Azov Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus maeoticus (Engraulidae) under the Sea of Azov Salinization in 2014–2018

Abstract

The paper considers the effect of the Sea of Azov salinization on the food supply to anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus maeoticus as the level of salinity was rising from 12.7 to 14.0‰ during 2014–2018. In 2014 food supply to the anchovy dramatically deteriorated compared with the initial period of the salinization (2006–2013). Small individuals dominant in the population exhibited extremely low lipid content, which appear to have led to a decrease in reproduction and, therefore, the stock decline in the subsequent years. As the population size decreased, the food supply improved; the lipid content in the anchovy body increased by 40–50% in 2015–2018. Fish of the older age groups became dominant in the population, which indirectly suggests a drop in recruitment and the population aging. The work discusses the impact of the change in the fish food resources on the anchovy food supply over the current period of the Sea of Azov salinization (2006–2018)