MAIN LINES IN THE FISHERIES RESEARCH IN THE U.S.S.R.

by

P.A. Moiseev
VNIRO, Moscow

Many-sided fishing activities of the U.S.S.R., viz.: development and improvement of the fisheries, short and long-term (5–20 years) predictions of the sizes of catches of aquatic organisms, planning of the variety of fish products and improvement of their quality as well as attempts to find ways to increase the economic efficiency of the production, are based on the investigations and achievements of the home fishery science which in its turn also analyses and applies to the fishing experience gained abroad.

An extensive net of research fisheries bodies responsible for investigations in the field of biology and reproduction of commercial resources, elaboration of methods of scouting and fishing operations, mechanization and improvement of the fishing and processing methods and increase in the efficiency of the fisheries, is established.

In regard to the nature of the water-bodies within the borders of which investigations are carried out, the research fisheries organizations are divided into marine institutes (responsible for the research of commercial species in the seas and oceans as well as of saline inland lakes, viz.: the Caspian and Azov Seas), river and lake institutes (engaged in the research of organisms inhabiting the inland natural fresh water lakes and rivers and artificial reservoirs), and pond institutes (responsible for fish culture in ponds).

As is known, the coasts of the Soviet Union extending to many thousands of miles are washed by 14 seas and 3 oceans. A lot of research institutions of marine fisheries are busy with the study of resources of the basins. They are as follows:-

1. In the European part of the U.S.S.R., on the coasts of the Barents and White Seas:

• Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) in Murmansk;

• Northern Branch of PINRO in Arkhangelsk;

• Atlantic Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (Atlant NIOR) in Kaliningrad;

• Baltic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (Balt NIIRH) in Riga;

• Marine Ichthyological Laboratory of Balt NIIRH in Tallin.

2. On the Black and Azov Seas:

• Azov-Black Sea Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (AzcherNIRO) in Kerch;

• Azov Research Fisheries Institute in Rostov-on-Don (AzNIIRH);

• Odessa Whaling and Ichthyological Laboratory (AzcherNIRO) in Odessa;

• Georgian Research Fisheries Station of VNIRO (GruzNIRS) in Batumi;

3. On the Caspian Sea:

• Caspian Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (CaspNIRO) in Astrakhan with branches in the town of Makhachkala (Dagestan) and Turkmenian Research Laboratory in the town of Krasnovodsk;

• Central Research Institute for sturgeon (CNIORH) in Astrakhan with Azerbadjanian Research Laboratory in Baku and Bank Hatchery on the Kura River and Pravy Rasdor Hatchery.

4. On the Aral Sea:

• Aral Branch of the Research Fisheries Institute in the town of Aralsk.

5. On the Pacific Coast of the U.S.S.R.:

• Pacific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) in Vladivostok;

• Kamchatka Branch of PINRO in Petropavlovsk;

• Sakhalin Branch of PINRO in the village of Antonovo;

• Amur Branch of PINRO in Khabarowsk;

• Magadan Branch of PINRO in the town of Magadan;

• Okhotsk Ichthyological Laboratory in the town of Okhotsk.

All the fairly extensive system of marine research institutes and laboratories attached to the State Industrial Fisheries Committee of the U.S.S.R. is methodically guided by the All-Union Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) in Moscow, the Georgian Research Fisheries Station (Batumi) being directly attached to it.

Thus, more than 21 research establishments with a number of stations, experimental bases and vessels carry out research in the field of marine fisheries. About 4,000 persons are engaged at the marine research establishments, out of which 1,200 persons are research workers. The studies of the fisheries in lakes, rivers and reservoirs are also carried out by a number of organizations established in the basins and on the banks of commercially important rivers and lakes of the Soviet Union.

It should be mentioned that in the Soviet Union 21 million of hectares of area are occupied by lakes, the rivers extend to over 350,000 kilometers and the area of reservoirs averages one million hectares which is supposed to increase to 4 million hectares. In fact the inland fresh water bodies of the Soviet Union occupy a vast area which provides ample possibilities for development of the fisheries.

A number of research institutions guided methodically by the State Research Institute of Lake and River Fisheries (GosNIORKH) in Leningrad are responsible for laying the foundation of the inland fishery in the Soviet Union.

The following research institutions are under the guidance of the Institute:-

• Siberian Research Fisheries Institute (SibNIIRH) in the town of Tumen;

• Pskov Branch of the GosNIORKH in the town of Velikye Luki;

• Karel Branch of the GosNIORKH in Petrozavodsk;

• Ostashkovo Branch of the GosNIORKH in the town of Ostashkovo;

• Tatar Branch of the GosNIORKH in Kasan;

• Saratov Branch of the GosNIORKH in Saratov;

• Volgograd Branch of the GosNIORKH in Volgograd;

• Novosibirsk Branch of the SibNIORH in Novosibirsk;

• Ob-Taz Branch of the SibNIORH in the town of Khanty-Mansiysk;

• Siberian Branch of the SibNIORH in Drasnoyarsk;

• Ural Branch of the SibNIORH in Sverdlovsk;

• Yakutsk Branch of the SibNIORH in Yakutsk;

• Kazakh Research Fisheries Institute (KazNIORH) in the town of Balkhash and its Altai Branch in the town of Ust-Kamenogorsk and biological hatchery in Alac-Ata.

The following tasks in regard to some particular water body or to all the inland reservoirs are in the scope of the above mentioned institutes, branches and laboratories:-

• to develop programs of rational fishery in the rivers and lakes;

• to lay the foundation for development of a fishery in existing and proposed reservoirs;

• to lay a biological foundation for biotechnique of the reproduction of the resources in the inland water bodies in order to increase their efficiency (on the account of acclimatization of fishes and food organisms, stocking, etc.).

• to develop methods of assessment of the fishing stocks in the inland water bodies and to make short-term and long-term predictions on the stock levels and catches:

• to find out regularities in the behavior and distribution of fish;

• to elaborate methods of formation of fish concentrations (electric field, electric light, hydroacustics);

• to improve methods of commercial fishing;

• to evaluate effect of industrial sewage on fishing stocks and commercially important water bodies and elaborate methods of their cleaning;

• to define methods of fishery researches;

• to determine the top economic efficiency of the inland fisheries.

A number of research establishments devote their efforts to special problems in fish culture, the most important among them being the following:-

• All-Russian Research Institute of Pond Fisheries (VNIIPRKh) in the Dmitrov district of the Moscow Region: its branch in Krasnodar; experimental base “Goryachy Kluch” in the Krasnodar Region and seven experimental-production bases;

• Ukrainian Research Fisheries Institute (UkrNIIRH) in Kiev; its branch in Lvov with fish culture stations and experimental hatcheries.

Alongside with the above-mentioned establishments mainly engaged in fisheries research, diverse large-scale investigations are carried out by institutions of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. and Academies of the Republics, higher schools, fish-preserves and laboratories attached to different establishments.

Among them we would like to mention the Zoological Institute, Oceanological Institute, Institute of Animal Morphology, Biological Institute of Reservoirs attached to the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. and many others.

It is enough to say that besides the above-mentioned institutions, there are 87 establishments more to carry out research in the field of fisheries and relative spheres.

This is the fisheries research net of the Soviet Union which totals about 135 establishments, in the staff of which about 3,000 research workers are employed.

Proceeding from the above, it is quite evident that numerous research fisheries organizations of the Soviet Union carry out a large scope and wide range of complex investigations, If we recollect that, before the Great October Socialist Revolution, there were only three dwarfish ichthyological laboratories in Astrakhan, Baku and Siberia, the staff of which was estimated at some thirty specialists, great efforts exercised in the Soviet Union in the field of development and progress of the fishery science will become quite evident.

The general co-ordination in all the branches of fishery investigations, and in the first place, in the study of regularities in the dynamics of populations, behavior and distribution of fish, marine mammalia, commercial shellfish and seaweeds with reference to their environment, is implemented by supervising institutes and Ichthyological Commission of the State Industrial Fisheries Committee of the U.S.S.R.

Such a co-ordination of efforts from all the research fisheries establishments becomes more important due to the fact that, as has been stated, a great number of scientific establishments attached to various bodies are engaged in the research. The main objective of such a co-ordinative body is to concentrate efforts of scientists on the solution of most significant problems, to prevent parallelism in investigations and dispersal of scientific efforts and allocated sums, and to secure success in the fulfilment of scientific co-ordinating programs. Briefly, these are the tasks facing the inland research organizations.

In the view of the fact that in 1963 the marine catches of the Soviet Union constituted 3.75 million tons of aquatic items, or about 81.2 percent from the total catch, and in 1964 the marine catches are expected to amount to 4 million tons or 81.6 percent of the total catch, it seems worth dwelling upon the objectives of the fishery science in the studies of the marine resources and methods of their exploitation.

TABLE 1. CATCHES OF FISH, WHALES AND OTHER AQUATIC ITEMS IN THE OPEN SEA AND INLAND WATER BODIES OF THE U.S.S.R. (IN MILLION TONS)

The figures illustrate high rates of the development of the Soviet fisheries. In recent years the catches of aquatic items have become three times as great.

However, the present level does not meet the demand of the population in fish and fish products, either by quantity or by variety of fish products, or by their quality. The rapidly expanding population of the Soviet Union necessitates a sharp increase in the fish production. Thus, the most important aim of the U.S.S.R. fisheries is to support continuously a high rate of growth in catches and improvement in the processing of landings to meet an ever-increasing demand of the population in fish products.

The Seven-Year plan of the development of Soviet national economy provides an increase in catches of aquatic items to 4.6 million tons in 1965. But the development rate of the fishing industry proved to be so fast that it was by 1963 that this level had been achieved. In 1964 catches are expected to total 4.9 million tons.

To secure rapid rates of increase in the consumption of fish and fish products per capita the primary line in the development of the fishing industry should be directed to a further progress in fishing, whaling and sealing over the vast area of the World Ocean. The main efforts will be directed, first of all, to search and development of new fishing grounds in the high seas.

Proceeding from the primary objective, research programs of marine fisheries institutions of the Soviet Union should be drawn up.

Great attention is paid to biological researches bound with the laying of the scientific foundation for the fishery in the open waters of the World Ocean, particularly in the North and South Atlantic, Northwestern, North-eastern and Central Pacific and Western Indian Ocean. The investigations are carried out proceeding from the standpoint that a substantial increase in the catch of fish, expansion and improvement of the variety of fish products can be achieved only due to a rapid growth in the fisheries for new commercial items in new and often remotest, but fairly promising oversea fishing areas.

This research seems to be very important and promising thanks to the fact that the fishing fleet has already been added and is being added with new powerful fishing vessels designed for longer trips, thus they are able to operate successfully in the remotest fishing areas.

In this respect, the operation of big stern trawlers in various areas of the World Ocean seems encouraging. The fishing fleet consisted of such vessels allows us to develop an efficient, stable and, at the same time, rational fishing owing to their possibility to make a quick move from one area to another in case the sizes of catches are reduced as a result of sharp fluctuations in the abundance of commercial species, or changes in their behavior, or because they left for inaccessible fishing places.

Much regard is paid to fisheries research in the North Atlantic, aiming at studying the areas of heavy concentrations of cod, haddock, sea perch, silver hake, that is of most promising bottom and off-bottom species in the North Atlantic. The scope of research off Atlantic coasts of Africa where heavy aggregations of bottom fish are found, has also increased. North Pacific concentrations of bottom fish are also under intensive research in order to obtain scientific data needed for drawing-up recommendations on the establishment of an effective and, at the same time, rational fishery for the species; and, up to now, such kind of research has been most important among other problems facing the Soviet fishery science.

However, a relatively high intensity in the fishery for bottom species within many areas over the shelf of the World Ocean has confronted the workers with the necessity to investigate pelagic species. Of interest is the biology of herring in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific. The data available seem to support the assumption that the intensity in the herring fishery in the North Atlantic might be increased due to a rational fishery management in the traditional areas (of course, it is necessary to obtain more detailed information on behavior and distribution of herring) as well as due to establishment of the herring fishery in new areas. Most advantageous items for the establishment of new fisheries are Sardinella off the African coasts, tuna, scomber and horse-mackerel in the Atlantic and Pacific, saury in the Northwestern Pacific and some other pelagic fishes, the distribution and behavior of which have not yet been known enough.

The above-mentioned research is implemented through extensive expeditional cruises and scouting and experimental surveys. The elucidation of the behavior of fish in a broad sense of this word should be emphasized. Among most essential factors under investigation aimed at increasing landings of principal species are vertical migrations of fish response to light and sound, with reference to physiological condition, diurnal movements bound with the distribution of food, light conditions and behavior of fish when they encounter the fishing gear or moving vessels. The investigations are conducted by means of analyses of indirect data and of direct observations with wide application of a submarine, bathyscaf, aquaria, diving devices, TV sets, photoelements and other devices. The fisheries investigations to provide a scientific basis for the development and improvement of the high sea fishing, are carried out chiefly in large-scale complex expeditions where observations on behavior, distribution and biology of commercial species and governing abiotic factors are made. Many of these expeditions are widely known. viz.: cruises to the Northwestern Pacific, off Western Africa, to Western Indian Ocean and other areas. As a result, some data of scientific and commercial value were obtained.

Another extensive branch of investigations provides the elaboration of a biological pattern of reproduction and rational management of the fisheries for a number of species inhabiting outlying seas and semi-anadromous fishes, the abundance of which has considerably been reduced as a result of fishing or if they are fairly intensively fished at the time being, viz.: salmon, flat fish, crab, Bleginus navaga and some other commercial species of the Far East seas; anchovy, pelamid, horse-mackerel, etc. in the Black Sea; cod, flounder, Baltic herring in the Baltic Sea.

The knowledge of levels of these stocks necessitates us to take some steps on an international basis to secure the rational management and thus sustained maximum yield with minimum production expenditures.

The investigations of the commercial populations of the inland seas (Aral, Caspian and Azov Seas) are carried out in the same line. A number of measures have already been successfully introduced to secure the maximum reproduction of aboriginal fishes. This is of importance because the river outflows are regulated due to the establishment of hydroelectric schemes which have effected considerably the reproduction conditions of valuable species. The present research is expected to bring some additional information in the nearest years allowing us to improve the pattern of reproduction of fishing stocks suggested. In view of an extensive scope of work to be done for successful reproduction of fish resources, much attention is paid to improvement of the fish reproduction facilities especially for anadromous and semi-anadromous species. As is known, the fish cultural biotechnique for majority of commercial species has not by far been worked out completely, but the extent of reproduction of fish in the inland water bodies depends primarily upon the efficiency of artificial reproduction. It is worth mentioning that the successful research in this line has enabled us to solve the urgent problem on conservation of the stocks of sturgeon-like fishes in the Caspian and Azov Seas with reference to new water regimes of the rivers. It may be safely said that owing to artificial reproduction of sturgeon-like fishes their stocks will show no decline but even some increase in them may be expected.

In the investigations and practical facilities for reproduction methods bound with application of radioisotopes are widely used to obtain necessary information on ways of increasing the efficiency of hatcheries. The scale of the investigations on acclimatization and introduction of commercial or food organisms from one water body into another one also increases. For that there are ample possibilities in the Soviet Union since it is contiguous to the basins of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and there is a lot of separate inland water bodies on its territory. The evidence is well supported by successful transplantation of mullet and nereis into the Caspian Sea, of sturgeon into the Aral Sea, of pink salmon into the Barents Sea, etc. The ichthyologists continue to be at service while observing the stock levels of principle commercial fishes of the Soviet Union. Without such a service it is impossible to predict catches from different water bodies, fluctuations of which are known to range widely because of sharp changes in the abundance of fish under the influence of different factors, Of course, the service includes not only observations on the fishing stocks, but also elaboration of methods of assessment of stocks, effects of fishing and natural causes.

From year to year, the collected data on the biology of commercial species and fishing effect on them serve as a basis for laying the biological foundation for rational utilization of commercial stocks and for introduction of reasonable fishing regulations. It should be admitted that in some cases, due to a lack of knowledge, our regulations do not seem to be based on too solid biological grounds. As a result of investigations conducted, fishing regulations should be re-considered, considerably improved and then they may serve as a good means for rational exploitation of the resources.

Research also extends to the stocks of whales and seals. Of interest are problems bound with the distribution and level of whale stocks in the Antarctic and North Pacific, as well as with the biology of seals and furseals.

Much regard is paid to the investigations of the biology of commercial shellfish (crabe, molluscs, shrimps, etc.) and seaweeds.

In the technical field the investigations are concerned with elaboration of new devices for location of fish concentrations, improvement of fishing methods and gear, better utilization and processing of fish and other aquatic organisms, introduction of mechanized and automatic lines in the fishing industry.

We shall not dwell upon the whole scope of technical research to be carried out, but mention only main problems in this line which are under investigation at the net of institutes of marine fisheries.

Studies of biochemical, chemical and technical peculiarities of fish and other aquatic organisms are carried out to find more reasonable methods of complete utilization of the raw materials in the processing of foodstuff for population, food for animals, medicinal and technical products.

Of importance is to find out most effective methods of preservation and transportation of fish on board a ship before they come to a processing plant. Among them it is worth mentioning rapid cooling and preservation of fish in the iced sea water and treatment of fish with biological preservative means, that is by antibiotics or radioactive elements during the storage.

The problem of cold pasteurization of fish while processing by means of ionizing radiation on board a ship is studied in view of proposed fishing operations in the high sea.

The studies of changes in the fish tissue under different conditions of cold preservation aiming at finding out the optimum regimes of freezing and refrigeration, are carried out; new designs of fish refrigeration installations are developed; new methods and means preventing the oxidation of fat in the frozen fish (glazing of fish with entioxidates, alginate films) are applied.

Special attention is paid to improvement in the technological treatment of herrings (constituting about 30 percent of the total catch) owing to the development of production of mild-salted hors d'oeuvre and various delicious preserved and canned products.

Smoking processes are improved, thanks to some technical progress in the facilities for rapid electrosmoking and wet curing. New special devices to control and automatize the process are designed and some smoking installations with continuous operation are put into practice.

Among the most important technological problems are the following:-

New methods of removing water out of the fish body by means of vacuum drying and infra-red radiation, introduction of new mechanized and automatic lines into production; introduction of new processing machinery (for dressing, salting, portioning and so on); designs for complex-mechanized and automatic conveyers for main processing lines (canning, smoking, fish meal and oil production);

Improvement of methods of producing food products from fish of little value and waste; studies of composition and biological value of food products obtained from different fish raw material by different methods; investigations on obtaining protein and fish meal from the flesh of marine mammalia and fish of little value for the consumption of population;

Improvement of cold methods of extracting oil from fish and marine mammalia by means of pressing, centrafuging and mechanical effects;

Possibilities of application of ionizing radiation to the canning of fish and fish products (wide application of atomic energy);

Utilization of aquatic raw material in the production of valuable medicinal products (vitamins, aminoacids, endrocrine preparations, and so on);

Improvement of utilization of shellfish (molluscs, rock lobsters and seaweeds) and recipes for the cooking and canning of various products.

Briefly, this is the framework of technological problems which are under study at our research fisheries establishments.

The economical branch should concentrate their efforts on the efficiency of investments, provisions for rational distribution of the establishments of the fishing industry and increase in the economical efficiency of the production, decrease in the prime cost of products, development of the kolkhoz fisheries and other problems.

The geographical distribution of the Soviet research fisheries establishments, and problems they tackle, support an evidence of close association of the scientific establishments and the fishing industry of the main basins and of great practical assistance rendered to the fishery through the research conducted.

In fact, the whole net of applied research fisheries establishments is confronted with the task of encouraging in every possible way the development of the fishing industry of the U.S.S.R. on a scientific rational basis. As an example, let us dwell on the duties imposed upon the All-Union Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) which supervises the similar researches of other fisheries research institutes.

The principal tasks imposed upon the VNIRO are as follows:-

• to draw up draft long-term and annual programmes of research, perspectives of the development of the fishing industry of the U.S.S.R. and most important economical problems;

• scientific methodological supervision of basin research fisheries institutes, their branches and laboratories, to render assistance in their work and to co-ordinate their activities in the research of some general problems;

• to work out complex problems and recommendations on the development of the Soviet fisheries in new oceanic areas and main inland fisheries basins;

• to make predictions on stocks and proposed yield of fish, shellfish, marine mammalia, seaweeds, etc. by most important marine and oceanic areas as well as recommendations on regulation of fisheries in the international waters and main inland basins;

• to work out complex problems and to carry out research which are important for a number of basins, for example, to obtain theoretical and biotechnical knowledge of reproduction of fishing stocks, acclimatization of fish and food invertebrates, rational management of fisheries in marine water bodies, designing new hydroacoustic fish location devices, diving equipment and fishing technique;

• to conduct complex oceanic fisheries investigations and expeditions, together with other basin research institutes of marine fisheries and some other establishments;

• to consider and agree annual and long-term research programs of all the fisheries establishments aiming at co-ordination of most important fisheries researches;

• to convene meetings and conferences on principle scientific items;

• to set up scientific-technical information on achievement of home and foreign science in the field of biological, technical and economical research, publication of transactions, fisheries handbooks and manuals with participation of some special institutions and basin research institutes (branches or laboratories), when necessary;

• to prepare materials and take part in various international organizations, committees, commissions, councils for fisheries, whaling and sealing. To compile material and to carry out research on fishing in international waters to secure rational fisheries;

• to take part in the tests of experimental models of machinery and equipment and observe new technological processes; to render consultations to establishments, plants, laboratories, and other offices engaged in the designing of new technique for fishing vessels and processing plants;

• to prepare scientific personnel for main branches of the fishing industry on the account of post-graduate studies.

There are 18 laboratories and offices at the VNIRO to carry out investigations in the corresponding branches of the fishery science. They are as follows:-

1. Laboratory of oceanic fisheries.

2. Laboratory of stocks and regulation of the fishery.

3. Laboratory of reproduction of fishing stocks.

4. Laboratory of fisheries oceanography.

5. Laboratory of food resources and commercial invertebrates.

6. Laboratory of physiology and investigation of fish with application of radioactive isotopes.

7. Laboratory of hydroacoustical devices.

8. Laboratory of underwater research.

9. Laboratory of fishing methods and techniques.

10. Laboratory of fish technology.

11. Laboratory of oil, industrial food products and technology of marine mammalia.

12. Laboratory of technology of marine shellfish and seaweeds.

13. Laboratory of application of atomic energy in technology.

14. Laboratory of standards.

15. Laboratory of mechanization and automation.

16. Laboratory of economical research.

17. International fisheries office.

18. Scientific-technical information office.

And how to select the most important urgent problems to be elaborated or solved within the current year or long-term period by fishery science, and particularly by the VNIRO? In other words, how are research programs of fisheries institutes and laboratories compiled?

As was mentioned above, proceeding from a ratio of most reasonable rates of food consumption and size of population as well as from the needs of industry and agriculture appropriate state planning bodies put forward a general task defining the quantity and variety of food and industrial products, including fish products for all the regions of the Soviet Union for short and long-term periods. In this way, the catch size of aquatic organisms to be achieved to meet the demand of the population, industry and agriculture, can be established.

In compliance with the general tasks, the fishery science is to elaborate and provide effective ways for rational fulfilment of the task on a scientific basis. Thus, it is necessary to try to find necessary resources, most effective methods of fish location, fishing storage and transportation, to design new technological lines to make diverse food and industrial products and to define economic ways of establishment of fishing, processing and marketing.

In line with the tasks which, of course, are quite peculiar for each central or basin institute, an annual or long-term (a period of 5, 7 or 20 years) research program is compiled. It is evident that the shorter period of investigations, the more detailed program is drawn up, and, vice-versa, the longer period the more schematic program indicating only main aspects of research is compiled.

However, prior to drawing up the program, all the wishes, requests and surmises on the items of the program which come from specialists, research workers employed at different laboratories, institutes and organizations supervising the work, are collected and analyzed. Then a draft research program is compiled to be widely discussed by the laboratory symposia, Research Board of the institutes and at last by the State Industrial Fisheries Committee of the U.S.S.R., with participation of representatives of the bodies concerned. All the programs of the basin Research Fisheries Institutes are discussed at the VNIRO by representatives from all the Institutes two or three months before the beginning of the program year. All the researches should be co-ordinated and approved in order to avoid any parallel research, to separate the sphere of activities of the institutes in adjacent areas and basins and to the studies of most important problems.

Such co-ordination meetings are usually followed by reports on the essential achievements in the research and on the tasks facing the fishing industry and science. When all the programs are co-ordinated and approved, they come into effect.

As was mentioned above, perspective long-term research programs compiled for all the scientific aspects, including the fishing industry, are very important for the planning of the development of the fishery science, and particularly for drawing up annual programs.

The main lines of the development of the fishery science and, in the first place, biological backgrounds for rational utilization and reproduction of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants in the marine and fresh water bodies, were elaborated by the scientists of the Ichthyological Commission attached to the State Industrial Fisheries Committee (formerly to the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.). They had in view investigations of regularities in the distribution, abundance, behaviour and reproduction of fish and other commercial aquatic organisms, as well as biological foundations for the rational management of fisheries for different groups of species and in different water bodies. These tasks were fixed with regard to possibilities available at 183 research bodies attached to different ministries, which are responsible partly or completely for the fisheries resources of the Soviet Union.

To illustrate the recommendations, let us take an example of the research carried out in the high seas. The following problems are under investigation:-

1. Elucidation of regularities in the distribution and movements of most important commercial fishes, with reference to biological factors and influence of the environmental changes; drawing of the fish-location charts; studies of migrations and adaptive peculiarities of species; studies of regularities in the formation of commercial fish concentrations, their movement and dispersal; methods of long and short-term predictions of the distribution of fish and their commercial concentrations. The best solutions of the problems will provide a theoretical foundation for scouting operations. The studies of the problems should be based on progress and development of the up-to-date fish location technique (hydroacoustics, application of aeroplanes for scouting operations), and new designs of fish location devices and gear.

2. Assessment of the commercial stocks of fish and other aquatic organisms and elucidation of regularities in their fluctuations; studies of causes affecting the abundance of year-classes, that is when a rich or poor year-class may be expected to come; studies of the fishing effect on the stocks; assessment of the natural and fishing mortalities; elaboration of methods of long-term prediction of fluctuations in the abundance of fish. The data obtained should lay a theoretical foundation for compiling plans of the fishery, proper exploitation of the available resources as well as for conservation and increase in the stocks of commercial fishes.

3. Studies of regularities in the behaviour of different commercial species both under natural and experimental conditions; adaptive role of the behaviour, peculiarities in the school behaviour. The solution of the problems should lay a theoretical foundation for improvement of fishing methods and technique, as well as facilitate the scouting operations.

4. Provision of biological backgrounds for the establishment of a new fishery in the high seas; studies of peculiarities of new commercial areas and species in the Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic and Indian Oceans.

As for the developed areas of the sea are concerned, the work is carried out on the following lines:-

1. Analyses of the levels of stocks of main commercial species and fishing rate in different areas of the World Ocean.

2. Biological backgrounds for exploitation of certain stocks in the World Ocean, and issue of recommendations for international conventions.

3. Issue of different material facilitating the fisheries, viz.: chart, atlas, sailing direction and theoretical generalization of distribution and migrations of fish.

4. Short and long-term predictions of the stock levels.

5. Recommendations on the improvement of fishing gear based on the study of fish behaviour.

The following researches should be carried out in the areas to be scouted:-

1. Studies of regularities in the distribution of pelagic and bottom fishes in certain areas of the World Ocean.

2. Studies of regularities in the distribution and dynamics of populations of most important abundant species, which represent a basis for the development of a fishery.

3. Recommendations on the establishment of a fishery in the areas studied and preliminary instructions.

All the scope of the research in question should be closely bound with other investigations devoted to the elucidation of the physical and chemical characteristics of the water body, its feeding conditions and peculiarities of food resources and other biotechnical relationships of the commercial species. The broad scope of research should also cover regular observations on the regime of the water body, food resources and their ways of life. Alongside with that, the progress in general ichthyology requires more thorough investigations in the fields of morphology, embryology, systematics, zoogeography, physiology, general problems of ecology of fish and invertebrates.

Proceeding from such methodological recommendations on main lines in the investigations and from practical tasks, research fisheries programs are compiled for a current year or forthcoming 5, 7 and 20 years. Such programs are drawn up in detail indicating the scope of investigation, place, time, character and institutes responsible for their fulfilment, as well as the results to be obtained.

It is evident that such long-term documents should be corrected from time to time, but they always facilitate the planning, both of current and future investigations.

While speaking on the planning of investigations, it is worth mentioning two sections of the institutional programs which are very important for checking up the results of the research conducted from a practical point of view and their application to fishing practice, that is, programs of application and grounding results in practice. Such programs are included into the general program of research bodies. In most cases, they provide for a collaboration of science and industry since all the proposals of science should be checked up by the industry, and the industry should implement the scientific recommendations which have already been checked up in practice. Such programs should be agreed upon with appropriate industrial enterprises (in most cases, with those which took part in the investigations conducted), which hope to achieve better practical results in future, provide proper conditions needed for checking up and grounding the proposals of the institutes in practice, though such kind of measures seem to often disturb the roll of production and even bring about some economical impact.

The fiscal provisions are secured mainly on the account of budget allocations amounting to 50 to 70 percent of the total budget of a research body and through contracts providing for such kinds of investigations. Contracts are concluded between industrial enterprises and research bodies.

The above-mentioned procedure of planning, originated from the tasks of development of the national economy of the U.S.S.R., makes provisions in the first place for such researches which are most significant for the development of the fishing industry of the Soviet Union.

This is brief information on the struction, tasks and planning in the fishery science of the U.S.S.R.

Fig. 1

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF VNIRO

Fig. 2

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE FISHERY RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE USSR

Fig. 3

CATCHES OF FISH, WHALES, MARINE ANIMALS AND OTHER AQUATIC ORGANISMS IN OPEN SEAS AND INLAND RESERVOIRS OF THE USSR

Fig. 4

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS