Seasonal Distribution and Size Composition of Great Sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus (Cottidae) in Russian Waters of the Sea of Japan

Great sculpin Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus is distributed in the Russian waters of the Sea of Japan at the depths between 6 and 640 m at the temperature from -1.2 to + 15.5 degrees C. Its seasonal migrations are mainly bathymetric. The latitudinal migrations are observed only in the northwestern part of the Tatar Strait, and they have a southern direction in the fall and northern direction in the spring. In the winter, the majority of great sculpins avoids negative water temperature in the upper part of the shelf and prefers its lower part and upper areas of the continental slope. In the summer, the fish are concentrated in the upper and middle parts of the shelf. The juveniles are more eurythermal than adult individuals, and they are distributed in the shelf zone over the entire year.