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Historical geography of pearl fishing in rivers of the Southern White Sea Region (Arkhangelsk Oblast)

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Abstract

The article provides an overview of literary and archival materials on the historical geography of pearl fishing, as well as a list of rivers of the Southern White Sea Region, where in the 17th–20th centuries pearls were mined. The most significant resources of pearls have been concentrated in the rivers Solza (with the tributary Kazanka) and Kozha (with the tributary Syvtuga) where there was regular and profitable trade of pearls for a long time. At present, pearl mussel populations have been preserved in these rivers, sometimes with a fairly high density. The volumes and frequency of pearl fishing can be indicators of shellfish abundance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecological Problems of the North, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russia

    Yu. V. Bespalaya, I. N. Bolotov & I. V. Vikhrev

  2. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russia

    A. A. Makhrov

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  1. Yu. V. Bespalaya
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  2. I. N. Bolotov
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  3. A. A. Makhrov
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  4. I. V. Vikhrev
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Correspondence to Yu. V. Bespalaya.

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Original Russian Text © Yu.V. Bespalaya, I.N. Bolotov, A.A. Makhrov, I.V. Vikhrev, 2011, published in Izvestiya RAN. Seriya Geograficheskaya, 2011, No. 1, pp. 96–105.

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Bespalaya, Y.V., Bolotov, I.N., Makhrov, A.A. et al. Historical geography of pearl fishing in rivers of the Southern White Sea Region (Arkhangelsk Oblast). Reg. Res. Russ. 2, 172–181 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970512020025

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