To history of ichthiofaunistic research of Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black sea

The article is focused on the history of studing the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black Sea in the XX–XXI centuries. There have been singled out three stages in studying fishfauna of the region: since the late 50’s of the XIX century up to the early 20th century. (K. F. Kessler); at the turn of the 20th century (expeditions of S. A. Zernov, later – researches of L. V. Arnoldi, V. A. Vodyanitsky, K. A. Vinogradov, etc.) up to the 60s of the 20th century; since 2008 to the present day (A. R. Boltachev, E. P. Karpova). Data on the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf during a half-century period has been found insufficient: since late 50s of the 20th century up to the beginning of the 21st century. There has been shown the importance of Karkinitsky Gulf as a habitat for the rare protected fish species and the feeding area of valuable fish juveniles. The influence of anthropogenic factors over the past 50 years has been proved to cause qualitative changes in the composition of the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf: degradation of the seagrass biocenosis in shallow bays caused by siltation due to the discharge of fresh water from the fields and rice paddies, and the replacement of native ichthyofauna by freshwater species. The importance of systematic studies in this area is emphasized to assess the status of the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf