Commercial value of trawl macrofauna of the North Pacific and adjacent seas

Abstract

A checklist of 1541 animal species from the Chukchi, Bering, Okhotsk, and Japan seas and the North Pacific Ocean was generated based on 459 research vessel surveys (68 903 trawl tows at depths from 5 to 2200 m) in the period 1977–2014. The study area spanned over 25 million km2. For each species, the scientific name is given, as well as English and Russian common names, along with the following details: areas where species were collected, trawl type (benthic and (or) midwater), real or potential commercial importance, and possible product yield and minimum wholesale prices. Almost 20% of species in trawl catches had no commercial value, and >50% were cheap or very cheap (US$0.5–$2·kg−1). Only 3.3% of species were expensive and very expensive (US$10–$30·kg−1), and their numbers increased from north to south. About 33% of species can be considered as unexploited reserves for fisheries. These are mainly small fishes and invertebrates, with total biomass many times exceeding that of currently exploited biological resources. Product output for most species exceeded 90% of the raw mass. Occurrence of such species was much higher in the pelagic zone than on the seafloor. The most abundant local commercial species are characterized by significant natural fluctuations in abundance. Therefore, a sustainable fishery in the region can be secured (among other factors) by expansion of the assortment of commercial bioresources. A regional supply of bioresources provides such an opportunity. The checklist can be used for development of bioresource management, aquaculture and conservation, assessment of environmental damage caused by climate change, and (or) anthropogenic impact (including pollution, man-made hydro-technical constructions, oil–gas extractions, nuclear reactor accidents, etc.).