Long-term data on biomass and species composition of fish by depth ranges in Peter the Great Bay

Species composition of fish in the bottom biotopes of Peter the Great Bay (Japan Sea) is considered for 8 biostatistical areas on the data of 2428 trawl catches obtained in 36 surveys conducted by Pacific Res. Inst. of Fisheries and Oceanography (TINRO) in 1978–2009. The main 10 species for the depth ranges 20–50 m, 50–100 m and 100–200 m are ranked by biomass. Japanese flounder Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae had the 1st or 2nd rank at the depth < 50 m in all areas where it was 15.8–25.0 % of the total fish biomass, but was almost absent deeper, being a sublithoral species. Arabesque greenling Pleurogrammus azonus had the largest summary stock in the bay that was 6.8–30.6 % of the total fish biomass at the depths < 50 m, 8.1–34.3 % at 50–100 m, and 0.7–43.7 % at 100–200 m. Saffron cod Eleginus gracilis lived everywhere and had the 2nd–4th rank at the depths < 50 m (1.1–6.1 % of the total fish biomass), the 4th rank at 50–100 m (5.2–9.9 %), and 8th rank at 100–200 m (2.5–6.8 %). For the depths < 50 m, the densest distribution of fish was observed in the middle areas of the Amur Bay (25.0 % of japanese flounder and 26.0 % of saffron cod) and Ussuri Bay (30.6 % of arabesque greenling and 16.1 % of japanese flounder), on average. At the depths 50–100 m the highest distribution density was in the middle Ussuri Bay, too, where walleye pollock (14.4 %) and arabesque greenling (13.4 %) prevailed. At the depths 100–200 m, graypurple sculpin (32.1 %) and sea plaice (15.6 %) had the densest concentration in the Posyet Bay and arabesque greenling (43.7 %) and graypurple sculpin (9.0 %) — in the central part of Peter the Great Bay. Generally, mean biomass of fish was lower in the western Peter the Great Bay than in its eastern part that included such high-productive areas, as the Ussuri Bay and the central Peter the Great Bay.

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