The Magadan branch of VNIRO has carried out the first work to assess the survival rate of trumpeters during their transportation in a live form - VNIRO
27 June 2025

The Magadan branch of VNIRO has carried out the first work to assess the survival rate of trumpeters during their transportation in a live form

In May, in the northern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, industrial fishing of gastropods (whelks) traditionally begins, since the most productive area for whelk fishing in the waters of the Russian Far East is located here. Specialists from the Magadan branch of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO) in association with mining companies of the Magadan Region have been monitoring the whelk resource fishery in the Pritauysky District almost every year for more than 30 years, and the current year was no exception.
 
The work was carried out from May to June on a specialized fishing vessel RS "Alexander Shalin". The main goal of the monitoring work was to assess the current state of whelk stocks, as well as to develop recommendations for their rational exploitation. As a result, significant material was collected characterizing the biological state and spatial distribution of the main commercial species of gastropods. Biological analyses were carried out on more than 20 thousand specimens of commercial whelk species. One of the positive features of the obtained materials is the increased share of juvenile commercial gastropods in the catches. This indicator characterizes the state of commercial accumulations of these mollusks as stable.
 
The increased interest of consumers in expanding the range of products in recent years motivates the manufacturer to find new ways of manufacturing and promoting commercial products. The needs of buyers are becoming more sophisticated and selective. Therefore, in addition to the product "whelk carcasses", as well as the previously introduced "whelk in a shell", the Magadan branch of VNIRO, together with a mining organization, began experimental studies on the possibility of delivering whelks to consumers alive, as is practiced with crabs. The work was aimed at studying the factors affecting the viability and quality of gastropods, as well as methods of their transportation.
 
“The uniqueness of the research that has been initiated, as well as the importance of studying aspects of the survival of gastropods, are aimed at obtaining new knowledge that will subsequently be used by fishing companies in order to expand the range of products supplied to consumers,” emphasized the head of the Magadan branch, Evgeny Metelev, and instructed the responsible specialists to continue and expand the experimental work in the future.
 
Press service of VNIRO