Biological resources of the Sea of Azov and their use by man. Sea of Azov: Useful Properties, Origin and Depth of the Sea of Azov
Ukraine in the near future should break all agreements with Russia on the common use of the Sea of Azov, so that Kyiv could announce the presence of a border and prevent Russian ships from entering there, which have the ability to freely pass through the entire water area now.
This was stated by the first deputy "permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea" Izet Gdanov.
"We must denounce international agreements that were from 2003 on sharing Sea of Azov, dated 1993 - on the distribution of quotas for fishing. All these agreements must be denounced. It is necessary to make a demarcation by sea, to declare a territorial sea along Azov, so that we actually have a 12-mile controlled zone. Today we do not have it," the official said.
Earlier, the Ukrainian side stated that Russian warships conducted reconnaissance in the Sea of Azov close to the coast of Ukraine.
On the eve of Kyiv announced the conduct of missile firing exercises and closed the water area in the area of Berdyansk and Mariupol, as well as Novoazovsk, which is controlled by the DPR, until autumn for navigation.
A few weeks ago, after the seizure of the Crimean seiner Nord by Ukraine, Russia began to detain ships going to Ukrainian ports for inspections.
Meanwhile, on June 6, the press secretary of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Oleg Slobodyan, acknowledged that the Ukrainian maritime border guards do not have enough resources or equipment to “oppose Russian aggression” in the Sea of Azov only with the help of the State Border Guard Service. He stated that "the Russian military continues to demonstrate force" in the Azov waters, but Kyiv is still "ready to respond to aggressive and inadequate actions."
Today, the Sea of Azov remains the inland sea of Russia and Ukraine, says military expert, captain 1st rank reserve Sergey Ishchenko. - Thus, the international law of the sea in this sea is very limited. Ukraine wants this right to operate here in full. That is, so that the border of territorial waters is clearly drawn, where ships of other countries cannot enter without permission, so that there is its own economic zone. It is set according to different principles. One of them is 200 miles from the land line. And this is almost half of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. This is what they want in Kyiv.
In a military sense, Ukraine, of course, cannot defend its territorial waters and coastline in any way. Just nothing. Therefore, they want to protect themselves at least legally, since they can’t do it militarily.
- Meanwhile, according to the current treaty on the status of the Sea of Azov, warships merchant ships third countries can enter the Sea of Azov with the permission of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and only if they are sent to one of its ports. If Kyiv achieves the division of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, then warships will be able to enter it foreign countries without the consent of Russia?
If Russia does not stipulate special conditions, then yes. However, even before, ships from third countries could enter the Sea of Azov if Russia did not find serious arguments for refusing. Now it is almost impossible for NATO ships to enter the Sea of Azov, since Russia is in full control Kerch Strait. However, serious warships With deep draft they simply will not climb into this mousetrap called the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Max Depth there - 14 meters. And basically - even smaller, plus shallows. Draft American destroyers averages 6-9 meters. That is, such ships can go to sea only along specially laid fairways to Mariupol and Berdyansk. And this greatly reduces their mobility and makes them a convenient target.
- BUT combat boats Ukraine will be able to invite NATO Black Sea countries to itself in case of division of the sea?
This is theoretically possible, but practically, even without the use of military force Russia can always easily block the penetration of these boats. It's a pretty narrow passage. Kerch bridge. Suddenly, under this bridge, work to strengthen the piles may begin, for example, on the expected day of the passage of these boats, or unexploded ordnance from the times of the Great Patriotic War at the bottom of the strait.
- It turns out that in the event of the division of the Sea of Azov, Ukraine will completely lose even legal control over the Kerch Strait, which it de facto lost after the reunification of Russia with Crimea?
An interesting situation has now developed with the Kerch Strait. As long as it belonged de facto to Ukraine, then any Russian ships, passing to the Sea of Azov, to Taganrog or Rostov-on-Don, had to pay a special fee to Ukraine, since the channel dug along the bottom of the strait was closer to the Crimean (Ukrainian at that time) coast. Russia today proceeds from the fact that the Kerch Strait is completely Russian. Therefore, we naturally do not need to pay for using it. But according to the logic of things, now Ukraine must pay for passage through the shipping channel. But Russia, based on certain considerations, does not yet take money from Ukrainian courts. Although it is not yet clear why. But if the Ukrainians insist on the division of the sea, then the first condition that, I think, Russia will put forward is that Ukrainian ships will have to pay for access to the Black Sea from the Sea of Azov.
I am a supporter of the revision of all agreements with Ukraine in general, - says the leading expert of the Center for Military-Political Studies MGIMOMikhail Alexandrov. - We signed them with a neutral country, which constantly demonstrated its friendly attitude towards Russia. We hoped that over time Ukraine would become not only a neutral, but also an allied country. Many preferences were given to Kyiv in exchange for the commitments it had made towards Russia. Now Ukraine does not fulfill any of its obligations. I would raise the question not only about the borders in the Sea of Azov, but also about state borders in general. The separation of Russia and Ukraine along administrative borders after the collapse of the USSR was a big mistake. We, in addition to regaining Crimea, must raise the question of the legitimacy of Donetsk, Luhansk and other regions being part of Ukraine.
Therefore, the ideas of Ukrainian politicians about the division of the Sea of Azov should be used in our interests.
- And in terms of security in Azov, Russia will benefit if the current treaties are revised?
Generally in modern world All contracts are a formality. If anything can provide security, it is real strength. In the Sea of Azov, she is clearly on our side. And I personally think that we responded very sluggishly to Kyiv to the provocation with Nord. By the way, this is a typical example of what is called in international politics - the impudence of the city takes. Ukraine, which is incomparably weaker militarily, is challenging Russia, hoping, of course, that the Russian leadership will not want to aggravate relations with the West in an already difficult situation. By the way, China behaved in a similar way in 1969 during the conflict on Damansky Island. Then Soviet Union was immersed in confrontation with the West, and also did not want to fight China to the last. Yes, we gave a military rebuff, but in the end we gave the island to the Chinese. To prevent similar situations from happening again in the future, we must act decisively. Especially since, I repeat, in disputes with Ukraine, force is on our side.
According to scientists, in the first half of the twentieth century biological resources Sea of Azov were so high that they had no equal among all other water bodies of the oceans. Today, the productivity of the sea is significantly reduced. The basis of the industrial potential is fish stocks, which are represented by 79 species and subspecies. But many of them no longer have commercial value due to a sharp decline in numbers.
Anadromous fish species
A feature of the representatives of this group of inhabitants of the reservoir is that they do not leave sea waters until puberty. After that, individuals are sent to spawn in the rivers. The whole process of spawning takes from one to two months.
The biological resources of the Sea of Azov are distinguished by the presence of such valuable commercial species fish, like stellate sturgeon, beluga, sturgeon, herring, shemaya, fish. All of them belong to the category of passers-by.
Beluga is considered the most big fish migrating to spawn in rivers. In the recent past, the species was not considered rare, but is now listed in the Red Book. In addition to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, it lives in the Caspian and Black. Azov Beluga for breeding, most often it rises along the Kuban; for spawning, sturgeons use it less.
Semi-anadromous fish species
Pike perch, ram, bream, sabrefish - these are the names of fish belonging to the category of semi-anadromous, there are twelve of them in the group. They, like representatives of anadromous species, are sent to spawn from the sea to the rivers. But the difference lies in the fact that this whole process in semi-anadromous takes a long time, sometimes up to a year. In addition, young growth can remain in the rivers for the entire winter period.
One of the representatives of this is pike perch. A fairly common species found in the basin of not only the Azov, but also the Baltic, Caspian, Black, Aral Seas. Sudak is large predator feeding on invertebrates and small fish. Dimensions adult can reach one meter in length, and the mass is usually 10-15 kilograms.
sea views
The biological resources of the Sea of Azov are largely represented by this particular group of fish. There are 47 representatives in the category.
To marine species fish include pilengas, gobies, flounder-kalkan, fish-needles, gloss, perkarin, sprat, three-spined komashka. The peculiarity that distinguishes these particular fish of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov is that they constantly live in salt waters. Here reproduction takes place, the appearance of juveniles, the achievement of their sexual maturity.
Pilengas - one of the common ones. It is interesting because it was specially brought into the basin about 40-50 years ago. For enough short period managed to successfully acclimatize, and today the fish belongs to commercial species. Pilengas sizes are impressive - up to 150 centimeters in length with a mass of up to 12 kilograms.
migratory fish species
Describing the biological resources of the Sea of Azov, it is necessary to mention the rocks that make constant migrations. Such types marine fish, like the Azov and Black Sea anchovies, herring, golden mullet, striped mullet, horse mackerel, red mullet, ostronos, Black Sea trout, mackerel, regularly change their habitats, crossing from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea or vice versa.
Of the four known varieties only one of them lives in the pool. The fish live in flocks in the bottom waters. In the upper layers of the seabed, it finds small animals that are food for the red mullet. The fish is of commercial importance.
freshwater species
Since the year 2000, commercial capture has been prohibited due to a sharp decrease in the number of the species. The list of water bodies where the ban applies also includes the Sea of Azov. Description of fish species requiring careful attitude, unfortunately, is not limited to sturgeons. Flounder, mullet also lost their commercial value.
The water area of the Sea of Azov is used for economic purposes by two states - Russia and Ukraine. The well-being of the region, as well as the improvement of environmental situation throughout the entire pool.
The Sea of Azov is a truly unique object of nature.
This is the shallowest sea on the planet Earth, thanks to which there is healing silt with bioactive substances on the surface, which is used to treat people by numerous sanatoriums on its coast.
The importance of preserving it in its pure form is undeniable: .
Economy and ecology
The significant problems of the Sea of Azov include unsatisfactory ecological situation reservoir caused by active economic activity coastal countries in the last decade.
Moreover, environmental protection activity has significantly decreased over this period of time.
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were carried out, albeit not quite perfect, but quite correct state methods for the protection of the water shell of the Earth.
In the 1990s, colossal political and economic changes took place in Russia and Ukraine, so issues related to the ecosystem gradually faded into the background. But as a result of significant losses to the economy, the load on the ecological system has also decreased.
In the early 2000s, the countries of the region reached a new economic level, so the anthropogenic impact on environment began to increase: by 2009, Ukraine and Russia resumed and surpassed the volumes industrial production that existed before the socialist camp. For this reason, pollutants entering the water body from wastewater, as well as those associated with maritime transport and agricultural activities, have increased.
Environmental problems of the Sea of Azov
The most important man-made factors that have a significant impact on the ecosystem of the Sea of Azov are:
- Metallurgical and chemical waste production activities and municipal polluted wastewater.
- Oil and oil products.
- Bottom trawling, which destroys bottom biocenoses.
- Fishing by poachers.
- Construction of reservoirs.
- Saturated chemicalization, pollution of soil and water, salinization of the reservoir.
- Increasing uncontrolled discharge of pesticides into the Sea of Azov, resulting in water blooms.
- Saturated construction along the coast that does not meet environmental standards.
- Dumping.
Metallurgical and chemical waste
The first and most significant factor that contributes to the pollution of the Sea of Azov is the rivers flowing into the reservoir, with which industrial waste and household water.
At one time, this sea was one of the most productive seas in the world, but today it has practically lost its main purpose - fishing. Per last years the concentration of thiocyanates in the reservoir exceeds the standards by 12 times, and the content of phenols has increased by 7 times.
The main sources of water pollution are industrial enterprises and Mariupol ports, which are located on the coast of the Sea of Azov.Metallurgical plants "Azovstal" and the concern "Azovmash" each year discharge more than 800 million m3 of untreated Wastewater, which is about 99% of the total volume of discharges into the reservoir. In such effluents, the maximum permissible concentration for total iron exceeds 4 times, for nitrogen - more than 2.74 times, copper and oil products - 2.25 times, and zinc - 1.75 times.
Ecologists are concerned about the continuous volume growth of sulfur transshipped to Ukrainian seaports. Only in 2 years in the Mariupol port, the sulfur transshipment crossed the line by 2.5 times or 2 million tons.
Concerning household waste, then in the coastal areas, the systems for the intake, purification and supply of purified water are in an extremely unsatisfactory state, because some of them were built about a century ago. In some residential areas, there are no sewage treatment at all, so polluted water enters the sea through rivers.
Pollution of the Sea of Azov with oil products and oil
The second, but no less significant factor that affects the pollution of the reservoir is oil products and oil itself.
As a result of maritime transportation and vigorous activity of ports, thousands of tons of fuel oil, sulfur and oil are dumped into the Sea of Azov. This leads to unprecedented pollution of the bottom of the reservoir, coastal islands, as well as the death of a huge number of fish, mammals and birds, many of which are listed in the Red Book.
Accumulation of oil in the sea separate parts exceeds the MPC by more than 150 times, and the concentration of pesticides is increased by 40 mg/l.
Oil spills worsen the exchange of oxygen with the hydrosphere and atmosphere, and pesticides poison microorganisms in the reservoir.
Lack of the required number of specialized port facilities for the storage and cleaning of environmentally hazardous cargo and lack of security Vehicle complexes for the treatment of municipal wastewater and destruction solid waste contribute to the impressive pollution of the waters of the reservoir and seaports.
Bottom trawling
Although bottom trawling, which destroys bottom microorganisms, is universally prohibited, local fishermen continue to use trawls. These actions are dangerous because during such fishing, the bottom places where fish and hydrobionts are found are exterminated, mollusks, which serve as a kind of filter and food for most fish, die. In addition, the turbidity rising from the bottom of the sea spreads over several kilometers and significantly reduces the transparency of the reservoir.
To this day, dozens of fishing vessels sail in the Sea of Azov, using trawls and hiding the final catch, which, according to documents, is equal to several kilograms, but in reality turns into tens of tons. The consequence of such fishing is a noticeable reduction in fish stocks, and the usual places of spawning and feeding disappear.
Increasing uncontrolled discharge of pesticides into the Sea of Azov
A significant danger to the ecology of the Sea of Azov is runoff from agricultural activities. They contain a huge amount toxic substances and numerous pesticides that are used to control harmful insects and mammals.
For example, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane, which ended up in the sea, for short time capable of poisoning a huge amount of ichthyofauna. Mineral substances - nitrates and phosphates - negatively affect fish. The ingress of such fertilizers into the water body entails global eutrophication, the saturation of water with biogenic elements, which, in turn, causes the sea to bloom.
The impressive pace of phytoplankton development contributes to the appearance of numerous green-blue algae, as well as inevitable death. beneficial algae and a decrease in the transparency of the sea.
Why waste containing mercury is so dangerous for a person, read our material about this metal.
Construction on the coast
Continuous construction along the coast, which does not comply with environmental and sanitary standards, entails the destruction of the natural state of the beaches, the coastal forest park zone and the reduction of their healing abilities.
dumping
The amount of toxic and hazardous substances contained in the Sea of Azov, directly depends on the permanent disposal of waste in the water column and the elimination of offshore platforms, ships, aircraft and artificial offshore facilities.
Per recent times there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of soil, mercury and lead discharged into the open sea.
But at the same time, their volume increased significantly in bottom sediments, which indicates re-contamination of the water column. As practice shows, in bottom accumulations the amount of toxic and hazardous substances only increases over the years.
Ways and methods of solving the problems of the Sea of Azov
In order to smooth out the aggravated ecological situation of the Sea of Azov, it is necessary to apply a set of measures that depend not only on large manufacturing enterprises but also from each person in particular.
These measures should include:
- Priority change in development sea coast: reducing industrial plants and concerns to a minimum, strengthening control over the activities of shipping transport and ports, reducing dangerous cargo transportation on ships along the Sea of Azov, building innovative treatment facilities.
- Significant reduction in irretrievable water consumption and increased levels of river flows.
- Making adjustments to agricultural activities on the coast: minimizing crops that require chemical additives (pesticides) when growing.
- A significant increase in territories and water areas that require additional protection in order to preserve the gene pool and eco-fund.
- Continuous monitoring of the quality of the sea coast and water.
- Tightening measures to protect the coastal region.
But the most important and most important way solutions environmental problem the Sea of Azov is the cessation of the release into the open sea and rivers of polluted municipal and domestic waters, as well as runoff from enterprises and factories; supply of industrial effluents with specialized water exchange cycles and their maximum cleaning before being discharged into a reservoir.
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I do not advise you to relax with children on the Sea of Azov, it is very dirty there and the water is actually contaminated.
SEA OF AZOV (Ancient Greek Μαι?τις λ?μνη, Latin Palus Maeotis - Meotian Lake, Old Russian - Surozh Sea), a semi-enclosed inland sea in the system mediterranean sea Atlantic Ocean. Washes the shores of Russia and Ukraine. The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. The area is 39 thousand km 2, the volume is 290 km 3. The average depth is 7 meters, the maximum is 13 meters (the shallowest in the world). The Taganrog Bay is located in the northeastern part, the shallow and highly saline Sivash Bay is in the western part, and the open Temryuk Bay is in the east. Small low-lying islands are located near the coast. The northern and southern coasts are hilly, steep, the western and eastern ones are mostly low-lying. Feature coasts of the Sea of Azov, the presence of alluvial sand spits (Arabatskaya Strelka, Fedotova, Obitochnaya, Berdyansk, Yeysk and others). East Coast is an extensive floodplain of the delta of the Kuban River.
Relief and geological structure of the bottom. The bottom relief is leveled, has a slight slope towards the center. The soil is composed of sand, shell rock and silt. The Sea of Azov is an epicontinental marine basin, the northern part of which belongs to the East European ancient platform, the southern part belongs to the young Scythian platform. The suture zone, along which the Hercynian folded formations are pushed over the ledge of the East European Platform, runs along the slope of the sublatitudinal Azov swell, close to the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. To the north of the Azov swell is a shallow North Azov trough filled with Eocene - Lower Miocene deposits (including Maikop clays) and younger deposits (total thickness is about 1 km). To the south of the Azov shaft - a deep Indolo-Kuban trough, which is advanced for eastern structures mountain Crimea and western structures of the Greater Caucasus. It is filled mainly with Maikop clays (over 4.5 km), which form numerous clay diapirs in the southern part of the Azov Sea and give rise to mud volcanoes. southern part the sea is oil and gas bearing.
Climate. The climate is predominantly continental. Medium long-term temperature air in January from -6 °С in the north to -1 °С in the south. The frosty period lasts from December to March with frequent thaws and strong northeastern and east winds. Freeze from November - December to March April, depending on the severity of winter. close west coast hummocks and stamukhas are characteristic. In mild winters most of the sea is free of ice. The summer is hot with a predominance of westerly winds, the average long-term air temperature in July is 24 °C. Precipitation 300-500 mm per year (mainly in summer). The average annual water temperature is 11.5 °C, the maximum is 25-30 °C (in summer).
Hydrological regime. Two rivers flow into the Sea of Azov major rivers- Don and Kuban (90% of the runoff) and about 20 small ones. About the components of the water balance of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, see the table.
The direction of the currents (velocities up to 50 cm/s) is determined by the prevailing winds. Due to the small size and volume of the sea average level it is subject to significant fluctuations from year to year (on average 25 cm), the height of surges reaches 6 m in the Taganrog Bay, surges - 3 m (in the southeast of the sea). Salinity is 1213‰, and in dry years in terms of river runoff, it exceeds 15–17‰. Freezing from the end of February (in the Taganrog Bay from November - December) to March - April.
Economic use. In the Sea of Azov and in the mouths of the rivers flowing into it, 114 species and subspecies of fish are found. In terms of stocks of commercial fish species, the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov belongs to the richest areas of the World Ocean, and in terms of catches per unit of water area (70-80 kg / ha), it belongs to the 1st place in the world. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the use water resources Don, Kuban and other rivers in the Azov Sea basin contributed to a decrease in the flow of river runoff into the sea, an increase in the inflow Black Sea waters and an increase in salinity. This created the prerequisites for the spread of the Black Sea jellyfish and a decrease in the number of commercial fish (sturgeon, pike perch, bream and others). The Sea of Azov is an important transport artery. The Volga-Don Canal is connected with the Caspian, Baltic and White Seas. Main ports: Taganrog, Yeysk (Russia), Mariupol, Berdyansk (Ukraine). The coast of the sea is used for recreational and medicinal purposes. Resorts - Yeysk, Berdyansk, Mariupol. Studies of the Sea of Azov have been carried out since 1873, systematic studies have been carried out since the 1920s.
References: Hydrometeorological conditions of the shelf zone of the seas of the USSR. L., 1986. T. 3; Hydrometeorology and hydrochemistry of the seas of the USSR. St. Petersburg, 1991. T. 5. G. V. Zaklinsky;
A. F. Limonov (geological structure).
Sea of Azov // Big Russian Encyclopedia: In 30 t./Resp. ed. S.L. Kravets. T. 1. A - Questioning. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2005. - S. 297.
Sea of Azov (lat.
PalusMaeotis- Meotian lake, other Russian. - Surozh Sea), a semi-enclosed inland sea in the system of the Mediterranean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean. Washes the shores of Russia and Ukraine. The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea.The area is 39 thousand km 2, the volume is 290 km 3. Wed depth 7 m, max. - 13 m (the smallest in the world).
The Taganrog Bay is located in the northeastern part, the spruce-water and highly saline Sivash Bay is in the western part, and the open Temryuk Bay is in the east. Small low-lying islands are located near the coast. The northern and southern coasts are hilly, steep, the western and eastern ones are mostly low-lying. A characteristic feature of the shores of the Sea of Azov is the presence of alluvial sand spits (Arabatskaya Strelka, Fedotova, Obitochnaya, Berdyansk, Yeysk, etc.). The eastern coast is a vast floodplain of the delta of the Kuban River.
Relief and geological structure of the bottom
The bottom relief is leveled, has a slight slope towards the center. The soil is composed of sand, shell rock and silt. The Sea of Azov is an epicontinental marine basin, the northern part of which belongs to the East European ancient platform, the southern part belongs to the young Scythian platform. The suture zone, along which the Hercynian folded formations are pushed over the ledge of the East European Platform, runs along the slope of the sublatitudinal Azov swell, close to the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. To the north of the Azov swell is a shallow North Azov trough filled with Eocene - Lower Miocene deposits (including Maikop clays) and younger deposits (total thickness approx. 1 km). To the south of the Azov swell is the deep Indolo-Kuban trough, which is the front for the eastern structures of the Crimean mountains and the western structures of the Greater Caucasus. Completed ch. arr. Maikop clays (over 4.5 km), which form numerous clay diapirs in the southern part of the Azov Sea and give rise to mud volcanoes. The southern part of the sea is oil and gas bearing.
Climate
The climate is predominantly continental. Average long-term temperature
pa air in January from -6 °С in the north to -1 °С in the south. The frosty period lasts from December to March with frequent thaws and strong northeast and east winds. Freeze from November - December to March - April, depending on the severity of winter. Hummocks and stamukhas are typical near the western coast. During mild winters, most of the sea is ice-free. The summer is hot with a predominance of westerly winds, the average long-term temperatureaair in July 24 °C. Precipitation 300-500 mm per year (main sample in summer). The average annual water temperature is 11.5 °С, the maximum is 25-30 °С (in summer).Hydrological regime
Two large rivers flow into the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov - Don and Kuban (90% of the flow) and approx. 20 small ones. For the components of the water balance of the Sea of Azov, see the table.
Average long-term water balance of the Sea of Azov (km 3 / year)
|
incoming part |
|
|
river runoff |
37,1 |
|
Precipitation |
15,5 |
|
Inflow from the Black Sea |
36,7 |
|
Inflow from the Sivash Bay |
|
|
TOTAL |
89,7 |
|
Expenditure part |
|
|
Evaporation |
34,6 |
|
Runoff to the Black Sea |
53,6 |
|
Stoke bay Sivash |
|
|
TOTAL |
89,7 |
The direction of the currents (velocities up to 50 cm/s) is determined by the prevailing winds. Due to the small size and volume of the sea, the average level is subject to significant fluctuations from year to year (averaging 25 cm), the height of surges reaches 6 m in the Taganrog Bay, surges - 3 m (in the southeast of the sea). Salinity is 12-13%, and in dry years in terms of river runoff, it exceeds 15-17%. Freezing from the end of February (in the Taganrog Bay from November - December) to March - April.
Economic use
In the Sea of Azov and in the mouths of the rivers flowing into it, 114 species and subspecies of fish are found. In terms of stocks of commercial fish species, the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov belongs to the richest areas of the World Ocean, and in terms of catches per unit of water area (70-80 kg / ha), it belongs to the 1st place in the world. In con. 20 - beg. 21st century the use of the water resources of the Don, Kuban, and other rivers in the Azov Sea basin contributes to a decrease in the inflow of river runoff into the sea, an increase in the inflow of Black Sea waters, and an increase in salinity. This creates the prerequisites for the spread of the Black Sea jellyfish and reduces the number of commercial fish (sturgeon, pike perch, bream, etc.). The Sea of Azov is an important transport artery. The Volga-Don Canal is connected with the Caspian, Baltic and White Seas. Main ports: Taganrog, Yeysk (Russia), Mariupol, Berdyansk (Ukraine). The coast of the sea is used for recreational and medicinal purposes. Resorts - Yeysk, Berdyansk, Mariupol.
Studies of the Sea of Azov have been carried out since 1873, systematic studies - since the 1920s.