Features of the Japanese sardine fishery depending on oceanographic conditions in the Kuril waters in 2016–2025
https://doi.org/10.36038/2307-3497-2026-203-51-65
EDN: BLCMWQ
Abstract
The goal of this study is to summarize the results of the 2016–2025 fishery, characterizing the distribution and abundance of Japanese sardine in the exclusive economic zone of Russia and adjacent waters of the north-western Pacific Ocean. The Russian sardine fishery is characterized in the current period of stock expansion, its features in different years, taking into account the development of oceanographic conditions in the waters off the Kuril Islands.
The methods used: the study is based on the analysis of fishery statistics for 1980–1990 and 2016–2025 in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, based on ship daily reports (VDR) and the positions of vessels of the Monitoring System of the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo). The analysis of oceanographic conditions was conducted using data from the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) and the HYCOM Ocean Research Center, AVHRR and MODIS satellite images, and ship hydrological observations.
Novelty: This paper presents the results of the Russian sardine fishery from 2016 to 2025, describing the characteristics of oceanographic conditions for each year during this period. The influence of oceanographic conditions on the migration patterns and distribution of sardines in the northwestern Pacific Ocean is shown.
Results: The development of the oceanology conditions in the spring and early summer of 2025 significantly influenced the overall pattern of sardine feeding migrations and distribution in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Spring migrations from Japanese waters were shifted eastward and took place in open waters; as a result, commercially valuable sardine schools prevented them from entering Russian waters near the Kuril Islands. The development of oceanographic conditions in the area of the Oyashio-Kuroshio.
Practical significance: The obtained results will be used for further research on the dynamics of the Japanese sardine population in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
About the Authors
D. V. Antonenko
Pacific branch of VNIRO («TINRO»)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
4, per. Shevchenko, Vladivostok, 690091
Yu. V. Novikov
Pacific branch of VNIRO («TINRO»)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
4, per. Shevchenko, Vladivostok, 690091
References
1. Antonenko D. V., Novikov Yu.V. 2023. The Influence of the Thermal Structure of Surface Waters on the Features of the Japanese Mackerel and Japanese Sardine Fisheries in the South Kuril Region // The Fisheries Complex of Russia: Problems and Development Prospects. Proc. of the 1st Intern. Scient. and Pract. Conf. (Moscow, March 28–29, 2023). Moscow: VNIRO. P. 25–32. (In Russ.).
2. Antonenko D. V., Novikov Yu.V., Basyuk E. O. 2025. Features of the Russian Japanese Sardine Fishery under Warming Conditions in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean // Fisheries Science in the 21st Century: Key Development Directions. III Intern. Scient. and Pract. Confe. and V School of Young Scientists and Specialists. Moscow: VNIRO. P. 33–40. (In Russ.).
3. Baryshko M. E. 2009. Mackerel and Sardine Iwashi Fisheries in the Far East. Vladivostok: Dalrybvtuz. 472 p. (In Russ.).
4. Belonenko T. V., Staritsyn D. K., Fuks V. R., Bobkov A . A ., Stuchevsky M. A., Rudakov Yu.A. et al. 1997. Origins of Oyashio. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg SU. 248 p. (In Russ.).
5. Belyaev V. A. 2003. Ecosystem of the Kuroshio Current Zone and its Dynamics. Khabarovsk: Khabarovsk Book Publishing House. 382 p. (In Russ.).
6. Velikanov A. Y. 2016. Pacific sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) migrations to the shores of Sakhalin Island in the 20th– early 21st centuries // J. Ichthyol. V. 56. P. 715–727. DOI 10.1134/S0032945216040147 (In Russ.).
7. Dyldin Yu.V., Orlov A. M., Velikanov A.Ya., Makeev S. S., Romanov V. I., Morusi I. V., Hanel L. 2020. Ichthyofauna of the Aniva Bay (the Sakhalin Island, the Sea of Okhotsk). Novosibirsk: IC NSAU «Zolotoy kolos». 396 p. (In Russ.).
8. Kruchinin O. N., Mizyurkin M. A., Zakharov E. A., Volotov V. M., Shabelsky D. L., Vacker N. L. 2022. The work of the fleet in the fishery for Japanese sardines and Chub mackerel in the Kuril waters in the modern period at high levels of these species // Izvestiya TINRO. V. 202. Iss. 2. P. 414–428. DOI: 10.26428/1606-9919-2022-202-414-428. (In Russ.).
9. Kuznetsova E. N., Belorustseva S. A., Polyanichko V. I. 2021. Distribution and feeding of the Japanese sardine Sardinops sagax and the Japanese mackerel Scomber japonicus in the Pacific waters of the Kuril Islands // Voprosy rybolovstva. V. 22. No. 3. P. 27–39. (In Russ.).
10. Kun M. S., Novikov Yu.V., Pavlychev V. P. 1978. The influence of oceanographic conditions on the formation of productive zones and the abundance of epipelagic fish in the Kuroshio water system // Biologiya Morya. No. 2. P. 32–39. (In Russ.).
11. Novikov Yu.V., Samko E. V. 2016. Features of the interannual variability of oceanographic conditions during saury fishery in the South Kuril region in 2002–2012 // Trudy VNIRO. V. 164. P, 75–85. (In Russ.).
12. Novikov Yu.V., Samko E. V. 2017. Features of the distribution and efficiency of the saury fishery depending on the variability of oceanographic conditions in the South Kuril region according to satellite observations in August-November 2002–2014 // Izvestiya TINRO. V. 190. P. 167– 176. (In Russ.).
13. Novikov Yu.V., Antonenko D. V., Nikitin A. A. 2020. The Impact of Oceanographic Conditions on the Location of Pelagic Fish Fishing Areas in the Pacific Waters of the Kuril Islands in the Cold Year of 2017 and the Warm Year of 2018 // Trudy VNIRO. V. 180. P. 99–115. (In Russ.).
14. Novikov Yu.V., Antonenko D. V., Samko E. V., Basyuk E. O. 2024. Features of the Japanese Sardine Fishery Depending on Oceanographic Conditions in the Kuril Islands Region in 2016–2023 // Modern Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from Space. Proc. of the XXII Int. Annual Conf. (Moscow, November 11–15, 2024). Moscow: IKI RAS. P. 354. (In Russ.).
15. Novikov Yu.V., Antonenko D. V., Samko E. V., Basuk E. O., Pikalova D. A. 2025. On the Problems of the Sardine Iwashi Fishery in the South Kuril Region in 2025 // Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from Space. Proc. of the XXIII Int. Annual Conf. (Moscow, November 10–14, 2025). Moscow: IKI RAS. P. 249. (In Russ.).
16. Samko E. V., Bulatov N. V. 2014. A Study of the Relationship between the Position of the Kuroshio Rings with a Warm Core and the Distribution of the Pacific Saury Fishery Based on Satellite Data // Research of the Earth from Space. No. 2. P. 18–26. (In Russ.).
17. Khoruzhy A. A., Somov A. A., Emelin P. O., Starovoytov A. N., Vanin N. S. 2015. The Appearance of High-Yielding Generations of Japanese Mackerel and Pacific Sardine in the Waters off the Kuril Islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. // Fisheries. No. 6. P. 74–77. (In Russ.).
18. Shuntov V. P. 2001. Biology of the Far Eastern Seas of Russia. Vol. 1. Vladivostok: TINRO-Center. 508 p. (In Russ.).
19. Shuntov V. P., Vasilkov V. P. 1981. Long-term fluctuations in the abundance of Pacific sardines. Report 1. Dynamics of the abundance of Japanese Sardinops sagax melanosticta (Schlegel) and Californian Sardinops sagax caerulea (Girard) sardines in the 20th century // Voprosy ichthyologii. V. 21. Iss. 6. P. 963–975. (In Russ.).
20. Shuntov V. P., Ivanov O. A. 2021. «The Wrong Fish» or Wrong Hypotheses: What’s Happening to the Nekton of the Kuril Islands Ocean Waters? // Izvestiya TINRO. V. 201(1). P. 3–23. (In Russ.).
21. Antonenko D., Novikov Y., Basyuk E. 2024. Impact of warming on the distribution pattern of the sardine Sardinops melanosticta (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean // PICES‑2024 Annual Meeting (Oct. 28 — Nov. 01, 2024, Honolulu, USA). Honolulu: PICES. P. 306.
22. Kuwae M., Yamamoto M., Sagawa T., Ikehara Ken., Irino T., Takemura K. et al. 2017. Multidecadal, centennial, and millennial variability in sardine and anchovy abundances in the western North Pacific and climate–fish linkages during the late Holocene. Prog. Oceanogr. 159, 86–98. DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2017.09.011.
23. Longo G. C., Minich J. J., Allsing N., James K., Adams-Herrmann E.S., Larson W. et al. 2024. Crossing the Pacific: Genomics Reveals the Presence of Japanese Sardine (Sardinops melanosticta) in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem // Molecular Ecology. 33(22) e17561. DOI: 10.1111/mec.17561.
24. Ohshimo S., Tanaka H., Hiyama Y. 2009. Long-term stock assessment and growth changes of the Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea from 1953 to 2006 // Fish. Oceanogr. V. 18:5. P. 346–358.
25. Sarr O., Kindong R., Tian S. 2021. Knowledge on the Biological and Fisheries Aspects of the Japanese Sardine, Sardinops melanostictus (Schlegel, 1846) // J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 9, 1403. DOI: 10.3390/jmse9121403
Review
For citations:
Antonenko D.V., Novikov Yu.V. Features of the Japanese sardine fishery depending on oceanographic conditions in the Kuril waters in 2016–2025. Trudy VNIRO. 2026;203:51-65. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.36038/2307-3497-2026-203-51-65. EDN: BLCMWQ
Email this article 