Marine Biology in the 21st Century: Systematics, Genetics and Ecology of Marine Organisms, an all-Russian Conference in memory of Academician Oleg G. Kussakin, has ended at the NSCMB FEB RAS (A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences). The Conference was organized in the framework of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (2022), the Decade of Science and Technology, and the International Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Its main goals were to encourage better collaboration between researchers and professionals and to promote the development of marine science and ocean literacy. The scientific program of the Conference covered the following fields of marine biology: the history of marine biology research; systematics and phylogeny of marine organisms; marine ecology, biogeography and biocenology; biodiversity of seas and oceans; biology of aquatic organisms as a theoretical basis for aquaculture and animal husbandry at public aquaria.

Over 150 participants from 11 cities of Russian Federation and 2 other countries (Republics of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan) were registered for the Conference. The total number of participants together with co-authors of the presentations exceeded 200 people. Eighty oral presentations and sixty-two posters were presented at the event. Members of academic institutions and universities, as well as attendees from fishery research institutes affiliated with VNIRO (Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography), from nature conservation and management organizations and even from the Far Eastern Law Institute, branch of the Prosecution Service University of the Russian Federation, took part in the Conference. Over 40 regions of Russia were represented, from Astrakhan to Murmansk and from Sevastopol to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The geography of studies encompassed most areas of the World ocean, from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

The Conference was a hybrid event with in-person and virtual attendance options. It also included a presentation competition for young scientists from the NSCMB FEB RAS. Day Three of the Conference was hosted at the Primorsky Aquarium – Branch of the NSCMB FEB RAS and covered topics of professional interest of Aquarium staff members who gave presentations as well. One of the sessions focused on aquaculture issues and featured a series of insightful presentations delivered by staff scientists from the Pacific Branch of the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. In addition, the Conference guests were taken on a tour to Vostok, a marine biological station, where, after the session, they had an opportunity to explore its infrastructure and capabilities for scientific research into marine life. The Conference participants appreciated the high level of presentations and acknowledged the tremendous efforts made by the Organizing Committee throughout the planning and running of the Conference.

Marine Biology in the 21st Century is steadily becoming an important event for the community of marine biologists in Russia, which is evidenced by the fact that the number of submissions this year exceeded the number of speaking slots available. The theme for the 2023 Conference is Marine Biology in the 21st Century: Embryology, Developmental Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology of Marine Organisms, and it will be held in memory of Academician Vladimir L. Kasyanov.