WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2015 65 the Central and Volga Federal Districts (RFSSS 2013). Leaders in commercial fish farming in the SFD are Rostov and Astrakhan Oblast and Krasnodar Krai. In recent years, serious development of commercial fish farming has begun in Dagestan, North Ossetia and Kalmykia. Moderately positive dynamics of fish production in southern Russia have been growing for several years (Fig. 2). Considering the individual sectors of aquaculture, pond fish production — the basis of classic commercial aquaculture — represents just over half of total production. The main species produced in commercial fish farming in southern Russia are various carps and other herbivorous fish and, to a lesser extent, rainbow trout, sturgeon, channel catfish and other fish species (Fig. 3). The main approaches used in the development of aquaculture in southern Russia are pond farming, ranching, recreational fisheries, industrial aquaculture and marine aquaculture. The diversity of natural and climatic conditions, with the available variety of water body types, allows development of industrial fish farming in southern Russia, including in the heated waters of hydroelectric and thermal power stations in submontane areas, trout growing in lakes, estuaries and reservoirs, and ranching aquaculture and mariculture on the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas. Analysis of the conditions and characteristics of commercial aquaculture in southern Russia indicate that its current status in size, level of intensification or condition of fish farms is not consistent with potential, given the achievements of modern science and technology. Currently the majority of aquaculture enterprises in the SFD use extensive production technologies. The shortage of legal products of valuable species (e.g. sturgeon) and the decline in the catch of common fish has stimulated development of artificial reproduction. As a result, the production of marketable fish in southern Russia has increased, outpacing other regions. The issues of aquaculture in specialized modular systems with a closed cycle of water are being discussed. Projects are developing, sites have been selected and facilities constructed. New approaches and methods to accelerate production of gourmet foods such as caviar have been generated. In SSC, ecologically clean sturgeon have been produced using a comprehensive biotechnology package in recirculating systems. To minimize risks associated with the prevailing climate, a set of techniques and methods are used to culture fish in fully controlled conditions according to intensive production methods. Modern system designs and innovative methods allow production of the final product (commodity fish, caviar) at a specified time at the size demanded by the market (Matishov et al. 2011). The structure of the technological process considers the connection between fish tolerance limits and environmental quality. Optimal conditions of the water environment, including abiotic and biotic factors, contribute to the fast growth of fish that are stocked. Growth and development of sturgeon under controlled environmental conditions with the use of a modular installation allows selection and control of optimal temperature, pH, oxygen, salinity and stocking density to get good results. Optimization of the aquatic environment increases the intensity of regeneration of the reproductive system of fish and shortens the interval between spawnings. Sturgeon reach a marketable weight of 1.5-2.0 kg in 10-12 months with sexual maturation in 3.5-4 years. The use of new elements, modeling an artificial winter in combination with biologically active substances (vitamins) applied according to a special scheme, consecutive alternation of feeding and spawning migration, regulation of salinity, flow velocity and temperature in the period of spawning migration allowed us to obtain 100 percent maturation of broodstock and improved quality of reproductive eggs (Figs. 4 and 5). In southern Russia, one highly relevant “green” biotechnology may be the cultivation of aquatic organisms in a closed system using fish, hydroponic plants, crayfish and vermiculture. Such an integrated bio-complex, using new technological methods, occupies a small space and can be used on family fish farms. The development of small-scale fish farming has good prospects because a large number of small reservoirs and ponds FIGURE 4. The complex biotechnology of sturgeon reproduction and breeding. FIGURE 5. Technological equipment and components of sturgeon production. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 66)
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