Subsidiary of the “National agrarian science and educational center” JSC - LLP «Fisheries Research and Production Center», jointly with the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology, conducts research in the field of studying Caspian seals as part of the 2018-2020 program.

Caspian seal or Pusa caspica, the only representative of marine mammals in the Caspian Sea, endemic (not found anywhere else in the world) and the smallest seal on Earth.

At present, the experts of the institutes are studying the feeding conditions and patterns of the formation of rookeries, as well as the number of Caspian seal populations in the Kazakhstan Sector of the Caspian Sea, and assessing the threats to their existence.

The Caspian seal population is experiencing a number of adverse factors, such as: fishing, loss and degradation of habitats, pollution and disturbance, potential deterioration of the food supply due to overfishing and invisible species, and by-catch in fishing gear.

The Caspian seal is listed on the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) as an endangered species. This document is not a legal document, but is exclusively advisory in nature.

In order to prevent the mortality of seals in collisions with ships, the separation of puppies from their mothers, to prevent the loss of breeding grounds when ice breaks down by icebreakers during oil operations in order to preserve the population of the Caspian seal, scientists recommend introducing appropriate norms into the Environmental Code and the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Protected Areas", namely the Environmental Code should provide for the development of appropriate rules or procedures for limiting the conduct of oil operations and provides for restrictions on navigation and fishing at the rookeries of Caspian seals; the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Protected Areas" includes the conservation of the Caspian seal in the purpose of the state protected area. This is what will provide a legislative basis for further improvement and development of normative legal acts that are lower in the hierarchy.

The research results show that it is necessary to continue working with the population engaged in fishing, since the lifestyle of fishermen is closely related to the sea and against the background of a progressive decrease in the Caspian seal population, the topic of the conflict between seals and fishing is especially relevant. It is necessary to organize outreach events and seminars for the participants of the fishing industry to raise awareness of the problem of the disappearance of the Caspian seal population, as well as to conduct activities to monitor the state of the population and to monitor the impact of fishing on Caspian seals in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea, where fishing with fixed nets is widely used that can injure seals.