In accordance with the Rules of Fishing, fishing in the river zone with seines ended on May 15, and fishing with secrets in the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea continued until May 20 inclusive. The main amount of aquatic biological resources has been extracted in the Southern Fisheries region of the Volga-Caspian Fisheries basin.
During the spring harvest, 17.1 thousand tons of freshwater fish were harvested in the Astrakhan region, which is 0.5 thousand tons more than in the same period in 2025. At the same time, 10.0 thousand tons of semi–aquatic and riverine fish were produced in the Caspian Sea in the Volga River avandelt, and 7.1 thousand tons in the Volga River and its watercourses. A significant increase in catches was achieved due to pike, which were caught almost 0.5 thousand tons more than a year earlier on the same date. A significant lag was noted for catfish, it was produced by 0.6 thousand tons. However, an important factor contributing to this is the cold weather that prevailed throughout almost the entire spring, which did not contribute to the concentration of this thermophilic species in the fishing areas. In the "other freshwater" group, the increase in catch in the spring of this year compared to last year was characterized by crucian carp, perch, grouper and tuna.
At the beginning of the winter in March, the main fishing targets were early spawning pike, which accounted for about 30% of the total catch of river and semi-marine fish, and crucian carp, which is the leader in the "other freshwater" group. In April and May, bream dominated catches in the Avandelt and Volga River delta, accounting for 55% and 51% of catches, respectively. By the end of the bream harvest, more than 7.7 thousand tons had been harvested in the Southern Fishing region of the Volga-Caspian Fisheries basin. By the end of the winter, catfish catches gradually began to grow with warming waters, in May it was twice as much (more than 600 tons) as in April (320 tons).
Of the fish species for which the total allowable catch is established, carp, pike and bream were characterized by its good development. The ODE of these types has been mastered by more than 40, 50 and 60%, respectively. Of the "other freshwater" species, the recommended catch of gustera and chehony is well mastered, more than 40%. Crucian carp, although it is a very numerous species, which is the leader in reserves in the "other freshwater" group, but the development of its recommended catch is small (16%), which is due to its low liquidity.
In the spring of 2026, as part of the fulfillment of the state assignment, the Volga-Caspian branch of the National Research Center of the Russian Federation "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO) carried out complex scientific research voyages by ships to the coastal and riverine fishing zone to study the qualitative and quantitative structure of commercial populations of semi-marine and riverine fish, the intensity of their fishing, the dynamics of migrations, road trips. The work was carried out in the rolling part of the Northern Caspian Sea, in fishing areas and at fish reception points. A complete biological analysis was carried out and measurements were made of more than 13 thousand specimens of commercial fish – bream, catfish, carp, walleye, pike, crucian carp, rudd, asp, perch, gaster, tench and other species. Ichthyopathological studies of mature individuals of bream, catfish, perch, walleye, pike, carp, rudd, crucian carp and gaster were conducted directly in the fishing areas of semi-aquatic and river fish. The impact of amateur fishing on stocks of aquatic biological resources was monitored during scientific research flights and departures by motor transport.
Currently, the collected data and biomaterials are being processed and will be used in the future to calculate the abundance, biomass and determination of the TDE and recommended catch of semi-migratory river fish species.
VNIRO Press Service
