Status of reserves and fishing of peled Coregonus peled Middle Obi within the borders of the Tomsk region

Abstract

The peled Coregonus peled is common in the water bodies of the Arctic. Peled reaches high numbers and biomass in the Ob-Irtysh basin coast of Eurasia. It lives in all major rivers of Siberia and it is a typical semi-anadromous species. It is assumed that in the Ob basin there are at least two subpopulations of peled, one of which reproduces in the Ural tributaries of the Ob (Lower Ob), the other in its middle reaches (Middle Ob). Peled in the Middle Ob within the boundaries of the Tomsk region is the main commercial target among whitefish species. Within the Tomsk region, fishing for the Middle Ob population of peled is carried out during its spawning migration, in September-October, on the approach to places of natural reproduction. In this study presents information about the stock, official catch and total allowable catches (TAC) of peled in the Middle Ob in the Tomsk region. In the last decade, the biomass of commercial peled stocks in the Middle Ob varies from 532.1 to 1349.7 tons, averaging 746.1 tons. According to official statistics, the catch of peled in the period from 2013 to 2022 ranged from 39.1 t to 89.7 t, which is below the TAC. According to calculated data, the actual volume of peled removal ranges from 19.9 tons to 86.7 tons or 27–118% of the legal catch of this species, which significantly exceeds the TAC. Thus, excessive fishing pressure on the spawning stock of peled will likely lead to a decrease in the reproductive capacity of the population and will have a negative impact on the state of peled stocks in the Ob basin as a whole.