The occurrence of skates (Rajidae) in the by-catch of trawl and long-line fisheries in the Barents Sea are described. The dominant species captured were thorny skate or starry ray (Amblyraja radiate), arctic skate (A. hyperborea) and round skate (Rajella fyllae), whereas blue or big skate (Dipturus batis) and sail ray (D. linteus) were only caught occasionally. Information on the size distribution and sex ratio are provided. Larger skates were more often caught in long-line fisheries, with the mean and maximum length of fish greater in long-line catches, particularly for the larger-bodied species. Ratio of males to females was close to 1:1 in all species except for arctic skate where males dominated in the long-line fishery. Preliminary estimates of skate by-catch in these fisheries indicate that total annual by-catch of skate in the Barents Sea ranges from 723-1 891 tons. Thorny skate accounted for 90-95% of the total skate catch.
The Russian fishery for invertebrate hydrobionts in the Barents Sea includes the list of a dozen species of crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. This type of fishery is characterized by great diversity in relation to the status of exploited stocks, catch size, and economic efficiency of the fishery. The list of up-to-date problems of this industry is long and includes biological, scientific, commercial, socio-economical, and market issues. Among the main problems of the Russian invertebrate fishery in the Barents Sea, overfishing, underutilization of a number of stocks, and significant emissions from fishing waste are considered. The causes of these problems, possible solutions and the priorities of such a solution are analyzed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.