Fish fauna of the Bering Sea (within Russian waters). Communication 3: Perspectives of commercial fishery

Abstract

The commercial value of the ichthyofauna of the Bering Sea within Russian waters (Exclusive Economic Zone) is discussed. The ichthyofauna of this region comprises 344 species of fish and fish-like. Most of the species (283 species, or 82.3%) have no commercial value. The rest have commercial value (47 species, or 13.7%) or have the potential commercial value (14 species, 4.1%). Active and large-scale fishery is performed for 27 commercial species both in the open sea and in the coastal areas (mostly by ships); another twenty species are harvested irregularly by local coastal or nearshore fishery.