Composition of the demersal fish community in the bottom biotopes of 14 biostatistical areas of the Okhotsk Sea is considered on the data of 9,189 standard trawl catches obtained in 95 expeditions conducted by Pacific Fish. Res. Center (TINRO) in 1977–2010. The most abundant fish species in each area are ranked by biomass. The total demersal fish biomass is estimated as 9583.0 . 103 t (2124.9 . 103 t without pollock and herring). The most numerous demersal species are: pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus, yellowfin sole Limanda aspera, pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus, great sculpin Mycocephalus polyacanthocephalus, and saffron cod Eleginus gracilis.

Demersal fish biomass is quantitatively evaluated in the bottom biotopes at the depths to 2000 m at the continental slope of the Okhotsk Sea on the data of 2,545 trawl catches obtained in 1977–2010. The total long-term average biomass is estimated as 3695.9 . 103 t, including 31.6 % of walleye pollock, 19.5 % of giant grenadier, and 13.8 % of greenland halibut (2400.9 . 103 t without pollock). The average density of fish concentration is 3.2 t/km2 without pollock; it is rather uniform by depth: from 2.6 t/km2 for 200–300 m to 3.7 t/km2 for 700–1000 m.

The bottom trawl survey (430 stations) was conducted over the shelf and continental slope in the Russian sector of the Japan Sea (total depth range 10–750 m) on April 1 — July 8, 2015. In total, 211 taxa of invertebrates were recorded in the trawl catches. Most of them belonged to sea stars (36), shrimps (32), gastropods (27), bivalves (23), crabs and craboids (11), polychaetes (11), coral polyps (10), and sponges (10). The total biomass of macrozoobenthos in the surveyed area was assessed as 1572.5 . 103 t (136.6 . 103 t in Peter the Great Bay, 341.5 . 103 t at southern Primorye, 686.0 . 103 t at northern Primorye, and 408.4 . 103 t at western Sakhalin) that was higher than the mean long-term level. The total stock of commercial invertebrates was assessed as 630.0 . 103 t. Its highest portion (265.2 . 103 t or 42.1 %) was concentrated in the western Tatar Strait. The average biomass of macrozoobenthos was 13.5 ± 1.1 g/m2 , including 6.3 ± 0.5 g/m2 of commercial species. The most abundant groups were basket stars (372.2 . 103 t), crabs (231.6 . 103 t), shrimp (226.9 . 103 t), sponges (182.9 . 103 t), sea lilies (167.5 . 103 t), sea stars (77.2 . 103 t), sea urchins (59.0 . 103 t), craboids (48.7 . 103 t), and bivalves (49.5 . 103 t). Vertical distribution of both total and commercial benthos was distinguished by peaks on the upper shelf (10–50 m) and upper slope (300–400 m). Over the surveyed northern Japan Sea waters, 18 biocoenotic complexes of trawl macrozoobenthos were identified. The largest area was occupied by the complex of immobile sestonophagous sea lily Heliometra glacialis (131 stations in the depth range of 104–692 m with average biomass 5.5 g/m2 ), other wide-spread complexes were those of polyphagous snow crab Chionoecetes opilio (71 stations, 27–552 m, 4.4 g/m2 ), mobile sestonophagous basket star Gorgonocephalus eucnemis (40 stations, 58–372 m, 6.6 g/m2 ), and polyphagous fawn sea urchin Strongylocentrotus pallidus (40 stations, 17–351 m, 4.7 g/m2 ).

At least 12 seabird species aggregated permanently around the vessels of pollock trawl fishery in the Okhotsk Sea in January-April, 2015. They were attracted by the fish processing waste and small-sized fish falling from trawls. Fulmars dominated in all fishery districts except the East-Sakhalin subzone (their number was 68.9 % of all birds, on average), they were the most abundant at southwestern Kamchatka. The secondary abundant group of species was large-sized white-headed gulls of Larus genus (31.0 %), mostly slaty-backed gull. Species composition of aggregations and number of the birds were quite dynamic in space and time, but the largest and the most diverse aggregations were observed in the Kamchatka-Kuril fishery district where many seabirds wintered in the Pacific waters. The largest aggregation in this subzone had up to 23,000 ind. around one separate vessel, so hundreds of thousands birds may gather in the area of a trawling fleet operation. Size and species composition of the near-vessel aggregations are determined by biotopic preferences of the species and weather conditions. The pollock trawl fishery is regarded as a powerful factor of the seabirds habitat in the Okhotsk Sea, and the catching and processing waste is a reliable food base for huge bird community, particularly important in winter season.

The first version of the software is developed for presentation of metaarchive and library of typical acoustic images of marine organisms for their size and species identification on echograms. It displays certain typical acoustic images of commercial fishes in the Far- Eastern Seas and their descriptions as electronic atlas and allows to choose a typical acoustic image by area (using its coordinates and/or name of fishery district), time of day, season, and object (species and size). For this atlas, the echograms of different fish species from the Bering, Chukchi, Okhotsk Seas and adjacent Pacific waters accompanied with the data on location, time, and results of trawling were accumulated since 1996. The options «Filter», «Echogram parameters», «Trawling parameters», «List of echograms», «Catch», «Size composition», «Maturity», and «Echogram image» are presented on the window of this atlas. The «Filter» limits the area of echograms search by coordinates, borders of fishery district, time of day, season, species and size of fish. The «Echogram parameters» allows to select the echogram palette suitable for the type of echosounder and gives information on time and distance of the record. The atlas could be applied in trawl-acoustic surveys and for maintenance of fisheries in the Far-Eastern Seas, as well as a guide for work with scientific and fishery sonar devices.

Quantitative samples of fish, crabs and shrimps from the Razdolnaya estuary are analyzed. The area surveyed in May-September of 1990–2014 includes the internal estuary of this largest river of southern Primorye and its external estuary — the top of the Amur Bay with the depth < 13 m. In total, 478 samples were collected: 244 in the external estuary by trawl and 234 in the internal estuary by fry seine. Distribution density and biomass are calculated using the «areal» method with certain coefficients of catchability (1.0 for fry seine). The upper freshwater layer (salinity 0–5 ‰) was observed in the lower stream of the river till sandy bar, the brackish-water cline was traced at the river bottom from the mouth to the distance 10–15 km upstream. The seawater with salinity > 30 ‰ did not penetrate over sand bar to the river. Species diversity of fish and decapods was presented by 108 taxa (fishes — 88, decapods — 20) belonged to 43 families, among them 84 species were caught in the Amur Bay and 41 species in the Razdolnaya, but no more than 67 species were caught in the Amur Bay only and 24 species — in the Razdolnaya only, other 17 species were found in both external and internal estuaries (Acanthogobius flavimanus, Acanthogobius lactipes, Crangon septemspinosa, Crangon spp., Eriocheir japonica, Hypomesus nipponensis, Giporhamphus sajori, Konosirus punctatus, Liopsetta pinnifasciata, Oncorhynchus masou masou, Palaemon sp., Pholis nebulosa, Planiliza haematocheila, Pugettia quadridens, Salangichthys microdon, Syngnathus schlegeli and Tribolodon spp.). Total biomass was higher (9.1 g/m2 ) in the external estuary than in the internal estuary (6.7 g/m2 ) with the mean value 9.0 g/m2 . It was almost uniform over the internal estuary with only slight increasing on the distance about 5 km from the mouth. Simpson index of dominance increases from external to internal estuary but decreases in the river in the order: 0.127 at Peschany Peninsula — 0.168 in the northwestern Amur Bay — from 0.193 to 0.252 in the internal estuary — 0.164 in the river. Six clusters with similar species composition are defined, they change in direction from the sea to the river in the following order of the dominant species: L. pinnifasciata in the sea — prawns gen. Palaemon at the bar (upper part of the external estuary) — P. haematocheila at the river mouth (lower part of the internal estuary) — P. haematocheila and E. japonica in the main part of the internal estuary — Acanthorhodeus chankaensis and Gobio macrocephalus (with the highest biomass up to 22 g/m2 ) in the minor adjoining river stream — G. macrocephalus in the upper part of the internal estuary.

Runs and escapements of sockeye salmon to the Zhupanova River have increased since 1985 with the run of 10.63 . 103 ind. instead of 1.45 . 103 ind. in 1960–1984, on average. The increasing was reasoned by change of the pink salmon odd year-classes domination in West Kamchatka to domination of even year-classes after the extremely high escapement in 1983. In 2005–2006, the sockeye salmon stock in the Zhupanova River became even more higher that continues till nowadays (runs of 68.20 . 103 ind. in 2005–2017, on average). This growth corresponds with general increasing of the pacific salmons abundance in the Russian Far East as the result of favorable environmental and feeding conditions in the North Pacific. General biological indices (age, body length and weight, maturity, fecundity) of mature sockeye salmon originated from the Zhupanova River are presented on the data of commercial catches in the sea in 1999–2017. The sockeye salmon population from this river has 11 age groups. The age group 1.3 is the most abundant and associated with the age groups 1.2 and 1.4. Majority of sockeye in the catches from the Zhupanova has the age 1.3 (on average 66.2 % in 1999–2017). Besides, returns of underyearlings with age 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4, and the fish with age 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.2, and 3.3 are detected. The body length and weight are similar for all age groups of sockeye salmon: for males/females the mean length is 57.56/57.70 cm, mean weight is 2.69/2.62 kg. The mean males:females ratio is 44.7 : 55.3. The mean absolute fecundity is 4121 eggs. In opposite of sockeye salmon in some rivers of East Kamchatka, the population of the Zhupanova has no negative year-to-year trend of the body length or weight.

The Kamchatka River basin is the reproduction area for the secondary large Asian stock of sockeye salmon, one of the most valuable species of pacific salmons. Several major local stocks and groups of minor stocks occupy the basin, the main of them are: i) A — the aboriginal stock in Lake Azabachye (in the lower Kamchatka basin) which juveniles stay two winters in the lake and migrate to sea in the age 2+; ii) E — the transit group of local stocks spawning in the middle and lower tributaries of the Kamchatka which juveniles enter to Lake Azabachye for feeding and wintering and migrate to the sea after the wintering in the age 1+. The latter underyearlings get an additional mark on the scale (less than typical annuli) entering the Lake because of the feeding conditions change. That’s why almost all (90–95 %) juveniles have two zones of dense sclerites (ZDS) when leave Lake Azabachye, no matter of their 2+ or 1+ age. By the measurements in 1979–1987 of the smolts with two ZDS (A + E) in the year of their migration from Lake Azabachye to the sea, each sclerite on scale had formed in 6.61 days, on average, while the smolts staying in the lake for freshwater feeding (with one ZDS) formed each sclerite in 12.00 days, on average. Correspondingly, the migrants had wider distance between the sclerites (4–5 mm), as compared with those of non-migrants (2.0–2.5 mm) (with 150 times magnification). The aboriginal migrants demonstrate the effect of real compensatory growth in the year of emigration that is reflected in the scale structure as wider intersclerite distances. Negative dependence between the size of smolts and rate of their sclerites forming is observed on the data of 1987–2016 for the aboriginal stock A: the bigger the smolts at age 2+, the lower the rate, the longer the time of new sclerite forming, and the narrower the distance between sclerites, and vice versa. This dependence is interpreted as additional environment-dependent adjustment of the growth rate for the smolts with compensatory growth for their better adaptation and survival.

Epiphytic diatoms develop seasonally. On macrophytes they reach the highest density in the middle of summer and have the minimum density in winter. This pattern gives an opportunity to apply a tool of difference (recurrent) equations for testing the concept of density regulation in interannual dynamics of their number. Detailed scheme of the model is developed; the model is applied for the diatoms dynamics in macroalgae epiphyton of Ulva lactuca Linnaeus in three areas of Peter the Great Bay, Japan Sea (Amur Bay, Ussuri Bay, and Stark Strait). The model parameters are evaluated by means of SYSTAT 5 and STATISTICA 8 software. The model results do not contradict the data of observations. Its determination (R2 ) exceeds 0.62 in all cases. Selected coefficients of the model have rather small relative errors (< 11 %) which never change the sign of the coefficients. Generally, the modelled dynamics of relative number of epiphytic diatom communities is complicated, pseudochaotic. It differs between the areas. Reproductive capacity of the epiphytic diatom community is the lowest in the Stark Strait and the highest in the Amur Bay. In both these areas, alternation patterns are modelled as periods of chaotic dynamics and the periods with a limit cyclicity. Resistance of the epiphytic diatom communities to variations of the main limiting factors of the environments decreases in the order: Amur Bay — Stark Strait — Ussuri Bay.

In total, 146 species of macrozoobenthos belonged to 11 taxonomic groups are found in the surveyed area in the eastern part of the Eastern Bosphorus Strait. Polychaetes have the highest species number, followed by bivalves and amphipods with five times less number of species. Polychaetes and bivalves have the highest occurrence, too, gastropods and amphipods occur frequently, as well. Bivalves dominate by biomass, but polychaetes — by their abundance. Benthos of the Patrokl Bight at the northern coast is poor relatively to the southern part of the strait at Russky Island because of low species diversity of amphipods, gastropods and decapods. Four macrozoobenthic communities are defined with the following titular species: Acila insignis + Scalibregma inflatum, Ophiura sarsi + Scoloplos armiger, Ennucula tenuis + Nicolea sp., and Dipolydora cardalia + (Melinna elisabethae or Maldane sarsi). Besides, Echinocardium cordatum dominates at the single station in the internal Patrokl Bight and Protocallithaca adamsi dominates at the single station in the Zhitkov Inlet. Majority of these communities are quite diverse and abundant. All of them, except the last case, are undisturbed or slightly disturbed and possess in good or moderate ecological state. In the case of the Zhitkov Inlet, the impoverished community of P. adamsi is considerably disturbed due to anthropogenic impact. Differentiation between the majority of communities is noted along gradients of natural environmental factors, as depth and fractional composition of bottom sediments. All conclusions are statistically significant and based on the results of consequential use of the factor and cluster analysis, non-metric multidimensional scaling and constrained correspondence analysis with bootstrap and randomization procedures. There is noted that the bottom communities in this area are subjected to rather significant contamination that supposedly causes decreasing of their stability and they may change their species composition and abundance under additional negative impact.

Chemical water parameters in the Partizanskaya River estuary were measured on July 18–19, 2012 in conditions of low water discharge (20.1 m3 /s). In these conditions, the cline of salt water at the bottom penetrated up to 11 km upstream from the river mouth and the fresh river water passed the estuarine zone of mixing in approximately 2 days. Salt composition of the mixed water in the estuary had conservative dependence on salinity. By dynamical signs, the estuary could be divided into two zones: i) zone of active exchange between the surface freshwater layer and the bottom salted layer on the distance 5.5 km from the river mouth to the first sandy riverbank that the fresh river water passed in 12 hours, and ii) the upper part of the estuary with limited water exchange. The complex of water environments in the estuary, as good water transparency, strong stratification, and high concentrations of terrestrial nutrients, was favorable for phytoplankton blooming, so the chlorophyll concentration in the estuarine waters exceeded 40 μg/L. Destruction of autochthonous organic matter caused anomalies in distribution of carbonate and nutrient parameters and was accompanied by hypoxia in the bottom layer with the dissolved oxygen content lowering to 61 μM/kg.

Cyclonic activity in the Asia-Pacific region is largely determined by state of the seasonal centers of atmosphere action. In turn, cyclones themselves influence on conditions in certain «key» areas. Recently the Aleutian Low activity declines in fall-winter and this center is shifted westward, but activity of the Hawaiian High increases in warm season. As the result, heightened air pressure prevails over the Ocean (positive anomalies of the sea level pressure) and lowered pressure (negative anomalies) — over the Far Eastern Seas. In this anomalous situation, the number of cyclones over the Ocean has increased but they become weaker that causes SST increasing in the North Pacific both in winter and summer. Over the Bering Sea, the cyclones become weaker, as well, but this regime causes the ice cover increasing, so SST decreasing in spring. On the contrary, over the Okhotsk Sea and Kuril Islands area, the number of cyclones has decreased gradually but they become stronger in both seasons that causes the ice cover reducing and spring SST rising. In the Japan Sea, cyclonic activity has intensified, too, but this tendency causes cooling in winter and warming in summer.

The sea surface temperature (SST) variability in recent conditions of climate warming is analyzed for the coastal waters in the western Bering Sea and adjacent areas on the data of regular observations on coastal hydrometeorological stations in 1980–2016 and the data of NOAA_OI_SST_V2 reanalysis, taking into account the climate indices variations. The data series are analyzed using the methods of Empirical Orthogonal Functions, cluster analysis, and correlation analysis. Mean climatic trends are estimated for the air temperature as +0.27 о C/decade and for SST as +0.23 о C/decade; they explain 27 % and 35 % of the year-to-year variability, respectively. The warming patterns are not identical for all seasons and areas. The most rapid growth of the air temperature and SST is observed for warm season (on average +0.36 o C/decade and +0.49 o C/decade). Both year-to-year fluctuations of SST and its climatic trend increase from south to north, the SST trend has increased from 0.11 to 0.32 o C/decade. Statistically significant climatic trends are found also in the changes of zonal and meridional components of wind velocity and certain indices of atmosphere circulation.

Seasonal changes of chlorophyll a profiles are traced over the Amur Bay (Peter the Great Bay, Japan Sea) in May-October, 2017 by means of oceanographic sonde-profiler equipped with fluorometer. Two principally different types of the vertical profiles are revealed, which were formed by different mechanisms of productivity: i) Chl a concentration had the maximum at the sea surface and decreased with the depth in the internal part of the bay occupied by the estuarine waters, and ii) Chl a concentration had the maximum below the seasonal pycnocline in the external part of the bay connected with the open sea. The highest Chl a concentration was observed in July-August for the estuarine type because of summer monsoon flood on the rivers, but in September for the marine type because of the coastal upwelling induced by monsoon winds change. Comparing these results with estimations of Chl a concentration made with the satellite data, insufficient correspondence is concluded for the external part of the bay, outside the estuarine zone, because the satellite data don’t reflect well the chlorophyll a in the subsurface layer and its seasonal variations. Thus, underestimation of real productivity and feeding ability of marine areas is available with the satellite data on chlorophyll a. 

Data of long-term observations on the cold intrusions in the warm intermediate layer of the Okhotsk Sea are overviewed, considering these intrusions as fresh portions of the Intermediate water of local origin. They are formed in the process of the high-density Bottom Shelf water cascading from the northwestern shelf, mainly in the submarine canyon at northwestern Sakhalin. Transport of these new-formed portions is traced in the flows of cyclonic circulation of the Okhotsk Sea waters from the area of their origin to the southern Kuril Straits, that takes from 2 to 6 years. Similar intrusions are found in the Pacific, mainly at southern Kuril Islands, where they penetrate presumably through the Vries and Bussol Straits. Year-to-year variability of the Bottom Shelf water and the new-formed Intermediate water properties are analyzed in dependence on external factors. There is determined that the volume and density of the Bottom Shelf water depend on winter severity that could be quantitatively explained by the ice cover; all these parameters decrease recently. Salinity of the new-formed Intermediate water has similar changes. Besides, tidal mixing influences on its salinity, in particularly at the Kuril Straits, so the tidal 18.6-year cycle is presented in the salinity variations. On the contrary, variations of the minimal temperature in the cold-water lenses of the fresh Intermediate water of local origin do not correlate with the changes in their production because of auto-compensatory effect for temperature in the process of its cascading to different depths. The same effect is obviously applied to dissolved oxygen, that’s why the oxygen content in the upper intermediate layer at the area of cascading is rather stable and doesn’t correlate with the ice cover changes. However, ventilation of the medium and deeper parts of the intermediate layer decreases on the background of recent lowering of the Intermediate water producing, in particularly the production of the water with σq ≥ 26.8. On a distance from the area of cascading, the tendency to deoxygenizing spreads over the whole intermediate layer of the Okhotsk Sea.

Complete utilization of all wastes of fish processing becomes actual in modern conditions of depletion of the fish raw materials because of the commercial catch decreasing in the Volga-Caspian Basin. Abilities of fish oil extraction from fins of catfish are considered. Several technologies of the oil extraction from this waste are tested: thermal, carbamide-thermal, combined carbamide-thermal, and hydromechanical. Organoleptic parameters of the raw materials and produced fatty products are determined in accordance with the state standard № 7631-2008. Water, protein, fat, and mineral substances content in the raw material and physical and chemical properties of the produced fish oil are measured by standard methods given in the state standard № 7636-85, using the thin-layer chromatography. The fat content in the raw material is evaluated as 33.8 %. The fish oil output from the fat-containing raw materials is determined. The carbamide-thermal method is defined as the optimal one for oil extraction from fins of catfish. At the first stage, the raw material is heated to 70 о C during 60 minutes, then it is mixed with 1.5 % of carbamide in 30 % solution and the liquid and dense fractions of the mixture are separated under 3000 rpm in 30 minutes; at the second stage, the dense fraction is heated to 70°C, mixed with 20 % of water, and the mixture is heated to 75 о C during 60 min, then the liquid and dense fractions of the mixture are separated again; finally, the liquid fractions from both stages of treatment are subjected to sedimentation during 10 minutes under ambient temperature and the semi-finished fatty products are separated by 15 min. centrifuging at 4000 rpm. Phospholipids, monoglycerides, sterols, hydrocarbons, sterol esters, and the main fractions of triglycerides and carotenoids are presented in the fish oil produced with this technology, so it could be used in veterinary. This method for fish oil extraction from the fins of catfish is applied to the enterprises Parshikov and Fabrika Vesna and showed its efficiency in industrial conditions. 

Portion of freshwater species able to fishing beyond the TAC limits increases recently in the total volume of fishery in the Volga-Caspian basin. These species regarded as «other freshwater fish» are presented mainly by silver crucian carp Carassius gibelio and red eye Scardinius erythrophthalmus. These low-valuable species could be used for manufacturing of minced fish and various food products on this base. Technological properties of the raw fish and samples of unwashed, washed, and double-washed mince of these species are examined, both before and during storage. The technology of double-washing in water with 1 % food supplement Omfresh Plus (salt, dextrose, maltodextrin, mononatrium glutamate, and spice extract of lemon, cumin or rosemary) is developed in the innovation research laboratory of Food Biotechnology and Biologically Active Substances at Astrakhan State Technical University. For testing, two pilot batches of the minced red eye and silver crucian carp were manufactured by Astrakhan Fisheries Ltd. The output of edible mince after double-washing was 41.4 % for red eye and 41.0 % for silver crucian carp. Organoleptic, physical and chemical properties of the washed mince complied well with the requirements of GOST (state standard) R 55505-2013 «Frozen edible fish mince. Specifications». According to the standard, they are: water content 79.0–82.0 %, sodium chloride concentration 0.17–0.35 %, water retaining capacity > 50 %. After 7 months of cold storage at the temperature below –18 о C, the nitrogen ratio (volatile basic nitrogen relative to formally titrated nitrogen, VBN/FTN) in the minced fish exceeded 8 % that indicated a decrease of its quality, so the recommended storage time was adopted as 6 months. Effective viscosity of the minced fish changed insignificantly during the storage: from 2386.4 to 2443.2 Pa.s for red eye and from 1669.6 to 1775.2 Pa.s for crucian carp that meant that the samples have a stable consistency and are quite suitable for manufacturing of various molded food products. Recipes of molded dry-jerked sticks and boiled-smoked sausages are developed. These products were manufactured from the washed fish mince stored 6 months. According to their organoleptic, physical and chemical parameters, they corresponded to the standard requirements. So, the technology of washed mince of silver crucian carp and red eye is successfully tested in industrial conditions and can be recommended to fish-processing enterprises of the Volga-Caspian basin for rational usage of prospective objects of fishery in order to increase the release of food fish protein products.

New technology of small-sized fish processing is substantiated with shock loads that provides splitting of fish meat to fiber particles and their separating from skin and skeleton bones. The separation is realized by straining the water pulp, then the resulting suspension is thickened and the mince is produced in continuous centrifuges with screw discharging. Technological and physical-chemical characteristics of small-sized fish species are discussed. The main principles of the muscle tissue disintegration are considered, parameters of the disintegrator and rational modes of the process are determined. Optimal constructive solutions of certain units and the whole system of machines are designed for the most effective processing. Rational operating modes of washing and dehydration of the muscle tissue are determined taking into account parameters of the intermediate crushed raw materials, as size of the particles and content of dry and dense substances. To improve the process of dehydration, an operation of preliminary thickening of the minced suspension is proposed and size of the net cloth is selected for better separation of the minced mass from washing waters. Centrifuges for final separation of the mince are recommended. Possibility of partial replacement of the fresh water for washing with the seawater is considered. Organoleptic and technical-chemical properties of the produced mince are assessed and its biological value is evaluated. The mince corresponds to requirements for the washed fish mince. In the tests of a full-automated processing line, its output reached 16 % of the raw materials. Recommendations for the mince using for manufacturing of ready-made food products are given. Initial requirements for the raw materials and design documentation for the system of machines (processing line) for processing of small-sized fish are presented.