The purpose of this article is an excursion into the history of the development of the Arctic by different countries, from the X century to the present.

The analysis is based on geopolitical and geo-economic approaches to the development of interstate relations from the point of view of protecting Russia’s national interests in the field of fisheries and sustainable development of the Arctic region as a strategic resource base for ensuring the socio-economic development of the country, as well as as a zone of peace and cooperation and the conservation of unique ecological systems. It is shown that the geopolitical and geo-economic approaches are interconnected, and the Russian presence in the Arctic, which began in the XVI century, has always corresponded to the national interests of Russia.

The scientific novelty of the article consists of proposals for the formation of state policy in the field of scientific research and scientific support of fisheries activities in the Arctic zone in the long term in the conditions of integrated marine use and climate warming.

The practical significance of the research carried out in the article may have an analysis of the regulatory and legal support for the economic development of the Arctic from the point of view of protecting the reserves of hydrobionts from depletion.

In conclusion, it is concluded that the internal policy of the Arctic region in the field of fisheries should be aimed at improving the standard of living of the coastal population, the construction and reconstruction of seaports and their terminals, the implementation of measures for the development of the continental shelf, as well as the development of the education system and the preservation of cultural heritage.

The purpose of this study was to describe spatial and functional structure of geographic distribution areas for populations of squid of the genus Berryteuthis.

The research methods consist of the analysis of the squid biological characteristics and distribution according to conventional methods.

Results: Two species of the genus Berryteuthis inhabit the northwestern Pacific: the schoolmaster gonate squid B. magister and B. septemdentatus. Two B. magister populations, which live in the Bering and Okhotsk seas, are associated with the large-scaled marine circulations. A single population of B. septemdentatus inhabits the Sea of Japan. All Berryteuthis populations have similar traits in spatial organization. Extended spawning and feeding zones form the basis for distribution area of each population. These zones are geographically more or less separated from each other. Feeding zones are confined to high productivity areas.

Discussion: It was suggested that general direction of migrations in these two Berryteuthis species correspond to cyclonic circulations in the seas, where they occur. There are several migration routes within distribution area of each population, which correspond to local currents. Migration routes form a “migration net” in each population. Such a “migration net” along with extended breeding zones ensures the sustainability of populations and provide comfortable conditions for spawning, at least for a part of each generation.

The novelty of this research lies in generalized description of spatial and functional structure in Berryteuthis populations, and explanation of ecological life history strategy for all populations of the genus Berryteuthis.

Conclusion. Suggested general scheme for spatial organization of Berryteuthis populations is determined by a passive-nectonic ecological life form of these squid. The existence of these populations is related to the large-scale water circulations. Two populations of B. magister and one population of B. septemdentatus occur in the northwestern Pacific.

The aim of the work is to analyze the main abiotic and biotic factors affecting the distribution of mackerel within the feeding area.

The research materials were data on the stock status, distribution of mackerel in the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters, and also on its occurrence in the Barents Sea. Information on monthly temperature fields of the sea surface layer and zooplankton biomass was used.

Methods used: comparative data analysis.

Novelty: the analysis of the distribution of mackerel, water temperature and feeding zooplankton in various parts of the Norwegian Sea over the past 12 years was carried out in the work, and for the first time a literary and historical review of the occurrence of mackerel in the Barents Sea from the beginning of the XX century to the present was performed.

Results: The peculiarities of the distribution of mackerel in the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters in the second — beginning of the third decades of the XXI century are noted. The historical review of the occurrence of mackerel in the Barents Sea in the summer-autumn period of its life cycle is presented. From the analysis of the main factors of abiotic and biotic nature it follows that the annual migrations of mackerel and its fishing areas are determined primarily by the peculiarities of the oceanographic situation, feeding conditions and stock dynamics in different years. An assumption was made about the impossibility of the appearance of mackerel aggregations in the western part of the Barents Sea during the feeding period of the coming years.

The idea and methodology of work are based on the results of experiments carried out earlier. Purpose of work by exposing fish to a sublethal acidic effect before and after the formation of the generation of previtellogenic oocytes in them, to influence the number of the fund of germ cells and to follow the long-term consequences of this effect up to puberty.

The material of the study was the juvenile Oreochromis mossambicus, which was obtained from one female, and randomly divided into control and two experimental variants, had a sublethal acid effect on the fish in the experiments — pH 3.78–3.85 at the age of 22–45 and 22–60 days from fertilization.

Methods used: Experimental study of ovarian development in female tilapia. In the study of the gonads, their histophysiological study was performed with a quantitative analysis of the fund of germ cells of all conditions.

Results. In the experimental fish, the recovery of the growth rate during the period and its acceleration after the end of the acid treatment were observed. Against the background of the restoration of the growth rate by the end of the acid exposure, tilapia females experienced an increase in the fund of oocytes during the previtellogenesis period. The increased older generation of oocytes was preserved in experimental fish until puberty, which led to a significant increase in their absolute fecundity, while maintaining the diameter and mass of oocytes. The work has a pronounced fundamental orientation.

Its practical and theoretical significance lies in understanding the patterns of formation of the fund of germ cells at an early age, as the basis for determining the magnitude of fecundity in ontogenesis.

The aim of the study was to determine the possibility of thermal marking of larvae and juvenile turbot otoliths used to identify factory juveniles produced to recruitment natural populations.

Methods used: three consecutive cycles of a sharp decrease in water temperature in the range of 3.7–7.0 °C were used and also recovering the water temperature to optimal for thermal marking under experimental conditions for three groups of different ages larvae. To assess the marking results, larvae were fixed, then otoliths (sagittae and lapilli) were extracted, ground manually on Buehler grinding discs and viewed on a Leica DMLS trinocular microscope.

Novelty: thermal marking of otoliths of flounder fish larvae was carried out for the first time.

Result: The possibility of thermal marking of larvae and early juveniles otoliths of turbot is shown. It was found that the best marks on otoliths can be obtained when marking at the final stages of metamorphosis (at the age of 45–47 days), after the settlement to a bottom. The optimal temperature gradient is 5–6 °C, with a duration of exposure to low temperature for 5 hours, an interval between marking cycles of 5 hours and the use of at least three consecutive marking cycles.

Practical significance: The results of the study can be used for mass marking of turbot in order to determine the contribution of artificially reproduced juveniles to the recruitment of natural populations, as well as in the development of methods for marking fish — objects of artificial reproduction of various systematic groups.

Purpose: Development of methods for the analysis of materials on the return of tags from northern fur seals in order to study their life cycle and reproductive biology.

Method: Metal tagging of fur seal pups has been carried out on the Commander Islands since 1961. Reading marks on seals using optical devices was carried out in 1982–2014. during the harem period on the Central site of the Northern rookery (Bering Island).

Novelty: For the first time, the coefficients of tagging and loss of tags for female fur seals up to 14 years of age have been calculated. For the first time, the verification of tag return materials was carried out, the representativeness of the data and the possibility of their use for the analysis of the life cycle and breeding issues of seals were shown.

Results: The arrival of the female to the rookery during the harem period was considered as participation in reproduction. Based on the data of radio-tagging of female seals, the probability of meeting a tagged female on a rookery during the harem period was determined, which turned out to be almost equal to 1. The probability that during the harem period a tagged female will not be registered by an observer turned out to be negligibly small (0.23·10–3). The coefficients of fur seal tagging on the Commander Islands in 1980–2011 are presented. In accordance with the mathematical model, the annual loss of marks by fur seal females in the age range from 2 to 14 years was 4 % at a 95 % confidence level. According to the results of calculations, it was shown that the method of reading marks on live seals provides reliable representative material suitable for the analysis of the life cycle of females.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the species composition, distribution, habitat conditions of cetaceans, as well as their occurrence in relation to the distribution of mass fish species in ice-free areas of the Barents Sea and adjacent waters in October-December.

The material of the study was the data collected by the Polar Branch of VNIRO during the multi-species trawl-acoustic surveys on the account of juveniles and the assessment of bottom fish stocks in the Barents Sea (MS TAS), as well as information from fishing vessels.

Methods of geoprocessing and mapping of the studied parameters, comparative analysis of the obtained data.

Results: Data are presented on the species composition and occurrence of cetaceans, their habitat conditions (water temperature, salinity, depth), distribution of mass fish species in the Barents Sea in October-December 2007–2019. Сetaceans recorded mainly in the western regions of the study area. White-beaked dolphin and northern bottlenose whale predominated in numbers. Cetaceans were observed in a wide range of temperature (from –0.4 to 8.5 °C) and salinity (34–35.2 ‰), with an average depth of 376 m at the encounter points. Determined, that potential food items for baleen whales were capelin, polar cod, herring, norway pout, and for toothed whales — capelin, polar cod, herring, cod, haddock, blue whiting, redfish.

Purpose of the work: Identification of species-specific features of seabird interactions with trawl fishing gear, comparison of the results obtained with the same data from the Sea of Okhotsk trawl fisheries.

Methods used: The analysis is based on materials collected on board a large freezing trawler in September–October 2021 in the northwestern part of the Bering Sea according to the methodology used in similar studies in other areas of the Pacific Ocean and tested by the author in the Sea of Okhotsk pollock expedition in 2015 and 2020.

Novelty: The results of the research confirm that the net sonar third wire cable poses the greatest danger to birds in the trawl fisheries in the Bering Sea. During the autumn fishing period, the main part of bird collisions with fishing gear (61.8 %) falls on short-tailed shearwaters, which form mass concentrations around trawlers at this time. As a rule, bird contacts with trawl wires are light and do not threaten their lives, but in 0.3 % of cases, severe collisions occur, leading to the death of birds. The frequency of contacts with fishing gear for all birds depends on their number near the vessel and the direction of the wind relative to the course, and in northern fulmars it also depends on the intensity of the discharge of catch processing from the fish factory.

Practical significance: The results obtained are necessary for the process of ecological certification of the specialized pollock trawl fishery in the West Bering Sea zone.

The aim of the work was to study the dynamics of biomass of valuable commercial fish species in the Primorye subzone, the extraction of which is possible using bottom trawl.

The main method of collecting materials was the accounting bottom trawl surveys in the Primorye subzone, carried out in 2009–2020.

As results, the dynamics of fish biomass as a whole and five separate fishing objects, the extraction of which can be carried out by bottom trawl, are considered. During the research, the resources of flounders and saffron cod have decreased. The biomass of sculpins at first increased (by 2016), and then also decreased. Arabesque greenling biomass changed significantly over the years without showing clear trends. Pacific cod has a tendency to increase biomass. The largest specific biomass of saffron cod and plain sculpin are observed in Peter the Great Bay, sealyeye plaice and great, graypurple and black edged sculpins — in the northern Primorye, and pacific cod and yellowfin sole — in the Khabarovsk part of the subzone.

This paper aims to study variations in the content and profiles of PCB congeners in the bottom sediments in some areas of the Barents Sea, the reasons for their formations, and to identify the main sources of pollution.

The material and methods: The data collected by the scientists of PINRO during the surveys in the Barents Sea from 2004 to 2019 was used to conduct the studies. Totally, samples from 630 stations were examined. The PCB content was detected by capillary gas chromatography using a Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 Plus chromatograph mass spectrometer (Japan). The data were processed with GIS-technologies using Arcview 3.2 (ESRI) and MS Excel descriptive statistics.

Results: A chart showing the contamination of bottom sediments with PCB in the Barents Sea was compiled and presented. We studied the profile of PCB11 and PCB12 congeners in sediments that were taken from different marine areas, particularly the Kola Bay, the Spitsbergen shelf, the Eastern (Central) Basin and the northeastern Barents Sea. In a number of stations that were chosen for the survey (i. e. the section), we made observations on variations in the profile of PCB congeners in bottom sediments as the distance to the sources of pollution increased. We identified considerable variations in the PCB congeners’ profile in the Kola Bay area from the shelf area to the southeast of Spitsbergen and other investigated areas. The paper shows a salient variation in the composition of PCB congeners with increasing distance from Spitsbergen. The pollution caused by melting of snow, firn and glaciers in the Arctic archipelagos, as well as local pollution in the bays should be considered as the main sources of pollution of bottom sediments with PCBs in the Spitsbergen shelf.

Practical relevance: The obtained results will contribute to a better understanding of the processes related to the global pollution of the Barents Sea ecosystem and an assessment of the potential hazard of PCB pollution for demersal commercial marine species.

Purpose of the article is determination of the possibility of a deeper differentiation of the normative indicator of the specific ovarian mass (SOM) of pink salmon in accordance with the perspective scheme of territorial differentiation of its reproductive range.

Methods used: in order to achieve this purpose in accordance with generally accepted methods of fishery research in 2010–2011, materials of bioanalysis of pink salmon spawners from six different fishing areas in the Russian Far East were collected. To determine the degree of influence of the two variable factors on the variability of the SOM of pink salmon, central compositional rotatable planning was used, based on the creation of a three-dimensional plot of the response surface of the factor space, given as a second-order polynomial function.

As a result of realization of the experimental-mathematical modeling plan, the dependence of the SOM of pink salmon on the maturity coefficient of females and their relative share in the catches was established. Combining two factors determining the SOM of pink salmon in a single regression model made it possible to identify similar features of its interannual variability between two large reproduction regions — Sakhalin-Kuril and East Kamchatka.

Novelty: the resulting regression model equation, which adequately describes the dependence of the SOM of pink salmon on two varying factors, allows to calculate the expected value of the SOM of pink salmon for different stock indicators.

Practical significance: in order to implement the further development of system of the rationing of the SOM of pink salmon a perspective scheme of territorial differentiation of its reproductive range according to certain fishing gulfs or other large reproduction areas is proposed.

The aim: To study the composition and properties of biologically active substances (BAS) from marine red algae.

Result: Summary data on the composition and properties of biologically active substances in red algae (Rhodophyta) growing in the Seas of the World Ocean, as well as in the coastal zones of the White Sea of Russia, published by Foreign and Russian authors, including the authors of the article, were presented. Marine red algae are considered as sources of natural highly active substances with a variety of biological properties that have a positive effect on human health.

Novelty: Review data on a wide range of red algae biological activities from the World Ocean and new data on the antimicrobial activity of extracts from Ahnfeltia plicata, Polysiphonia fucoides, etc. are presented. It was found that alcoholic extracts from P. fucoides have antimicrobial activity against cultures of S. aureus «Viotko» and L. monocytogenes 766, and SC–CO2 extracts from P. fucoides — against L. monocytogenes.

Practical significance: The traditional use of red algae for the production of agar and carrageenans — natural gelling agents, as well as directly for food and for the production of therapeutic and prophylactic, medical products and pharmaceuticals has been shown.

Methods used: Data on the composition and properties of biologically active substances (BAS) of marine red algae are given with the involvement of a review of foreign published works and the results of our own studies of red algae from the White Sea and extracts from them. During the research, modern instrumental methods and high-precision laboratory equipment were used.

Purpose: to clarify and concretize the conceptual apparatus that is necessary for the unification of concepts, preparation for further digitalization of the fisheries complex and the transition to new types and forms of management.

Method: methods were used, among which one can distinguish analytical, monographic and others, which are based on a dialectical approach to the study of socio-economic phenomena.

Novelty: a system of concepts and definitions has been formed that eliminate the ambiguity of the existing conceptual apparatus, the subject of discussion, and hence the lack of specificity and vagueness of the set targets. The transformation of concepts from “fisheries”, “fishing industry” to “fisheries complex” is traced.

Results: the structure, transformation of basic concepts and definitions in the agro-industrial and fisheries complexes of the country in retrospect and to the present are analyzed. The review of official sources, regulatory framework, development programs and scientific literature was conducted in order to evaluate the concepts of “fisheries” and “fisheries complex”. Within the framework of the analysis and independent research, clarifications and concretization of the conceptual apparatus are given. The rationale for the use of the concept — “fisheries complex” as an object of management and regulation of all processes related to obtaining fish products at all its stages, achieving food security of the country in terms of fish products and foreign trade activities, i. e. in a broad sense from “boat to counter”.

The purpose of the work is to prepare conceptual proposals for improving the current management system of the Russian fisheries complex.

Materials and methods: The projection of the forecast of the Central Bank of Russia on the possible stages of the development of economic processes on the fishery complex was considered. With this in mind, an assumption has been made about the need to improve the current management model and.

Results of the study: The results of the work are the proposed toolkit consisting of three elements, which provides the basis for a new management system for the fisheries complex.

Practical significance: The development and use of the proposed tools will make it possible in the current period, taking into account existing opportunities and requests, trends in the development of external and internal factors, to model the characteristics of the main development targets in future periods and options for their achievement.

A hundred years ago, on 7 November 1922, the Soviet flag was raised on the first Soviet marine research vessel «Persey». The creation of «Persey» and its efficient operation in the following years were a continuation of the research work, which was initiated by the activities during the Murmansk research and fishing cruise in the Barents Sea on board the vessel «Andrei Pervozvanny». The tough economic and political environment in Russia in the early 1920s required an undelayed development of the Barents Sea. For this special purpose, a marine institute was established to carry out comprehensive studies on fisheries. The construction of the vessel, its operation, the importance of research activities are entire sections in the history of the Russian fisheries science. «Persey» was operated for 18 years and the vessel was on 90 research cruises in the White, Barents, Kara and Greenland Seas. A large number of scientists participated in research cruises onboard «Perseus »; those cruises were a training ground for future academicians, heads of large scientific institutions and managers in science. The seven-star blue flag that was carried on research cruises was raised on the vessel on 1 February, 1923. Afterwards, this logotype became the symbol for the Russian fisheries science. In memory of their legendary predecessor, the research vessels were called «Persey 2» and «Persey III». We really hope that more research vessels with the famous seven-star flag onboard will operate in the Barents Sea.

The aim: obtain data on the biology, distribution and abundance of the Pacific ocean perch, Atka mackerel, by-catch species, and monitor aquatic biological resources.

The methods: in the course of specialized fishing, fishing information was collected and ichthyological work was carried out according to the generally accepted methodology.

The newness: expeditionary work is a continuation of many years of scientific research on the state of commercial populations of valuable fish species in the western part of the Bering Sea and Eastern Kamchatka.

The results: concentrations of Pacific perch were noted in the area of the Shirshov Ridge, Cape Africa, Cape Kronotsky, Bering Island, where the average catch was 2,5–2,8 tons/hour trawling. The average length of the Pacific perch decreased from north to south from 37.2 cm to 34.3 cm, weight — from 718.8 g to 503.4 g. The main concentrations of the Atka mackerel were noted in the area of Cape Olyutorsky, Cape Afrika and Cape Kronotsky. Average catches ranged from 1.82 to 5.67 tons/hour trawling. The length of the Atka mackerel was 37.9–40.8 cm with a weight of 618.3–842 g.

The practical significance: the results of this work will be taken into account when developing and updating materials for forecasting the total allowable and recommended catch and recommendations for efficient fishing.