The work was a logical continuation of last year's observations, but it reached a new level — this time, scientists used fixed and backhanded fishing gear to obtain the most complete data. The main task was to collect preliminary information about how the spawning processes take place, the biological condition of the fish, as well as where the spawning grounds are located and in what condition.
The ichthyologists of the Laboratory of Marine Fish, Coastal Bioresources and monitoring of aquatic biological resources, Philip Burlak and Yuri Semenov, played a key role in the scientific group. The spawning period coincided with a very high flood, but well-coordinated work allowed observations to be carried out daily throughout the time when the smelt was spawning. Scientists conducted control fishing, performed mass measurements and complete biological analyses of fish, examined the spawning grounds in detail, used UAVs for aerial visual study of the river and recorded the physico‑chemical characteristics of the water in the spawning area.
According to the head of the branch, Evgeny Metelev, the collected materials, after careful processing and analysis, will help to objectively assess the number and condition of the Asian toothy smelt population, a fish that is especially appreciated by Magadan amateur fishermen. These data will become an important basis for forecasting smelt catch in the coming years and will contribute to the sound management of the region's fish resources.
VNIRO Press Service
