“Russia is growing by the Volga Delta every day” – Society – Kommersant Saratov

The Volga delta is shallowing, traditional flora and fauna are shifting to the Caspian Sea, scientists from the Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve said. Fires are becoming permanent, and the departure of sturgeons threatens to reduce the commercial catch of fish and the end of the tourism business tied to fishing and lotuses. Scientists propose to urgently change environmental practices, moving from deepening canals to clearing banks and raising the water level. Authorities suggest studying the issue comprehensively.

The problems of the Volga Delta became one of the topics of the XXII International Forum “Ecology of the Big City” held in St. Petersburg. Kirill Litvinov, Deputy Director of the Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve, made a report on this. Referring to the results of research in 2021, Mr. Litvinov said that, on average, “peals” (avandelta. – “Kommersant”), spread over more than 10 thousand square kilometers, were shredded to 40–70 cm. If we compare satellite images for 2019 and 2022, it will be seen that the Volga delta is overgrown with reed islands.

“Approaching the sea, the Volga begins to divide into many streams. About 600 different “erics” and branches flow into the Caspian. Where they flow, the delta ends and the fore-delta begins. Fresh water spreads in shallow areas overgrown with aquatic vegetation, which just attract birds. It is on the above that the Volga fish wealth rests, ”Mr. Litvinov explained to Kommersant-Middle Volga.

The studies cited by the interlocutors of Kommersant-Middle Volga show that the changes are based on a complex of factors, including global climate change, solar cycles, as well as a drop in the level of the Caspian Sea: by 119 cm from 2006 to 2015. The average rate of decline was 7.9 cm/year, which is 1.8 times higher than in 1959–1977. The situation is similar with the water level in the Volga: the last high-water seasonal flood was in 2005, and in recent years a new term “extreme low-water flood” has appeared. Kirill Litvinov explained:

“The Volga carries so much solid sediment that just in the fore-delta zone, they begin to settle and form a new land. We can say that Russia is growing the Volga Delta every day. In connection with the drop in the level of the Caspian Sea, the processes have accelerated incredibly.”

Anthropogenic factors also contribute to the process: “Since the middle of the last century, fish channels have been laid there. This was justified by the fact that it would be easier for the fish to go to spawn. But in modern conditions, these are more likely “channels-fishermen”, which allow commercial fishermen to get into this territory and finish off what is left.” According to Mr. Litvinov, large sums are spent on deepening and clearing 24 channels of fish passages. According to the State Purchases portal, 2.5 million rubles were allocated for industrial environmental control and environmental monitoring during the clearing of the Staro-Nikitinsky canal-fish passage in the Kamyzyaksky district at the end of last year.

The reserve’s researcher, geobotanist Natalya Litvinova explained: “The amphibious vegetation of the shallow foredelta is excellent for local birds that feed and nest in the thickets. Now, when the “peals” are getting smaller, the birds are moving south. Fish also go there – farther and farther from the piers and tourist places. And the “peals” go out, overgrown with small algae. The small fish die out, followed by the large fish left without food. There are no sturgeons in those parts anymore.”

“Everything is overgrown with chilim and reeds. This is such an autocatalytic process that reinforces itself. Every spring the delta burns, mostly dry reeds. Salt-bearing horizons are also close. Solonchak plants are moving south, replacing hayfields and pastures. What we have seen in recent years is a deadly combo for the delta,” summed up Ms. Litvinova. She considers it necessary to urgently move from deepening the canals to clearing the banks and increasing the flooding of the delta.

The head of the laboratory of ornithology of the Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve, candidate of biological sciences Natalya Meshcheryakova specified that the reed is completely unsuitable for birds. They “escape” beyond the boundaries of the security zone, and there observation and protection are impossible. Among the birds of the reserve, there are many Red Book birds listed both in the regional book (for example, the yellow heron) and in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (small cormorant, black-headed gull, white-tailed eagle). If the processes continue, and the boundaries of the reserve remain in place, all of them will be available to poachers.

Former deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma Alexander Narayevsky, who was involved in the development of “fishing” bills, shared another version with Kommersant-Middle Volga:

“The main thing is the abundance of fertilizers, which stimulate plant growth and kill fish. Fertilizers go to the fields, in the spring they are washed into the river. There are no treatment facilities, everything flows there to the end, and there (in the fore-delta. – Kommersant) settles.

The owner of the recreation center in the village of Stanya, Kamyzyaksky district, Igor Lipchansky, in a conversation with Kommersant-Middle Volga, gave the tourism business no more than 10 years of “peals”, noting that it is impossible to transfer the infrastructure down the Volga: “If there is no fish, why go here ? A little more, and there will be a swamp.

Andrey Markin, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Economics and Investment Policy of the Astrakhan Regional Duma, agreed in a conversation with Kommersant-Middle Volga: “Water discharge leaves much to be desired. The governor is constantly working at all levels to ensure that the discharge is and occurs on time. There is a problem with the channels – the Caspian Sea has fallen so much that it has become difficult to enter the fishing zones through them. This is the subject of a separate discussion. We must first understand the state of these channels. Now, according to the fishermen, this is problematic.”

“Business is dying due to insufficient state control over the catch,” Mr. Markin noted. “The Caspian Sea retreated before, but then there were more fish, there was even sturgeon. Just let the fish breed. Two to three million guests come during the season – their catch is larger than the industrial one. Some work legally, some illegally. I am for legal bases and legal business – it needs to be supported.”

According to him, the deputies of the regional Duma intend to meet with representatives of the tourism and fishing business to discuss the necessary support measures.

At the same time, Mr. Markin reacts coldly to the ideas of scientists about the possibility of expanding the boundaries of the reserve: “The reserve is not a wandering star. He has grown a lot. You can make the whole country a nature reserve. But we proceed from the need to balance all interests.”

The Volga-Caspian Territorial Administration of the Federal Agency for Fisheries could not comment on the situation with the fish catch in the Astrakhan region. No one answered the call in the Glavrybvod Federal State Budgetary Institution responsible for the content of the channels.

Daria Vasenina