The current state of the plankton community in the waters of western part of the Bering Sea and the adjacent waters of the Pacific Ocean

In August–September 2017, the state of the plankton community was monitored in the western part of the Bering Sea and the adjacent waters of the Pacific Ocean in connection with the resumption of mass feeding migrations of salmonidae. The basis of zooplankton biomass in the period of research was a fraction of large individuals, 65–84 %; the fraction of small individuals amounted to 5–15 %, and of average-sized ones — to 11–20 %. The dominant groups in the large-sized fraction of zooplankton were copepods (Neocalanus plumchrus, Eucalanus bungii), chaetognatha (Sagitta elegans) and Coelenterata (Aglantha digitale). The total stock of plankton in the 50–0 m layer was 23.84 thousand tons, in the 200–0 m layer — 46.3 thousand tons. The high biomass of zooplankton in the investigated area indicates favorable conditions for feeding salmonidae.