Autumn seine surveys at the Tsimlyansk Reservoir

 

Scientific data was collected using a cast net along the traditional autumn migration routes of various fish species from the Middle and Upper Don River sections to the Tsimlyansk Reservoir.

 

These studies are part of a comprehensive monitoring program to assess the distribution and abundance of aquatic biological resources (ABR) during the autumn migration from their natural reproduction areas and summer feeding grounds, as well as their habitats, to assess the status and develop forecasts for changes in the population status of commercial fish species.

 

A total of 2.4 tons of ABR were caught in the Nekrasovskaya Reservoir, with 19 fish species counted, of which six species accounted for over 97% of the catch. The following fish were counted and analyzed: 1.17 tons of bream (48.5%), carp (313 kg) (12.9%), white bream (268 kg) (11.1%), sabrefish (233 kg) (9.6%), crucian carp (215.4 kg) (8.9%), and pike perch (150.8 kg) (6.2%). Other species were found in significantly smaller quantities. Species present included asp, roach, zander, pike, perch, blue bream, silver carp, grass carp, vimba, and shemaya.

 

Seasonal fishing dynamics, determined by spawning, feeding, and wintering movements of fish in the Upper Reach at the boundary between the reservoir and the river, allow us to uncover key questions about fish biology related to their migration cycles. Non-selective and mass fishing make it possible to monitor the status of even such rare species as the tusker, shemaya, and sterlet, listed in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation and the Volgograd Region, and to uncover issues related to the size and age structure of their populations, seasonal distribution, migration timing, long-term population dynamics, etc.

 

The results of the analysis of the data obtained at the Nekrasovskaya Fishing Line have been incorporated into the Middle Volga Branch's research projects, covering a wide range of topics and areas, over the past decades, including monitoring and forecasting, a number of publications, and essays on fish in the new edition of the Red Data Book of the Volgograd Region.

 

 

VNIRO Press Service