Chosa herring – the unclaimed resource of the Arctic

Abstract

The study and development of the stock of Chosa herring (Clupea pallasii suworovi) last about 100 years. In the 1940s and 60s, it was one of the main objects of coastal fishing in the Mezen Bay and the Czech Bay with a result of up to 830 tons/year. In the 1970s and 1990s, intensive marine fishing was conducted in the Barents Sea with maximum catches of over 4 thousand tons/year. In 1978–2017, the stock was estimated in the range of 1,5–50 thousand tons, higher estimates relate to mixed clusters of multi-vertebral and low-vertebral herring. The current state of the stock is consistently good, at the level of 25–27 thousand, but fishing is conducted by local residents exclusively for personal consumption. As an object of specialized fishing, the Chosa herring remains unclaimed.