The sea of Russia. Our vast and vast water element

What associations do you call the word "sea"? For sure on cold winter evenings or damp and dank autumn most will reproduce in memory the sun-drenched beach, warm, as if enveloping, salt water, seashells, sea pebbles-pebbles. Guessed?

And I, most likely, belong to a fairly small group. I like to wander for hours on the winter, slightly powdered, embankment. And late autumn, when the leaves from the trees almost flew, and the sun shines with a special yellowish light, I can sit for hours in some cafe on the shore, listening to the cries of seagulls and enjoying the sounds of waves sailing steadily on the shore.

The seas of Russia are very different. We, it is possible to say, were lucky, because it is possible to find exactly the elements that will correspond to our internal state. We can go to the severe shores of the northern seas, and in summer we always enjoy the Black Sea coast.

Section 1. The Sea 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 matter? Yes there is. Sometimes in the literature one can find information about what actually is the seas. 13. In this article, we will not take into account the Caspian, which is called the "sea", but by its nature is the largest lake in the world.

The seas in Russia can be attributed directly to the three oceans:

• To the Atlantic - three: Azov, Baltic, Black;
• To the Arctic - six: Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi;
• To the Pacific - three: Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese.

Section 2. The seas of Russia. Characteristics

We can boast of some distinctive, I would say, unique features of our abysses:

1. The Okhotsk, Bering and Barents seas are considered to be the most productive on Earth, and the productivity of our shelf in the Western Kamchatka region reaches the highest point in the world.
2. In the waters of the seas of the Far East, huge stocks of commercial fish and other marine species of world importance are concentrated. For example, there are pollock, Kamchatka crab and Pacific salmon.
3. If we compare, for example, with the North Atlantic, the cod stocks in our Pacific and Arctic seas are much larger.
4. The seas of Russia contain the highest diversity of salmon and sturgeon on the planet.
5. The migration routes of the most important marine mammals and birds inhabiting 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 the person actively influences the water element, and for the most part such an impact can be safely called negative. Over the past few decades the southern seas of Russia (Black and Azov) have suffered particularly. Under the influence of the anthropological factor, the local ecosystem of the region has changed almost completely.

Among the main factors that pose a threat, I would note the following:

1. Due to poaching and poorly regulated fishing, the biological resources of the seas are catastrophically declining.
2. Due to intensive navigation, as well as active gas and oil production on the sea shelf, not only pollution of water reserves occurs, but also natural environmental processes are violated.
3. The worst thing is that at the same time there is pollution of rivers flowing into these seas.

What to do?

Scientists offer several ways out of this situation:

1. It is necessary to reform the fishing industry of the country almost completely and radically. Fishery should not deplete the state's marine resources.
2. It is required to create a nationwide network of protected natural areas of the sea. For example, parks, sanctuaries or reserves.
3. Before starting any project relating to the extraction of gas or oil, it is necessary to conduct a thorough environmental assessment of the terrain and the nature of the planned activities.