SOME DATA ON BIOLOGY AND FISHERY OF ICEFISH SALANGICHTHYS MICRODON IN PETER THE GREAT BAY (JAPAN SEA)

Abstract

Within Peter the Great Bay, common icefish Salangichthys microdon forms commercially valuable aggregations in two areas of the Amur Bay and in one area of the Ussuri Bay. It spawns in the internal estuaries of the rivers entered to the bays and in the external estuarine zones in the tops of the bays, mostly on small pebble grounds from late April to late May and feeds in the bays waters. Data on its size and weight composition were obtained in 2017–2018 both from the Amur Bay (for spawning period) and from the Ussuri Bay (for feeding period). During the spawning (on May 6 and May 18), the body length was 59–90 mm, on average 74.9 mm, and the weight was about 750 mg; sex ratio males : females was 1.0 : 0.8. During the feeding, the average body length was 66.8 mm.