The Strategy aims to address the critical impact on the habitat of aquatic bioresources and the raw material base for fisheries caused by climate change, declining freshwater runoff, increasing salinity in seawater, and the resulting profound transformation of biological productivity and species composition of fisheries.
The mass jellyfish bloom in the Sea of Azov has been recognized as a serious environmental problem requiring study and effective control. Millions of tons of biomass have begun to significantly limit the recreational and tourist appeal of the Azov seaside resorts and hinder fishing. Science faces significant research challenges in finding ways to utilize jellyfish for beneficial purposes and combat the negative impact of their blooms.
The increasing salinity of the Sea of Azov is changing the current range of commercial fisheries: many species of semi-anadromous and freshwater fish are losing their commercial value, and stocks of gobies, sprat, and anchovy are declining. At the same time, the role of marine species, such as mullet, the valuable turbot, and mullet, is increasing.
Science, represented by the Azov-Black Sea branch of the Russian State Research Center "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO), is rapidly responding to emerging challenges of environmental transformations, enabling scientifically sound management of fisheries adaptation processes to emerging crises through mechanisms for establishing recommended catch volumes in fishing areas, amending fishing regulations for the Azov-Black Sea fishery basin, recommending species composition and volumes of artificial reproduction of aquatic bioresources, and other mechanisms.
During the process of environmental transformation, commercial invertebrates—shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as mollusks—have come to play an important role in modern Azov fisheries. By anticipating these transformations and proactively ensuring corresponding changes to fishing regulations, the scientific support provided by the Azov-Black Sea branch of VNIRO has enabled a manifold (hundredfold for shrimp) increase in the catch of commercial invertebrates and ensured a smoother adaptation of fishermen to the new raw material base.
Shrimp and shellfish catches in the Sea of Azov ultimately reached historic highs, and these bioresources began to fully contribute to the industry's economic growth.
The Azov region's development strategy, in terms of developing the Sea of Azov's fisheries potential, is based on the fact that the sea has become an inland sea of a single state—Russia—and its bioresource potential can now be developed using rational, sustainable principles with a clear future outlook.
VNIRO Press Service