Beluga size and weight. Beluga can be considered the largest freshwater fish on earth. Great sturgeon 1924

Beluga is a unique fish that lives for a very long time, and its maximum age can reach hundreds of years. It can spawn more than once in its life, and after spawning it slides into the sea. The fertility of females depends on their size and sometimes reaches about 500,000 eggs.

In nature, the beluga, a photo of which can be viewed below, is an independent species, however, it can hybridize with sturgeon, sterlet, thorn and stellate sturgeon. Hybrid sturgeon species are best grown in special pond farms.

With this amazing fish connected many legends and myths. For example, ancient fishermen said that the beluga stone protects a person very well from storms during a sea voyage and attracts catch. This stone, according to fishermen, can be found in the kidneys of a beluga, and it looks like egg. In ancient times, its owner could exchange the stone for any expensive product. This legend is still believed, although there is no exact information about the reality of the stone.

Beluga is different from other sturgeons incredibly big mouth in the shape of a crescent, as evidenced by numerous photographs. She also has a mustache that is flattened on the sides. In the interbranchial space there is a fold formed from membranes fused together.

There are bugs on the back, the first of which is located near the head and is small in size compared to the others. On the long mustache there are small appendages that differ in shape, like those of a leaf.

The body is incredibly thick and cylindrical in shape, and the nose is very short, which is why it is compared to the snout of a pig. The body is painted an ash-gray shade, and its belly is slightly lighter. Weight Limit capable of weighing approximately 1,500 kilograms with a body length of up to six meters.

Habitat and migration of fish

There is no specific habitat for the beluga, because it is considered passable. Spawning occurs in fresh water reservoirs into which fish enter from the sea. The large individual finds food only in the sea (Black, Caspian and Azov). Until recently, the number of fish was enormous and their fishing did not stop. To collect priceless eggs, females were more often caught.

In the Caspian Sea, beluga can be found almost everywhere, and for spawning it swims to the Volga, Ural, Terek and Kura. It also happened that from 1961 to 1989, fish swam even to Volgograd, and therefore a fish lift was built there, old photos of which can be viewed on the Internet.

Beluga seen in the Black Sea near the Crimean coast in places where hydrogen sulfide is present. Quite large individuals were spotted near Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk - their weight was approximately 300 kilograms.

What does beluga eat?

As a rule, large fish require a lot of food, and there is not enough food for them in the river. That is why she goes to sea to search for food. This fish is most often located in the water column at any depth. The main thing is that there are enough organisms suitable for nutrition. In the Black Sea, individuals live at a depth of up to 180 meters, and in the Caspian Sea - up to 140 meters. Younger individuals use invertebrates from the seabed as food. As soon as beluga cubs reach a size of ten centimeters, they begin hunting for small fellows. You can see how their feeding process goes in photos and videos on the Internet.

The largest individuals are considered to be those that feed on small fish, such as:

• Sea goby;
• Anchovy;
• Herring;
• Individuals of the carp family.

Fish breeding methods

Male belugas fully mature sexually at 14 years of age, and females at 18 years of age. Fish that have reached sexual maturity swim from the sea to freshwater bodies for the purpose of reproduction. Depending on the time when the beluga enters the river, distinguish between autumn and spring races:

• The spring fish swims into the rivers from the end of January and stays there until May. She begins to spawn already in June;
• The autumn fish enters the reservoir in August and remains there until December. As a rule, it overwinters in deep river holes and begins to reproduce in the spring.

Fertilization of beluga eggs occurs in the same way as in other bony species - externally. During the spawning period, fishermen notice fish jumping out of the reservoir, and many capture this in photographs. Experts suggest that she does this to facilitate the release of eggs. The number of eggs varies from 200,000 to 8,000,000 pieces. Since the eggs are sticky, they stick very well to the stones. At an air temperature of 12.6-13.8 degrees, the incubation period lasts about eight days, and the fry hatch almost immediately and roll into the sea.

Beluga is the largest fish

Catching this unique fish has been carried out for a very long time, so it is not without reason that called the king's fish. The largest fish caught, 4.17 meters long and weighing about 1 ton, is presented in the Tatarstan Museum. Those who do not have the opportunity to admire this “miracle” in person can look at the fish in the photo.

Of course, this beluga is not the largest, since there are known cases of catching a nine-meter individual weighing about 2 tons. Today it is impossible to catch such a huge fish, because the pace of catching it does not allow the beluga to quickly gain such a mass.

Unique beluga fish

Beluga (lat. Huso huso), kyrpa (Tat., in Kazan); Hansen (German); wiz, wyz (Polish); morun (Romanian). - fish of the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae).

The species is included in the IUCN Red List.

Signs. The gill membranes are fused together and form a free fold under the interbranchial space. The snout is short, pointed, soft on top and on the sides, since a significant part is not covered by scutes. The mouth is large, semilunar, and does not extend to the sides of the head.

The lower lip is broken. The antennae are laterally flattened and each is equipped with a leaf-like appendage. There are 11-14 dorsal bugs, 41-52 lateral bugs, 9-11 abdominal bugs.

Of the dorsal bugs, the first is the smallest. The body between the bugs is covered with bone grains. Gill rakers 24. D 62-73; A 28-41.

Related forms. The closest is Kaluga (Cupid), which has the largest of the dorsal bugs, a larger mouth, and no appendages on the antennae.

Spreading. The Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic seas, from where the beluga enters the rivers to spawn.

In Russia, in addition to the typical Caspian-Volga form, the Black Sea and Azov subspecies of beluga are also distinguished. The Black Sea form is represented by two herds - western (Dnieper - Danube) and eastern (Caucasus rivers), the Caspian form - by the northern herd (Volga - Ural) and southern (Kura).

Beluga caught in the Volga weighing about 1000 kg and 4.17 m long (National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan)

BELUGA BIOLOGY

Characteristic. Migratory fish; moves alone and gathers in flocks only for the winter. Usually leads a pelagic lifestyle, but in some areas it stays near the bottom during fattening.

Spawning. In the Volga and Urals, spawning occurs in May - June; in Don - in May; in the Danube - from late April to June. Spawning sites are located in the middle Volga: floodplains of the Balykleysky district, near Akatovka and near Peskovatka, near the village of Akhmat, below Saratov, Khvalynsk region, Tetyush. In the Urals, spawning grounds are available both in the lower reaches and in the middle reaches.

Spawning occurs in deep holes (up to 40 m) near islands with stones and woody driftwood, on rocky ridges or pebble placers with fast current at a water temperature of 8-15°.

Fecundity, depending on the size of the female, is from 0.5 to 5 million eggs.

Development. Caviar is bottom-based, sticking. The fry appear in the Volga delta in June; at this time they reach a length of 1.5-2.4 cm. The fry roll up quickly and scatteredly, only a few linger in the river.

The decline lasts until late autumn. At the age of 20-30 days, the fry reach a length of 3.7-7 cm, by September - 22.5-36.4 cm, by the end of the year - 39 cm and a weight of 22.5 g.

Height. Beluga lives a long time and reaches enormous sizes. At the age of 75, she reaches a length of 4.2 m and weighs over 1000 kg. The maximum size of a beluga is: weight 1300 kg with a length of up to 9 m (weight up to 2000 kg is noted).

The Kura beluga grows slower than the Volga beluga. Males mature at 12-14 years, females at 16-18 years with a length of 200 cm and a weight of 80 kg (Azov Sea).

In commercial catches of 1936-1938. Beluga prevailed in the following average sizes: in the lower reaches of the Volga 200-217 cm (entire length), in the northern Caspian 187-201 cm with a weight of 44.4-63.2 kg, in the middle and southern Caspian 166-181 cm with a weight of 34.5 -42.4 kg; in the Sea of ​​Azov average weight males in 1931-1934 was 69.7-80.2 kg, females 167.6-177.8 kg.

Nutrition. The larvae and fry that roll down the river feed on gammarids and mysids; in the sea, from the second year of life, they switch to feeding on shrimp (Crangon, Leander), mollusks (Didacna, Cardium, Mytilus, Mytilaster, Dreissena) and mainly fish, both bottom-dwelling (gobies, redfish) and pelagic (roach, herring, sprat, anchovy).

In the Black Sea in winter, fish (Whiting, Kalkan, Sultana, Smarida, Gobies) make up over 83% of the beluga's food, crustaceans (Crangon) - about 11%, mollusks (Modiola) - 4%. In the river, beluga feeds on sterlet, pike perch and cyprinids.

Competitors. In the sea - partly sturgeon and stellate sturgeon; in the river - pike perch, asp, pike.

Enemies. Beluga fry are eaten by catfish.

Migrations. Beluga rises to spawn in rivers, reaching in the Danube up to Pressburg (formerly above Passau), in the Dniester up to Mogilev-Podolsky, in the Bug up to Voznesensk, in the Dnieper up to the Dneproges (previously it rose above Kiev and entered the Desna and Sozh), in Rione to Kutaisi; from Sea of ​​Azov rises along the Don to Pavlovsk, along the Kuban to the village of Ladozhskaya.

From the Caspian Sea, the majority of beluga enters the Volga, partially reaching the upper sections of the Volga-Kama basin (formerly to the mouth of the Shosha River, and along the Kama to the Vishera River); a few belugas enter the Kura and the Urals (up to Chkalov), single specimens go to the Terek to Mozdok and to Sefidrud to Kissim.

The beluga migration is observed in spring and autumn: in the Volga from February to April (mainly in March) and from August to November (mainly in September - October); in the Urals - from March to June (mainly in April - May) and from August to November. Beluga travels to the Don from March to December, and to the Danube from March.

Spring run fish spawn the year they enter the river. Individuals of the summer-autumn run spend the winter in the river in pits, spending two to three years in the river before spawning; The number of beluga wintering in the river is insignificant; wintering places are mainly located in the sea at a depth of 6-12 m. At sea wintering grounds, the beluga makes small movements, stopping in pits in the river.

After spawning, the beluga quickly slides into the sea; in the Black Sea in winter it stays at depths of up to 160 m.

BELUGA FISHING

Meaning. Total beluga catch in 1936-1937 was about 82 thousand centners per year, including about 63 thousand centners in the Caspian Sea, 13 thousand centners in the Azov Sea and 7.2 thousand centners in the Black Sea.

Beluga catch in Russia in 1936-1937. was about 76 thousand c per year.

Romanian catches in Danube waters yielded up to 8 thousand centners (usually 6-7 thousand centners, in 1936-1937 - 4.8 thousand centners). Iran's catches in the southern Caspian Sea usually do not exceed 1.3 thousand cwt.

In the CIS, the Caspian Sea is of primary importance for fishing, where in the period 1936-1938. catches ranged from 40 to 63 thousand cwt. Most of Beluga is caught in the southern Caspian Sea. In the Sea of ​​Azov in the period 1936-1938. 5.4-18.1 thousand cwt were mined. In the Black Sea, 1.8-2.9 thousand quintals were mined.

Caviar is obtained from 4 to 20% of the weight of females.

Technology and progress of the fishery. Main fishing gear: ahans and hook and line tackle. Beluga is caught both in the river (going to spawn) and in the sea (barren and immature).

In the Volga, the main fishing is in the lower reaches in April and September - November; near Enotaevsk - in March, August and October; in the middle Volga (Syzran, Ulyanovsk, Kazan) - in April, partly in November; in Kama - in April and August.

Usage. Beluga meat and caviar are distinguished by high nutritional qualities. Meat, caviar, entrails, skin, heads are used. All caught beluga is prepared chilled and frozen.

Delivered to consumers frozen or sold in the form of canned food (natural and in tomato sauce), dried and smoked balyk products (teshi, bokovniki), culinary products (boiled, jellied, fried beluga) and, in small quantities, smoked (hot smoked).

Beluga caviar, granular processed and packaged in special cans, is a high-quality fish product.

Caviar is also prepared using the so-called barrel grain processing.

During pressed processing, beluga caviar is mixed with sturgeon or stellate sturgeon.

A valuable food product known as vyazigi is prepared from the notochord (“dorsal string”) of the beluga.

The dried swim bladder is used to make beluga glue, which is used to clarify wines and is also used for technical purposes.

Beluga entrails (stomach, intestines and connective tissues of the ovary - “punches”, but not the liver) are consumed fresh at the hunting sites.

Beluga skin can be used after appropriate processing as a half-shaft and sole product for women's and children's shoes.

They say that this is the Beluga king. And a new meme has already burst out on the Internet in the likeness of a sad cat and a stubborn fox - a sad fish. Let's find out more about it...

This Astrakhan Museum of Local Lore.

In the Astrakhan museum there are two record belugas - one 4-meter (slightly smaller than the one that Nicholas II donated to the Kazan museum) and the largest - 6-meter. The largest beluga, six meters. They caught it at the same time as the four-meter one, in 1989. The poachers caught the world’s largest beluga, gutted the eggs, and then called the museum and told them where they could pick up the “fish” the size of a huge truck.

Stuffed Beluga, Huso huso
Type: stuffed animal
Author: Golovachev V.I.
Dating: The stuffed animal was made in 1990.
Size: length - 4 m 20 cm, weight - 966 kg
Description: Beluga - valuable commercial fish sturgeon family, distributed in the basins of the Caspian, Black, and Azov seas. In 1989 it was caught by fishermen. Weight 966 kg, caviar weight 120 kg, age 70-75 years, length 4 m 20 cm. The stuffed animal was made by taxidermist V.I. Golovachev. in 1990
Organization: Astrakhan Museum of Local Lore

Existing for more than 200 million years, sturgeon are now close to extinction. The Danube, in the area of ​​Romania and Bulgaria, maintains one of the viable wild sturgeon populations in Europe. Danube sturgeon are one of the most important indicators of a healthy ecosystem. They mostly live in the Black Sea and migrate up the Danube to spawn. They reach 6 meters in length and live up to 100 years.

Illegal fishing and barbaric extermination, mainly for caviar, is one of the main dangers threatening sturgeon. Deprivation of their usual habitat and disruption of sturgeon migration routes is another big threat for this unique look. Having founded the Life + program with the participation of the European Community, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with the support of others international organizations has been working on these problems in recent years.

Species and origin

Sturgeon breeds include: beluga, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, sterlet. In the fossil state, sturgeon fish have been known only since the Eocene (85.8-70.6 million years ago). From a zoogeographical point of view, very interesting are the representatives of the shovel-nosed subfamily, which are found on one side in Central Asia, on the other hand, in North America, which allows you to see in modern types This genus is the remains of a formerly widespread fauna. Sturgeon are one of the most unique and attractive species of ancient fish. They have existed for more than 200 million years, and lived even when dinosaurs inhabited our planet. With them unusual appearance, in their clothing made of bone plates, they remind us of ancient times when special armor or strong shell was needed in order to survive. They have survived to this day, almost unchanged.

Alas, that's all today existing species sturgeon fish are endangered or even endangered.

Sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish

Beluga record book

Beluga is not only the largest of the sturgeons, but also the largest fish that is caught in fresh waters. There are known cases where specimens up to 9 meters long and weighing up to 2000 kg were encountered. Today, individuals weighing more than 200 kg are rarely found; transitions to spawning have become too dangerous
In “Research on the State of Fisheries in Russia,” in 1861, it was reported about a beluga caught in 1827 in the lower reaches of the Volga, which weighed 1.5 tons.

On May 11, 1922, in the Caspian Sea, near the mouth of the Volga, a female weighing 1224 kilograms was caught, with 667 kilograms on her body, 288 kilograms on her head, and 146.5 kilograms on her eggs (see photo). Once again, a female of the same size was caught in 1924 in the Caspian Sea in the area of ​​Biryuchya Spit, her caviar was 246 kilograms, and total number eggs amounted to about 7.7 million.

A little to the east, before the mouth of the Urals, on May 3, 1926, a 75-year-old female weighing more than 1 ton and 4.24 meters long was caught, containing 190 kilograms of caviar. IN National Museum The Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan presents a stuffed beluga 4.17 meters long, caught in the lower reaches of the Volga at the beginning of the 20th century. Its weight when caught was about 1000 kilograms, the age of the fish was 60-70 years.

In October 1891, when the wind drove away water from the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​Azov, a peasant passing by the exposed shore discovered a beluga in one of the puddles, pulling 20 pounds (327 kg), of which 3 pounds (49 kg) were caviar.

Lifestyle

All sturgeon migrate long distances to spawn and in search of food. Some migrate between salt and fresh water, while others live only in fresh water their entire lives. They breed in fresh waters and have a long life cycle, taking years, sometimes decades, to reach maturity when they are first able to produce offspring. While annual successful spawning is almost unpredictable, depending on available habitat, suitable currents and temperature, specific spawning locations, frequency and migration are predictable. Natural crossing is possible between any species of sturgeon. In addition to entering rivers in the spring for spawning, sturgeon fish sometimes enter rivers in the fall for wintering. These fish stay mainly near the bottom.

In terms of feeding, the beluga is a predator, feeding mainly on fish, but also on mollusks, worms, and insects. It begins to prey while still a juvenile in the river. In the sea it feeds mainly on fish (herring, sprat, gobies, etc.), but does not neglect shellfish. Even baby seals were found in the stomachs of the Caspian beluga.

Beluga takes care of its offspring

Beluga is a long-lived fish that reaches an age of 100 years. Unlike Pacific salmon, which die after spawning, beluga, like other sturgeon, can spawn many times in their lives. After spawning, it slides back into the sea. Caspian beluga males reach sexual maturity at 13-18 years, and females at 16-27 (mostly 22-27) years. The fertility of beluga, depending on the size of the female, ranges from 500 thousand to a million (in exceptional cases - up to 5 million) eggs.
In nature, the beluga is an independent species, but can hybridize with sterlet, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon and sturgeon. Viable hybrids - beluga-sterlet (bester) - were obtained using artificial insemination. Sturgeon hybrids are successfully grown in pond (aquaculture) farms.

There are many myths and legends associated with the beluga. For example, in ancient times, fishermen talked about the miraculous bilugin stone, which could heal a person from any disease, protect against troubles, preserve a ship from a storm and attract a good catch.

Fishermen believed that this stone could be found in the kidneys big beluga, and it is the size of a chicken egg - flat and oval in shape. The owner of such a stone could exchange it for a very expensive product, but it is still unclear whether such stones really existed, or whether craftsmen faked them. Even today, some anglers continue to believe this.
Another legend that at one time surrounded the beluga with an ominous aura is beluga poison. Some considered the liver of young fish or the meat of beluga, which could go crazy like a cat or dog, as poisonous, as a result of which its meat became poisonous. No evidence of this has yet been found.

The now almost extinct beluga. Not a particularly large specimen for this species. Photo from here

Sturgeon habitats in the past and present

Their distribution is limited to the northern hemisphere, where they inhabit rivers and seas in Europe, Asia and North America.
Despite the fact that there are more than 20 various types sturgeons, which have different biological and environmental conditions, they all have similar features.
Migratory fish that live in the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas enter rivers to spawn. Previously, beluga was relatively numerous, but over time its reserves became very scarce.
The Danube and the Black Sea were at one time the most active region for the distribution of a wide variety of beluga sturgeon - up to 6 different species. Currently, one of the species is completely lost, and the remaining five are endangered.

In the Caspian Sea, beluga is ubiquitous. For spawning it enters mainly the Volga, in much smaller quantities - into the Urals and Kura, as well as the Terek. On Far East Amur sturgeon lives. Almost all reservoirs in Russia are suitable for sturgeon habitat. In the old days, sturgeon were caught even in the Neva.

Overfishing and the black market for caviar

Overfishing - once legal, now illegal - is one of the direct threats to the survival of the Danube sturgeon. Due to their long life cycle, and late maturity, sturgeon are especially vulnerable to overfishing, taking many years to recover.
In 2006, Romania was the first country to ban sturgeon fishing. The ten-year ban will expire at the end of 2015. Following an appeal from the EU, Bulgaria also announced a ban on sturgeon fishing. Despite the ban, poaching appears to still be widespread throughout the Danube region, although it is difficult to obtain specific evidence of illegal fishing. It is well known that the black market for caviar is thriving. One of the reasons for overfishing is the high price of caviar. Illegally obtained caviar in Bulgaria and Romania can also be bought in other EU countries. Thanks to the first study of the black caviar market, conducted in Bulgaria and Romania in 2011-2012, experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature were able to trace the distribution of smuggled goods in Europe.

Danube beluga, the same age as dinosaurs

Iron Gate Dam disrupts migration routes

Migration for spawning is one of the most important parts of the natural life cycle of all sturgeon in the Danube. In the past, the beluga sailed up the river to Serbia, and in the distant past even reached Passau in eastern Bavaria, but now its path is artificially blocked already on the middle Danube.

Located below the Iron Gate, in the narrow Jardap Gorge, between Romania and Serbia, the Iron Gate hydroelectric power station and reservoir are the largest along the entire length of the Danube. The hydroelectric power station was built at 942 and 863 kilometers of the river upstream of the Danube Delta. As a result, limiting the migration path of sturgeon fish at 863 kilometers, and completely cutting off the most important spawning area on the middle Danube. As a result, the sturgeon were trapped in the section of the river in front of the dam, and are now no longer able to continue their natural path, customary for thousands of years, to the spawning site. Trapped in such unnatural conditions, the sturgeon population experiences the negative effects of inbreeding and loses genetic variability.

Beluga habitat on the Danube is lost

Sturgeon are very sensitive to changes in their habitat. These changes immediately affect spawning, wintering, the ability to find good food and ultimately lead to the extinction of the genus. Most sturgeon species spawn on the clear pebble edge of the lower Danube, where they lay their eggs before returning back to the Black Sea. Successful spawning must take place at great depths at a temperature of at least 9-15 degrees.
The sturgeon population suffered greatly as a result of the loss of the original distribution area corresponding to this fish species on the Danube. Strengthening the banks and dividing the river into canals, building powerful engineering structures flood control system, reduced natural floodplains and wetlands that were part of the river system. Navigation is also a major threat to the sturgeon's habitat, mainly as a result of activities that include dredging and dredging of the river. The removal of sand and gravel and changes to the ground produced by the underwater part of the vessel also have a detrimental effect on the sturgeon population in the Danube.

The threat of extinction of the Danube sturgeon is so great that if emergency and radical measures are not taken, then within a few decades this majestic silvery fish can only be seen in museums. That is why the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube, together with the World Wide Fund for Nature and the European Commission, within the framework of the European Community Strategy for the Danube Region, are carrying out a number of projects and international studies in order to develop measures to save the Danube beluga. sources

Let me remind you of a few more big fish: or for example The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Top of the hierarchical ladder noble family sturgeon is rightfully occupied by a fish that surpasses its relatives not only in its gigantic size, but also in its high life expectancy. The largest beluga (not to be confused with the beluga whale) can safely be considered one of the longest-livers of the animal world, since being a hundred years old is not uncommon for it.

Description of the species

The beginning of evolution sturgeon species fish, dating back about 210 - 240 million years, is considered the Triassic period of the planet’s development. The heyday of the beluga and its relatives occurred in the era of dinosaurs, which reigned on Earth about one hundred to two hundred million years ago. However, appearance giant fish has undergone virtually no changes.

What a beluga looks like: its torpedo-shaped body is securely enclosed in a shell of bone plates, and on the sides the bone protrusions form peculiar paths. The face of this fish is unusual; its appearance differs even from its closest relatives. The fused gill membranes form a loose fold below the gill gap. The huge crescent-shaped mouth is bordered by small flattened mustaches with leaf-shaped appendages, providing the hostess with an excellently developed sense of smell. Developed coordination helps the fish navigate in space, successfully complementing its rather poor vision.

The color of an adult beluga is gray-brown on the back and light, almost white, on the belly.

Large, and sometimes just huge size, tasty and nutritious meat and valuable caviar provided beluga and its numerous relatives (sturgeon, sterlet, stellate sturgeon, kaluga) with commercial status. This brought the entire family into danger of extinction. Human activity leads to pollution and sometimes to the complete destruction of habitual habitats, hydraulic structures change or block routes to spawning grounds. The combination of these factors puts the beluga on the brink of extinction.

Habitat and food supply

The question of what beluga prefers to eat and where it lives is far from idle, since it allows us to find out the habits of this grandiose fish. The most large beluga found in the waters of the Black, Mediterranean, Adriatic, Azov and Caspian seas. During the spawning period, it can be found in almost all large rivers belonging to sea basins. First of all, these are the Volga, Don, Dnieper, Kama, Terek. Ichthyologists have established one interesting feature, characteristic of large female belugas. Not having time to spawn for some reason, they fall asleep, remaining to winter in the river.

An adult beluga is an absolute predator. The range of her main gastronomic preferences is as follows:

• Fish that forms the basic part of the beluga's diet.
• Aquatic worms and insects, as a rule, serve as food for small individuals.
• Molluscs and arthropods.
• Caspian seal pups. This unexpected hunting object is used as food by representatives of the species that live exclusively in the Caspian Sea basin.

During periods of starvation or acute hunger, for example, after spawning, belugas are able to swallow objects that do not even remotely resemble their usual food. It seems absolutely logical for these spawned giants to return to the sea, because only there can they find a sufficient amount of food. Specimens that constantly live in fresh water river water, are significantly smaller in size than their marine counterparts.

Reproduction of the species

Beluga spawning occurs exclusively in fresh water, for which mature individuals rise high upstream. The entry of spawners into rivers differs in seasons, which makes it possible to divide the species into two races: spring and autumn. The first one begins to move into fresh water already at the end of January and remains there until the very moment of spawning, which usually begins in June. The autumn race ascends the river from August to December, often remaining to winter in deep river pools.

Puberty in this species of sturgeon occurs quite late, and there are significant differences in timing. Thus, males become ready to reproduce at about twenty years of age, and the maturation of females ends only at 23-25.

Features of spawning

The beluga spawns only a few times during its entire life. long life, but the fertility of this giant fish is simply amazing. Maybe that's why unique look still inhabits the water bodies of our planet.

There is an opinion that the number of eggs in a clutch can reach one million. But based on the facts, the picture looks like this:

• The Volga beluga, which is quite large in size by modern standards (about 2.5 meters), lays approximately 940,000 eggs.
• Individuals of similar size but found in Kura are limited to 685,000.

The mass of spawned eggs also looks impressive. The spawning clutch can weigh three to four hundred kilograms.

Ichthyologists noticed another interesting point in the physiology of the beluga. The lack of a place suitable in the opinion of the mother for babies leads to the fact that the female refuses to spawn, and the eggs that are ready for fertilization are gradually absorbed.

The spawning of this sturgeon species is a test of the ecological well-being of the reservoir, since it occurs only in exclusively clean water. The survival rate of eggs is very low (no more than 10%), which does not contribute to the rapid replenishment of the population of this valuable fish. Incubation period is a little more than a week at a temperature of 12−14 C. The hatched fry initially stay on the seashore or in river deltas.

Record-breaking belugas

The maximum weight of the beluga is another question that has not been fully clarified by ichthyologists. There are records of specimens weighing up to two tons. However, unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence of these facts. . So, the record holders:

The analysis shows that the overwhelming majority of evidence of the catch of giant beluga specimens occurs at the beginning of the last - the end of the century before last. Significant changes in the ecological situation that characterize the present time have led to the fact that fish of this species rarely reach gigantic sizes. The mass of the largest specimens caught over several recent years, does not exceed a quarter ton.

Fishing prospects

The inclusion of this species of sturgeon in the Red Book predetermined the introduction of a ban on its industrial fishing. That's why the only way The only way to catch a trophy specimen is through sport fishing, which involves returning the fish to its habitat.

The real danger, which poses a serious threat to the existence of not only the beluga, but also the entire sturgeon family, is poaching. Lovers of easy money do not take into account prohibitions, seasonality, or the need to preserve the population.

A lot of myths and legends are associated with this strange fish.- for example, the belief about the miraculous properties of the “beluga stone”, extracted from its kidneys and resembling a chicken egg in appearance. It is used as a talisman during a storm; it attracts fish to places frequented by fishermen. In the old days, the owner of such an amulet could demand any product for it, even the most expensive.

Attention, TODAY only!

Hello everyone! Today we’ll talk about a fish like Beluga. This is not an ordinary fish. This fish is on the verge of extinction. Why fish because it reaches very large sizes in height and weight, and can also live about a hundred years. It can also be called a sad fish because of its appearance. Well, now let's talk about everything in order.

Beluga is a member of the sturgeon family. Permanent place has no residence and is therefore considered semi-passable. Spawns in rivers and lives in seas and rivers. Why can’t we call it completely marine or freshwater fish?

The fact is that large individuals switch to seafood only when there is not enough food for them in the rivers. Up to a certain size, it can live calmly in rivers and creeks, but when food begins to be scarce, it switches to sea ​​inhabitants. The diet includes herring, gobies, sprat, in a word, a predator. In rivers they eat everything they can catch, from roach to crucian carp. The Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas are where the beluga lives.

What is the largest beluga ever caught?

As for size, the largest Beluga, according to unconfirmed data, weighed over two tons and was approximately nine meters long. If the information can be confirmed, then the beluga can easily be considered the largest freshwater fish on the planet.

There is also accurate data on fish already caught. So in 1827, the weight of fish caught in the lower reaches of the Volga River was one and a half tons, 1500 kg. There in the Volga in 1922 the catch amounted to 75 pounds, which by our standards is about 1224 kg. The head weighed 146 kg, and the caviar was almost 259 kg. It’s not even possible to imagine, with a catch like this, the whole village can be provided with meat and still have some left over.

IN present time Such giants are practically not caught, although here is an example relatively not so long ago, but already in the last century in 1970 a beluga weighing 1000 kg was caught; almost 100 kg of caviar was caught. Because of delicious meat And heavy weight she was caught in industrial scale. The average fishing weight is 50-70 kg.

Beluga is a long-living freshwater fish

Beluga is a long-living fish and can live 100 years. It can spawn many times, unlike its fellow Pacific salmon, which spawn only once in their entire lives and die after spawning.

When fully ready to reproduce, these giants become almost like humans. Well, judge for yourself, males mature by 15-18 years, and females no earlier than 16-27 years. The average number of eggs scooped in is considered to be about 715 thousand eggs. The fertility of the beluga depends on the size of the female, as well as on the habitat. For the Volga beluga, this number ranges from 500 thousand to a million, and the Kurinsky ones of the same size produce 640 thousand eggs. It all depends on the habitat and living conditions.

The most expensive caviar is beluga

As for the caviar itself. Beluga eggs are quite large, 1.4-2.5 mm. The weight of the eggs is almost half the weight of the female. It has a pleasant delicate nutty flavor.

Dark grey colour, brilliant color, strong smell, all this made the caviar so tasty that on the black market in Russia, a buyer is ready to pay about 620 euros per kg for such a product without haggling. Abroad, beluga caviar can fetch approximately 7,000 euros. This price is based on taste qualities of this caviar and because in Russia officially you cannot buy or sell beluga caviar anywhere. All transactions take place under a black flag.

Today in Russia there is a ban on beluga fishing, as it is on the verge of extinction. Beluga is also listed in the Red Book. It is quite a risky business to catch beluga. Because the deadlines are huge.

Taste qualities of beluga meat

Beluga meat, unlike other sturgeon breeds, is not fatty and has a very small percentage of fat content. But despite the fact that in tsarist times there were much more belugas than now, only tsars, princes and boyars could taste its delicious meat. As you can see, even then they understood meat, and considered beluga meat to be something unusual and wonderful.

What secrets and beliefs is Beluga surrounded by?

But it was not only meat and caviar that beluga was valuable in those distant times. For example, almost every fisherman believed in the miraculous properties of beluga stone. With the help of this miracle stone you can heal people and entire villages. It was also believed that such an amulet brings happiness and a good catch to those who possess this stone.

It was flat and oval in shape, and the size of a chicken egg. It could be obtained in the kidneys large belugas. It could also be sold at a very high price or exchanged for something expensive. But these rumors were never confirmed. But as they say, such stones took place, most likely they were high-quality fakes of skilled craftsmen. There are still those who still believe in the miraculous properties of this stone, and in the fact that such a stone actually exists.

But the beluga's secrets don't end there.

Many fishermen were of the same opinion that the beluga is very poisonous fish. This belief also has not been confirmed. But the fishermen were sure that such fish could get rabies like a dog or cat. There was also an opinion that beluga liver is poisonous. But no matter what our ancestors believed, many are still inclined to believe that all these rumors were spread by the nobility.

So that common people do not eat meat and do not catch beluga for use. It is possible that thanks to these rumors, in the past the beluga could grow up to 2 tons in weight and 9 meters in length.