Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management
ISSN: 1463-4988 (Print) 1539-4077 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uaem20
Sea of Azov: A brief review of the environment and fishery
O. A. Diripasko, N. G. Bogutskaya, K. V. Dem’yanenko & L. V. Izergin
To cite this article: O. A. Diripasko, N. G. Bogutskaya, K. V. Dem’yanenko & L. V. Izergin (2015) Sea of Azov: A brief review of the environment and fishery, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 18:2, 184-194 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14634988.2015.1039428
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Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=uaem20 UA-410 Download by: [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] Date: 16 September 2017, At: 02:18 Sea of Azov: A brief review of the environment and fishery O. A. Diripasko,1 N. G. Bogutskaya,2,* K. V. Dem’yanenko,1 and L. V. Izergin1 1Institute of Fisheries and Marine Ecology, Berdyansk, Ukraine 2Dolsko 32, 1262, Slovenia *Corresponding author: [email protected]
The Sea of Azov, bounded by Ukraine and Russia, is a unique brackish waterbody from many points of view despite its small size. Low water salinity, shallow waters, high summer temperatures, large riverine inputs of organic matter and minerals, and other factors lead to its very high biological productivity. The article reviews specific features of the Sea of Azov fish fauna and fisheries providing some historical and modern statistical data. An updated check-list of native and non-indigenous fish taxa permanently or occasionally inhabiting the Sea of Azov is included.
Keywords: Eurasia, fish community, check-list, fisheries, conservation
Introduction and Zalogin, 1982; Goptarev et al., 1991). The Sea of Azov is a unique brackish waterbody from Overview of the basin many points of view despite its small size. Low salinity is the main reason for low diversity of flora The Sea of Azov is bounded in the west by and fauna in comparison with the Mediterranean, Ukraine and in the east by Russia. It is an internal Caspian and Black Seas. Concurrently, shallow sea with passage to the Atlantic Ocean going water, high summer temperature, large input of through the Black, Marmara, and Mediterranean organic and minerals with river influx, and some Seas and is connected to the Black Sea by the other factors lead to very high biological produc- Strait of Kerch (Figure 1), which at its narrowest tivity. In fact, the entire Sea of Azov area, with has a width of 4 kilometres. The Sea of Azov is few exceptions, represents an extended feeding the shallowest sea in the world with an average ground, for both adult fish species and their juve- Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 depth of 7 m and maximum depth of 14 m; in the niles. The deltas of rivers entering the Sea of bays, the average depth is about 1 m. The sea bot- Azov, primarily large rivers such as the Don and tom is also relatively flat with the depth gradually the Kuban, serve as spawning grounds for a num- increasing from the coast to the centre. It may be ber of anadromous and seminandromous fish spe- considered both as peripheral waterbody of the cies. Fish production was up to 85 kg ha¡1. Black Sea and a vast brackish estuary (“liman”) of Valuable commercial fishes – Sturgeons, Shads, the River Don; i.e. the mixing zone of fluvial and Vimba Vimba vimba (Linnaeus, 1758), Azov She- Black Sea waters (Zenkevich, 1963; Dobrovolsky maya Alburnus leobergi Freyhof et Kottelat, 2007,
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Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 18(2):184–194, 2015. Copyright Ó 2015 AEHMS. ISSN: 1463-4988 print / 1539-4077 online DOI: 10.1080/14634988.2015.1039428
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Figure 1. Map of the Sea of Azov and national-level entities of Ukrainian Nature Conservation Fund located at the Sea of Azov and its coastal zone (based on data from Leonenko et al., 2003): Kazantip Nature Reserve (1), Azov-Sivash National Nature Park (2), regional landscape parks, Kalinovsky (3) and Maeotida (4), and 12 special reserves (“zakaznik”) (5–16).
Pike-Perch Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758), The goal of the article is to review specific fea- and Black Sea Roach (taran’) Rutilus rutilus heck- tures of the Sea of Azov fish fauna with regard to elii (Nordmann, 1840) – played an important role taxonomic content, modern state of fish communi- in fisheries. For instance, sturgeon catches in mid- ties, and fisheries. 19th Century amounted to 15,000 tonnes (Mati- shov, 2003; Matishov et al., 2005). This high biological productivity is the main Review of the Sea of Azov freshwater reason for the considerable scientific attention fauna and freshwater fishery paid to the sea from early times. The history of hydrobiological research in the basin of the Sea of Fishes have always been an important product
Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 Azov was reviewed by Aldakimova and Zakutskiy of the Sea of Azov. A total of 120 species and sub- (1985). Regrettably, the current state of the unique species from 39 families have been reported ecosystem of the Sea of Azov may be character- (Appendix 1, available in the online supplemen- ized as degraded. The Sea of Azov, previously tary material). This inventory lists all fish species among the most productive seas of the world, has registered exclusively in the sea area (excluding almost completely lost its commercial importance other waterbodies in the basin) by various within the last 150 years, due to numerous rea- researchers in various years, including single sons. Some of the decline is the result from the occurrences. impact of natural factors but much of it is due to According to their origin, there are freshwater various human activities. Nevertheless, further species, Pontic-Caspian relicts, Atlantic-Mediter- degradation of the Sea of Azov ecosystem and its ranean migrants, and several non-indigenous spe- bioresources might be halted and even restored to cies introduced in recent time. From a taxonomic a moderately sustainable level, given stricter regu- point of view, the most diverse families are the lation of economic activities. Cyprinidae and Gobiidae (20.9 and 17.4%,
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respectively), which together make up a third of 1950s¡1960s, through natural sturgeon reproduc- the overall fish species diversity. tion. However, by 1998, their number had declined In relation to salinity, the fish fauna of the Sea drastically to 4 million individuals (Matishov of Azov includes representatives of all ecological et al., 2005). Withdrawing the majority of stur- groups: anadromous, semi-anadromous, freshwa- geon spawners destroyed the system of artificial ter, brackish water and marine species (following reproduction created during the Soviet era. Stur- Kessler [1877] who developed his classification geon fishes are under special concern of CITES – specifically for the brackish seas ¡ Caspian, Black Convention on International Trade in Endangered and Azov ¡ of the Russian Empire). Freshwater Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (1973, Ukraine species (Bleak Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus, entered in 1999); sturgeons of the Sea of Azov 1758), Pike Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758, Perch basin are listed in Appendix 1, available in the Perca fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758), and Asp Aspius online supplementary material. Other valuable aspius (Linnaeus, 1758)), are few, as a rule; they commercial anadromous fish species include occur locally in the most desalinated areas at river Vimba, Black Sea-Azov Shad Alosa immaculata inflows. However, since the mid-1980s, an Bennett, 1835, and Azov Shemaya. increase in the number of Prussian Carp Carassius The Sea of Azov is one of the oldest fishery gibelio (Bloch, 1782) has been recorded in the basins. The first information about fishing in the coastal waters of the Taganrog Bay. Thus, during region comes from the 7th–6th Centuries BC ¡ the period 1983¡2000, its contribution in Tagan- the time of settlement of the Hellenic colonies rog Bay catches increased from 1.7 to on coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov 30.5¡41.5%. Concurrently, distribution of this (called Maiotis Liman by Greeks, and Palus species in the Sea of Azov expanded as well Maeotis later by Romans) (Marti, 1941). The (Abramenko, 2000, 2003). history of commercial exploitation of the Sea of Certain primary-freshwater species (e.g. Bream Azov is particularly demonstrative as predatory Abramis brama (Linnaeus, 1758), wild Common use of natural resources in this plentiful water- Carp Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758), and Pike- body. This applies both to the contemporary his- Perch), under conditions of the Sea of Azov, tory characterized by a high development of exhibit the behavioural pattern of semi-anadro- scientific and technological progress, and past mous fish by reproducing in the lower reaches of years – the second half of the 19th Century. rivers and desalinated estuaries, and feeding in the Without detailed discussion of that period, we sea. just refer to the quotation from Knipovich Anadromous fishes of the Sea of Azov repre- (1932, p. 368) devoted to the characteristics of sent its primary wealth. This refers, above all, to the Sea of Azov fisheries in the second half of sturgeons (family Acipenseridae), which are the 19th–early 20th Century: “The fishery records in most valuable representatives of the fish fauna of the Sea of Azov may serve as an impressive the Sea of Azov. However, currently they are warning against over-intensified fishing plans excluded from fishery, since a ban on commercial and, at the same time, as a good illustration of sturgeon fishing was introduced in 2000. At pres- the natural resources’ limitations in fishing
Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 ent, their fishing may be executed exclusively for areas. By the beginning of World War I, the artificial reproduction and research purposes. Stur- once-rich, highly productive fishery at this sea geon stocks in the Sea of Azov were severely was brought to the deep depression by unsus- depleted in the late 20th Century, and the threat of tainable fishing. Reduction and partial temporary sturgeon overfishing emerged as early as in the suspension of fishing during external and civil first half of the 20th Century. To avoid the fisheries wars sufficed for the sharp improvement in the crisis, artificial hatchery reproduction developed situation, fish abundance increased greatly and effectively in 1960s¡1980s. More than 40 million certain species that had previously lost their fish- sturgeon fingerlings were released annually into ery importance re-entered commercial fishery the sea. So, by early 1980s a new commercial stur- items. Increased fishing, along with some obvi- geon stock (13¡17 million individuals, commer- ously rapacious fishing methods and insufficient cial reserve – up to 8 tonnes) was formed in the protection of rich fish resources recurred to a Sea of Azov, mainly through hatchery activities. rapid abrupt decline in the number of certain Similar stock abundance was observed in commercial fish.” In general, these comments
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are also relevant to the next historical period. in a sharp drop in marine fish catches through the Prior to the year 1952, rivers of the Sea of Azov next decade (Figure 2). basin were characterized by the natural flow Thus, by the end of the 19th Century, the regime, while anthropogenic impact at that time catches (involving all ecological fish groups) was relatively insignificant. During that period, decreased in this waterbody. During 1991¡2000, the largest catches were recorded as well (Fig- the total annual catch ranged from 16.6 to 40 thou- ure 2). For example, between 1930 and 1952 sand tons, the average annual value was equal to (excluding the WWII years, 1942 and 1943), the 27.3 thousand tons; i.e. a tenth of the catch level in average annual catches were at the level of 1936. Currently, fish catches in the Sea of Azov approximately 200,000 tons. The maximum have risen slightly, compared the values of 1990s, catch was recorded in 1936 – 275,000 tonnes; to the level of 45¡50 thousand tons per year. This notably, the proportion of the most valuable is mainly related to the increasing stocks of tradi- anadromous, semi-anadromous, and freshwater tional commercially important fishery item – Azov species in the catch amounted to 59%. gobies; their fishing resumed after a nearly 20- Disruption of the natural riverine flow that had year suspension; another contributing factor was a started with River Don regulation in 1952, later relatively stable commercial stock of introduced caused a decrease of the Sea of Azov’s productiv- Redlip Mullet Chelon haematocheilus (Temminck ity and led to the decline of fish stocks and, conse- and Schlegel, 1845). quently, catches, especially those of primary freshwater species (Figure 2). Comparison of the catches for the period of 1980s vs. the maximum State of freshwater fish science in catch in 1936 shows that they declined by a factor the country of 5¡12 for anadromous fishes and by a factor 15¡33 – for semi-anadromous species (e.g. Pike- Current state of knowledge of freshwater Perch, Bream and Black Sea Roach). Since the fishes late 1980s, due to the mass development of inva- sive Comb Jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi (Agassiz, Information on the ecosystem dynamics, habitat 1865), a sharp drop in marine pelagic fish stocks conditions, fish biology, and reproduction in the (Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus maeoticus Sea of Azov that has been accumulated for several (Pusanov, 1926), and Tyulka Clupeonella cultri- decades, may be considered as one of the most ventris (Nordmann, 1840)) has occurred resulting comprehensive and detailed datasets about the Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017
Figure 2. Dynamics of fish catches, thousand tons; 1927–2000 official statistics data (dashed line, left axis) and percentage in total catch (right axis) of fishes of different ecological groups.
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fishing industry of the former USSR. A specialized aggregations in the open sea and the timing and research institution, the Azov Fisheries Research routes of wintering migrations of these species Institute (AzNIIRKh) (Rostov-on-Don, Russian were well-known. However, anchovy and sprat Federation), has been operating in the Sea of Azov stocks decreased sharply after the expansion of basin for more than 75 years. In the period when Comb Jelly into the Sea of Azov. Currently, com- the Ukraine became an independent state, one of mercial fishery concentrations of these species are the AzNIIRKh subdivisions provided the basis for insignificant, migration terms and routes differ the establishment of a state enterprise, the Azov considerably between the years and, therefore, the Centre of YugNIRO, now Institute of Fisheries contribution of purse net fishing has dropped to and Marine Ecology. The primary research institu- less than 20% in the total catch value for these tion of Ukraine, which is directly involved in fish- fishes. eries issues on the Sea of Azov (and the Black A variety of a long surrounding net with a large Sea), is the Southern Scientific Research Institute mesh (up to 30 mm) were also used for catching of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (Yug- Redlip Mullet in years of its great abundance. The NIRO) located in the city of Kerch. Certain issues lampara net is a surrounding net with the leadline are also within the scope of research interests of much shorter than the floatline, two lateral wings other research institutions, the National Academy and a central codend to retain the catch. In the Sea of Sciences, and some of Ukraine’s higher educa- of Azov, a local variety of the lampara is 150 m tional institutions. long or less. The lampara nets provided up to 80% The fish fauna composition and its recent trans- of Redlip Mullet total catches. formation have been discussed in a few recent Regarding the commercial Goby fishing, close- publications (Volovik and Chikhachev, 1998; meshed 6.5 mm purse seine and lampara are less Chkihachev, 2001). The most recent identification effective, and more than 70% of the total Goby guides of the Sea of Azov fishes are those by Diri- catch is obtained using so-called Goby dredges pasko et al. (2001, 2011). (manual, aided, and mechanized). Goby dredge lacks any metal frame and can be classified as a net gear close to seine net but used for catching Fishery gear used in the Sea of Azov fish from the bottom or over the bottom (almost exclusively Gobies). The Goby dredge is designed The following major types of fishing gears are as a small seine 45¡50 m long and having a used in the Sea of Azov basin: mobile nets, fixed codend and two wings but the bottom leadline nets, and traps. Additionally, various gears are bears thick ropes considerably exceeding the used for harvesting shellfishes and seaweeds. wings’ length are attached to dredge wings. While Mobile nets gears include seine nets, various hauling, these ropes touch the bottom and, as a trawls, dredges and their combined varieties. result of traction, scare fish away and, thus, stimu- A small beach seine net, “volokusha,” repre- late their directed movement towards the net sec- sents a net screen fastened to the guard ropes tion of the fishing gear, whereupon fish “slides” in (lines) at top and foot; the head line is equipped the codend. Dredges are hauled ashore or on board
Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 with floats, the lead line bears weight (plumbs). It of the vessel. consists of two equal-length wings of equal height Trawls in general are not used in commercial and a codend, “kutok,” stitched between the wings fisheries but small trawls are in use for research (an optional feature). The main types of mobile and experimental fishing. net gears used in the open sea are surrounding net Fixed nets are mostly represented by gillnets (purse seine) and lampara. Purse seines were used that may consist in single, double, or triple netting for commercial harvesting of almost all pelagic (trammel net). So-called “porezhovye” nets used fish (especially gobies, Tyulka, and Anchovy) that in the Sea of Azov have double or triple netting, form aggregations; the mesh size is commonly the main wall being a usual gillnet while one or 6.5 mm and the length of the floating top line is two additional walls are of a larger-sized mesh. commonly 500 m or more. However, this only So-called “frame” nets, also known as “tied-down applies to earlier years, before late 1980s when gill nets,” are gill nets stitched from the headrope stocks of these fish species were sustained at a to the footrope by additional lines keeping meshes very high level. These species had formed dense from sagging. These nets are subject to strict
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limitations due to the frequent by-catch of banned zone in shallow waters in places of Goby species. Currently, in the Sea of Azov, frame nets migrations. are used primarily to fishing Azov Flounder, Traps are rather expensive in construction “kalkan.” costs, installation and maintenance, but they are A net gear of a category intermediate between commonly considered as having the low negative gillnet and trap is “karavka” ¡ a small stationary environmental impact as caught juveniles or gillnet forming a top-open net trap with constantly undersized species can be released alive in particu- fixed walls and one or several guide-way tow lar by selection of specific mesh size in the trap. wings. The trap part consists of the “garth” and one or several entrapments with the system of inlets. The karavaka’s height is commonly less Current status of freshwater habitats than 3 m, it is fixed with its footrope at the bottom and the headrope over the water surface, and has a River flows, atmospheric precipitation, and single guide-way wing adjacent to the shore or to evaporation play key roles in the water balance of the rift. Fish aggregate in the catching chamber the Sea of Azov (Goptarev et al., 1991). Distinct without being either gilled or enmeshed. The kar- water masses are formed as a result of interaction avka may be set both from the shore, and in the between Black Sea waters that come via the Kerch open water, either single, or in few units; it is Strait and river flows coming mainly from the Don mostly used for catching Tyulka. The most vivid River and the River Kuban. example of the 6.5 mm mesh karavka’s efficiency Salinity defines the condition and dynamics of in the Sea of Azov is its use for Tyulka fishing at the Azov ecosystem. Salinity changes due to cli- the northern coast of the Sea of Azov and, particu- matic and anthropogenic factors. The arid climate larly, in the Taganrog Bay, the destination of around the Sea of Azov causes significant evapora- spring spawning migration of Tyulka. Karavkas tion. Over the long-term, the average salinity in contributed up to 90% of the total Ukrainian the Sea and atmospheric humidity in the entire Tyulka catch in the Sea of Azov. basin show a strong negative correlation (Bronff- For catching gobies, the fyke nets (venter) with man et al, 1979). Periods with high salinity were 16¡18 mm mesh are used. They are fixed on the rather short and are interspersed with long-time bottom and, in the Sea of Azov, have only one periods of lower salinity (Figure 3). The present long wing guiding the fish towards the entrance of state of the Sea of Azov ecosystem has been the netting bag. Fyke nets are operated in coastal formed under the influence of climate processes Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017
Figure 3. Long-term fluctuations of the salinity of the Sea of Azov (from Garkopa, 2000): 1: average for entire Sea of Azov; 2: Sea of Azov proper (main part, without the Taganrog Bay); 3: Taganrog Bay.
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beginning in the 1980s with freshening as a result. Survey of freshwater fishes Now, the salinity has decreased to 10¡11%, management which corresponds to the concentration of the riv- ers flowing into the Azov basin. Damming of the Legislative and regulatory treatment main rivers has also contributed to the changes in of fish, habitat and fisheries the salinity equilibrium in the Sea of Azov. The damming began 50 years ago and some conse- The first legislation acts were created and quences are still being seen at the present time. developed in the 19th Century and later became The most intensive development of the agro- the basis for creating fishing legislation for the Sea industrial complex in the former USSR occurred of Azov during the Soviet era. After the collapse in the region at the same time. As a result, the Sea of the Soviet Union (1991), the Sea of Azov of Azov has received strong anthropogenic becomes a sea of two states – Ukraine and the Rus- impacts through air, soil and surface water pollu- sian Federation. Each country developed a unique tion, and through direct pollution of the sea waters. national fishery legislation. Coordination on the With the economic depression in 1990s in the use of aquatic bio-resources in the Sea of Azov by newly independent states Ukraine and Russia, fol- Ukraine and Russia is coordinated by a specially lowing the collapse of the USSR, the pollution lev- created organization, the Ukraine-Russia Commis- els in the Azov basin decreased significantly, but sion on Fishery in the Sea of Azov. The some negative impacts are still present. Commission’s work was initiated in accordance The most significant factor that altered the bal- with an international agreement concluded in 1993 th ance of the ecosystem at the end of the 20 Cen- between the State Committee of Fisheries and tury was the biological pollution due to the Fishing Industry of the Ukraine and Federal Fish- invasion of Comb Jelly, Mnemiopsis leidyi. The eries Committee of the Russian Federation. The first introduction in the Black Sea occurred in the main Commission tasks are: beginning of 1980s, possibly with ballast waters. By 1989, there was a large bloom with a biomass Annual estimation of total limits of catch (Total reaching up to a million tons (Vinogradov et al., Allowable Catches – TAC) (currently, the Com- 1989, 1992). In the Sea of Azov, Mnemiopsis was mission estimates TAC for the following fish first found near the Kerch Strait and in the south- species: Russian Sturgeon, Stellate Sturgeon ern and eastern parts of the Sea in August 1989 (Sevruga), Great Sturgeon (Beluga), Pike-Perch, (Mirzoyan et al., 2000). From that time, the cteno- Redlip Mullet, Gobies, Azov Turbot, Black Sea phore annually penetrates into the Sea of Azov Anchovy, Black Sea Tyulka, Shads, Bream, and from the Black Sea at the end of spring or in early Black Sea Roach); summer, is distributed around the Sea and forms a Split TAC into national quotas for Ukraine and temporary “Azov population.” the Russian Federation; Ctenophore population development is very Coordination of changes and additions to the intensive like an algal bloom, and the total bio- base international rules on commercial fishing mass can reach up to 30 million tonnes wet weight in the Sea of Azov, which are used by both Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 (Mirzoyan et al., 2000). These blooms have a sig- countries in creation of their national fishery nificant influence on the whole ecosystem of the legislation and regulations; Sea of Azov especially fishery resources, as the Joint planning of both countries efforts to the Comb Jelly become the main food competitor of restore the fishery resources in the Azov basin; the abundant pelagic fishes such as Tyulka and Coordination of fishery-inspection activities of Black Sea Anchovy. both countries. Oxygen depletion in the bottom water layers of the Sea of Azov is also a major ecosystem prob- Taking account of the decisions of Ukraine-Rus- lem. It occurs during summer due to the absence sia Commission on fisheries in the Sea of Azov, of wind and the stratification of the water column Ukraine developed the basic legislation guiding fish- by the density gradient effects of temperature and ing in the Sea of Azov, “Temporary Rules of Com- salinity. Hypoxia in the bottom water layers is mercial Fishery in the Sea of Azov Basin” (State accompanied with the death of benthic fauna. Committee of Fisheries of Ukraine, 2000). Yearly Gobies are impacted more than other fishes. supplements and amendments to the Rules are
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introduced as “The Fishing Regime in the Sea of Azov fish juveniles (e.g. Sturgeon species, Pike- Azov” for each year. The regime may: (i) provide Perch, Bream, Black Sea Roach, Vimba, She- for temporary bans or restrictions on certain types of maya) were functioning; they produced and commercial fishing; (ii) set fishing procedures for released into the sea more than 4.2 billion fish fin- the works that have already been agreed by Azov gerlings (Zaydiner and Popova, 1990). riparian countries yet unregulated by the Rules; (iii) In different years, the following fish species clarify certain standards of the rules. were introduced into the Sea of Azov: Striped Linkages with biodiversity conservation, Bass (Morone saxatilis (Walbaum, 1792)), Kutum aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem management, (Rutilus kutum (Kamensky, 1901)), Pacific Redfin sustainable development, ecosystem health (Tribolodon brandtii (Dybowski, 1872)), Chinese One of the most effective ways to conserve bio- carps (Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, logical communities and diversity is the establish- 1844)), Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenci- ment of protected areas. Within Ukrainian borders ennes, 1844)), Redlip Mullet, and others. These at the Sea of Azov and its coastal zone 16 opera- introductions did not produce tangible results and tional national-level conservation units have been the only introduced species that became well established under Nature Conservation Fund (Fig- established is Redlip Mullet (Dem’yanenko and ure 1): one National Nature Park, two regional Diripasko, 2003). Redlip Mullet introduction was Landscape Parks, and 12 special reserves initiated in 1978. Activities for stocking and (“zakaznik”) of different classes (landscape, release were carried out at Molochnyi Liman hydrology, forestry, botanical, ornithological, zoo- where an experimental facility had been con- logical). Currently, they cover in total about structed. Instead of the direct method, a phased 87,000 hectares. Recently, in February 2010, the acclimatization method (captive broodstock for- President of Ukraine signed an order to establish a mation and production of hatchery-bred progeny) new national nature park in the northern Sea of was applied. Following production of the first Azov area that will include 35,500 hectares of hatchery generation in 1984, fish translocation waters of the Molochnyy and Utlyukskiy limans. from the Sea of Japan ceased and the fingerlings The Azov and Black Sea littoral areas of the of local origin were used for stocking purposes Ukrainian coastal zone are located in the Azov- (Sabodash and Semenenko, 1998). By the end of Black Sea Ecological Corridor targeted under the 1980s, the entire project had been completed with international WB-GEF “Azov Black Sea Corridor the formation of a self-reproducing population in Biodiversity Conservation” Project, 2002¡2006. the Sea of Azov. Redlip Mullet spread into the Under the current legislation, rare and endan- Black Sea, and appeared in the Mediterranean Sea. gered animal and plant species are recorded in the Beginning in 1992, it was included in the commer- Red Data Book of Ukraine. The current species cial species list of Azov-Black Sea basin. Its con- list of the Sea of Azov ichthyofauna registered in tribution to fishery yield gradually increased and Red Data Book of Ukraine and IUCN Red List now Redlip Mullet is among the major fishery includes 20 species (Table 1). items accounting for 15¡20% of annual catches in the Sea of Azov (Figure 4). Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 Examples of specific success A very revealing failure in protection and manage- ment of fish resources is shown by the current situa- stories regarding freshwater tion with the Sea of Azov Sturgeon species. Prior to fishes the early 1990s, the stock status of the Russian Stur- geon and Stellate Sturgeon wasassessedas“healthy.” In the 20th Century, particularly, in the second The stock abundances were supported by effective half, there were widespread efforts to raise fish large-scale reproduction at sturgeon hatcheries. After productivity of the waterbodies through various the collapse of the Soviet Union, followed by pro- fisheries management activities. Among such tracted economic crises in both Ukraine and the Rus- interventions in the Sea of Azov, the most exten- sian Federation, stocking of Sturgeon fingerlings into sive ones were hatchery fry production of valuable the sea declined sharply. At the same time, illegal fish species and introduction (acclimatization) fishing developed as a result of adverse socio-eco- activities. For example, by the year 1985, fourteen nomic conditions among the local people. Thus, the hatcheries for industrial production of the Sea of total numbers of Russian and Stellate Sturgeons were
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Table 1. A list of fishes of the Sea of Azov registered in Red Data Book of Ukraine for 2009.
Category in Red Data Book of IUCN category Species, subspecies Ukraine (Akimov, 2009) (IUCN, 2009) Acipenser nudiventris (Lovetsky, 1828) Extirpated Endangered A1acdeC2d (Black Sea stock) Acipenser ruthenus (Linnaeus, 1758) Endangered (“vanishing”) Vulnerable A1cC2d Acipenser gueldenstaedtii (Brandt et Vulnerable Endangered A2d Ratzeburg, 1833) Acipenser stellatus (Pallas, 1771) Vulnerable Endangered A2d Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758) Endangered (“vanishing”) Endangered A2d Alburnus leobergi (Freyhof et Kottelat, 2007) Vulnerable Least Concern Rutilus frisii (Nordmann, 1840) Endangered (“vanishing”) Least Concern Salmo labrax (Pallas, 1814) Endangered (“vanishing”) Least Concern Lota lota (Linnaeus, 1758) Endangered (“vanishing”) Least Concern Syngnathus variegatus (Pallas, 1814) Vulnerable [Not Evaluated] Syngnathus tenuirostris (Rathke, 1837) Vulnerable [Not Evaluated] Hippocampus guttulatus microstephanus Vulnerable [Not Evaluated] (Slastenenko, 1936) Chelidonichthys lucernus (Linnaeus, 1758) Rare [Not Evaluated] Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758) Data Deficient Least Concern Diplodus puntazzo (Cetti, 1777) Data Deficient [Not Evaluated] Sciaena umbra (Linnaeus, 1758) Rare [Not Evaluated] Umbrina cirrosa (Linnaeus, 1758) Rare [Not Evaluated] Benthophiloides brauneri (Beling et Iljin, Rare Data Deficient 1927) Benthophilus stellatus (Sauvage, 1874) Rare Least Concern Gymnocephalus acerina (Gueldenstaedt, 1774) Endangered (“vanishing”) Least Concern Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017
Figure 4. Redlip Mullet catch (initial stage of commercial exploitation) against the background of annual total commercial fish catch in the Sea of Azov (official statistics data, thousand tons) 1994–2000: rectangular: total catch; dots: redlip catch.
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reduced by a factor of 4 through the period References 1994¡2001 (Rekov, 2002). A ban on sturgeon fish- Abramenko, M. I., 2000. Occurrence of goldfish Carassius aur- ing was introduced in 2000; fishing for them is per- atus gibelio (Bloch) in Russian sector of the Black Sea. mitted only for reproduction and research purposes. Doklady Rossiyskoy Akademii Nauk 374(3), 415–418. (in However, this action did not stabilize the populations Russian). as their numbers kept declining. At present, a deficit Abramenko, M. I., 2003. Ecological and genetic patterns of out- in ripe sturgeon adults ready to spawn already exists burst in abundance of goldfish Carassius auratus gibelio in and the situation still becoming more acute. the Azov Sea and other basins of the Ponto-Caspian region. In: G. G. Matishov (Ed.), Recent environmental phenomena in the Azov Sea (the second half of the XXth century), pp. 276–380. KRC RAS Publishers, Apatity, Russia. (In Conclusions Russian). Akimov, I. A. (Ed.), 2009. Red Data Book of Ukraine. Animals. The current status and feasible opportunities of Globalkonsalting, Kiev, Ukraine. (In Ukrainian). the Sea of Azov are largely determined by the Aldakimova, A. Ya., Zakutskiy, V. P., 1985. Hydrobiological environmental situation that, in turn, is due to a research in the Azov Sea basin. In: P. L. Pirozhnikov, L. A. complex set of natural and anthropogenic factors. Erman (Eds.), Hydrobiological research in USSR, pp. 51– Only a small fraction of factors can be altered 69. Nauka, Moscow, Russia. (In Russian). through the efforts of the fishery industry itself. Boltachev, A. P., Karpova, E. D., Danilyuk O. N., 2009. First Changes in the majority of the other factors realis- record of Benthophiloides brauneri (Perciformes, Gobiidae) in the Sea of Azov. Morskiy Ekologichnyy Zhurnal 8(3), tically, requires the active participation of the 14. (In Russian). other users of the ecosystem at different institu- Bronffman, A. M., Dubinina, V. G., Makarova, G. D. (Eds.), tional levels, from the regional to the international. 1979. Hydrological and hydrochemical bases of the Sea of Moreover, environmental aspects of the Azov fish- Azov productivity. Pishchevaya promyshlennost, Moscow, eries development will need to be considered Russia. (In Russian). throughout its hydrographic network including Chikhachev, A. S., 2001. Species composition and present sta- tus of fish fauna of Russian coastal waters of Azov and smaller waterbodies. Black Seas. In: G. G. Matishov (Ed.), Environment, biota Given the current situation in the Sea of Azov and modeling of environmental processes in the Sea of basin, the following major issues may be indicated Azov, pp. 135–151. KRC RAS Publishers, Apatity, Russia. for development of fisheries: (In Russian). Dem’yanenko, K. V., Diripasko, O. A., 2003. The status of the Interstate settlement of problems related to demersal fish populations in the Sea of Azov, pp. 78–81. reducing anthropogenic loads on aquatic resour- Presented at Workshop on Demersal Resources in the Black Sea & the Sea of Azov, 2003 April 15-17. Sile, Turkey. ces and biota. Diripasko, O. A., Zabroda, P. N., 2012. The first finds of Euro- Pursuit of active environmental policy aimed at pean pilchard Sardina pilchardus (Clupeidae, Clupei- rehabilitation of hydrological ecosystems (struc- formes) in Sea of Azov. Vestnik Zoology 46(2): 122. (In tures, regimes, and functions). Ukrainian). Solution to problems related to the protection of Diripasko, O. A., Izergin, L. V., Yanovsky, E. G., biological resources, and the reproduction and Dem’yanenko, K. V., 2001. Key to fishes of the Sea of Azov. sustainable use of fish stocks. Berdyansk, Ukraine. (In Russian). Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 02:18 16 September 2017 Diripasko, O. A., Izergin, L. V., Dem’yanenko, K. V., 2011. Reconstruction and introduction of updated Fishes of the Sea of Azov. Inter-M Publishers, Berdyansk, equipment and technology throughout the fish- Ukraine. (In Russian). ing industry. Dobrovolsky A. D., Zalogin B. S., 1982. Seas of the USSR. Rehabilitation of fish stocks to levels reflecting Moscow State University, Moscow. (In Russian). the ecosystem’s capacity and intensive develop- Garkopa, Yu. M., 2000. Changes of river influxes in the Azov ment of various aquaculture opportunities. basin and oceanographic conditions of formation of its bio- resources under influence of climate and anthropogenic fac- Education of highly qualified experts and further tors. In: G. G. Matishov (Ed.), Mechanisms of development of fisheries science in Ukraine. oceanographic and biological processes in the Sea of Azov, pp. 10–81. KRC RAS Publishers, Apatity, Russia. (In Russian). Supplemental material Goptarev, N. P., Simonov, A. I., Zatuchnaya, B. M., Gershano- vich, D. E. (Eds.), Hydrometeorology and hydrochemistry Supplemental data for this article can be of the seas of USSR. V: The Sea of Azov, 1991, Hydrome- accessed on the publisher’s website. teoizdat, St Petersburg, Russia. (In Russian).
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IUCN, 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version Podushka, S. B., 2004. A record of common betterling from 2009.2. UA-410