For the first time in 2024, Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company, a Nornickel subsidiary, and the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) embarked on fishery research in the Norilsk-Pyasino water system.
In line with the 2022 amicable agreement, NTEC began releasing red-listed fish into the Yenisei, while VNIRO launched research of water bodies around Norilsk.
The VNIRO research programme of 2024 will be focused on monitoring the state of aquatic bioresources and their habitat, analysing food resources, and developing evidence-based recommendations for the replenishment of bioresources. VNIRO’s research will also deliver recommendations on the locations and maximum possible release of fingerlings of valuable species across Taimyr.
“For many years now, Nornickel has been providing funding to major research organisations focused on biodiversity, and has been breeding and releasing valuable fish species into water bodies across Russia. Together with government agencies and the academic community, the company supports the research and protection of red-listed animals,” said Vladimir Voronkov, Head of Projects at NTEC.
Field studies will last until late September 2024, after which the researchers will start reviewing the data collected. More than 20 professionals from various VNIRO branches across Russia are involved in the field studies, with approximately 60 scientists set to analyse the collected data. VNIRO will be conducting regular studies until 2051.
Nornickel consistently invests in the study of water bodies across its footprint, with the most extensive research conducted in Taimyr. Jointly with the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS), the Company accomplished three seasons of the Great Norilsk Expedition, which explored most of the Norilsk-Pyasino water system.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished