A database of net zooplankton of the Far East seas and adjacent Pacific Ocean waters

Abstract

Abstract. This article describes the unique database of zooplankton collected by the large Juday net in 1984–2013 in the Chukchi, Bering, Okhotsk, Japan seas and the North Pacific Ocean: the sources and extent of the information contained therein, its benefits and drawbacks, the first operating experience and prospects. The information in this database has already been used to quantify the inventory of marine biological resources and appraise the waters of the North Pacific. In particular, in 2016, five tabular reference books were created and printed containing the species composition, occurrence and abundance of zooplankton in the surveyed area. The data is aggregated by species, developmental stages, size fractions, regions, vertical layers of water, light and dark time of day, four seasons of the year and perennial periods. This information has recently been verified, corrected, translated into English and from text to digital format to increase its availability to the scientific community worldwide (Volvenko, 2021 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4448646 ). The substantial volume and high quality of the collated data, along with the information presented in reference books and previously published data on macrofauna and the nutrition of common fish and squid, will enable the next important steps to be taken to understand the Far Eastern seas and the Pacific – one of the most productive and economically important regions of the world ocean. The scope of application of this data is fundamental to the management of marine resources, aquaculture development, nature conservation, and assessment of the damage of various anthropogenic factors on nature.