VNIRO ichthyologists continue monitoring the sprat fishery in the Caspian Sea

 

The fishing area extends from the traverse of Makhachkala to the traverse of Derbent, covering deep-water areas of the sea. The use of mid-depth trawls, in contrast to the previously used methods of fishing with electric light pumps, has radically changed the scale of sprat development in the modern period. Industrial catch of common sprat in 2020-2024. reached the predicted values ​​for this water area and amounted to 25-30 thousand tons.

 

Specialists from the West Caspian Department of the Volga-Caspian Branch of the Russian State Research Center “All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography” (VNIRO) continued monitoring studies as ship observers on the fishing vessels PTR “Amir” and ZRS “Terek”.

 

In the period from February 12 to 14, 2025, 108 tons of common sprat were caught in seven trawls. Observers note that only single specimens of herring and gobies were found in the by-catch, which indicates the high selectivity of the trawls used. The material they collected will be comprehensively analyzed, which will provide a complete picture of the state of the sprat population and assess the impact of fishing on its reproduction. The results obtained are used to forecast stocks and develop recommendations for the rational fishing of Caspian sprats.

 

Press service of VNIRO