conducted a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the state of the food base of aquatic biological resources from planktonic organisms to benthos. This will make it possible to determine how many young fish can be released into the Don by enterprises engaged in artificial reproduction, and how well the fish living in the river are provided with food.

 

The participants in the scientific voyage also determined the parameters of the habitat of aquatic biological resources based on hydrological, hydrochemical and toxicological indicators.

 

The collected data, including the results of ichthyological studies that will be conducted by scientists of the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO on the Don this year, will provide a complete picture of the state of fish stocks and their habitat. All together, this will allow developing well-founded recommendations for regulating fisheries in the lower reaches of the Don and preserving fish resources.

 

Press service of VNIRO