Ichthyoplankton in the Northern Part of the Black Sea under the Prolongation of Summer Hydrological Season in 2020

The species diversity and spatial distribution of ichthyoplankton in the shelf and deep-sea waters of the northern half of the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula and the shores of the Caucasus under the conditions of prolongation of the summer hydrological season 2020 for September–October are presented. The high temperatures of the upper layer of the sea, peculiar of the summer spawning season, cause a continuation of productive spawning of warm-water fish. Eggs and larvae of 19 species from 12 families are identified in the ichthyoplankton. The maximum number of eggs is 302 ind./m² and that of larvae is 58 ind./m². Eggs and larvae of the mass commercial species Engraulis encrasicolus (L., 1758) dominate, and their shares in the total population are 92.9 and 84.2%, respectively. The highest abundance of ichthyoplankton correspond to areas with minimal dynamic activity and maximum warming within the limits of coastal-shelf quasi-stationary anticyclonic vortices characteristic of the summer hydrological season.