Fish have always been the most numerous group of lower vertebrates that live in rivers, seas and oceans, which significantly complicates their study. To date, scientists have classified more than 20,000 of their species - thanks to the science of fish. What kind of science is this and what is it based on?
The doctrine of fish
The science dealing with the study of fish is ichthyology, which studies the anatomy and morphology of aquatic inhabitants (external and internal structure) and their relationship to the organic and inorganic external environment. In addition, the duties of ichthyology include the study of the history of the development of fish, the patterns of fluctuations in their numbers, care for the offspring, as well as the geographical distribution of certain species.
Thanks to ichthyology, it is possible to obtain forecasts of fishing catches - both short-term and long-term.
Such disciplines as fish farming and industrial fish farming, embryology and physiology of fish, the technology of manufacturing fish products and the raw material base of the fishing industry, as well as fish diseases owe their origin to this science. For the first time, the biology and characteristics of fish, among more than two hundred and forty species, were described by outstanding Russian scientists and researchers, who repeatedly organized sea expeditions, which greatly contributed to the development of scientific and commercial research.
The tasks of ichthyology
In recent years, with the help of active fishing, the construction of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, nuclear power plants and the irretrievable use of water for their needs, significantly changed the ichthyological fauna on the entire planet. In many reservoirs, valuable fish species have been replaced by low-value populations, and the relationship between their communities has also changed. This led to the need to reconstruct the ichthyofauna with respect to the changing conditions of the external environment, which is the actual problem of ichthyology.
Poaching and pollution of water bodies with wastes of human and chemical activities affected the fish fauna not in the best way.
Today, people, using the knowledge of ichthyology, are gradually moving from catching fish in natural reservoirs to the purposeful reproduction of valuable fish species and their breeding in fish and industrial farms, as well as in year-round live fish factories. Breeding takes place by controlling the main parameters of the surrounding fish environment and using a closed water supply cycle. Thanks to this, changes in fish farming are analogous to the development of livestock farming, where poultry farms and feed complexes are used instead of swimming pools. Breeding fish in these conditions requires a broad knowledge of their physiological and biological needs and characteristics, which fully provides knowledge of ichthyology.
