#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Another batch of fry was released into the Yenisey by Norilsk fish farmers with the participation of JSC Norilsktransgaz and other city enterprises. Gas workers annually carry out measures to preserve and replenish the stocks of aquatic biological resources to minimize the negative impact on the environment during the construction and repair of production facilities.
Since 2018, about 54,000 grayling juveniles, about 115,000 red-listed Siberian sturgeons and about 82,000 sterlets have been released into the Yenisey under the control of employees of the Norilsk fish hatchery, the Yenisey Territorial Directorate of the Federal Agency for Fisheries and the Yenisey Interregional Directorate of Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources).
This time, at the Norilsk fish hatchery, the production workers raised and released nelma fry into the Yenisey.
According to the head of the Taimyr regional department of state control, supervision and protection of aquatic biological resources Igor Zhayvoronok, this type of fish requires special attention and handling.
“Nelma perishes immediately in the air. If other fish can be thrown ashore or into a boat, and it will still fight there for some time, and some can come to life in the water and swim away, then nelma immediately dies in the air”, said Igor Zhayvoronok.
For this reason, fish farmers at the Norilsk plant also weighed, kept records and transplanted juveniles into a transport container very quickly – so as not to keep the fry outside the aquatic environment. The ordering party and the press representatives were given a place in advance away from the routes of the plant’s employees movement, who transplanted nelma fry into a container on a truck.
On the Yenisey, the technology for releasing fry has also been improved. Before releasing the fish to the river, the water in the tank is brought to the natural environment temperature, by adding water to the tank from the Yenisey.
Instead of the previously used release tray, a large sleeve is now installed, which is carried away from the water’s edge and lowered to the bottom with a load. In this way, it is possible to minimize the loss of juveniles when they are thrown back by the surf or attacked by seagulls.
In 2023, rivers fish stocking is conducting as part of a new facility construction by Norilsktransgaz – an underwater crossing across the Bolshaya Heta river.
The painstaking process of transportation deserves special attention: accompanied by experts, the fry is transported in a special tank equipped with an oxygen supply system at a speed of no more than 30 kilometers per hour and no longer than five hours, after which they are carefully released through a special pipe directly to the Yenisey.
The first year of life in the wild is the most difficult for fry: predators, poachers and even river surf, which throws immature fry back to the shore, will wait for the babies. Those who are lucky will grow within a few years, gain weight and reproduce.
Nelma fry can grow up to 120 centimeters in length and reach a mass of 30–40 kilograms and live in the Yenisey for up to 25 years. Recall that the catch of nelma is prohibited almost everywhere in Siberia.
Earlier, we wrote about three million of Siberian sturgeon fry from the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company annually.
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Text: Denis Kozhevnikov, Photo: author
