State and exploitation of commercial fish stocks in the Russian part of the Baltic Sea, Curonian, Kaliningrad and Finnish Gulfs

The aim of this article: to assess the condition and level of exploitation of commercial fish species in the Russian parts of the Baltic Sea (including the Gulf of Finland), the Curonian and Kaliningrad (Vistula) Lagoons.

Methods used: the stocks of commercial fish species in the Baltic Sea and its bays are transboundary. For several decades, as part of the international regulation of fisheries in the Baltic Sea, scientific cooperation has been carried out between the countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). During the period from 1992 to the present, AtlantNIRO has organized and carried out a significant amount of comprehensive research work in the Baltic Sea. In total, more than 70 hydroacoustic, bottom and environmental surveys were completed. Long-term (more than 60 years) studies of aquatic biological resources of commercial fish species are also carried out in the Curonian and Kaliningrad (Vistula) Lagoons. For many years, scientific cooperation has been carried out on the study of the bays with the Lithuanian and Polish republics, respectively.

Novelty: in the modern period, analysis of research on the state and exploitation of stocks of commercial fish species in the Russian part of the Baltic is carried out for the first time.

Result: the volume of production of aquatic biological resources (ABR) in the Baltic Sea has currently reached an “extreme high point”, and a slight decrease should be expected in the near future. In the Curonian and Kaliningrad (Vistula) Lagoons, the condition of the stocks of the main commercial fish is satisfactory, which allows for stable production of aquatic fish.

Practical significance: in modern conditions, information on the state of fish stocks in the region will allow solving problems of managing these resources, including planning for the near future the possible volumes of their production by fishing organizations.

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