The ancient name of the Caspian Sea. Caspian Sea, map. What has been achieved since the signing of the Convention?

The Caspian Sea is located between Asia and Europe. This is the largest salt sea-lake, located on the territory of Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Currently, its level is 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean. The depth of the Caspian Sea is quite large. The area of the reservoir is 371 thousand square kilometers.

Story

About five million years ago, the sea divided into small bodies of water, including the Black and Caspian seas. After these events they united and separated. About two million years ago, the Caspian Lake was cut off from the World Ocean. This period is considered the beginning of its formation. Throughout history, the reservoir has changed its contours several times, and the depth of the Caspian Sea has also changed.

Now the Caspian is the largest inland body of water, containing about 44% of the planet’s lake waters. Despite the changes taking place, the depth of the Caspian Sea did not change very much.

Once it was called Khvalian and Khazar, and the tribes of horse breeders gave it another name - Caspian. This is the name of the tribe living on the southwestern shore of the reservoir. In total, during its existence the lake had more than seventy names, here are some of them:

Abeskunskoe.
Derbent.
Saraiskoe.
Xihai.
Dzhurdzhanskoe.
Hyrcanian.

Depth and relief

The relief and features of the hydrological regime divide the sea-lake into northern, middle and southern parts. Over the entire area of the Caspian Sea, the depth is on average 180-200 m, but the relief in different parts is different.

The northern part of the reservoir is shallow. Here the depth of the Caspian Sea-lake is approximately 25 meters. In the middle part of the Caspian there are very deep depressions, continental slopes, and shelves. Here the average depth is 192 meters, and in the Derbent depression - about 788 meters.

The greatest depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression (1025 meters). Its bottom is flat, and in the northern part of the depression there are several ridges. It is here that the maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is noted.

Coastline Features

Its length is seven thousand kilometers. The northern part of the coastline is lowland, there are mountains on the south and west, and hills on the east. The spurs of Elbrus and the Caucasus Mountains approach the shores of the sea.

The Caspian has large bays: Kazakh, Kizlyar, Mangyshlak, Kara-Bogaz-Gol, Krasnovodsk.

If you go on a cruise from north to south, the length of the route will be 1200 kilometers. In this direction, the reservoir has an elongated shape, and from west to east the width of the sea is different. At its narrowest point it is 195 kilometers, and at its widest it is 435 kilometers. The average width of the reservoir is 315 km.

The sea has several peninsulas: Mangyshlak, Buzachi, Miankale and others. There are also several islands here. The largest are Chygyl, Kur-Dashi, Gum, Dash, and Tyuleni Islands.

Pond food

About one hundred and thirty rivers flow into the Caspian Sea. Most of them flow in the north and west. The main river flowing into the sea is the Volga. Approximately ninety percent of the volume of runoff comes from three large rivers: the Volga (80%), Kura (6%) and Ural (5%). Five percent are from Terek, Sulak and Samur, and the remaining four are brought by small rivers and streams of Iran.

Resources of the Caspian Sea

The reservoir has amazing beauty, a variety of ecosystems and a rich supply of natural resources. When there are frosts in its northern part, magnolias and apricots bloom in the south.

Relict flora and fauna have been preserved in the Caspian Sea, including the largest school of sturgeon fish. As it evolved, the marine flora changed more than once, adapting to salinity and desalination. As a result, these waters became rich in freshwater species, but few in marine species.

After the Volga-Don Canal was built, new species of algae appeared in the reservoir, which were previously found in the Black and Azov Seas. Now in the Caspian Sea there are 854 species of animals, of which 79 are vertebrates, and over 500 species of plants. This unique sea-lake produces up to 80% of the catch of all sturgeon in the world and approximately 95% of black caviar.

Five species of sturgeon are found in the Caspian Sea: stellate sturgeon, thorn, sterlet, beluga and sturgeon. Beluga is the largest representative of the species. Its weight can reach a ton, and its length can be five meters. In addition to sturgeon, herring, salmon, kutum, roach, asp and other types of fish are caught in the sea.

Of the mammals in the Caspian Sea, only the local seal is found, which is not found in other bodies of water in the world. It is considered the smallest on the planet. Its weight is about a hundred kilograms, and its length is 160 centimeters. The Caspian region is a major route for bird migration between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Every year, approximately 12 million birds fly over the sea during migration (south in spring and north in autumn). In addition, another 5 million remain in these places for the winter.

The greatest wealth of the Caspian Sea is its huge reserves of oil and gas. Geological exploration in the region has discovered large deposits of these minerals. Their potential puts local reserves in second place in the world after

In dry and hot climates, a large amount of sea water evaporates, water molecules pass into the air. Thus, every year such a huge amount of water particles is carried away from the surface of the Caspian Sea that all together they would fill a bowl with a volume of several hundred cubic kilometers. This amount of water could fill ten such reservoirs as Kuibyshevskoye.

But can water from the surface of the sea get into the bottom layers of the Caspian Sea, to a depth of 900-980 meters?

This is possible provided that the density of the surface layers of water is greater than the density of the bottom layers.

It is known that the density of sea water depends on salinity and temperature. The more salts the water contains, the denser it is, and therefore heavier. High temperature water is less dense than cold water. Only at low temperatures (about 0-4° Celsius) is the opposite relationship given, when water, heating up, becomes more dense.

High salinity of the surface layers of the sea is created in the hot season, when the water evaporates strongly, but the salt remains in the sea. At this time, the salinity of surface waters turns out to be no less, and even slightly greater than the salinity of deep and near-bottom layers.

The temperature of surface waters in the warm season is the same everywhere, about 25-28°, that is, five times higher than at a depth of 150-200 meters. With the onset of the cold season, the temperature of the surface layers decreases and during a certain period it turns out to be 5-6° above zero.

The temperature of the bottom and deep (deeper than 150-200 m) layers of the Caspian Sea is the same (5-6°), practically unchanged throughout the year.

Under these conditions, it is possible for denser surface cold and highly saline water to sink into the bottom layers.

Only in the southern regions of the Caspian Sea the surface water temperature, as a rule, does not drop to 5-6° even in winter. And, although the sinking of surface water into the depths directly in these areas cannot occur, water that has sank from the surface in the more northern parts of the sea is brought here by deep currents.

A similar phenomenon is observed in the eastern part of the border zone between the Middle and Southern Caspian Seas, where cooled surface waters descend along the southern slope of the border underwater threshold and then follow a deep current into the southern regions of the sea.

This widespread mixing of surface and deep waters is confirmed by the fact that oxygen was found at all depths of the Caspian Sea.

Oxygen can only reach depths with the surface layers of water, where it comes directly from the atmosphere or as a result of photosynthesis.

If there were no continuous supply of oxygen to the bottom layers, it would quickly be absorbed by animal organisms there or spent on the oxidation of soil organic matter. Instead of oxygen, the bottom layers would be saturated with hydrogen sulfide, which is what is observed in the Black Sea. The vertical circulation in it is so weak that oxygen in sufficient quantities does not reach the depth, where hydrogen sulfide is formed.

Although oxygen has been found at all depths of the Caspian Sea, it is not in the same quantity in different seasons of the year.

The water column is richest in oxygen in winter. The harsher the winter, that is, the lower the surface temperature, the more intense the aeration process occurs, which reaches the deepest parts of the sea. Conversely, several warm winters in a row can cause the appearance of hydrogen sulfide in the bottom layers and even the complete disappearance of oxygen. But such phenomena are temporary and disappear during the first more or less severe winter.

The upper water column to a depth of 100-150 meters is especially rich in dissolved oxygen. Here the oxygen content ranges from 5 to 10 cubic meters. cm in liter. At depths of 150-450 m, there is much less oxygen - from 5 to 2 cubic meters. cm in liter.

Below 450 m there is very little oxygen and life is represented very sparsely - several species of worms and mollusks, small crustaceans.

Mixing of water masses is also caused by surge phenomena and waves.

Waves, currents, winter vertical circulation, surges, and surges operate constantly and are important factors in water mixing. It is not surprising, therefore, that no matter where we take a water sample in the Caspian Sea, its chemical composition will be constant everywhere. If there were no mixing of waters, all living organisms at great depths would die out. Life would only be possible in the photosynthetic zone.

Where the waters mix well and this process occurs quickly, for example in shallow areas of the seas and oceans, life is richer.

The constancy of the salt composition of the water of the Caspian Sea is a general property of the waters of the World Ocean. But this does not mean that the chemical composition of the Caspian Sea is the same as in the ocean or in any sea connected to the ocean. Consider a table showing the salt content in the waters of the ocean, the Caspian Sea and the Volga.

	Carbonates (CaCO 3)	Sulfates CaSO 4, MgSO 4	Chlorides NaCl, KCl, MgCl 2	Average water salinity ‰
Ocean	0,21	10,34	89,45
Caspian Sea	1,24	30,54	67,90	12,9
Volga river	57,2	33,4

The table shows that ocean water has very little in common with river water in terms of salt composition. In terms of salt composition, the Caspian Sea occupies an intermediate position between the river and the ocean, which is explained by the great influence of river runoff on the chemical composition of Caspian water. The ratio of salts dissolved in the water of the Aral Sea is closer to the salt composition of river water. This is understandable, since the ratio of the volume of river flow to the volume of water in the Aral Sea is much greater than for the Caspian Sea. A large amount of sulfuric acid salts in the Caspian Sea gives its water a bitter-salty taste, distinguishing it from the waters of the oceans and seas connected to them

The salinity of the Caspian Sea continuously increases towards the south. In the pre-estuary space of the Volga, a kilogram of water contains hundredths of a gram of salts. In the eastern regions of the Southern and Middle Caspian Sea, salinity reaches 13-14‰

The concentration of salts in Caspian water is low. So, in this water you can dissolve almost twenty times more salts than are present in it.

B.A. Shlyamin. Caspian Sea. 1954

<<Назад

The Caspian Sea is the largest closed lake on Earth, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, called a sea due to the fact that its bed is composed of oceanic-type crust. The Caspian Sea is an endorheic lake, and the water in it is salty, from 0.05 ‰ near the mouth of the Volga to 11-13 ‰ in the southeast. The water level is subject to fluctuations, according to 2009 data it was 27.16 m below sea level. The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of two parts of the Eurasian continent - Europe and Asia. The length of the Caspian Sea from north to south is approximately 1200 kilometers, from west to east - from 195 to 435 kilometers, on average 310-320 kilometers. The Caspian Sea is conventionally divided according to physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the Northern Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the Southern Caspian. The conditional border between the Northern and Middle Caspian runs along the line of the island. Chechen - Cape Tyub-Karagansky, between the Middle and Southern Caspian Sea - along the line of the island. Residential - Cape Gan-Gulu. The area of the Northern, Middle and Southern Caspian Sea is 25, 36, 39 percent, respectively.

The length of the coastline of the Caspian Sea is estimated at approximately 6500-6700 kilometers, with islands - up to 7000 kilometers. The shores of the Caspian Sea in most of its territory are low-lying and smooth. In the northern part, the coastline is indented by water channels and islands of the Volga and Ural deltas, the banks are low and swampy, and the water surface in many places is covered with thickets. The east coast is dominated by limestone shores adjacent to semi-deserts and deserts. The most winding shores are on the western coast in the area of the Absheron Peninsula and on the eastern coast in the area of the Kazakh Gulf and Kara-Bogaz-Gol. The territory adjacent to the Caspian Sea is called the Caspian region.

Bottom relief The relief of the northern part of the Caspian Sea is a shallow undulating plain with banks and accumulative islands, the average depth of the Northern Caspian Sea is 4-8 meters, the maximum does not exceed 25 meters. The Mangyshlak threshold separates the Northern Caspian from the Middle Caspian. The Middle Caspian is quite deep, the water depth in the Derbent depression reaches 788 meters. The Absheron threshold separates the Middle and Southern Caspian Seas. The Southern Caspian is considered deep-sea; the water depth in the South Caspian depression reaches 1025 meters from the surface of the Caspian Sea. Shell sands are widespread on the Caspian shelf, deep-sea areas are covered with silty sediments, and in some areas there is an outcrop of bedrock. Temperature Water temperature is subject to significant latitudinal changes, most clearly expressed in winter, when the temperature varies from 0-0.5 °C at the ice edge in the north of the sea to 10-11 °C in the south, that is, the water temperature difference is about 10 °C . For shallow water areas with depths less than 25 m, the annual amplitude can reach 25-26 °C. On average, the water temperature off the west coast is 1-2 °C higher than that on the east, and in the open sea the water temperature is 2-4 °C higher than off the coasts.

Animal and plant life The fauna of the Caspian Sea is represented by 1809 species, of which 415 are vertebrates. 101 species of fish are registered in the Caspian Sea, where most of the world's sturgeon stocks are concentrated, as well as freshwater fish such as roach, carp, and pike perch. The Caspian Sea is the habitat of fish such as carp, mullet, sprat, kutum, bream, salmon, perch, and pike. The Caspian Sea is also home to a marine mammal - the Caspian seal. The flora of the Caspian Sea and its coast is represented by 728 species. The predominant plants in the Caspian Sea are algae - blue-green, diatoms, red, brown, characeae and others, and flowering plants - zoster and ruppia. In origin, the flora is predominantly of Neogene age, but some plants were brought into the Caspian Sea by humans deliberately or on the bottoms of ships.

Minerals Many oil and gas fields are being developed in the Caspian Sea. Proven oil resources in the Caspian Sea are about 10 billion tons, total oil and gas condensate resources are estimated at 18-20 billion tons. Oil production in the Caspian Sea began in 1820, when the first oil well was drilled on the Absheron shelf. In the second half of the 19th century, oil production began on an industrial scale on the Absheron Peninsula, and then in other territories. In addition to oil and gas production, salt, limestone, stone, sand, and clay are also mined on the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Caspian shelf. Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is one of the most amazing closed bodies of water on Earth.

Over the centuries, the sea has changed more than 70 names. The modern one came from the Caspians - tribes inhabiting the central and southeastern part of Transcaucasia 2 thousand years BC.
Geography of the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of Europe and Asia and, according to its geographical location, is divided into the South, North and Middle Caspian.
The middle and northern part of the sea belongs to Russia, the southern to Iran, the eastern to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and the southwestern to Azerbaijan.

For many years, the Caspian states have been dividing the Caspian waters among themselves, and quite sharply at that.

Caspian sea map

Lake or sea?

In fact, the Caspian Sea is the world's largest lake, but has a number of marine signs.
These include: a large body of water, strong storms with high waves, high and low tides.

But the Caspian Sea does not have a natural connection with the World Ocean, which makes it impossible to call it a sea.
At the same time, thanks to the Volga and artificially created channels, such a connection appeared.

The salinity of the Caspian Sea is 3 times lower than the usual sea salinity, which does not allow the reservoir to be classified as a sea.

There were times when the Caspian Sea was truly part of the World Ocean.
Several tens of thousands of years ago the Caspian Sea was connected to the Sea of Azov, and through it to the Black and Mediterranean.
As a result of long-term processes occurring in the earth's crust, the Caucasus Mountains were formed, which isolated the reservoir.
The connection between the Caspian and Black Seas was carried out for a long time through the strait (Kuma-Manych depression) and gradually ceased.

Physical quantities

Area, volume, depth

The area, volume and depth of the Caspian Sea are not constant and directly depend on the water level.
On average, the area of the reservoir is 371,000 km², the volume is 78,648 km³ (44% of all world lake water reserves).

The depth of the Caspian Sea in comparison with lakes Baikal and Tanganyika

The average depth of the Caspian Sea is 208 m; the northern part of the sea is considered the shallowest. The maximum depth is 1025 m, noted in the South Caspian depression.
In terms of depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Baikal and Tanganyika.

The length of the lake from north to south is about 1200 km, from west to east on average 315 km. The length of the coastline is 6600 km, with islands - about 7 thousand km.

Shores

Mostly, the coast of the Caspian Sea is low and smooth.
In the northern part- strongly indented by the river channels of the Urals and Volga. The swampy shores here are located very low.
Eastern Shores adjacent to semi-desert zones and deserts, covered with limestone deposits.
The most winding shores are in the west in the area of the Absheron Peninsula, and in the east in the area of the Kazakh Bay and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

Sea water temperature

Temperature of the Caspian Sea at different times of the year

Average water temperature in winter in the Caspian Sea it ranges from 0 °C in the northern part to +10 °C in the southern part.
In Iranian waters, the temperature does not drop below +13 °C.
With the onset of cold weather, the shallow northern part of the lake is covered with ice, which lasts for 2-3 months. The thickness of the ice cover is 25-60 cm, at especially low temperatures it can reach 130 cm. In late autumn and winter, drifting ice floes can be observed in the north.

Average summer temperature The surface water temperature in the sea is + 24 °C.
In most parts the sea warms up to +25 °C…+30 °C.
Warm water and beautiful sandy, occasionally shell and pebble beaches create excellent conditions for a good beach holiday.
In the eastern part of the Caspian Sea, near the city of Begdash, it remains abnormally low water temperature.

Nature of the Caspian Sea

Islands, peninsulas, bays, rivers

The Caspian Sea includes about 50 large and medium-sized islands, with a total area of 350 km².
The largest of them are: Ashur-Ada, Garasu, Gum, Dash and Boyuk-Zira. The largest peninsulas are: Agrakhansky, Absheronsky, Buzachi, Mangyshlak, Miankale and Tyub-Karagan.

Tyuleniy Island in the Caspian Sea, part of the Dagestan Nature Reserve

To the largest bays of the Caspian Sea include: Agrakhansky, Kazakh, Kizlyarsky, Dead Kultuk and Mangyshlaksky.
In the east is salt lake Kara-Bogaz-Gol, formerly a lagoon connected to the sea by a strait.
In 1980, a dam was built on it, through which water from the Caspian goes to Kara-Bogaz-Gol, where it then evaporates.

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, located mainly in its northern part. The largest of them are: Volga, Terek, Sulak, Samur and Ural.
The average annual drainage of the Volga is 220 km³. 9 rivers have delta-shaped mouths.

Flora and fauna

The Caspian Sea is home to about 450 species of phytoplankton, including algae, aquatic and flowering plants. Of the 400 species of invertebrates, worms, crustaceans and molluscs predominate. There are a lot of small shrimp in the sea, which are the object of fishing.

More than 120 species of fish live in the Caspian Sea and delta. Fishing objects include sprat (“Kilkin fleet”), catfish, pike, bream, pike perch, kutum, mullet, roach, rudd, herring, white fish, pike perch, goby, grass carp, burbot, asp and pike perch. Stocks of sturgeon and salmon are currently depleted, however, the sea is the largest supplier of black caviar in the world.

Fishing in the Caspian Sea is allowed all year round, with the exception of the period from late April to late June. There are many fishing bases with all amenities on the coast. Fishing in the Caspian Sea is a great pleasure. In any part of it, including in large cities, the catch is unusually rich.

The lake is famous for its wide variety of waterfowl. Geese, ducks, loons, gulls, waders, eagles, geese, swans and many others fly to the Caspian Sea during the migration or nesting period.
The largest number of birds - over 600 thousand individuals - is observed at the mouths of the Volga and Ural, in the Turkmenbashi and Kyzylagach bays. During the hunting season, a huge number of fishermen come here not only from Russia, but also from countries near and far abroad.

Caspian seal

The Caspian Sea is home to the only mammal. This is the Caspian seal or seal. Until recently, seals swam close to the beaches, everyone could admire the amazing animal with round black eyes, and the seals behaved very friendly.
Now the seal is on the verge of extinction.

Cities on the Caspian Sea

The largest city on the Caspian Sea coast is Baku.
The population of one of the most beautiful cities in the world is over 2.5 million people. Baku is located on the picturesque Absheron Peninsula and is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the warm and oil-rich Caspian Sea.
Smaller cities: the capital of Dagestan is Makhachkala, the Kazakh Aktau, the Turkmen Turkmenbashi and the Iranian Bender-Anzeli.

Baku Bay, Baku - a city on the Caspian Sea

Interesting Facts

Scientists are still arguing about whether to call a body of water a sea or a lake.
The level of the Caspian Sea is gradually decreasing.
The Volga delivers most of the water to the Caspian Sea.
90% of black caviar is mined in the Caspian Sea. Among them, the most expensive is the albino beluga caviar “Almas” ($2 thousand per 100 g).

Companies from 21 countries are taking part in the development of oil fields in the Caspian Sea. According to Russian estimates, hydrocarbon reserves in the sea amount to 12 billion tons.

American scientists claim that a fifth of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the depths of the Caspian Sea. This is more than the combined reserves of oil-producing countries such as Kuwait and Iraq.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on planet Earth, located on the continent of Eurasia - in the border territory of the states of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. In fact, it is a giant lake left after the disappearance of the ancient Tethys Ocean. Nevertheless, there is every reason to consider it as an independent sea (this is indicated by its salinity, large area and considerable depth, a bottom made of oceanic crust and other signs). In terms of maximum depth, it is the third among closed reservoirs - after lakes Baikal and Tanganyika. In the northern part of the Caspian Sea (several kilometers from the northern shore - parallel to it) there is a geographical border between Europe and Asia.

Toponymy

Other names: throughout the history of mankind, the Caspian Sea has had about 70 different names among different peoples. The most famous of them: Khvalynskoe or Khvalisskoe (took place during the times of Ancient Rus', arose from the name of the people praises, who lived in the Northern Caspian region and traded with the Russians), Girkanskoe or Dzhurdzhanskoe (derived from alternative names for the city of Gorgan, located in Iran), Khazar, Abeskunskoe (after the name of the island and city in the Kura delta - now flooded), Saraiskoe, Derbentskoe, Sikhai .
Origin of name: According to one hypothesis, the Caspian Sea received its modern and most ancient name from a tribe of nomadic horse breeders Caspian Sea, who lived in the 1st millennium BC on the southwestern coast.

Morphometry

Catchment area: 3,626,000 km².
Mirror area: 371,000 km².
Coastline length: 7,000 km.
Volume: 78,200 km³.
Average depth: 208 m.
Maximum depth: 1,025 m.

Hydrology

Availability of permanent flow: no, drainless.
Tributaries:, Ural, Emba, Atrek, Gorgan, Kheraz, Sefidrud, Astarchay, Kura, Pirsagat, Kusarchay, Samur, Rubas, Darvagchay, Ulluchay, Shuraozen, Sulak, Terek, Kuma.
Bottom: very diverse. At shallow depths, sandy soil with an admixture of shells is common; in deep-sea areas, it is silty. In the coastal strip there may be pebble and rocky places (especially where mountain ranges adjoin the sea). In the estuarine areas, the underwater soil consists of river sediments. The Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay is notable for the fact that its bottom is a thick layer of mineral salts.

Chemical composition

Water: salty.
Salinity: 13 g/l.
Transparency: 15 m.

Geography

Rice. 1. Map of the Caspian Sea basin.

Coordinates: 41°59′02″ n. latitude, 51°03′52″ e. d.
Height above sea level:-28 m.
Coastal landscape: Due to the fact that the coastline of the Caspian Sea is very long, and it itself is located in different geographical zones, the coastal landscape is diverse. In the northern part of the reservoir, the banks are low, swampy, and in the deltas of large rivers, they are cut by numerous channels. The eastern shores are mostly limestone - desert or semi-desert. The western and southern shores are adjacent to mountain ranges. The greatest ruggedness of the coastline is observed in the west, in the area of the Absheron Peninsula, and also in the east, in the area of the Kazakh and Kara-Bogaz-Gol bays.
Settlements on the banks:
- Russia: Astrakhan, Derbent, Kaspiysk, Makhachkala, Olya.
- Kazakhstan: Aktau, Atyrau, Kuryk, Sogandyk, Bautino.
- Turkmenistan: Ekerem, Karabogaz, Turkmenbashi, Khazar.
- Iran: Astara, Balboser, Bender-Torkemen, Bender-Anzeli, Neka, Chalus.
- Azerbaijan: Alyat, Astara, Baku, Dubendi, Lankaran, Sangachali, Sumgayit.

Interactive map

Ecology

The ecological situation in the Caspian Sea is far from ideal. Almost all large rivers flowing into it are polluted by wastewater from industrial enterprises located upstream. This could not but affect the presence of pollutants in the waters and bottom sediments of the Caspian Sea - over the past half century, their concentration has increased significantly, and the content of some heavy metals has already exceeded permissible standards.

In addition, the waters of the Caspian Sea are constantly polluted by domestic wastewater from coastal cities, as well as during oil production on the continental shelf, and during its transportation.

Fishing on the Caspian Sea

Types of fish:
Artificial settlement: not all of the above fish species in the Caspian Sea are native. About 4 dozen species arrived by accident (for example, through canals from the basins of the Black and Baltic Seas), or were intentionally populated by humans. As an example, it is worth citing mullets. Three Black Sea species of these fish - mullet, sharpnose and singil - were released in the first half of the 20th century. The mullet did not take root, but the mullet and the singil have successfully acclimatized, and by now have settled virtually throughout the entire Caspian waters, forming several commercial herds. At the same time, the fish fatten up faster than in the Black Sea and reach larger sizes. In the second half of the last century (starting from 1962), attempts were also made to introduce such Far Eastern salmon fish as pink salmon and chum salmon into the Caspian Sea. In total, several billion fry of these fish were released into the sea over the course of 5 years. Pink salmon did not survive in the new habitat, chum salmon, on the contrary, successfully took root and even began to enter the rivers flowing into the sea to spawn. However, it was unable to reproduce in sufficient quantities and gradually disappeared. There are still no favorable conditions for its full natural reproduction (there are very few places where spawning and development of fry could successfully occur). To provide them, river reclamation is necessary, otherwise, without human help (artificial collection of eggs and their incubation), the fish will not be able to maintain their numbers.

Fishing spots

In fact, fishing is possible anywhere on the Caspian Sea coast, which can be reached by land or water. What types of fish will be caught depends on local conditions, but to a greater extent on whether the rivers flow here. As a rule, in places where estuaries and deltas are located (especially large watercourses), the water in the sea is greatly desalinated, so freshwater fish (carp, catfish, bream, etc.) usually predominate in the catches; species characteristic of the flowing rivers may also be found. rivers (usachi, shemaya). Of the marine species in desalinated areas, those for which salinity does not matter (mullet, some gobies) are caught. At certain periods of the year, semi-anadromous and anadromous species can be found here, feeding in the sea and entering rivers to spawn (sturgeon, some herrings, Caspian salmon). In places where there are no flowing rivers, freshwater species are found in slightly smaller numbers, but marine fish also appear, usually avoiding desalinated areas (for example, sea pike perch). Away from the coast, fish that prefer salt water and deep-sea species are caught.

Conventionally, we can distinguish 9 places or areas that are interesting in terms of fishing:

North Shore (RF)- this site is located on the northern coast of the Russian Federation (from the Volga delta to the Kizlyar Bay). Its main features are low salinity of water (the lowest in the Caspian Sea), shallow depth, the presence of multiple shoals, islands, and highly developed aquatic vegetation. In addition to the Volga delta with its numerous channels, bays and eriks, it also includes the estuary coastal area, called the Caspian Peaks. These places are popular among Russian fishermen, and for good reason: the conditions for fish here are very favorable, and there is also a good food supply. The ichthyofauna in these parts may not shine with a wealth of species, but it is distinguished by its abundance, and some of its representatives reach quite considerable sizes. Typically, the bulk of the catches are freshwater fish typical of the Volga basin. Most often caught: perch, pike perch, roach (more precisely, its varieties called roach and ram), rudd, asp, sabrefish, bream, silver carp, carp, catfish, pike. Somewhat less common are black bream, silver bream, white-eye, and bluegill. Representatives of sturgeons (sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, beluga, etc.) and salmonids (nelma, brown trout - Caspian salmon) are also found in these places, but their fishing is prohibited.
Northwestern coast (RF)- this section covers the western coast of the Russian Federation (from Kizlyar Bay to Makhachkala). The rivers Kuma, Terek and Sulak flow here - they carry their waters both through natural channels and artificial canals. There are bays in this area, some of which are quite large (Kizlyarsky, Agrakhansky). The sea in these places is shallow. Freshwater fish predominate in the catches: pike, perch, carp, catfish, rudd, bream, barbel, etc., and marine species are also caught here, for example, herring (blackback, bellyfish).
West Bank (RF)- from Makhachkala to the border of the Russian Federation with Azerbaijan. An area where mountain ranges adjoin the sea. The salinity of the water here is slightly higher than in previous places, so marine species are more common in fishermen's catches (sea pike perch, mullet, herring). However, freshwater fish are by no means uncommon.
West Bank (Azerbaijan)- from the border of the Russian Federation with Azerbaijan along the Absheron Peninsula. Continuation of the area where mountain ranges adjoin the sea. Fishing here is even more similar to typical offshore fishing, with fish such as razorback and mullet and several species of gobies also caught here. In addition to them, there are kutum, herring, and some typically freshwater species, for example, carp.
Southwestern coast (Azerbaijan)- from the Absheron Peninsula to the border of Azerbaijan with Iran. Most of this area is occupied by the Kura River delta. The same types of fish that were listed in the previous paragraph are caught here, but freshwater ones are somewhat more common.
Northern coast (Kazakhstan)- this section covers the northern coast of Kazakhstan. The Ural delta and the Akzhaiyk state reserve are located here, so fishing directly in the river delta and in some adjacent water areas is prohibited. Fishing can only be done outside the reserve - upstream from the delta, or in the sea - at some distance from it. Fishing near the Ural delta has much in common with fishing at the confluence of the Volga - almost the same species of fish are found here.
Northeast coast (Kazakhstan)- from the mouth of the Emba to Cape Tyub-Karagan. Unlike the northern part of the sea, where the water is greatly diluted by large rivers flowing in, its salinity here increases slightly, so those species of fish appear that avoid desalinated areas, for example, sea pike perch, which is fished in Dead Kultuk Bay. Also, other representatives of marine fauna are often found in the catches.
Eastern coast (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan)- from Cape Tyub-Karagan to the border of Turkmenistan and Iran. It is distinguished by the almost complete absence of flowing rivers. The salinity of the water here is at its maximum. Of the fish in these places, marine species predominate; the bulk of the catches are mullet, sea pike perch and gobies.
South Bank (Iran)- covers the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Throughout this section, the Elborz mountain range adjoins the sea. Many rivers flow here, most of which are small streams, there are also several medium-sized and one large river. Of the fish, in addition to marine species, there are also some freshwater, as well as semi-anadromous and anadromous species, for example, sturgeon.

Fishing Features

The most popular and catchy amateur tackle used on the Caspian coast is a heavy spinning rod, converted into a “sea bottom”. It is usually equipped with a durable reel on which a fairly thick fishing line (0.3 mm or more) is wound. The thickness of the fishing line is determined not so much by the size of the fish, but by the mass of a fairly heavy sinker, which is necessary for ultra-long casting (in the Caspian Sea it is widely believed that the farther from the shore the casting point is, the better). After the sinker comes a thinner line - with several leashes. The bait used is shrimp and amphipods that live in coastal algae thickets - if you plan to catch sea fish, or ordinary bait like a worm, chafer larvae and others - if there are freshwater species in the fishing area.

At the mouths of inflowing rivers, other gear can be used, such as a float rod, feeder and traditional spinning rod.

kasparova2 majorov2006 g2gg2g-61 .

Photo 8. Sunset in Aktau.