Reports were presented at the meeting on the preparation of a two-month period for the protection of spawning fish, as well as on measures aimed at protecting aquatic biological resources in the waters of the Azov Basin, which are planned and are currently being conducted by law enforcement agencies. Special attention was paid to the artificial reproduction of aquatic biological resources on spawning farms and fish farming enterprises in the region.
Leonid Bugaev, Head of the scientific department of the Southern Branch of the Scientific Research Center of the Russian Federation "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO), made a report "On forecasts of the overseas period in the waters of Taganrog Bay in 2026." The report reflects the systematic work of hydrological scientists, hydrochemists, and toxicologists to assess the state of the habitat of aquatic organisms in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Taganrog Bay. Based on a special mathematical apparatus, data on air temperature, water temperature, dissolved oxygen content and a number of other indicators for more than twenty years of observations were analyzed. This allowed scientists to identify the areas of the Taganrog Bay that were most problematic from the point of view of hypoxia development and subsequent starvation.
If we talk about what starvation is and what natural factors determine it, then it should be said that starvation phenomena are a deficiency of oxygen dissolved in water, leading to the death of aquatic biological resources. The maximum permissible oxygen concentration in water bodies of the highest fisheries importance is strictly regulated (Rosrybolovstvo Order No. 296 dated 05/26/2026) and should not fall below 6 mg/dm3. According to oceanographic surveys in the Sea of Azov (1960-2025), the scale and probability of hypoxia development in the Taganrog Bay are lower than in the sea proper. This is due to the fact that the horizontal transfer of water masses is more pronounced in the bay. Nevertheless, oxygen deficiency in the waters of the Taganrog Bay is not an exceptional phenomenon, which is often observed in the summer.
The following reasons can be mentioned for the occurrence of overseas phenomena in the Taganrog Bay: high water temperature, excess organic matter, high phytoplankton biomass, the presence of stratification of water by salinity and temperature (stratification), low wind activity.
According to the assumptions of scientists of the Southern Branch of VNIRO, in 2026, starting from July 12 and until the end of August, a set of conditions will develop that favor the development of hypoxia in the Taganrog Bay with the subsequent threat of the development of overseas phenomena. The problematic areas of the water area are the eastern part of the bay, the estuarine waters of the rivers of the Northern Azov region, the areas around the Yeisk estuary and the coastal shallow waters.
VNIRO Press Service