The largest beluga: confirmed facts. The largest beluga in the world - a few facts Weight of the largest beluga

One of the most amazing fish, attracting attention with its size and lifestyle, is the beluga. A few decades ago, this individual was found in the waters of the Caspian and Azov seas, in the Adriatic. TO today its habitat has shrunk. The fish is found in the Black Sea and the Urals. In the Volga and Azov there is a very similar, but different subspecies, which in 90% of cases is grown artificially. Thanks to this, it is possible to maintain the population.

The beluga's habitat is shrinking every year

Description of the sea giant

Beluga fish is considered one of the largest and brightest representatives of the sturgeon family. Unlike other species, it has pronounced external characteristics:

• a blunt, small nose with a pointed end, slightly translucent due to the absence of bone scutes;
• wide mouth with thickened lower lip;
• very thick and well-fed body, cylindrical in shape;
• small bug (thorn) on the dorsal row;
• grayish-dark hue of the giant body, white belly.

Average weight beluga is 90-120 kg

The largest beluga ever caught weighed 1.5 tons and had a body length of 4.2 meters. The trophy is kept in the museum of Tatarstan, where thousands of amateur and professional fishermen come every year to see this miracle. It is impossible to catch a similar large specimen in our time, since the catch takes place in large industrial scale. Today is the most big beluga, caught in the Volga, weighs no more than 450-500 kg. Weight Limit immature young animals - within 40 kg. On average, the weight of fish going to spawn is 100-120 kg (females) or 90 kg (males).

The giant sturgeon lives for more than a hundred years if it does not get caught in the nets of merciless fishermen. The population is protected by the Red Book, but extreme fishing enthusiasts have nothing to do with prohibitions. In Russia, catching beluga is punishable by a large fine.

Beluga is listed in the Red Book

It is difficult to name exactly the environment and places where the huge sturgeon can live, because it is considered an anadromous species. It can be found both in the seas and in rivers, where it has to swim in order to profit from tasty and affordable prey. During spawning, the beluga even goes to the Crimean coast or to freshwater places, where it can quickly destroy the local inhabitants.

Nutrition and behavior in nature

Beluga looks scary, and for good reason. She does not disdain any inhabitants of reservoirs. Anyone who approaches the fish at an extremely close distance instantly finds themselves in its huge stomach. Omnivores sea ​​giants What they prefer most in their diet:

• sea ​​gobies;
• herring;
• anchovy;
• all representatives of the carp family;
• crucian carp;
• rudd;
• roach.

Beluga is not squeamish and can eat everything that comes in its way

In nature, there are cases when beluga eats water rats and mice. When some individuals were opened, even their own young were found in the stomach cavity, which had recently emerged from the eggs. Growing young animals can feed on mollusks and various invertebrates, as well as sprat and roach.

Spawning and reproduction

The breeding characteristics of the beluga on the Volga are explained by the presence in nature of its two different races (forms): spring and winter. One wave, winter, goes to spawn in the Volga or to Black Sea coast in September-October. The second, spring, goes to spawn from March to mid-April. Active movement of fish is observed when the water temperature in the river is 7-8 degrees and the flood reaches its maximum.

Most of the beluga fry, barely hatching, swim into the Caspian Sea with adults

For spawning, beluga chooses places more than 4 meters deep in river rapids, preferring a rocky bottom. One female has over 200 thousand eggs, but most often their number ranges from 5 to 8 million. The diameter of one egg is 3−4 mm.

After the end of spawning, the fish very quickly returns back to marine environment. The larvae emerging from the eggs do not stay in the Volga for long and also follow the adults.

Use in cooking

The meat of the huge sturgeon is considered a valuable delicacy in Russian cuisine. Amazingly tasty, nutritious and healthy dishes. Real masterpieces are obtained using any method of preparing fish:

• frying;
• drying;
• smoking;
• baking;
• steaming;
• grilling.

Beluga kebab is especially appreciated by gourmets: the incredibly tender meat, baked with smoke, cannot leave even the most sophisticated connoisseur of fish dishes indifferent.

Beluga meat contains a number of beneficial vitamins and amino acids

Large representative sturgeon is valued not only for its unique taste, but also for its range of beneficial health properties. Firstly, tender meat contains a large number of easily digestible protein with low calorie dishes. The delicacy saturates the body with essential amino acids (they are not synthesized and can only be obtained from certain foods).

Secondly, in sea ​​creature, like other seafood, there is fluorine, calcium and other trace elements necessary to maintain healthy bones, hair, nails and beautiful skin. Potassium, which is part of meat, supports the heart muscle, preventing heart attack and stroke. Thanks to vitamin A, consumption of valuable sturgeon improves visual acuity, and vitamin D prevents osteoporosis and rickets.

The value of caviar

Special attention deserves caviar, which is obtained from huge inhabitants seas and rivers. Females are capable of laying the largest eggs possible. As you know, black caviar is an expensive, healthy delicacy that is recommended for both children and adults. The natural bioproduct has a positive effect on all organ systems.

The high price of black caviar is due to the length of time it takes to raise adult caviar.

Commercial farming of beluga takes about 15 years to obtain caviar. IN natural conditions catching valuable specimens is prohibited, so the cost finished product impressive. For 100 grams of black caviar you have to pay from 10 to 15 thousand rubles, and the price of a kilogram in European markets often exceeds 10 thousand dollars. Most of the goods found on the market are counterfeit.

Problems of population conservation

Beluga is one of the endangered fish species on the planet. Most individuals do not have time to grow to maximum size, as they are caught by poachers and lovers of unusual sea trophies. In addition to fishermen, industrial facilities also contributed to the population decline. Due to the active construction of hydroelectric power stations, the dams of which are located on the migration path of fish, creating obstacles for their movement to spawn. Due to hydraulic structures and their dams, the passage of belugas into the rivers of Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria is completely blocked.

Beluga numbers are declining every year

Another problem is the constantly deteriorating environment. Since the lifespan of a beluga is several years and even reaches a century, it has time to accumulate toxic and harmful substances that enter the environment as a result of human activity. Pesticides, chemicals and hormones negatively affect the reproductive capabilities of the giant fish.

To preserve the unique king fish, a lot of effort will have to be made, otherwise the population will soon completely disappear from the planet. A unique species is not only a valuable delicacy, but also an important chain the food chain in the marine environment.

Beluga is the largest freshwater fish and is now under threat of extinction. Man illegally kills it for valuable caviar, changes the usual spawning routes, destroys and pollutes habitats. Like many other endangered species, the beluga is truly unique. Why is this so, and which beluga is the largest in the world - read about it in the article.

Description of the species

In a large family sturgeon fish, which includes 27 species, many giants. Partly for their size, as well as for the value and nutritional value of their meat and caviar, these fish have earned the status of commercial fish. Sturgeon inhabit the waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The evolution of these species dates back to the Triassic period and dates back 208-245 million years. Their heyday occurred 100-200 million years ago, when dinosaurs still inhabited the earth. Since then, their appearance has remained almost unchanged.

The beluga (lat. Huso huso) stands apart in their family. Not only is she a record holder for longevity - individuals over 100 years old are known - but also for size. Beluga is deservedly considered the largest freshwater fish. The weight of the largest specimens caught reached one and a half tons! Body sizes on average range from 2 to 4 meters, although individuals up to 9 m in length have been described.

Beluga looks unusual. Looking at it, you can understand a lot about the times of dinosaurs. The fish’s body seems to be encased in a shell of bone, and along the sides there are paths of sharp bone protrusions. The beluga's mouth is framed with antennae, which are responsible for the sense of smell - it is excellent in these fish. But this predator has no teeth. The body color is dark gray, with a greenish tint, the belly is almost white.

Beluga grows throughout its life, and since it can live a long time, its size will be appropriate. Unfortunately, in our time, due to uncontrolled catching, habitat pollution, changes in habitual migration routes and general deterioration of the environmental situation, the life expectancy of the beluga has been greatly reduced.

Habitats

This giant is found in the Black, Caspian and Azov seas. To spawn, it rises along the Volga to the upper reaches of the Kama. Beluga was also found in the Danube, until a hydroelectric power station was built on this river, and the spawning routes were blocked.

Nutrition

Beluga is a predator fish. It can feed on mollusks, worms, and insects, but its main “dish” is fish. Even beluga fry are predators. Large belugas can even swallow seal pups - they are sometimes found in the stomachs of Caspian representatives of the species. Feeling hungry after spawning, beluga females even grab inedible objects: driftwood, stones.

Such giant creatures can only find enough food in the sea, those subspecies that prefer to live in fresh water huge size don't reach.

Reproduction

Beluga emerges from the sea and rises high in rivers to spawn. They spawn only in fresh water, but can live in both fresh and salt water. Belugas spawn several times in their lives. After spawning, it rolls back into the sea.

Belugas take a long time to reach sexual maturity. Males mature in the second decade of life, and females generally only reach 22-25 years of age.

Sturgeon fish are unusually prolific; depending on the size of the fish, the number of eggs can range from 500 thousand to a million. There is evidence that large, by today's standards, 2.5-2.6 m long, Volga beluga sturgeons lay an average of 937 thousand eggs, and the same size Kura beluga eggs - an average of 686 thousand. The fry live in the delta and on the seashore.

Belugas can spawn only in very clean water. If the reservoir is polluted, the females refuse to spawn, and the eggs that have matured in their body dissolve after some time. The presence of beluga in a reservoir indicates a favorable environment and good ecological conditions.

Most individuals are caught by poachers when they are still young, having just reached sexual maturity, which means they only have time to spawn once. The survival rate of eggs and fry is only 10% of the total number of eggs spawned, so the beluga population is very poorly replenished.

Normally, spawning occurs in one individual up to 10 times during its life, since due to its size and life expectancy, it needs from 2 to 4 years to recover between spawning periods.

Record holders

Some of the caught specimens are truly amazing in their size. Many of them have records confirming their size and weight. Who is the record holder among belugas:

• There is evidence of beluga whales weighing 2 tons and reaching 9 m, but they are not documented;
• In 1827, in the lower reaches of the Volga, a beluga weighing 90 pounds / 1.5 tons / 9 m long was caught, according to “Research on the State of Fisheries in Russia” dated 1861;

On May 11, 1922, a female beluga weighing 1224 kg was caught in the Caspian Sea, 146.5 kg of caviar was found in her, her head weighed 288 kg, and her body weighed 667 kg.

A beluga of the same size was also caught in the Caspian Sea in 1924, and 246 kg of caviar was found in it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a beluga 4.17 m long and weighing a ton was caught in the lower reaches of the Volga. Her age was estimated at 60-70 years. A stuffed specimen of this individual is now kept in National Museum Tatarstan in Kazan;

Another stuffed beluga, which weighed 966 kg and grew to 4 m 20 cm, is presented in the Astrakhan Museum. This fish was also caught in the Volga delta in 1989, moreover, by poachers. Having removed the eggs, they anonymously reported such an unusual catch. A truck was needed to transport the carcass. Her age was estimated at 70-75 years.

On late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century there is a lot of evidence of the capture of fish weighing 500-800 kg. Currently, due to various unfavorable factors Belugas rarely reach more than 250 kg. An interesting fact is that all the largest belugas are females. Beluga males always significantly fewer females.

Recently, industrial fishing of this fish has been prohibited, and it is included in the Red Book of Threatened Species. Despite this, poachers cleverly circumvent all prohibitions, because the price of beluga caviar on the black market in Russia reaches $600 per kilogram, and abroad - $7000!

Poaching is much more dangerous than industrial fishing, since it does not take into account either seasonality or the preservation of the population, and, probably, in the not very distant future, such a unique species may be completely exterminated and descendants will know about it only from evidence in the archives.

Beluga (lat. Huso huso) is a species of ray-finned fish of the order Sturgeon, family Sturgeon, genus Beluga.

Beluga - oldest fish on the planet, which appeared on earth over 200 million years ago. The only closest relative of the beluga is the kaluga, an inhabitant of the river basins of the Far Eastern region.

What does a beluga look like?

Beluga is considered the largest of all freshwater fish. The body of an adult reaches a length of 4.2 m, and the weight is about 1.5 tons, with females being slightly larger than males.

The beluga's thick, cylindrical body is covered with five rows of bone formations - scutes, and noticeably tapers towards the tail. The bone plates covering the head, sides and belly are poorly developed. More durable shields, 13 in number, are located on the back and perform a protective function.

Like all ray-finned fish, the fins of the beluga are distinguished by the presence of long and sharp, jagged rays: the dorsal contains at least 60 rays, the anal from 20 to 40.

The elongated head ends in an upturned, pointed nose, which is slightly translucent due to the absence of bony scutes. The beluga's mouth is quite wide, but does not extend beyond the sides of the head; a fleshy upper lip hangs over it. The antennae, located on the sides of the lower jaw, are wider and also longer than those of most sturgeons and perform an olfactory function.

The beluga's back is greenish or ash-gray in color, its belly is white or light gray, and its nose is characteristically yellow.

Where does the beluga live?

Belugas are migratory fish, and spend most of their lives in the waters of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, and migrate to rivers only during the breeding season, and after spawning they go back to the sea.

By nature, belugas are solitary. Adults and mature individuals live at great depths; juveniles prefer shallow water, not far from the mouth of the river.

In summer, after spawning, the fish rests at medium depths and then fattens before hibernation. Before the onset of cold weather, the body of the beluga is covered with a “fur coat” of a thick layer of mucus, and the fish falls into a state of suspended animation until spring.

What does beluga eat?

Large fish need a lot of food, and the size of individual individuals directly depends on the diet: the better the fish eats, the large sizes she reaches. The main food of the beluga is various types of fish, and the beluga begins to prey at a very young age, as a fry.

Adults successfully hunt both seabed, and in the water column. The favorite foods of beluga are gobies, herring, sprat, sprat, anchovies, roach, anchovy, as well as representatives of the numerous carp family. A certain part of the diet consists of crustaceans and mollusks, and even small animals, for example, baby Caspian seals or waterfowl.

Beluga jumps out of the water.

Beluga breeding

Belugas are long-lived animals, some specimens live up to 100 years, so they reach reproductive age late. Males are ready to breed at the age of 13-18 years, females mature at 16-27 years.

Spawning occurs at different times of the year and depending on this, beluga of the spring and autumn runs are distinguished.

Spring beluga enters rivers from late January until almost summer. The autumn beluga begins its migration at the end of summer and ends in December, so it is forced to winter at the bottom of the river in deep holes, and begins to reproduce only next spring.

Each sexually mature individual does not reproduce every year, but at a certain interval, usually 2-4 years. The spawning grounds of beluga pass along deep rocky ridges, amidst fast currents.

The fertility of a female depends on her size, but in any case, the amount of eggs spawned is 1/5 of her own body. The average amount of caviar is from 500 thousand to a million.

Dark gray eggs, 3 mm in diameter, look like peas. Thanks to its increased stickiness, caviar sticks perfectly to cold underwater rocks. At a water temperature of + 12-13 degrees, the incubation period is only 8 days.

Once born, the fry immediately switch to higher nutrition, bypassing the diet consisting of simple organisms. Without stopping, the juveniles go to the seas, where they live until the onset of puberty.

Sturgeon and beluga in particular are considered very valuable commercial fish. However, due to a sharp decline in natural populations in the second half of the 20th century, beluga fish is currently listed in the Red Book as a rare species. However, it can be grown in artificial conditions, although with certain difficulties. Beluga caviar is the most expensive caviar in the world.

Beluga is an anadromous fish, that is, it lives in the seas, but rises to rivers to spawn. This species lives in the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.

The most numerous is the Caspian population of beluga; it can be found everywhere in this sea. The main spawning site of the Caspian beluga is the Volga. Also, a small number of these fish go to spawn in the Ural, Kura and Terek rivers. A very insignificant number spawns in small rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea on the territory of Azerbaijan and Iran. But in general, it can be found in any river that is close enough to those places in the Caspian Sea where beluga fish are found.

In the past, spawning beluga entered rivers quite far - hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. For example, along the Volga it rose to Tver and even to the upper reaches of the Kama. However, due to the construction of numerous hydroelectric power stations on the rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, modern belugas have to confine themselves only to the lower reaches.

Previously, the Azov beluga population was quite large, but today it is on the verge of extinction. From Sea of ​​Azov fish rise to the Don and in very small quantities to the Kuban River. As in the case of the Caspian beluga, natural spawning grounds high upstream were cut off by the construction of a hydroelectric power station.

Finally, in the Black Sea, where the beluga fish lives, its population is also very small and concentrated mainly in the north-west of the sea, although cases of its appearance off the coast have been recorded southern Crimea, Caucasus and northern Turkey. For spawning, the local beluga swims in the three largest rivers of the region - the Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. Some individuals spawn in the Southern Bug. Before the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper, beluga was caught in the Kyiv area and even in Belarus. The situation is similar with the Dniester. But along the Danube it can still rise quite far - right up to the Serbian-Romanian border, where one of the two Danube hydroelectric power stations is located.

Until the 70s. In the last century, beluga was sometimes caught in the Adriatic Sea, where it went to spawn in the Po River. However, in the last few decades, not a single case of beluga being caught in this region has been recorded, which is why the Adriatic beluga is considered extinct.

Beluga - sturgeon fish; considered the largest of all freshwater fish. In historical chronicles there are references of questionable authenticity to the catching of individuals up to 9 meters long and weighing up to 2 tons. However, those sources that do not raise doubts provide no less impressive figures.

For example, a book on the state of Russian fisheries from 1861 mentions a beluga weighing 90 poods (one and a half tons), caught near Astrakhan in 1827. A reference book on freshwater fish in the USSR, published in 1948, mentions a female beluga weighing 75 pounds (more than 1,200 kg), which was caught in the Caspian Sea near the mouth of the Volga in 1922. Finally, everyone can personally see a stuffed one-color beluga displayed in the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan in the city of Kazan.

The latest case of catching such massive individuals was recorded in 1989, when a beluga weighing 966 kg was caught in the Volga delta. Her stuffed animal can also be seen in one of the museums, but in Astrakhan.

According to experts, the most big fish The beluga must be tens of years old. It is possible that some individuals could be 100 years or more old. However, these are all exceptional cases. The average weight of fish going to spawn in rivers is 90-120 kg for females and 60-90 kg for males. However, the beluga reaches even this size only at the age of 25-30 years. And immature young animals usually weigh no more than 20-30 kg.

If we leave alone the incredible size of this fish, then in general it has the typical sturgeon appearance. She has a massive, elongated, cylindrical body and a small, pointed nose. The beluga has a blunt, short snout and a large, crescent-shaped mouth. The mouth is bordered by a thick “lip”. The snout has wide, massive antennae.

The head and body are dotted with symmetrical rows of bony scutes (the so-called bugs): 12-13 on the back, 40-45 on the sides and 10-12 on the belly. The dominant color in the beluga's color is gray, which covers the back, sides and top part heads. The underside of the beluga is white.

The first thing mentioned in any description of beluga fish is its method of spawning. The main place of life of this fish is the sea, but it goes to spawning in big rivers, as has already been said earlier.

It is noteworthy that the beluga has so-called spring and winter forms (races). In particular, fish comes to the Volga in two waves: in the first half of autumn - winter, in the first half of spring - spring. However, this river is still dominated by the winter beluga, which spends the winter in river holes and then immediately begins spawning in April-May. In the Ural River, on the contrary, most belugas belong to the spring race; they spawn immediately after entering the river, and then swim back to the sea.

Like any sturgeon, beluga is a predatory fish. The young feed on all kinds of invertebrates and mollusks, catching them near the bottom in river mouths. After entering the open sea, the grown young animals quickly switch to feeding on fish. In the Caspian Sea, the basis of the beluga's diet is carp, roach, sprat, etc. In addition, the beluga does not hesitate to eat its own young and other representatives of the sturgeon family. The Black Sea beluga feeds mainly on anchovy and gobies.

Beluga reaches sexual maturity late: males at 12-14 years, females at 16-18 years. Due to such a long maturation under conditions of intensive industrial fishing, this species was on the verge of extinction.

As already mentioned, beluga spawning occurs in the second half of spring, although a significant part of the fish go to rivers in the fall. Beluga spawns when the spring flood reaches its peak and the temperature river water- 6-7°C. Caviar rushes on the rapids in deep places(at least 4 meters, more often 10-12 m) with a rocky bottom. One female lays at least 200 thousand eggs, but usually they count in the millions (up to 8 million). The eggs are quite large, about 4 mm in diameter.

Having finished spawning, beluga fish in the Volga and other rivers quickly go to sea. Young larvae also do not stay in the river.

Since ancient times it has been considered a commercial fish of high value. Active fishing has been going on since at least the 6th century BC. In the 20th century, with the development of industrial fishing methods, beluga fishing reached unprecedented proportions. For example, in the Volga alone in the 70s, 1.2-1.5 thousand tons of this fish were caught annually.

Unjustifiably intensive fishing of red beluga fish, as well as the construction of hydroelectric power stations everywhere in the rivers where it spawns, led to a sharp reduction in its numbers in the second half of the last century. Already in the early 90s, the catch dropped to 200-300 tons per year, and at the end of the decade - below 100 tons. In such conditions, the Russian authorities banned the industrial fishing of beluga sturgeon on their territory in 2000, and a decade later other countries of the Caspian region joined the Russian Federation. The situation is even worse in the Black and Azov Seas, where the beluga population has decreased to minuscule sizes.

The actual impossibility of ensuring supplies to consumer market meat and, no less important, beluga caviar created conditions for the development of fish farms specializing in this type of fish. Today they are the only legal suppliers of this type of product to store shelves. However, poaching, unfortunately, also occupies a significant share of this market.

In fish hatcheries, beluga is bred not only and not so much in its natural form, but rather hybridizes with other sturgeon - sterlet, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon. Especially widespread got a bester - a fish the result of crossing a beluga and a sterlet. It is not only grown in pond farms, but is even introduced into the Sea of ​​Azov and freshwater reservoirs.

Beluga meat and especially its caviar are considered a true delicacy, from which you can prepare a real culinary masterpiece. This fish is subjected to all types of heat treatment: boiled, fried, baked, steamed and grilled. Beluga is also smoked, cut and canned. Beluga meat can be used to prepare a variety of types of dishes, including kebabs and salads.

With all this, beluga as a fish is very good for health. She has low calorie content and high content of easily digestible protein. Beluga contains many essential amino acids, which are urgently needed by our body, but are not synthesized in it, and can only be obtained from food. The meat of this fish contains a lot of calcium and phosphorus, which help restore and strengthen bones, as well as improve the condition of nails and hair. The potassium present in beluga improves the functioning of the heart muscle, and iron has a beneficial effect on the composition of the blood.

Beluga meat is rich in vitamin A, which affects visual acuity and skin condition. It also contains other important vitamins: B (important for muscles and nerve tissue), D (prevents the development of rickets and osteoporosis).

Separately, it is worth mentioning beluga caviar. Females lay large black eggs, which are incredibly highly prized by gourmets. Since industrial fishing of beluga is prohibited today, and in aquaculture it takes about 15 years to grow the fish to get caviar from it, the cost of this product reaches exorbitant prices. In Russia, 100 grams of beluga caviar costs about 10-20 thousand rubles, a kilogram - up to 150 thousand rubles. In Europe and other markets, the cost of a kilogram of this caviar ranges from 7-10 thousand dollars. Obviously, it is impossible to purchase such caviar in a regular store.

Beluga, as well as bester (a sturgeon fish hybrid of beluga and sterlet) can feed on artificial feed, and therefore are suitable for commercial fish farming. However, this technology is quite expensive, especially considering that to obtain caviar it is necessary to grow fish for at least 15 years.

Until the larvae reach a weight of 3 grams, they are grown in special trays. Nutrition is provided with both artificial and natural feed. After the larvae reach the specified weight, they are sent for rearing to ponds with a planting density of about 20 thousand specimens per hectare.

Further, the technology for breeding beluga fish at home provides for the transfer of fingerlings to feeding on minced fish of low-value breeds with various additives. At the same time, the young animals will provide themselves with a significant portion of their nutrition on their own from pond invertebrates. The predator instinct of beluga fingerlings appears at the end of summer, which implies an increase in the proportion of minced meat in its diet.

In beluga fingerlings, weight gain occurs most rapidly in conditions when the temperature and composition of the water are close to optimal values, therefore one of the most important tasks of the fish farmer is maintaining these optimal conditions in the ponds.

In the first year, the average feed conversion of beluga is 2.8 units. At the end of the first season, the fish increases its weight from 3 to 150 g. With an average survival rate of fingerlings of 50%, their fish productivity reaches 20 c/ha.

Fingerlings are planted in wintering ponds (optimal reservoirs with an area of ​​a quarter to half a hectare and a depth of 2-3 m, devoid of bottom silt and vegetation) in an amount of 120 thousand per hectare. Wintering begins in October - November and lasts until March. In winter, beluga is given food in the amount of 2% of the total mass of fish, and when surface ice Feeding is stopped altogether. It is natural for beluga underyearlings to lose 30-40% of their weight during this time. However, the size of the beluga fish does not change.

In the first ten days of April, the fish are sent back to the feeding ponds, where intensive feeding is immediately applied. Two-year-olds are given low-value fresh frozen fish. Young animals grow most actively in the second half of summer, and feed conversion increases during this period to 6 kg of feed per 1 kg of weight gain.

When two-year-olds reach a weight of 0.7 kg (by the end of the second season, about half of them are), they are sent for sale to the food chain. The remaining fish are left for another year and grown to a weight of 1.7-2 kg. In conditions of high survival rate of two-year-old and three-year-old fish (up to 95%), with strict adherence to cultivation technology, fish productivity will be 50-75 c/ha.

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 is the Astrakhan Museum of Local Lore.

In the Astrakhan museum there are two record belugas - one 4-meter long (slightly smaller than the one that Nicholas II donated to the Kazan museum) and the largest - 6-meter long. 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 V last years is working on these problems.

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 the one hand in Central Asia, on the other - 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 their unusual appearance, in their clothing made of bone plates, they remind us of ancient times when special armor or a 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 eggs contained 246 kilograms, and the total number of eggs was 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. The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan displays 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 waters all their 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 of a large beluga, and it was the size of egg- flat and oval 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.

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 wide diversity 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. The Amur sturgeon lives in the Far East. Almost all reservoirs in Russia are suitable for habitation sturgeon breeds. 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 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.