Qualitative Assessment of Status of Fishery Stocks of Black-Spined Herring Alosa kessleri kessleri Alosidae in Volga River Delta with LBI Method

Abstract

The outcomes of qualitative assessment of the status of fishery stocks of the black-spined herring Alosa kessleri kessleri in the Volga River Delta have been reported. The data on the size composition of catches of the black-spined herring who migrated to the Volga River Delta to spawn in species peak fishing seasons in 1990–2000 and the latest data for 2016–2021, when the low biological values after the period of rapid decline in the stock size in the early 2000s, are used. The length-based indicator method assigned to the methods applied to assess data-poor fish stocks was used to determine indicators for the black-spined herring status in 1990–2000 and 2016–2021. This method allowed us to assess the qualitative status of stocks and the impact of fishery on them in the study periods. The outcomes may be used in recommеndations for black-spined herring fishery regulation.