The structure of pelagic fish communities of the Kuibyshev reservoir, based on the materials of accounting surveys in 2016-2019

The regulation of the flow of the Volga River by the Zhigulevskaya HPS has changed the living conditions for many fish species. At the same time, the pelagial was a completely new type of biotope for the fish population. The fish population of the Kuibyshev reservoir, newly formed in the pelagial, began to have certain features inherent in this biotope. Currently, according to the results of four years of research, 18 species of fish have been noted here, belonging to 5 families, the basis of which are five species - kilka, sabrefish, bleak, pike perch and bream. It was revealed that the Volga part of the reservoir is more productive than the Kama part, and pelagic fish communities have a certain vertical distribution and migration through the water column, mainly occupying the biomass accumulation zone. The absence of a fishing fleet and the trend in the development of fishing on the reservoir casts doubt on the further rational use of aquatic biological resources in this ecological zone of the Kuibyshev reservoir.