biological resources. Biological resources of the ocean Biological resources of the ocean

Many of which have not yet been mastered. All resources of the World Ocean can be divided into several large groups.

biological resources

• fish;
• shellfish (octopuses, snails, oysters, mussels);
• crustaceans (crabs, shrimps, lobsters);
• mammals (whales, walruses, seals, sea lions, manatees);
• seaweed.

At the same time, fish accounts for approximately 90% of modern marine production, although its mass is only 0.5 of the 35 billion tons of biomass in the oceans. Today, 20% of the proteins consumed by humans are of marine origin. It is important to note that, in general, seafood is considered healthier than pork and beef. It is no coincidence that the greatest life expectancy is recorded in those states where fish is the basis of the traditional diet (Japan, the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Mediterranean).

Most of the seafood is harvested in the Sea of ​​Japan, Okhotsk, Norwegian and Bering Seas, as well as in the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, they are used not only as food for people, but also as feed in poultry and livestock. Fish oil is used in the dyeing business, for the manufacture of soap and in pharmacology.

Resources of the bottom of the oceans

A huge amount of minerals is stored under the sea and ocean floor. Geographers allocate shelf resources (in the coastal regions of the ocean) and resources in deep water areas.

The most important for the modern economy are the reserves of hydrocarbons - oil and gas. They are actively mined in the Persian and Gulf of Mexico, in the North Sea and off the Venezuelan coast. There are also hydrocarbon deposits in the Arctic Ocean, but so far they have been poorly developed due to the high cost of production. In total, there are about 30 offshore oil and gas regions in the world, in which about 150 billion tons of oil are stored.

Deposits of copper, iron, nickel and other metals, coal, sulfur and other valuable resources are also found in the underwater bowels. For their extraction, there are mines on the shore, which go underground towards the ocean, sometimes for tens of kilometers.

Precious metals and stones, as well as rare elements (zirconium) can be mined in coastal-marine placers. For example, amber mining is developed on the Baltic coast in the Kaliningrad region, diamonds are found near the Atlantic coast in Namibia, and gold is found in the USA.

In the deep-water regions of the World Ocean, ferromanganese nodules are the main resource. The total mass of their reserves is estimated at 300 billion tons. Not only manganese and iron can be obtained from nodules, but also copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc and other rare metals. The process of formation of nodules continues in our time, and the rate of accumulation of manganese, nickel and zirconium is 3-5 times higher than the rate of their consumption by mankind.

Energetic resources

The ocean can serve as a source of enormous amounts of energy. The most promising is the use of tidal wave energy. In some coastal areas, the difference in water level during high and low tide can be up to 18 meters. Unlike classical hydroelectric power plants, in which water always flows in one direction, in tidal power plants (TPP) it turns the turbine in different directions during high and low tides.

Tidal energy is most actively developing in South Korea, France, Canada, and the USA. The most powerful today is the South Korean Sikhvin TPP (254 MW). However, there are more ambitious projects. For example, on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the Penzhina Bay (Russia), it is possible to build a TPP with a capacity of 87 GW, but the cost of such a facility is estimated at $200 billion.

In energy, there are three more areas related to the use of the waters of the oceans, which are based on:

• wave energy;
• energy of sea currents;
• temperature difference between the ocean floor and its surface.

However, so far the industry has not mastered these technologies; only scientific and experimental work is being carried out.

Separately, it is worth noting wind energy. The fact is that over the seas, air currents are much more stable than over land. Therefore, often wind farms are built at a distance of more than 10 km from the coast, driving piles into the seabed or constructing artificial islands. Such wind farms are called offshore. There are also floating wind turbines.

Sea water

The water itself in the oceans is also a valuable resource. A huge amount of valuable elements is dissolved in it: table salt, bromine, potassium, magnesium. According to some estimates, the World Ocean contains about 8 billion tons of gold! Unfortunately, there is still no cost-effective technology for its extraction.

In countries with a dry climate located near the seas (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Libya), sea water is desalinated and used for drinking or in agriculture. There are also projects to bring icebergs to the coast and use them as a source of fresh water, but so far this is not economically efficient.

Even without desalination, sea water saves drinking water by replacing it in economic activities. For example, in Hong Kong, it is used to flush toilets. In a number of industrial processes, the use of sea water instead of fresh water is acceptable.

Recreational resources of the World Ocean

The coasts of the seas and oceans have always attracted beach lovers. In Europe, the Mediterranean and Black Seas are the most popular, while the beaches of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are attractive for residents of the New World. In the Pacific Ocean, tourists prefer to relax in the Hawaiian Islands in Polynesia and Micronesia, as well as on the eastern coast of the Australian mainland. Chinese people love to sunbathe on the coast of the Bohai Bay and the South China Sea. In the Indian Ocean, the most attractive islands are Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Seychelles.

However, the recreational resources of the World Ocean are associated not only with beach holidays. Yachting and cruise travel on ocean liners are very popular. The underwater world can be explored by diving.

Transport role of the oceans

Sea transportation is very long compared to rail and even more air transport, but they are the most profitable in terms of cost. This is due to the huge amount of cargo that can be placed on one ship. As a result, today more than 80% of all world cargo transportation is carried out by sea.

According to the UN, currently more than half of the world's population leads a half-starved existence.

Between 200 million and 500 million people worldwide are undernourished and over 1.5 billion more are either undernourished or malnourished. Even in the USA, a third of the population, that is, about 70 million people, lacks food. Taking into account the constant growth of the world's population, according to calculations, to eliminate hunger, world food resources should be increased by 3-4 times. A more complete development of the biological riches of the World Ocean will help in many ways to solve this problem.

Scientists believe that the ocean can currently feed about 30 billion people if algae and plankton are included in the number of products.

However, there is no doubt that, first of all, the expansion of the use of the biological resources of the seas and oceans will occur due to an increase in fisheries. Fish, like meat, is rich in proteins. The human body cannot develop normally without protein nutrition. A person should consume about 30 grams of protein per day. However, only 40% of the world's population receive protein food in the required amount. Millions of people in capitalist countries get sick and die because of protein deficiencies. The lack of animal protein is especially severe among the rapidly growing populations of Asia and Africa. It is currently impossible to satisfy the need of the world's population for protein only at the expense of animal husbandry and poultry farming, since in many countries the population growth rate outstrips the rate of development of animal husbandry and poultry farming. That is why the rapid growth of fisheries is seen as the most realistic way to solve the problem of "protein starvation".

Despite the increase in world fish catches in recent years, it covers only 20-25% of the world's needs for protein food, significantly inferior to meat and milk in these indicators.

Fish is of great importance not only as an important source of proteins. The addition of fishmeal to feed for livestock and poultry allows you to accelerate growth and increase their fatness. This is due to the presence of amino acids, vitamins (especially vitamin B and B 12) in feed flour, as well as mineral salts containing calcium, phosphorus and other elements that promote the growth of animals. In this regard, the amount of fish processed for fodder meal has increased by more than 3 times in recent years and accounts for about 1/3 of the total world catch. Typically, feed meal is processed from low-value fish species.

The fish-meal direction in fishing has developed in such countries as Peru, Chile, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and in a number of others. The bulk of the fish catch in these countries is used to produce fishmeal, most of which is exported.

Using a specially developed technology for degreasing low-value fish species or fishmeal, it is possible to obtain fish protein concentrate. Soluble protein concentrate - a source of protein for humans. It, like fishmeal, can serve as a substitute for milk for feeding young animals and thereby saves a lot of food dairy products every year. In some countries, dry fish paste with a pleasant taste is made. It also serves as a substitute for dietary animal proteins.

In Germany (by order of Peru), a technology has been developed for obtaining a product from fish that almost does not differ in taste and color from beef. This beef substitute, containing more proteins than natural meat, can be made from any fish.

Of great importance in human life are the fats of some fish. Fish oil is rich in vitamins A and D and, to a lesser extent, C, B and PP. Fats of some fish can reduce blood cholesterol, which is very important in the treatment of atherosclerosis and obesity. Cod and perch fats contain iodine, which is also very useful for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Salmon fry are rich in nucleic acids, which are good for inflammatory processes.

The meat of some fish also contains B vitamins, and in some cases some poisons that can be used for medicinal purposes.

Fish contains many mineral elements necessary for the human body, among which phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur and chlorine predominate, as well as in small quantities - iron, copper, manganese, cobalt, zinc, iodine, bromine, fluorine and others

In general, the calorie content of individual fish species is in no way inferior to the calorie content of meat. So, for example, 1 kg of sturgeon contains 2900 calories, while 1 kg of fatty beef contains 2750 calories. Finally, the presence of red and black caviar in salmon and sturgeon species, respectively - products that are difficult to compare in terms of their nutritional qualities with anything else, makes fishing even more attractive for mankind.

At present, the world catch of fish, together with mollusks, mammals and algae, is over 70 million tons per year. Already 210 countries are engaged in sea and ocean fishing, which employs hundreds of thousands of fishing vessels. Under these conditions, it is very important to know the maximum catch rate for various fish species. After all, the biological possibilities of the World Ocean are not unlimited. The fact that this is so is evidenced by the sad facts of "hobbies" for the amount of prey of certain fish species. During the period of the 60s - early 70s, serious mistakes were made in determining the catch rates for such fish species as Norwegian and Icelandic herring, sea bass, cod, and a number of others. Further directions for the development of fisheries are based on the need to preserve in the World Ocean such a quantity of biological resources that can ensure their optimal expanded reproduction. According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) experts, there are opportunities to increase the world fish catch by 20-30 million tons, mainly due to the capture of new species, as well as those ocean fish, the fishery of which already exists, but is underdeveloped.

Indeed, the reserves for increasing the fishery are quite large. It turns out that out of 400 known commercial fish species, 80% of the total fish catch until recently fell only on 8 species - anchovies, herring, cod, croaker, horse mackerel, mackerel, tuna and flounder. In addition, 95-97% of the total catch is taken from the shelf zone. Over the past three decades, the catch of fish in the shelf zone has increased by 30 million tons, and within the deeper parts of the ocean by only 3.1 million tons. Finally, the global catch in the waters of the World Ocean was also very unevenly distributed. With great attention to the established fishing areas of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans (especially to their eastern parts), the waters of the Indian Ocean were used insignificantly, which until recently accounted for no more than 1/20 of the world catch.

Thus, there are three distinct areas of significant reserves of the world's fisheries: 1) an increase in the species composition of fish catches; 2) the expansion of water areas due to the increase in fishing in the deeper parts of the World Ocean; and 3) the expansion of the geography of fishing areas.

Japan is the first fishing country in the world. The USSR ranks second, ahead of the PRC, Norway, the USA and Peru in terms of marine catches.

In the USSR, great attention is paid to the development of fisheries.

The increase in fish catches in the USSR is proceeding at a very rapid pace. Suffice it to recall that back in 1967 our country caught only 2.5 million tons per year, and in 1976 the total catch of fish and other seafood amounted to 10.4 million tons. But the consumption of fish by the population of the USSR, in comparison with the pre-war period, increased by more than 3 times and reached 18 kg per person.

Our real wealth is sturgeon and salmon fish, the catch of which the USSR ranks first in the world. Moreover, over 90% of the world's sturgeon catch comes from our country. All sturgeon fish (beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, sterlet, and less often pseudoshovelnose) found in the seas and rivers of the USSR are producers of black caviar, one of the most valuable food products obtained in the USSR and enjoying great popularity and high demand on the world market.

The Soviet government is showing great attention and is doing everything necessary to preserve and increase the number of sturgeons. First of all, this concerns the protection of the waters of the Caspian Sea - the main producer of sturgeon in the USSR. With the issuance of a decree on the prevention of pollution of the Caspian Sea and the creation in 1970 of a special department for the protection of the water resources of the Caspian Sea, the number of sturgeons increased markedly. In the lower reaches of the Volga, a number of sturgeon breeding plants have been created, where sturgeon, stellate sturgeon and beluga are bred and grown, and then released into the Volga. Over 50 million fry of beluga, sturgeon and stellate sturgeon are annually released into the Caspian Sea. In August 1980, on the Volga near Astrakhan, even a special ship-factory was launched to incubate caviar and grow fry of sturgeon, trout, sterlet, white salmon for rivers, lakes and coastal marine areas.

In Astrakhan, the Central Research Institute of Sturgeon Farming has been established, which leads all work aimed at expanding the reproduction of sturgeon fish. According to the scientists of the Central Research Institute of Sturgeon Farming, the annual production of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea alone can be increased to 700 thousand centners, but for this it is necessary to release at least 170 million fry into the sea. Through the efforts of Soviet researchers and fish farmers, the Caspian Sea is being transformed into a gigantic fish farm. Before the Second World War, a very bold experiment was carried out in the Caspian Sea. It was found that the lack of food for sturgeons in the Caspian Sea drastically hampers the development and increase in the number of sturgeons.

At the suggestion of hydrobiologists, in 1939-1941. 65 thousand specimens of the Nereis worm, an inhabitant of the Black Sea, were transported to the Caspian Sea by rail. Nereis had high fodder qualities, as well as a fast growth rate, high fertility and a number of other valuable properties, which made it possible to hope that he would be able to adapt to the conditions of existence in a new natural environment. The calculations of Soviet scientists were justified. The results of this experiment appeared in the post-war period. Nereis - this former alien - spread over a large territory of the Caspian Sea (in some areas there are up to 2000 worms per 1 m 2) and was an excellent food for sturgeon fish. Thus, the feeding problem of sturgeons was successfully resolved.

In the Sea of ​​Azov, sturgeon stocks are also increasing due to juveniles released by fish hatcheries. Every year, more than 14 million fry enter the Sea of ​​Azov in this way. The available stocks of sturgeons make it possible to extract 40-45 thousand centners of this valuable fish per year there.

The increase in the number of sturgeons in the seas of the USSR can be ensured by increasing the number and capacity of fish hatcheries, improving methods for breeding and rearing juveniles, preserving existing and creating new artificial spawning grounds, eliminating sources of pollution of the aquatic environment, and strict control over fishing.

Red salmon fish (chum salmon, salmon, pink salmon, chinook salmon, taimen, char, nelma, coho salmon, and sockeye salmon) are also of great importance in the national economy of the USSR.

In the USSR, work is also being carried out on the artificial breeding of salmon fish. There are 23 fish hatcheries in the Far East, which are engaged in artificial breeding of chum salmon, pink salmon and coho salmon. In 1977 alone, they released 913.5 million juvenile Pacific salmon into the Far Eastern seas.

But not only the growth of sturgeon and salmon catches makes it possible to increase the production of fish products in the USSR. In recent years, the geography of fishing areas has also expanded significantly. Technically well-equipped Soviet refrigerator ships operate in the Arctic (Barents and White Seas), Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

In recent years, large trawler-factories have been used in increasing numbers in the USSR, completely processing the catches on board the ship. The cost of production of 1 ton of frozen whole fish on a ship is 32%, frozen cut fish is 25% and fishmeal is 11% lower than on the shore.

The improvement of fishing vessels is also due to an increase in their carrying capacity, an increase in their power-to-weight ratio, an increase in speed, an improvement and an increase in the power of fishing and processing equipment.

On large-tonnage trawlers, the use of electronic computers is widely used. Information on the number, species composition, size, density of fish schools located along the route of the vessel is stored in the computer, and the computer in each case issues recommendations on the use of the necessary fishing equipment (sizes and types of trawl, fishing start time, etc.). In some cases, the use of computers makes it possible to increase catches up to 20-25%, in other cases, on the contrary, it protects against inefficient production costs.

The productivity of fishing vessels is also helped by space technology, which determines large concentrations of commercial fish.

The use of the latest technical achievements in fishing today makes it possible to regulate catches in optimal sizes that do not threaten the destruction of certain fish species, as was the case in the past with Ivasi herring in the Far Eastern seas, sturgeons in the North Atlantic and some other fish species.

Great assistance in organizing a scientific approach in the fishing industry is provided by Soviet underwater vehicles with a person on board. The pioneer in this field in the USSR is the Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO), which began to conduct underwater research in 1953. At present, various autonomous and semi-autonomous underwater vehicles are in the service of the fishery in the Soviet Union, such as like "North-1" and "North-2" (capable of descending to a depth of over 2000 m), "Atlant" and "Tinro-2", "Argus", "Osa-3", "Oceanologist", and, finally, submarine "Severyanka". The object of research of this technique was the Barents, Norwegian, White, Baltic and Black Seas. (Submersible vehicles are discussed in more detail in the chapter "Conquest of the deep sea".)

The successes of Soviet fishing expeditions are very significant. However, even with the most rational organization of fisheries and marine invertebrates, the marine catch (without serious undermining of the biological resources of the World Ocean) should not exceed 80-90 million tons per year. Meanwhile, at the current rate of growth of the Earth's population, only in order to maintain world consumption of food products extracted from the sea even at today's level, already in 2000, humanity will need about 130 million tons of them. Therefore, apparently, the only way to obtain the required amount of seafood lies in the transition to the cultural cultivation of the "blue field".

In the marine environment, there is a need to move from wild unmanaged fisheries to managed marine fisheries. The creation of such farms makes it possible, without reducing the number of fish individuals, to simultaneously increase fish catches. Such farms have already begun to be created in a number of countries.

The well-known American scientist and writer W. Cromi believes that if we switch to careful cultivation of fish, carry out selection, adjust feeding and similar measures, then marine fish farms can produce up to 6 tons of seafood per 1 ha per year, which is many times more than the number of fish currently fished from the same area.

According to UNESCO experts, a 20 km 3 fish farm can produce more fish than is currently being caught in the entire North Sea, one of the richest fishing areas.

A fence separating a part of a bay, strait or coastal area from the open sea, on the one hand, must freely let water and plankton organisms out of the sea, be storm-resistant, and on the other hand, not release farmed fish into the sea. Such fences are made of net material, usually used for the manufacture of nets and trawls. This method of breeding salmon and trout is widely used in the UK, Scotland, Norway, Germany, France, the USA and other countries. With many positive qualities, fences are effective only in areas with particularly favorable climatic and hydrological conditions.

Much more often in marine fish farms, fixed or floating cages are used, also made of nylon or steel nets. The shape and size of such cages can be very different.

Ten of these cages tied together form a large raft, anchored at each corner. They try to keep such cages in areas fenced off from the open sea. In winter, cages are usually towed closer to power plants that dump warm water into the sea.

Another direction for expanding pasture fish farming, closely related to the creation and operation of special fish factories, has also been successfully developing in recent years. Work on the incubation of eggs (in which the number of eggs surviving until the growth of adult fish increases by 30-40 times), feeding the larvae and juveniles of fish and growing them to commercial sizes are carried out in many countries. Japan has achieved the greatest success in creating marine farms. Here, the Department of Fisheries has developed a long-term plan for 13 years (1971-1984), which provides for the creation of fish breeding stations, the construction of farms specializing in the preparation and breeding of planting material, the construction of large artificial reefs that contribute to the concentration of fish clusters, etc. The measures envisaged by this plan should help to bring the volume of cultivated fish stocks, together with other types of seafood, to 1 million tons in 1984.

According to the forecasts of Japanese experts, when using the shelf zone of the sea up to 20 m deep, marine farms and plantations can be created on an area of ​​​​more than 28.5 thousand km 2 and their annual production will be 8-9 million tons.

In the USA, it is planned to use 40 thousand km 2 of the shelf for artificial breeding of fish and seafood. According to a special program of research work, methods of breeding and raising salmon and some other fish species are being improved.

Canadian scientists have achieved significant success in breeding and rearing salmon, herring, flounder, and invertebrate molluscs. The American and Canadian industries supply marine farms with a variety of modern equipment and specialized artificial feeds.

French scientists are developing new methods of artificial breeding and commercial cultivation of mullet, flounder, salmon and some other seafood. Similar work is also carried out in Great Britain, Yugoslavia and in some other countries.

It was mentioned above that in the USSR work on the artificial cultivation of valuable sturgeon and salmon fish is widely developed. The products of more than 160 fish hatcheries annually replenish the number of fish "pastures" in the seas of the Soviet Union.

There is an interesting institution in Moscow - the Central Production and Acclimatization Administration (TsPAU). It employs people of a very rare and exciting profession. They deal with scientific and practical issues of transplantation and acclimatization of valuable commercial fish species from one reservoir to another. It is difficult to overestimate their contribution to the increase in the fishery stocks of the seas of the USSR. Transplantation of mullet from the Black to the Caspian Sea, salmonids from the Far Eastern seas to the Caspian, Barents, White and Norwegian seas, sterlet from the Northern Dvina to the Barents Sea - this is only a part of the exceptionally successful transplantation and acclimatization operations of the most valuable fish species that have gained worldwide fame and recognition.

The work of Soviet scientists on the hybridization of the most valuable commercial fish species is also of great national economic importance. For more than 20 years bester has been known - a hybrid of beluga with sterlet. From the sterlet, he inherited early maturation, and from the beluga - rapid growth. Unlike "natural" sturgeons, the hybrid is undemanding to environmental conditions and food. Already in the first year of life, it reaches a half-kilogram mass, and after two or three years it manages to grow into an adult “commodity” fish suitable for fishing. (This takes more than 15 years for Beluga.) Bester is bred in many hatcheries, the largest of which is located in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​Azov, from where it will then move to some seas of the USSR. So, the results of the experiments showed that bester takes root well in the Baltic Sea.

All this many-sided creative activity of Soviet scientists-fish breeders testifies that in the near future people will begin to populate the seas and individual sections of the oceans with specially created species of fish on an ever larger scale.

Great opportunities also open up in the use and planned breeding of certain species of marine mammals.

One of these most interesting marine mammals - dolphins - are exceptionally highly organized animals, many species of which show amazing intelligence when trained. Scientists have discovered in dolphins a brain that is not inferior in size to the human brain, and even surpasses it in the number of convolutions in the cerebral hemispheres. American neurophysiologist John Lilly found that a dolphin can imitate a human voice, and after training it can even reproduce entire phrases of human speech. It turned out that dolphins not only distinguish the sound elements of speech, but are even able to copy it while maintaining the accent and intonation of the trainer. In evaluating his discovery, John Lilly, however, "humanizes" the dolphins too much. He argues that dolphins utter some sounds as a gratitude to the experimenter and that in the future they can be taught to talk to a person. John Lilly proceeded from the fact that since the brain of a dolphin is outwardly similar to a human one in terms of mass (the average mass of the brain of a bottlenose dolphin, one of the most easily tamed species of dolphins, is 1700 g), and in terms of the volume of convolutions, and in a number of other parameters, then potentially it is capable of the same thing as the human brain. However, most scientists from different countries deny the existence of a real language among dolphins. Dolphins communicate with each other using acoustic signals emitted by a complex sound-signaling apparatus located in the upper part of the respiratory tract. US scientists W. Evans and D. Dreher identified 32 different whistling signals in three species of dolphins (and there are individual differences in whistles, by which dolphins are personally recognized).

According to press reports, scientists at the University of Honolulu resorted to computers to communicate with dolphins. She turned a number of English words into sound signals, similar to the sounds made by the dolphins themselves. Sounds were transmitted through an underwater loudspeaker. In total, dolphins "mastered" 25 words. So, for example, the ball was placed on the water and the corresponding sound signal was given. If the animal reacted correctly and pushed the ball with its nose, it received a reward. Gradually, their conditions became more complicated and included the rest of the words mastered by the dolphins.

In the water of cetaceans, the most important sense organ turned out to be not sight, as in land mammals, but hearing in combination with an echolocation apparatus.

The leading role in the development of the large brain of dolphins, according to some Soviet and foreign experts, was apparently played by echolocation, as the most important way of orienting dolphins in the ocean and the main way of obtaining information about the environment. The time between the produced click-signal and the return of its echo tells the animals the distance to any object in their path. To process the incoming echo signals, a highly developed brain was required. It is no coincidence that the dolphin brain has some advantages over the human brain in the area of ​​the auditory system.

Dolphins are indeed the most interesting and amazing animals.

Many cases have been recorded in historical documents, books, magazines, newspapers, testifying to the rescue of drowning people by dolphins. There were such cases in our Black Sea already in the post-war period.

Isn't it surprising the famous dolphin pilot Jack, who for 25 years (from 1887 to 1912) guided ships through the underwater reefs of the French Pass in New Zealand.

Finally, it suffices to recall the famous dolphin Tuffy, who became widely known after his participation in 1965 in a large underwater experiment under the Sealab-2 program, during which three groups of aquanauts lived alternately for two weeks at a depth of 60 m. Tuffy delivered to underwater inhabitants mail, tools, various light loads, guarded them from sharks in long swims and even searched for lost aquanauts.

Successes in working with dolphins have opened up great prospects for their use in various fields of medicine, fisheries, oceanology, mineral prospecting, and many other vital areas. Endurance, diligence of dolphins, sociability and peaceful nature represent unlimited opportunities for their training by humans.

A thorough study of dolphin physiology will help reveal the secret of fast and deep diving, which can later be used for practical purposes.

US scientists propose using dolphins to search for concentrations of commercial fish, for which the dolphins are marked with a special radio tag, and the ship's radio operator carefully monitors the radio signals coming from the dolphins until they lead the fish to schools. It is known that Californian and Mexican fishermen find schools of tuna more easily if they are guided by marine mammals. Jacques-Yves Cousteau and René Guy Busnel describe how dolphins help the Mauritanians, the imragins, to fish.

During the mass movement of the striped mullet, the fishermen enter waist-deep into the water and begin to beat with poles on the surface of the water. In response, dolphins rush to the shore. Then the fishermen, armed with light nets, go towards the dolphins in a semicircle, and a school of fish rushes between dolphins and people at a depth of two meters. As a result of such a “commonwealth”, a rich catch gets into the net of fishermen, and dolphins get plentiful food.

According to press reports, the University of Tokyo has developed a 12-year program in which carefully selected dolphins must complete a specially designed course of study. After completing this course, trained animals will be able to observe the movement of schools of fish and, at the command of a person, change the direction of their movement. The same Tuffy dolphin, along with other dolphins, participated and very successfully in the search for warheads of American anti-submarine missiles and training mines. Dolphins put on mines and warheads a ring with a marking device that floated to the surface of the water and indicated their location at the bottom. Moreover, the dolphins did this work much faster and more efficiently than several groups of divers. Dolphin training was carried out at the Naval Biological Station in Point Mugu (California). Even more amazing success was achieved by the scientists of this station when training another species of dolphins - pilot whales (Tuffy and the dolphins who worked with him belong to the family of bottlenose dolphins and killer whales). The pilot whales and killer whales trained by them, on command, searched for sunken torpedoes and put special lifting devices on them, after which the torpedoes automatically surfaced. They performed such operations at a depth of 500 m or more, i.e., at depths inaccessible to humans (Fig. 5).

Naturally, trained cetaceans can? deliver a variety of scientific information to humans from 500-meter deep sea depths. To do this, special sensors must be attached to animals. The time is not far off when dolphins will deliver the necessary information about radioactivity, water salinity, temperature and currents, photograph the seabed and perform many other useful operations that are inaccessible to humans at such depths.

The domestication of cetaceans will help man master the biological and mineral wealth of the oceans. Work is already underway to train dolphins to help divers serving the underwater oilfields. You can train dolphins to deliver soil samples, transport cargo, work as messengers for divers who live for a long time at the bottom in underwater houses during scientific experiments; rescue drowning people by giving them life belts or pushing them out of the water, protect a person from sharks. Dolphins will carry out a search service at sea, look for various objects, discover sunken ships, etc. Today it is even difficult to imagine what truly unlimited possibilities exist for using dolphins as the closest assistant and friend of man.

An important role in the economy of the USSR and a number of foreign countries is also played by the products of the hunting and fur trade of pinnipeds (walruses, seals, fur seals, sea otters (sea lions). The largest pinnipeds in our seas are walruses, whose mass reaches up to 2 tons, and the length of that traps reach 5 m. They are found in the Arctic Ocean, off the western coast of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, off the coast of Greenland, off Svalbard, and within the USSR - in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Bering Seas.

The tusks of walruses, resembling ivory, are used in the manufacture of various artistic bone crafts. In the walrus trade, skin and fat are also used.

Seals are of much greater commercial importance than walruses. During the year, the world seal production reaches several hundred thousand heads. The largest seal hunting areas are the waters surrounding Greenland and Jan Mayen Island. Until 1941, seals were sometimes caught in excess of 500,000. Now, due to a decrease in their number, the seal hunt has been significantly reduced. In the USSR, most of the seals are harvested in the White and Caspian Seas. The most common are the harp seal, or the bald seal and the seal.

Nerpa is the smallest seal, usually not exceeding 50 kg in weight. As a rule, seals live in coastal ice, where there are polynyas. Being in the water, every 5-10 minutes, the seal must necessarily appear on the surface in order to breathe air, which is necessary for it in the same way as for a person. The seal feeds its pup cubs with milk thick as cream, which contains 53% fat. White pups are born on coastal ice floes and have soft and thick fur - the most valuable item of seal hunting. Before the Belek gets into the water for the first time, he must throw off his delicate and fluffy “fur coat” and “dress”, like a mother, with a short and sparse hairline that does not get wet and does not slow down movement in the water.

In addition to fur, fat and meat are also used, which are usually fed to fur farms. Gradually begin to produce and canned food.

It should be noted that seals, like dolphins, are relatively easy to train and can dive to a depth of 400-500 m. That is why the outstanding Russian trainer V. L. Durov suggested using specially trained seals to find and destroy sea mines. Around the same years, the American physicist R. Wood made a similar proposal, pointing to special experiments conducted in Wales (Great Britain) with seals trained to destroy enemy submarines. According to the American press, specialists from the US Navy are already training seals along with dolphins to detect minefields and underwater missile launchers.

The fur of fur seals is known all over the world. Exceptionally durable and beautiful, it is highly regarded in the global market. As a result of barbarian fishing in the XVIII-XIX centuries. the herds of this valuable animal were significantly reduced. In 1957, at the suggestion of Soviet specialists, a quadripartite convention was concluded between the USSR, the USA, Canada and Japan for the protection of fur seals in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. It prohibits marine fishing, providing for only limited slaughter on rookeries. More than 20 years have passed since then, and the cooperation of scientists from four countries who care about the protection and reproduction of fur seals has yielded good results.

Large fur seal rookeries are located on the Pribylov Islands, which belong to the United States, and within the USSR - on the Commander Islands and on Tyuleniy Island, located in Patience Bay.

One of the most valuable game animals is the sea otter, the owner of beautiful fur, which is often called the sea otter or the Kamchatka beaver.

Sea otters are amazing animals, a little over a meter long, and their skin reaches two meters in length. Nature has provided the sea otters with a kind of oversized clothing. They carefully look after their fur coat, and only such neatness allows them to survive in the cold Far Eastern seas. Unlike seals and other marine animals, there is no fatty layer under the skin of sea otters. Buoyancy and optimal body temperature provide the sea otter with its fur. Water takes heat from the body 27 times faster than air, and even a small bald spot on a sea otter's coat leads to its death. And the sea otter swims on its back - thick five-centimeter fur creates a kind of air cushion under it.

Sea otters live on the Commander and Kuril Islands, on the coast of Kamchatka and are less common on the Aleutian Islands and off the coast of Alaska. Now, within the USSR, on the Commander and Kuril Islands, as well as on the coast of Kamchatka, 7-10 thousand sea otters live.

The life expectancy of sea otters is on average 12 years. The female brings 4-5 cubs in her whole life, nursing each one throughout the year. Currently, sea otters are strictly guarded. Soviet scientists plan in the coming years to resettle sea otters along the entire eastern and western coasts of Kamchatka.

Although the fur of the sea otter is extremely valuable and has no rivals at fur auctions, the sea otter fishery is out of the question for many years to come.

Sea lions are also very interesting. They seem to “float” in the water on wide front flippers. The sea lion, having come ashore, turns its narrow rear flippers upside down and uses them to move on land. The most common is the California sea lion, which lives in the coastal waters of America from British Columbia to the tip of the California Peninsula. In addition, sea lions are found in the coastal waters of Japan and the Galapagos Islands.

At the U.S. Naval Biological Station at Point Mugu, California, sea lions trained with Tuffy the dolphin and by the end of the training were able to dive to a depth of 210 m and deliver various items there. Moreover, here the sea lions were trained to detect training missile warheads, deliver lifting equipment to the bottom and attach it to the warheads to lift them to the surface.

In recent years, the fisheries of marine invertebrates (crabs, squids, shrimps, lobsters, spiny lobsters, sea cucumbers, oysters, mussels, scallops) have become more and more important in the economy of maritime states. In terms of the amount of protein and minerals, as well as vitamins of various groups, in terms of nutritional value and taste, many marine invertebrates are not inferior to meat and fish, and some even surpass them.

In Japan, which ranks first in the world in the extraction of these seafood, dishes from marine invertebrates have firmly entered the daily menu of almost all residents of the country. These products are gradually gaining popularity in other countries, including the Soviet Union.

Among marine invertebrates, crabs are one of the most valuable food products. In the USSR, at present, crab products are the most valuable export item.

In Japan, on the island of Hokkaido, research is underway on the artificial breeding of king crab, some individuals of which reach a mass of 7 kg. Under laboratory conditions, the crab reaches commercial size in 2.5 years, while in natural conditions it takes 8-10 years.

Squid have been eaten in Japan and China for hundreds of years. Usually, the size of squids does not exceed 60 cm, and the mass ranges from 100 to 750 g. However, giant squids are occasionally found in the World Ocean, reaching a length of 15-18 m and a mass of several tons. Numerous myths and legends among sailors of many countries are associated with such giants. The squid's muscular mantle and tentacles are edible, and experienced cooks know the secrets to making many gourmet dishes from these molluscs.

From the so-called squid ink bag, they get a beautiful natural paint - sepia, which is very much appreciated by artists. Now attempts are being made in Japan, the USA and in a number of other countries to breed these mollusks artificially, in incubators where the eggs of animals are laid. When born, the future "pirates of the sea" have a length of only 10-12 mm.

Squids are of great interest to submarine designers who are trying to unravel the mystery of their amazing speed. After all, squids compete with dolphins and develop speeds of up to 65 km per hour in water. Today, engineers have begun equipping ships with "squid-like" propellers (propellers that are being tested very successfully, and, apparently, many ships will soon have such propulsors).

About 1/5 of the total world catch of invertebrates falls on shrimp. These ten-legged floating crustaceans have very tender and tasty meat, which is not inferior to crab meat. It contains 100 times more iodine than beef, as well as more than 30 different chemical elements. Just like squids, they are found in the USSR in the Far Eastern seas, as well as the Barents, Black and Caspian seas.

Currently, commercial-scale controlled cultivation of shrimp from eggs to commercial sizes is carried out in Japan and the USA, and also, to a lesser extent, in France, Great Britain, Spain, Australia, the Philippines and some other countries. But the most widespread development of artificial shrimp breeding was in Japan, where the problems of cultivating shrimp have been dealt with for more than 25 years.

The largest representatives of crustaceans are lobsters. American lobster reaches large sizes (in some cases up to 21 kg). Other types of lobsters have a length of more than 0.5 m and a mass of more than 6 kg. The decline in lobster populations in recent decades has led scientists to look for ways to farm lobsters artificially. Experimental nurseries for breeding them under artificial conditions were created in the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and other countries. On marine farms, lobsters are grown to marketable sizes in two years, that is, their growth period is reduced by 2-3 times compared to natural conditions in the sea.

In the USA, Japan and Australia, another type of marine crayfish is also cultivated - spiny lobsters. These are quite large crayfish, some of them reach a mass of 13 kg. Spiny lobsters are very prolific - one female can have from 0.5 to 1.5 million eggs. However, under natural conditions, only a few larvae survive in the sea. In recent years, the number of marine lobster farms in the US, Japan and especially Australia has increased dramatically. Unlike other types of crustaceans, juvenile lobsters caught in the sea are grown on marine farms to commercial sizes.

Trepang (sea cucumber) is also a very useful "product" of the sea. Its meat contains a lot of iron, copper, iodine, mineral salts and protein, as well as vitamins C, B 12 and some others.

Such a favorable combination of microelements gives products prepared from trepang special properties that are extremely necessary for the human body.

In the USSR, it is found in large quantities in the coastal waters of Primorye, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Oysters and mussels have been used as human food since ancient times. Oyster meat is much more nutritious than the meat of such delicious fish as pike perch, carp, bream, cod. Oyster meat contains phosphorus, calcium, iron, cobalt, iodine, manganese and other trace elements. Oysters also contain vitamins B and C. Oyster meat is unusually tender, tasty and very healthy. Mussel meat is most popular in the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

The shells of oysters and mussels are rich in mother-of-pearl and provide valuable raw materials for inlays and the manufacture of various artistic items. Dried and crushed shells are a good feed for pets and birds, promoting the growth of chickens and increasing the egg production of hens.

Underwater shallows where oysters live are called oyster banks. Such banks in the USSR are found in the Far Eastern seas and the Black Sea. In Japan, France, the USA and some other countries, oysters are cultivated artificially. The world production of oysters is about 800 thousand tons. Japan occupies the first place in the world in growing oysters - it produces about 250 thousand tons of oysters a year.

Oyster farms are quite widespread, in which oysters are grown in water on rafts, ropes, racks and other floating devices. A raft with 600 overhead collectors produces up to 4 tons of meat in 6-8 months. During the year, up to 58 tons of high-quality meat or about 350 tons of mollusks with shells can be obtained from one hectare of oyster farming.

In the USSR on the Black Sea in 1968-1970. for the first time, experimental production cultivation of oysters was carried out. The whole process of cultivation of oysters here to adults lasts 3-3.5 years.

Mussel meat is protein, fat, glycogen, vitamins B1, B2, B6, PP and trace elements. This mollusk contains a large part of the elements of the periodic table, which are especially important for normal human life, among which, first of all, cobalt must be distinguished. Mussels are among those inhabitants of the sea, the cultivation of which is economically very profitable. So, under natural conditions, 1 hectare of a can of meat gives an average of about 150 kg of pure meat per year; with artificial cultivation on the ground (three methods of growing mussels are used: on piles, on the ground and on rafts), 12-25 tons of pure products can be obtained from 1 hectare, and when growing mussels on rafts, the productivity of mussel aquatic area increases to 120 tons. Usually mussels reach a length of 80-150 mm, but among them there are also larger species. Specimens of a giant mussel more than 25 cm long are known. This mollusk also lives in the waters surrounding Sakhalin Island. The giant mussel lives up to 100 years, and begins to breed at 6 years old, forming up to 20 million eggs in each spawning period, from which, like oysters, larvae are formed that sink to the bottom and attach to some substrate.

But the most effective, as for oysters, is the method of growing mussels on rafts and other floating structures. More than 150 thousand tons of mussels are grown annually on rafts in Spain. Moreover, the growth rate of mollusks grown on rafts exceeds their growth rate on the ground by 3-6 times. Mussel farming on rafts is practiced in Norway, Italy, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and especially on a large scale in the USA and Japan.

Similar experiments were carried out in the Soviet Union on the Black Sea. So, in 1969, up to 73 kg of mussels from 1 m 2 were collected in the Kerch Bay. This means that from an area of ​​1 hectare you can get more than 4500 tons of mussels (or about 600 tons of meat). Currently, we receive no more than 200-300 tons of mussels per 1 ha. But only in the Karkinitsky Gulf, the reserves of the Black Sea mussels are estimated by specialists at 64 million tons. The reserves of mussels are also large in the Far Eastern seas of the USSR, as well as in the White and Barents Seas.

Experiments on raft cultivation of mussels were carried out in the Zelenetskaya Bay of the Kola Bay. Here, up to 5 kg of mussel meat is obtained from 1 m 2 of the farm's water area. Thus, the cultivation of mussels, which does not require artificial feed and expensive equipment, is extremely economically profitable, and further prospects in this direction seem very promising. According to scientists, the annual world production of mussels grown in special farms can reach 100 million tons or more.

Finally, of all invertebrate mollusks, the scallop has the greatest commercial value. The nutritional value of scallop meat is higher than that of animal meat, since it contains, in addition to proteins and carbohydrates, also B vitamins and a large amount of minerals containing sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, as well as small amounts of strontium, barium, cobalt, lithium and arsenic.

Scallop, unlike oysters, leads a mobile life, so it is grown in closed cages. The mass of a large scallop reaches 350 g. Scallop farms are located in areas with a sandy-pebble bottom 50-60 m deep, in water areas protected from strong waves and inflow of river waters, with a water temperature of + 8- + 10 ° С. Industrial production of scallops has been established in Japan, the USA, France and some other countries.

In the USSR, scallop is harvested in the Barents, Black and Far Eastern seas. Especially a lot of it is found along the coast of Primorye and southern Sakhalin. Here, in Posyet Bay, there is an experimental underwater farm where scallop larvae are grown, which are then collected by divers and settled on the ground in coastal areas. About 1 million individuals per year "land" here. The underwater farm is located on ropes, with cages strung on them, in which scallop larvae grow and wait for settlement on the underwater bottom. The ropes are attached to anchors, which, on the surface of the water, are in turn attached to empty barrels. The scallop is very prolific. The female scallop during spawning releases up to 170 million eggs. Therefore, the main thing is to create the most optimal conditions for breeding the larvae hatched from them. Experience has shown that under the conditions of the marine economy, the survival rate of seedlings of scallop is 65%, and in natural conditions no more than 2-4%.

Under the barrels, not only cages hang in the water column, but also peculiar beads - empty scallop doors strung on wire. These are the dwellings of the larvae for the first 40 days of life, until they reach the size of a small button. After settling on the ground, only after four years will the mollusks grow and reach a mass of 200 g.

The seaweed industry is also of great economic importance. According to the internal structure, color and types of reproduction, algae are divided into four large groups: blue-green, green, brown and red, or purple. The last 3 groups of algae are of commercial importance.

Green algae grow most often in the seas in shallow waters, not far from the confluence of rivers. The most common type of these algae is ulva, or sea lettuce.

Brown algae are found in all seas, but the largest of them - kelp and fucus live mainly in cold Arctic waters, usually to depths of 15-25 m.

At sea coasts, at a depth of 10 to 25 m, brown algae form underwater "forests". Laminaria is widespread in our northern and Far Eastern seas. Fucus thickets are also often found in the coastal zone of the northern seas. Interestingly, plants do not die at low tide, neither from temporary drying in summer, nor from winter frosts. In the southern seas, coastal areas are inhabited by another, related to fucus, brown algae - cystoseera. There is a lot of it in the Black Sea.

Red algae, or purple algae, are found to depths of 180-200 m. The most prominent representative of this group is red algae - phyllophora, which is also widespread in the Black Sea. Another widespread type of red or crimson algae is anfeltia, found in large quantities in the northern seas, especially in the White Sea.

Green, brown and red algae are widely used in various areas of economic and daily human activities. They are used in medicine and the food industry, animal husbandry and the chemical industry, in the textile and oil industries, in perfumery and pharmaceuticals, and in a number of other industries. And most importantly, literally every year more and more new areas of application for algae products are discovered, which are gradually firmly entering our daily lives.

Of great importance is the use of algae for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis. Japan has been especially successful in this regard, where diseases of the cardiovascular system are much less common than in the vast majority of other countries.

Such components of seaweed as proteins, organic compounds of iodine and bromine, vitamins and microelements are healing for any weakened organism. The use of algae has a healing and restorative effect not only on the sick, but also on a healthy body, increasing its protective functions.

Algae are widely used for the manufacture of a number of effective medicines. First of all, it is necessary to name seaweed powder, as well as carrageenan, a valuable stimulant drug used for weakened body functions after serious illnesses, and also helps in the treatment of stomach ulcers.

During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet scientist Ksenia Petrovna Gemp was the first in the Soviet Union to obtain penicillin from kelp, which saved tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers.

Alginic acid is produced from algae, the compounds of which are used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as for the preparation of ointments and liquids for burns. Gauze and cotton wool impregnated with solutions of alginites (salts of alginic acid) are good hemostatic materials. Alginic acid is very effective as a means of preventing contamination of the body with radioactive strontium.

Finally, the drug mannitol is an effective remedy for kidney disease. Of course, the number of various drugs produced from algae will increase every year.

It has been established that algae contain significantly more proteins, fats and carbohydrates than many cereals and vegetables. Thus, the protein content in brown and red algae is on average 20%, and in green - 45%, against 9% - in buckwheat and 14% - in wheat. In terms of the amount of some important vitamins, algae also far “outstripped” many vegetables and fruits. So, vitamin B 2 in sea kale is 200 times more than in potatoes, and 40 times more than in carrots. According to the content of vitamin C, many algae are even richer than apples.

In addition, algae contain a large number of trace elements, such as boron, manganese, copper, zinc, iron, phosphorus, potassium, without which the normal functioning of the body is impossible.

Dietary algae are nutritious and vitamin-enhancing foods in and of themselves. A number of types of algae are first processed into semi-finished products, from which bread, cookies, cakes, sweets, ice cream and even chocolate are then prepared. Seaweed has long been used as food in Japan, China, Indonesia, Great Britain, Spain, France and other countries. And in the USSR in recent years, more and more algal products have appeared (from zucchini with seaweed to cookies, marmalade and dragees stuffed with seaweed).

Algae have long been used as supplementary feed for animals and birds. In many European countries, as well as in Australia, residents drove sheep, goats and cows to the sea coast, where at low tide juicy thalli of large algae were exposed. Algae has long been used to make silage, as well as fodder meal. In many livestock farms located near the White Sea, the so-called northern concentrate is used for livestock feed, which contains 80% of seaweed. Animals that eat algae quickly gain weight and become less susceptible to a range of diseases.

Many different mineral salts and trace elements are obtained from seaweed, but perhaps the most valuable are three derivatives: mannitol, alginic acid and agar-agar.

Mannitol, or hexahydric alcohol, is a good breeding ground for many microorganisms grown in various laboratories.

In the chemical industry, mannitol is used as a reagent that acts on many metals. In the textile industry, it is used as a good thickener for some dyes. Finally, it is used in the treatment facilities of many factories and plants as an indicator of wastewater contamination.

It is difficult to name an industry where alginic acid and its salts would not find application. Alginic acid extract is an excellent tool for hardening high quality steels. The addition of algae extract to cement, concrete, asphalt makes the product more durable and waterproof.

Alginic acid compounds are used to make various paints and varnishes, as well as high-quality glue.

Sodium alginate gives waterproof properties to various fabrics, as well as paper and cardboard. This compound is also used as a water softener.

Alginites are also widely used in the food industry (in the production of ice cream, in the manufacture of bakery products - bread stays fresh longer, in the preparation of jam and jam - protection from sugaring). Alginic acid is in great demand in the world market.

No less widely used is agar-agar, produced from the red algae anfeltia. Agar, or vegetable gelatin, as it is also called, is used to an even greater extent than mannitol as a nutrient medium for obtaining various bacteria and microorganisms in many microbiological laboratories. The use of agar in the textile, paper and leather industries is of great benefit. Skin, paper or fabric treated with agar becomes more durable and acquires a pleasant sheen.

Agar is used to remove scale in boilers and as an anti-corrosion agent in metallurgy. Corrosion of some metals when using agar is reduced by 95%. In the perfume industry, agar is used as a tonic. In areas with a hot climate, the addition of agar makes long-term storage of various products possible. Agar is also widely used in the food industry (in bakery, confectionery, ice cream production - its action is similar to alginic acid).

The largest agar plant is located in Australia. The second largest agar plant in the world is located in the USSR, in Odessa.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance and role of seaweed in people's daily lives. Meanwhile, the entire world production of algae is (according to various sources) 600-800 thousand tons per year, which is less than 1% of its world reserves. The reserves of algae in the seas surrounding our country amount to hundreds of millions of tons, while only about 2,000 tons are mined, which is 0.5% of all explored reserves. One of the reasons hindering a wider extraction of algae is the not always convenient location of the areas of their distribution in relation to the areas of their processing and consumption. Under these conditions, it is much more profitable to engage in artificial cultivation of algae in areas most convenient for their further processing or transportation.

Artificial cultivation of algae has many advantages over simply collecting them in natural conditions.

Firstly, the yield when fertilizing increases by 1.5-2 times; secondly, the concentration of algae in areas convenient for their collection is ensured; thirdly, the growth rate of plants is accelerated and their development is more intensive; fourthly, the collection of algae from cultivation sites eliminates the risk of undermining natural reserves. And finally, and very importantly, the artificial breeding of algae allows many operations and harvesting to be carried out in a mechanized way. But the lack of special harvesting equipment in the required quantity significantly hinders the widespread development of the algae industry.

Cultivated algae must have three main qualities: commercial value, fast growth and high productivity.

Algae are usually cultivated in lagoons, bays, gulfs and other convenient coastal areas. When breeding algae, either a vertical or horizontal method is used. The first of these is the use of vertically placed nets and bamboo trellises, which are gradually overgrown with young plants. In the second method, in the autumn, during the drying period, bamboo logs, bundles of branches, brushwood, etc. are lowered to the bottom. All these spore collectors are attached to poles driven into the ground to catch spores. Sometimes rope nets are used, placed in the water column in several tiers. During the winter period, the collectors are overgrown with algae, and in the summer they are taken out of the water and harvested.

The greatest success in the cultivation of seaweed has been achieved in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. The cultivation of algae in the experimental stage is carried out in the USA, Great Britain, France, the USSR and a number of other countries.

In the Soviet Union, the first underwater plantations of kelp are being successfully developed in Kamchatka and in Posyet Bay - in Primorye, as well as phyllophora in the Black Sea.

In Kamchatka, in the Ossar Bay, rope frames are stretched on the surface of the water, from which rope garlands descend to a depth of 18 m. Young sprouts of sea kale curl along these garlands. Here, since 1973, rich harvests of kelp have been obtained. In Posyet Bay, underwater plantations occupy an area of ​​about 30 hectares. 40-50 tons of seaweed are harvested here from 1 hectare.

And the industrial production of kelp, anfeltia and fucus is increasingly expanding in the White Sea. This is largely facilitated by the creation by Kaliningrad scientists of a special "harvester" for collecting algae. "Combine" is a towed catamaran vessel, between the hulls of which there is a conveyor belt equipped with cutting devices. Cutting devices, resembling a comb in appearance, cut the stems, as it were, and then easily tear them apart. After that, the algae are lifted on board the vessel along the conveyor. Such a “harvester” also works with sea waves up to three or four points and captures depths of up to 50 m.

According to the designers of this machine, if we replace the cutting devices with scrapers, buckets, and pins, then it is possible, with a slight modernization, to collect other seaweeds, as well as some types of marine invertebrates, such as mussels.

In Murmansk, a special vessel "Belomor" is finishing testing, on which an installation is mounted, which from the vessel's hull descends to a depth of up to 12 m and its cutting mechanism works on the principle of a conventional mower. Currently, samples of new equipment for the extraction of algae are being worked on in Kaliningrad, the Far East and Ukraine. And in Arkhangelsk, the construction of the country's largest algae processing plant is being completed.

Thus, in recent years, humanity is increasingly moving from fishing in the ocean to a purposeful marine economy, which ultimately should provide the future rapidly growing population of the Earth with food and many everyday items.

Biological resources, as one of the varieties of its natural wealth, in the broadest sense of this concept, represent the whole variety of plants and animals living in. However, only a small part of the organic world of the ocean is still used. Therefore, only those groups and species of its inhabitants, whose involvement in the economic sphere is currently economically justified, actually serve as biological resources of the World Ocean.

In terms of the scale of use and importance, the nekton occupies the leading place. The predominant part (80-85%) of its biomass is represented by fish. About 10-15% of the total nekton biomass is accounted for by nektonic cephalopods, mainly squids. Nektonic crustaceans are mainly represented by different types of shrimps. Marine mammals - mainly whales and pinnipeds - occupy less than 5% of the total nekton biomass. Benthos is still used to a relatively small extent. Among the zoobenthos, various species of bivalve mollusks (mussels, oysters, scallops, etc.), crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, spiny lobsters), echinoderms (sea urchins) and other bottom animals are of economic interest. Of the variety of phytobenthos, some representatives of brown, red and green algae, as well as higher flowering plants, find practical application. Recently, one of the types of planktonic crustaceans, krill, has been used. This marked the beginning of the development of oceanic zooplankton. Industrial production of phytoplankton in the ocean is unrealistic, since its specific biomass is negligible compared to production.

Fishing for animals and plants in the ocean

The geography of the world trade of aquatic animals and plants, i.e. the degree of use of their resource base in different areas of the World Ocean is predetermined by natural, socio-economic and legal factors.

The former include spatial differences in the biological productivity of the ocean, which depend on the diversity of hydrological and hydrobiological conditions, atmospheric processes, bottom topography, and so on. In the World Ocean, as well as on land, there are highly productive and unproductive areas. The most highly productive zones of the ocean, the level of productivity of which corresponds to the level of productivity of forests and arable lands of the continents, occupy only 17% of the area of ​​the World Ocean. Unproductive ocean spaces, the productivity of which is at the level of land deserts, cover 63% of the ocean area. Thus, only 37% of the water area of ​​the World Ocean falls on the share of biologically productive areas located mainly on the shelf, the periphery of the oceans and partly in open waters, near the continental slope or above the rises of the ocean floor. Quantitative indicators of harvesting of commercial objects depend on the degree of productivity, and their species composition is determined by fishing areas.

Among the group of socio-economic factors, the most significant are the following:

- Production. The level of development of fishing equipment and technology. Associated with them are the possibilities of developing more or less significant spaces and depths of the ocean, conducting not only passive coastal fishing, but also active fishing in open waters, which makes it possible to use the biological resources of the World Ocean in a more diverse way.

— Economic. Location of the main areas of consumption. Other things being equal, the most intensively fished areas are adjacent to the places of processing of raw materials and marketing of products.

— Social. The mode of production largely determines the efficiency of the economy and the rational use of natural resources. Under the socialist economic system, predatory fishing and other marine life is excluded.

— Legal. International agreements in the field of extraction of biological resources. They largely determine the areas of fishing, the species composition of the biological resources used and the volume of catches. So, for example, after the introduction of two hundred mile economic zones, fishing in them became possible only on the terms of interstate agreements. In this regard, in recent years, an intensive search for new fishing areas in the open waters of the World Ocean has begun, which somewhat expanded the spatial scope of production and the species composition of the biological resources used.

Over the past 100 years, the catch of water bodies has increased from about 2 million tons (1850) to 73.5 million tons (1976). However, during this time, the rate and size of catches increased unevenly. Until the Second World War, the fishing industry developed rather slowly, and in 1938 the catch reached 21 million tons.

During the war years, fishing was insignificant, but since 1948, world fisheries began to develop rapidly; in 1950, the pre-war level of world catches was restored and their further rapid growth began. During the first 15 post-war years, the world catch of water bodies increased by 19 million tons, and over the decade (1961-1970) the increase in world catches exceeded 29 million tons. Such an intensive increase in catches at that time occurred mainly as a result of fishing in the oceans and seas, where about 90% of aquatic animals and plants were then harvested. Growth rates of catches in inland waters remained low. The rapid development of industrial fishing in the World Ocean was mainly stimulated by an increased demand for food and feed (for agricultural needs) products made from fish and other marine products, and the improvement of fishing vessels, fishing gear and equipment, the use of new scientific equipment and production technology made it possible dramatically increase the extraction of bioresources.

However, the extremely high intensification of the extraction of water bodies had a negative impact on the reserves of many of them, so the pace of development of marine fisheries subsequently decreased significantly.

Industrial fishing in the waters of the World Ocean is unevenly distributed. This is confirmed by spatial differences in catches. Traditionally, fishing is most developed in the northern (north of 30° N) zone of the ocean. Here, before the Second World War, more than 80% of fish and non-fish objects were mined. In the post-war years, there have been noticeable shifts in the degree of intensity of fishing in latitudinal zones.

The northern zone continues to occupy a leading place in world fisheries, although its share by 1979 had decreased by about 25% compared to the pre-war period. At the same time, the share of the southern zone increased (from 4% in 1948 to 18.5% in 1979) and the share of the tropical zone decreased (from 40% in 1958 to 27% in 1979). A relatively high level of production in the tropical zone and an increase in the catch in the southern zone are also a characteristic feature of modern ocean fishing.

An essential indicator of modern industrial fishing is the distribution of catches by the depths of the World Ocean. Most of the catch is confined to shelf waters, much less is caught above the continental slope and the ocean floor.

In addition, little temporal variability in the distribution of the global catch across depth steps is clearly visible. And at present, the picture of the distribution of the world catch by depth remains the same.

Among commercial fish, pelagic species predominate, the catch of which increased by 27.5 million tons in the postwar years, while the catch of bottom dwellers increased by only 10.5 million tons. This is due not only to a sharp predominance of the number of pelagic species, but also to improvement of fish search methods and fishing techniques. In addition, the harvest of the most nutritionally valuable representatives of the benthic fauna has decreased as a result of a decrease in their stocks, undermined by many years of extremely intensive fishing.

The global fisheries in the oceans and seas include several main groups of harvested organisms with a very unequal share of each of them in the total catch. Most (almost 90%) of the catch is fish, second place (about 6%) is invertebrates, third place (about 4%) is aquatic vegetation, and less than 1% comes from the fishery of marine mammals. In addition to quantitative differences in catches, the catch of each of these groups has its own characteristics, so it is advisable to consider the respective types of fisheries separately.

Primary production and trophic chains. Schemes of production of pelagial matter in the tropical zone of the ocean and in coastal waters indicate both a large length of the food chain and large irreplaceable losses of organic matter in the process of biogenic migration (B.S. Vinogradov, 1977).

The productivity of the vast open ocean areas is surprisingly low and does not differ from the productivity of desert and semi-desert terrestrial ecosystems (only about 0.1 g / m 2 per day), and the relatively productive waters of the shelf are significantly inferior in this indicator not only to fields occupied by agricultural crops, but also to many terrestrial natural plant communities.

At the same time, many areas of the ocean are characterized by exceptionally high productivity. For example, in coral reef zones, animals and plants have developed highly efficient nutrient circulating mechanisms that maintain high levels of productivity that exceed those of crops.

There are more than 8 thousand species of macrophytes in the World Ocean, but the bulk is produced by a small number of species and genera. The largest biomass is formed by brown algae: macrocystis, kelp, fucus, alaria, undaria, etc.; then come red algae - gracilaria (porphyra, phyllophora, etc.); the biomass of green algae (ulvae, enteromorphs, cauleprae) is inferior to the biomass of the first two groups. Finally, a special group is made up of flowering plants: from ruppia, eelgrass, (ruppia, zoster, called sea grass) and some others. Stocks of benthic algae in the seas and oceans are practically not taken into account. Their number can be estimated at approximately 150 million tons.

An important role in the functioning of marine ecosystems is played by heterotrophic microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, fungi) and microzooplankton, which mainly includes protozoa - ciliates, flagellates, etc. Bacteria account for more than 60% of the total energy flow passing through the heterotrophic part of the community, and more than 50% of the entire community's exchange costs. Bacterio- and microzooplankton are actively involved in the decomposition of dead organic matter and the regeneration of biogenic elements. In addition, together with phytoplankton, micro-heterotrophs form the main food resources of the marine environment.

Microheterotrophs - bacteria, fungi, protozoa consume suspended matter and form detritus biomass, where 3-5% of the mass is microorganisms. These detrital particles are food for many planktonic and benthic animals, especially sponges, mollusks, ascidians, polychaetes, and corals. Such trophic chains are effective, since the digestibility of the consumed bacterial biomass for most invertebrates is 40-60%. The daily diet of some of them (cladocerus, appendicular) is 50-100% of their body weight.

Plankton. Zooplankton, feeding on phyto-, bacterioplankton and protozoa, is the food base for most pelagic fish, which are the main object of the fishery. The distribution of zooplankton biomass primarily depends on the distribution of phytoplankton. In the central part of the Arctic basin the zooplankton biomass is low, even during the summer maximum it does not exceed 30-60 mg/m 3 . In more southern regions, on the periphery of the Arctic seas, the biomass of zoo-

plankton increases to 200 - 500 mg/m 3 . Especially rich in zooplankton are the waters of the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, the southern part of the Norwegian Sea and the waters located in the zone of influence of the Gulf Stream. In these areas, the zooplankton biomass reaches its maximum values ​​and often exceeds 500 and even 1000 mg/m 3 . Local concentrations of crustaceans dominating in plankton Calanus cristatus, C. plumchrm and Eucalanus bungii bungii can reach enormous values. Thus, in the Kuril Straits and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, accumulations of C. plumchrus with biomass 6 - 10g/m 3 .

In the open boreal regions of the World Ocean, the zooplankton biomass even in summer exceeds 50–200 mg/m 3 . In the Antarctic sectors of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, the zone with the maximum zooplankton biomass of 100–200 mg/m 3 is a relatively narrow band. In this region of the World Ocean, accumulations of krill (crustaceans up to 1 - 2 cm in size) previously served as food fields for a huge population of whales. Gathering in schools of millions, krill look like huge bloodstains on the surface of the sea. It is the richest oceanic source of protein. Small shrimp, which predominate in the composition of krill, are almost the only food of one species of baleen whales. Experts have calculated that it is possible to catch such an amount of "unconsumed whale food" every year that will surpass the rest of the ocean's catch. Mankind could produce from 50 to 150 million tons of krill annually! However, a massive krill fishery could be a disaster for relatively fragile Antarctic ecosystem, as every animal lives directly or indirectly on krill. The need to preserve this area of ​​the world as it exists led the maritime powers to sign the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which came into force in April 1982.

In the tropical zone of the ocean, in the areas of the northern and southern gyres, where, against the background of clear surface stratification, slow subsidence of waters prevails, the zooplankton biomass is very low, on average for the upper 100-meter layer it is less than 25 and even 20 mg/m 3 . In the equatorial regions, due to the development of upwellings to varying degrees (especially in the eastern parts of the oceans), it is much higher (50-100 mg/m3). The biomass of zooplankton is especially high off the western coast of North and South America, in the southwest and northwest of Africa, and off the island of Java due to intense upwellings.

Benthos. Since the mid-1950s as a result of the work of Soviet expeditions in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, new data were obtained on the quantitative distribution of life in the deep regions of the World Ocean.

In 1971, the first map of the distribution of benthos biomass in the World Ocean was published, compiled by Soviet oceanologists both on the basis of an analysis of available factual data and by extrapolating these materials to as yet unexplored areas. The areas richest in benthic fauna are located, as a rule, in the coastal regions of the oceans and seas, especially in the temperate and cold waters of the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean and the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, as well as near the coast of Antarctica.

The total reserves of benthos in the World Ocean, according to G. M. Belyaev (1989), are at least 10-12 billion tons. - about 10% of benthos reserves.

So, a significant part of phyto-, zooplankton and benthos - the main food for commercial fish and large invertebrates - is located within the relatively small area of ​​shallow (up to 1000 m), mainly coastal zones of oceans and seas, as well as in upwelling areas. In open oligotrophic areas of the oceans, as a rule, primary and secondary production is low.

Nekton First of all, it is represented by different types of fish, among which there are three ecological groups.

1. Pelagic plankton-feeders - usually small (up to 25 cm) fish that feed on planktonic organisms. As a rule, these fish form huge aggregations in shallow areas of the ocean. A typical member of this group is the Peruvian anchovy, which feeds on phytoplankton, while adults eat herbivorous zooplankton. Planktophages include herring, anchovy, mackerel, mackerel, horse mackerel, scorpionfish, etc.

2. Pelagic Predators - larger fish that feed on aquatic organisms of different trophic levels: pelagic planktophages and invertebrates. This group includes mackerel, horse mackerel, cod, pollock, which occupies one of the first places in the total annual catch of commercial fish, tuna, feeding on representatives of the higher levels of trophic chains (fish, squid), as well as sharks and swordfish.

3. bottom predators live on the bottom or in the bottom layers of water, in the shallow shelf zone and feed on benthic invertebrates, as well as small species of bottom fish. In the North Atlantic, various types of flounders, soles, halibuts have long been mined.

A special group is made up of transitional fish that migrate from fresh water to salt water and vice versa. Some of them, such as salmon and sturgeon, live in the sea, but spawn in fresh water.

waters; others, such as eels, on the contrary, live in rivers and lakes, but breed in the ocean. Some species of fish from this group - sturgeon, beluga - can reach gigantic sizes (5 - 6 m in length).

Predatory fish feed mainly on planktivorous pelagic fish and, to a very small extent, benthivorous fish, and if we take a feed factor of 7–8, it turns out that they eat approximately 80–90 million tons of planktivorous and almost 10 million tons of benthivorous.

Despite the diversity of fish used as commercial fish, the “fate” of world fisheries is determined by a limited number of families and species of fish with large numbers. Representatives of seven families - inhabitants of the shelf and neritic areas of the ocean (anchovy, herring, cod, horse mackerel, tuna, flounder and mackerel) provide almost 70% of the world's marine fish production. Thus, Peruvian anchovy, pollock, Atlantic cod and ocean herring, Cape hake, capelin and some types of sardines in some years produced about 25 million tons, i.e. the predominant part of the catch of marine fish. The annual catch of the Peruvian anchovy sometimes accounted for more than 18% of the world catch and up to 25% of the catch of marine fish.

In communities living in the upwelling zone, shortened food chains are usually formed, including 2–3 trophic levels. The more levels in the ecosystem, the more energy is lost when it is transferred to each subsequent link in the food chain. Thus, in the upwelling zones, energy losses are minimal, and they are characterized by the largest reserves of ichthyofauna, which largely directly consume phytoplankton (Table 9).

Table 9

Estimated fish production in three oceanic provinces(according to P.A. Moiseev, 1989)

	Primary production, 106t/day	Average number of trophic levels from first to last	Energy transfer efficiency, %	Products, 10 6 tons of live weight
open ocean
coastal zone
Upwelling

Of the total world seafood production in 1974, 90% came from fish, invertebrates ranked second, algae - third, whales - fourth.

The shelf and the waters of the peripheral regions of the ocean are the most productive, and it is these 20% of the ocean that today accounts for almost 90% of the world's catch. Note that approximately 3% of the Earth's surface - the area of ​​cultivated land - provides almost 99% of the food received by the inhabitants of the planet, while with 71% of its surface occupied by seas and oceans, they receive a little more than 1%.

According to modern concepts, 300-320 million tons of fish and large invertebrates are produced annually in the ocean, of which almost 90 million tons can be caught by humans. The average fish productivity of the World Ocean is relatively low (Fig. 88): in 1967, with a total catch of marine objects of 60 million tons, it was only 167 kg / km 2 in terms of the entire surface of the World Ocean (P.A. Moiseev, 1969). Special calculations have established the approximate volume of potential commercial production of traditional fishing objects in the World Ocean, equal to approximately 90 million tons. Thus, the modern catch of fish and large invertebrates is approaching the limit.

The world ocean occupies a leading position in human life, it contains a large supply of raw materials, fuel, energy and food, without which a person would experience great difficulties in his life. The ocean is also a means of communication between different countries.

Mineral and natural resources

In the ocean, most of the resources are used by oil and gas, and this is 90% of the extracted resources from the world's oceans. According to scientists, up to 50% of the world's oil reserves are concentrated on the continental shelf. The development of many oil and gas reserves on land, a significant increase in production costs for the production of these energy sources on land as a result of a continuous increase in well depths (4-7 km), the movement of developments to extreme areas have led to the recent intensification of the development of oil and offshore gas fields. Already now the shelf zones provide more than 1/3 of the world oil production. The main offshore zones for oil and gas production are located in the Persian Gulf, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, in the southern part of California in the USA, the Gulf of Maracaibo in Venezuela, etc.

Huge mineral resources are also concentrated at the bottom of the World Ocean, primarily huge reserves of iron-manganese nodules. The most extensive area of ​​their distribution is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (16 million km2, which is equal to the area of ​​Russia). The total reserves of iron-manganese nodules are estimated at 2-3 tril. tons, of which 0.5 tril. t. are available for development now. These concretions, in addition to iron and manganese, also contain nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium, molybdenum and other metals. The first attempts to exploit iron-manganese nodules have already been made in the USA, Japan, France, etc.

biological resources

Since ancient times, the population living on the sea coast has used some marine products (fish, crabs, mollusks, sea kale) as food. All these gifts of the sea, along with the animals living in the ocean, constitute another important group of resources of the World Ocean - biological. The biological mass of the World Ocean includes 140 thousand species of plants and animals and is estimated at 35 billion tons. This amount of ocean biological resources can satisfy the food needs of a population of more than 30 billion people. (less than 6 billion people currently live on the planet).

Of the total amount of biological resources, fish accounts for 0.2 - 0.5 billion tons, which currently accounts for 85% of biological resources used by humans. The rest is crabs, shellfish, some marine animals and algae. Every year, 70-75 million tons of fish, mollusks, crabs, algae are extracted from the ocean, which provide 20% of the consumption of animal proteins by the Earth's population.

In the World Ocean, as well as on land, there are areas or zones with high productivity of biological mass and areas with low productivity or completely devoid of biological resources.

90% of fishing and algae harvesting takes place in the more lit and warmer shelf zone, where the bulk of the ocean's organic world is concentrated. About 2/3 of the surface of the ocean floor is occupied by "deserts", where living organisms are distributed in limited numbers. Due to the intensification of fishing and the use of the most modern fishing gear, the possibility of reproduction of many species of fish, marine animals, mollusks and crabs is threatened. As a result, the productivity of many areas of the World Ocean, which until recently were distinguished by the richness and diversity of biological resources, is declining. This led to a change in the relationship of man to the ocean and to the regulation of fisheries on a global scale.

In recent decades, in many countries of the world, mariculture (artificial breeding of fish, shellfish) has become widespread. In some of them, for example, in Japan, this craft was practiced long before our era. Currently, there are oyster plantations and fish farms in Japan, the USA, China, Holland, France, Russia, Australia, etc.

Sea water is a great wealth of the oceans. Russian scientist A.E. Fersman called sea water the most important mineral on Earth. The total volume of the World Ocean is 1370 million km3, which is 94% of the volume of the hydrosphere. Salt sea water contains 70 chemical elements. In the longer term, sea water will serve not only as a source of many industrial raw materials, but also for irrigation and drinking water supply to the population, as a result of the construction of desalination facilities. Sea water is already being used for these purposes, but on a modest scale.

The oceans also have huge energy resources. First, we are talking about the energy of the ebb and flow, the use of which has achieved some success already in the twentieth century. The global potential for such energy is estimated at 26 trillion annually. kw. h., which is twice the current level of electricity production in the world. However, only a small part of this amount can be mastered, based on modern technical capabilities. But even this amount is equal to the annual electricity generation in France. Rich experience in mastering the energy of ebbs and flows has been accumulated in the same France, where in the ninth century mills were built on the Brittany peninsula, which worked on this energy source. France also built the world's first and largest tidal power plant at the mouth of the Rance River on the Brittany Peninsula, with a capacity of 240,000 kW. Experimental tidal power plants of a more modest capacity have been built in Russia on the Kola Peninsula, in China, North Korea, Canada, etc.

The prospects for the development of tidal energy are very high, and grandiose projects in this area are being developed in many countries. For example, in France it is planned to build a tidal power plant with a capacity of 12 million kW. Similar projects have been developed in Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, USA, India, etc.