White Sea mostly targeting harp seal, ringed seal, herring, saffron cod, European smelt, Atlantic cod and Atlantic salmon. There is a developing seaweed industry. The White Sea is an important traffic centre of northwestern Russia, interconnecting various economic regions and providing an outlet to the foreign routes. The White Sea–Baltic Canal links it through Lake Onega to the Baltic Sea and the major city and port of Saint Petersburg. The Baltic Sea, in turn, is connected by the Volga–Baltic Waterway to the Volga River, Black, Caspian, and Azov seas. The major ports on the White Sea are Arkhangelsk, Belomorsk, Onega, Mezen, Kem,
Arkhangelsk serves as the administrative center of Primorsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with five rural localities, incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Arkhangelsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Arkhangelsk is incorporated as Arkhangelsk Urban Okrug. The mayor (as of July 2017) is Igor Viktorovich Godzish, who was elected in 2015. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into nine territorial okrugs: Nordavia (formerly Aeroflot Nord) airline has its head