The article reviews and analyzes data on seston distribution in the exclusive economic zones of Morocco and Mauritania obtained during the Great African Expedition in 2024-2025. A certain coincidence between seston distribution and ocean surface temperature is shown. It is noted that the distribution and formation of plankton-eating fish aggregations is largely determined by the availability of food resources, and increased seston concentrations are an indicator of food availability. The studies have confirmed that high seston concentrations can be indicators of the presence of commercial pelagic fish aggregations. 

As part of the expansion of the range of scientific work, as well as improving the quality of practical and laboratory work carried out by the Department of “Operation of Water Transport and Industrial Fisheries”, a floating laboratory was created on the basis of a small vessel to study the impact of ships on the environmental situation. The base, depending on the tasks that arise, is constantly being retrofitted with the necessary equipment, facilities and fixtures.

This article discusses the modernization of the floating laboratory, aimed at teaching and scientific research of students in the field of industrial fisheries. 

Fish and seafood play a key role in ensuring the food security of the country. The main indicators determining the economic availability of fish products for the population are prices and purchasing power. Over the past 11 years, there has been a low level of fish consumption despite the growth in production of these products. The main reason for this situation has been the excess of fish product export volumes over the established norms of the Food Security Doctrine, as well as high prices that do not correspond to the purchasing power of citizens. In response to this issue, the Government of the Russian Federation has developed and approved a Roadmap aimed at increasing fish consumption among the population.

The paper presents long-term (about 100 years) data on the stocks and fishing of zander in the eastern part of the Northern Caspian Sea. The reasons for the decline in its catches in this part of the sea and in the Ural River (Zhayyk) are analyzed. It is shown that the simultaneous fishing of zander in its feeding area in the sea and during its spawning migrations in the river is one of the reasons for the decline in its stocks. It is proposed to expand the fishing area in the sea while reducing the fishing of the spawning part of the zander population in the Ural River (Zhayyk).

One of the most prospectively valuable bivalve molluscs of the Azov and Black Sea Fishery Basin is the ark clam Anadara kagoshimensis (Tokunaga, 1906), which biomass is around 23 million tons. This study is aimed at the comprehensive assessment of A. kagoshimensis with regard to the food safety criteria, its technological and chemical properties, and its nutritional value in order to identify possible options for its rational processing. It is shown that the ark clam is safe for human consumption based on the parameters regulated by the technical regulations TR CU 021/2011 “On the Safety of Food Products” and TR EAEU 040/2016 “On the Safety of Fish and Fish Products” for live bivalve molluscs. The protein content in the muscle tissue of the ark clam is around 11%. Amino acid scores of the essential amino acids, except for valine as a limiting amino acid, are indicative of high biological value of the protein and its possible application for enzymatic modification. The average lipid content in the ark clam is found to be 0.7%. In the lipid fraction, docosahexaenic and eicosapentaenoic polyunsaturated fatty acids prevail in the amount fulfilling their daily consumption quota. The essential macronutrients (potassium, manganese, calcium) and micronutrients (iron, chrome, cobalt) have also been found in high amounts.

The studies of marine coastal plants of the northwestern Caspian Sea in 2023-2024 were conducted. Among them, Nanozostera noltei emissions were found. The results presented in the article reflect the study of the morphology of nanozosters, as well as its chemical composition. An assessment of the morphological features of two species of Caspian seagrasses, N. noltei and P. pectinatus, showed similarity in the morphology of leaf blades, which significantly differ in the shape of the leaf tip. Identification of the N. noltei species from the total mass of emissions is difficult due to the violation of the integrity of the plants and the similarity in appearance to the leaves of P. pectinatus during the formation of the emissions. The total content of pectin substances in the sea grass N. noltei reaches 19%, which indicates the potential of nanozostera for the production of zosterin.

Statistical information on industrial fishery in the inland waters of the Russian Federation for 2020-2024 were analyzed. An analysis of the development of the recommended production volumes in the inland waters of the Russian Federation and the species composition of catches showed that the modern organization of industrial fishing does not provide either maximum sustainable catch for the main commercial species, or balanced exploitation of aquatic biological resources. Thus, the formation of new principles for organizing fisheries is required, which could ensure a uniform load on the reserves of aquatic biological resources and minimize overfishing of the main commercial species. As a first step proposed to conclude a single agreement for the main species of water biological resources, the total permissible catch of which is not established.

The floristic composition of riparian freshwater communities in various sections of the Shoshinsky and Volzhsky ples of the Ivanko reservoir has been studied. It is shown that the species composition of heliophytes, hydatophytes, and hydrophytes is similar and differs only in the area of overgrowth. On the Shoshensky Reach at the mouth of the Lama River, Puzyrevo tract, Dubki Bay and Kabanovo Island, it is about 70-80%. In the Volga Basin, such areas are found only in shallow bays, backwaters, and islands. Along the banks of the main channel of this reach, thickets of heliophytes do not exceed a width of 3-5 m. The indicators of the abundance and biomass of zooperiphyton in monodominant thickets of cattail, redwood and theloresis have been determined. The role of florists in the improvement of spawning grounds and feeding grounds for the fish community is assessed. Data on the fish productivity of the surveyed sites are presented.

Based on the results of factor analysis of morphometric features and mito-objects, a semantic interpretation of the interaction of nuclear/Mendelian genetics/and cytoplasmic/ mito-object composition/genomes in the form of a table of interaction of carriers of haplotypes of Russian and baerii-iike sturgeons is considered. Regression relationships “weight – haplobject composition,” mitobject and gene waves for samples of various reservoirs of Siberia from the Ob to Kolyma are built. Execution of dependencies with determination of order 0.9 was noted. 

The article presents the results of an analysis of the calculated genetic and phenotypic correlations between the commercial length and live weight of the Chuvash scaly and Anish mirror carp breeds. The analysis of breeding value by live weight and commercial length of both breeds is carried out. It was found that the genetic relationship between length and weight was stronger in the Anishka mirror breed – 0.83 and 0.74 in the Chuvash, which may indicate the best breeding potential of the first breed. However, it should be noted that the phenotypic correlation in both breeds had a negative close value (-0.70 and -0.72), which confirms the strong influence of external factors that offset the genetic predisposition. The above analysis revealed a significant variability in the breeding value of the Anish mirror carp. According to the highest EBV values, two individuals had the highest productivity – 0.73±0.12 and 0.50±0.12, several individuals with a range of 0.08-0.12 had the average potential, and the majority were low-yielding individuals (EBV <0.08±0.12). According to the fishing length, two different individuals with EBV 2.98±0.81 and 1.73±0.81 cm were identified. The capras of the Chuvash scaly breed showed more modest indicators (the maximum EBV in live weight was 0.25±0.12, and in commercial length 1.98±0.81). In commercial length, the Chuvash scaly carp shows good potential and can be valuable breeding material for purebred breeding.

Current scientific understanding of species and intraspecific diversity of whitefishes is not fully reflected in regulatory documents related to artificial reproduction. The currently used practices of stocking water bodies with fish to maintain/restore weakened populations, based on outdated scientific guidelines, often contradict biological feasibility. In this regard, the tasks of maintaining it at the species, intraspecific, and ecosystem levels during artificial reproduction of whitefishes declared in the Convention on Biological Diversity ratified by Russia seem difficult to implement. The article discusses the existing contradictions between current knowledge of the biology of whitefish species, regulatory documents, and fish farming practices of artificial reproduction of regional populations of species.

Humic substances, including humic acid and fulvic acid, are a class of naturally occurring complex compounds found in soil, water and sediments. In aquatic ecosystems, humic substances have an important influence on the properties and functions of natural aquatic systems, as they play a direct role in shaping the physical and chemical environment of a water reservoir. Artificial fish farming has become necessary not only to meet the demand for edible animal proteins, but also to replenish and conserve depleted stocks and endangered fish populations. Humic substances have positive effects on many organisms, also improve some vital parameters of fish such as growth performance, stress tolerance and immune response. The fungistatic effect of humic substances on Saprolegnia parasitica, a common parasite of freshwater and marine fish, is known. Humic substances reduce the number of pathogens Vibrio harveyi and Acinetobacter in the intestines of fish. However, the addition of humic acid in high concentrations to the feed of juvenile common carp (Сyprinus carpio) caused not only improved growth and feed eating efficiency, but also had detrimental effects on gill, liver and kidney tissues. This article is a literature review that explores the advantages and disadvantages of using humic substances in aquaculture. 

Artificial reproduction of stellate in the Volga-Caspian fishery subregion is currently carried out by only one fish hatchery. At present, the volume of artificial reproduction has significantly decreased from 0 to 0.25 million individuals. The aim of the work was to assess the growing conditions, fish-breeding, biological and physiological characteristics of the offspring of stellate sturgeon obtained using cryopreserved sperm. It has been determined that the use of cryopreserved sexual products makes it possible to obtain viable physiologically complete offspring. The results confirm the expediency of carrying out these works in order to preserve aquatic biological resources and breeding in commercial aquaculture. The experience of growing stellate in a pond and pool has shown the effectiveness of the pool method in the first years of life.

At present, different methods of determining the mesh size of net materials are used at the enterprises engaged in net production, fishing gear construction and enterprises engaged in aquatic bioresources extraction. Thus, for example, the factories producing netting materials and enterprises manufacturing fishing gear measure the factory and structural mesh size, which essentially reflects the structure of the material, and the control of selectivity of fishing gear on the part of supervisory authorities provides for measuring the internal mesh size. Enterprises engaged in the extraction of aquatic bioresources are interested in purchasing fishing gear or net materials that meet the requirements stipulated for the fishery basins in which the extraction is expected. It is also known that at present there is no unified methodology for measuring the internal mesh size, and the existing methodologies are not uniform for all fishery basins. Due to the lack of uniformity of methodologies, ambiguous situations arise during the period of inspection of fishing gear by supervisory authorities for internal mesh size, which entail fines for administrative offences in the field of fishing regulations. To date, a case of violation of the internal mesh size in the Far East basin in the catch of raw pollock, detected in the course of inspection by border guards, has been considered in administrative proceedings. The case was initiated by a fishing enterprise due to disagreement with the procedure and methodology of the inspection, which does not apply to this fishery basin. Thus, a legal precedent is being set, pushing for the development of a domestic mesh measuring device and corresponding methodology. In this article, some domestic and foreign methods and means of measuring internal, structural and factory mesh size are considered, and a means of measuring internal mesh size developed at the Department of ‘Water Transport Operation and Industrial Fishing’ is proposed.

Pollock is an important fishery object in the Far Eastern seas. In terms of catch volumes, among the aquatic bioresources of the Far Eastern basin and in Russia as a whole, pollock ranks first. The largest share in the release of caviar is made by the fishing subzones of the Sea of Okhotsk: North Sea of Okhotsk, West Kamchatka and Kamchatka-Kuril. The efficiency of pollock fishing depends on the amount of products produced, including frozen roe, as an assortment with high value. The largest share in the release of caviar is made by the fishing subzones of the Sea of Okhotsk: North Sea of Okhotsk, West Kamchatka and Kamchatka-Kuril. The conducted studies to determine the yield of raw caviar of the Okhotsk Sea pollock in the winter-spring period of the 2024 fishing season showed that the yield of roes in all subzones did not exceed the standard values established by the Fishing Rules for the Far Eastern Fishery Basin.