What associations does the word “sea” evoke in you? Certainly, on cold winter evenings or wet and dank autumn, the majority will recall in memory a sun-drenched beach, warm, as if enveloping, salty water, shells, sea pebbles-naked. Guessed?
And I, most likely, belong precisely to a rather small group. I like to wander for hours along the winter, a little dusty, promenade. And in late autumn, when the leaves from the trees almost flew around, and the sun shines with a special yellowish light, I can sit for hours in some cafe on the beach, listening to the cries of the seagulls and enjoying the sounds of the waves gradually flowing onto the shore.
The seas of Russia are very different. We, we can say, were lucky, because there is an opportunity to find exactly that element that will correspond to our internal state. We can go to the harsh shores of the northern seas, and in the summer we are always happy with the Black Sea coast.
Section 1. Seas of Russia. general description
According to the generally accepted opinion, the coast of our country is washed by twelve seas. Why did I use the word "generally accepted"? Is there any other point of view on this? Yes there is. Sometimes in the literature you can find information that actually 13 seas. In this article we will not take into account the Caspian, which is called the "sea", but by its nature is the largest lake on the planet.
Seas in Russia can be attributed immediately to three oceans:
- to the Atlantic - three: Azov, Baltic, Black;
- to the Arctic - six: the Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi;
- to the Pacific - three: Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese.
Section 2. Seas of Russia. Characteristics
We can boast of some distinctive, I would say, unique features of our abysses:
- The areas of the Okhotsk, Bering and Barents Seas are considered the most productive on Earth, and the productivity of our shelf in the West Kamchatka region reaches the highest level in the world.
- In the waters of the seas of the Far East, huge stocks of commercial fish species and other marine inhabitants are of great importance. For example, pollock, Kamchatka crab and Pacific salmon live there.
- If we compare, for example, with the North Atlantic, the stocks of cod in our Pacific and Arctic seas are much larger.
- The seas of Russia contain the highest variety of salmon and sturgeon on the planet.
- The migration routes of the most important marine mammals and birds living in the northern hemisphere pass through the coasts of the Russian seas.
Section 3. The seas of Russia. Ecology and ways out of this situation
At the moment, people are actively influencing the water element, and for the most part, such an effect can be safely called negative. Over the past few decades, the southern seas of Russia (Black and Azov) have been particularly affected. Under the influence of an anthropological factor, the local ecosystem of the region has almost completely changed.
Among the main factors that pose a threat, I would note the following:
- Due to poaching and poorly regulated fishing, the biological resources of the seas are catastrophically reduced.
- Due to intensive shipping, as well as active gas and oil production on the offshore, not only pollution of water reserves occurs, but also natural environmental processes are disrupted.
- The worst thing is that pollution of the rivers flowing into these seas occurs simultaneously.
What to do?
Scientists offer several ways out of this situation:
- It is necessary to reform the country's fishing industry almost completely and radically. Fishing should not deplete the state’s marine resources.
- It is required to create a nationwide network of marine protected areas. For example, parks, reserves or nature reserves.
- Before starting any project related to the production of gas or oil, it is imperative to conduct a thorough environmental assessment of the location and nature of the planned activity.