New data on the ichthyofauna composition in the White Sea

The paper presents the up-to-date information on the composition of the White Sea ichthyofauna, updated from literature sources and the results of regular studies conducted by the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Northern Branch in 1980−2023. During more than 40 years of trawl and coastal surveys, 64 species (subspecies) of pisciformes and fishes have been recorded in catches. Five species are listed for the White Sea for the first time: the freshwater species, the silver breamBlicca bjoerknaand burbotLota lota; marine species, the pale eelpoutLycodes pallidus, the snakeblennyLumpenus lampretaeformisand northern wolffishAnarhichas denticulatus. The presence of the merlingMerlangius merlangusin the White Sea was confirmed. Taking into account literature data, the White Sea ichthyofauna includes 86 species and subspecies from 33 families (54 marine species, 14 anadromous and semi-anadromous species, and 18 freshwater species entering brackish waters). The marine ichthyofauna is basically represented by 17 families: Petromyzontidae, Clupeidae, Osmeridae, Coregonidae, Salmonidae, Gadidae, Gasterosteidae, Cottidae, Agonidae, Cyclopteridae, Liparidae, Zoarcidae, Stichaeidae, Pholidae, Anarhichadidae, Ammodytidae and Pleuronectidae. Representatives of the other families are few or rare, or occur in low salinity estuarine areas. The catches of some species have not been recorded for half a century. The group of commercial fish species includes 23 species; Clupeidae, Osmeridae, Coregonidae, Salmonidae, Gadidae, and Pleuronectidae form the basis of fishery.

ichthyofauna, species composition, rare species, WhiteSea