The weight of the largest beluga? How much did the largest beluga weigh? What does beluga fish look like and where is it found in Russia? Beluga in the Caspian Sea

Everyone has heard the expression “roars like a beluga,” but not everyone has a clear idea of ​​what this animal looks like. What kind of beluga is this and what else besides its roar could it be famous for? Let's try to figure this out. Well, first of all, let’s say right away that the beluga cannot roar at all. If only because it belongs to the class of fish, and fish, as you know, are silent.

Description of beluga

Beluga is the largest freshwater fish living in the waters of our country.. It has lived on Earth for almost 200 million years and, like all other sturgeons, has learned to adapt to the most different conditions a habitat. These fish do not have a spine, and instead of a skeleton there is a flexible chord.

Appearance

Beluga is distinguished by its large size: its weight can be equal to one and a half tons, and its length can be more than four meters. Some eyewitnesses even saw belugas reaching a length of nine meters. If all this anecdotal evidence is true, then the beluga could be considered the largest freshwater fish in the world. She has a thick and massive body.

With its head and the shape of its muzzle, the beluga resembles a pig: its snout, somewhat like a snout, is short and blunt, and its huge, toothless mouth, which occupies almost the entire lower part of the head, surrounded by thick lips, has a sickle shape. Only beluga fry have teeth, and even those disappear after a short time. The antennae, hanging down from the upper lip and reaching the mouth, are slightly flattened downwards. The eyes of this fish are small and blind, so it navigates mainly with the help of a well-developed sense of smell.

This is interesting! WITH Latin name Beluga (Huso huso) translates as “pig”. And, if you take a closer look, you can really notice that these two creatures are similar in some ways, both in appearance and in their omnivorousness.

Male and female belugas differ little in appearance and their bodies are both covered with equally large scales. The scales look like diamonds and do not overlap each other anywhere. This type of scale is called ganoid. The beluga's back is gray-brownish, its belly is lighter.

Behavior and lifestyle

Beluga is a migratory fish; it mainly leads a bottom-dwelling lifestyle. The very appearance of it amazing creature, reminiscent of the appearance of ancient armored fish, indicates that the beluga rarely appears on the surface: after all, with such a massive body, it is more convenient to swim in deep water than in the shallows.

It constantly changes habitats in the reservoir and often goes to the depths: there the current is faster, which allows the beluga to find food, and there are deep holes that this fish uses as resting places. In spring, when the upper layers of water begin to warm up, it can also be seen in shallow water. With the onset of autumn, the beluga again goes into the depths of the sea or river, where it changes its usual diet, eating mollusks and crustaceans.

Important! Beluga is a very large fish; it can only find enough food for itself in the seas. And the very presence of belugas in a reservoir is evidence of a healthy ecosystem.

Beluga travels vast distances in search of food and spawning grounds. Almost all beluga whales tolerate both salt and fresh water equally well, although individual species can live exclusively in fresh water bodies.

How long does a beluga live?

Beluga is a real long-liver. Like all other sturgeon, it matures slowly: up to 10-15 years, but lives for a very long time. The age of this fish, if it lives in good conditions, can reach a hundred years, although now belugas live forty years.

Range, habitats

The beluga lives in the Black Sea, the Azov Sea and the Caspian Sea. Although less common, it is also found in the Adriatic. It goes to spawn in the Volga, Don, Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. Not often, but you can find it in the Urals, Kura or Terek. There is also a very small chance of seeing beluga in the Upper Bug and near the coast of Crimea.

There was a time when the beluga walked along the Volga to Tver, along the Dnieper to Kyiv, along the Ural River to Orenburg, and along the Kura to Tbilisi itself. But for some time now this fish has not climbed so far upstream in rivers. This is primarily due to the fact that the beluga cannot rise upstream due to hydroelectric power stations blocking its path. Previously, it also appeared in rivers such as the Oka, Sheksna, Kama and Sura.

Beluga diet

Newly born fry, weighing no more than seven grams, feed on river plankton, as well as larvae of mayflies, caddis flies, eggs and fry of other fish, including related sturgeon species. Grown-up beluga whales eat juvenile stellate sturgeon and sturgeon. Young belugas are generally characterized by cannibalism. As the young beluga grows, its diet also changes.

After the young of the year move from rivers to the sea, they feed on crustaceans, mollusks and small fish such as gobies or sprat, as well as fry of herring and cyprinids until they are two years old. Upon reaching two years of age, beluga whales become predators. Now approximately 98% of their total diet is fish. Food cravings Belugas change depending on the season and feeding areas. In the sea, this fish feeds all year round, although with the onset of the cold season it eats less. Having remained in the rivers for the winter, it also continues to feed.

This is interesting! The food of many adult sturgeons is various small creatures that live on the bottom, and only the largest of them - beluga and kaluga - feed on fish. In addition to small fish, their victims may include other sturgeon and even small seal pups.

In the belly of one of the caught belugas there was found a fairly large sturgeon, several roach and bream. And another female of this species had a catch of two large carp, more than a dozen roach and three bream. Also, a large pike perch became her prey even earlier: its bones were found in the stomach of the same beluga.

Reproduction and offspring

Beluga begins to breed late. Thus, males are ready to breed at the age of at least 12 years, and females do not breed until they are 16-18 years old.

Females of the Caspian beluga are ready to continue their race at the age of 27: only by this age do they become fit for reproduction and accumulate sufficient weight for this. Most fish die after spawning ends. But the beluga spawns repeatedly, albeit with intervals of two to four years.

In total for her long life 8-9 spawnings occur. She spawns on a sandy or pebble bottom, where there is a fast current, which is necessary for a constant flow of oxygen. After fertilization, the eggs become sticky and stick to the bottom.

This is interesting! A female beluga can lay several million eggs, while total weight caviar can reach up to a quarter of the weight of the fish itself.

In 1922, a five-meter beluga weighing more than 1200 kg was caught in the Volga. It contained approximately 240 kg of caviar. The hatched larvae, which later turn into fry, set off on a difficult journey - in search of the sea. “Spring” female belugas, entering the river from mid-winter until the end of spring, spawn in the same year. “Winter” beluga, in order to find and occupy a place convenient for spawning, comes to the rivers in August and remains there to winter. It spawns only the next year, and before that it lies in a kind of hibernation, sinking to the bottom and becoming covered with mucus.

In May or June, the “winter” beluga comes out of hibernation and spawns. Fertilization in these fish is external, like in all sturgeons. Caviar attached to the bottom of the reservoir for the most part becomes prey for other fish, so the survival rate among juvenile beluga is very low. Beluga cubs live on warm sun rays shallow water. And after they grow up enough, they leave their native rivers and go to sea. They quickly increase in size and by the age of one year their length becomes approximately equal to a meter.

Natural enemies

Adult belugas have practically no natural enemies. But their eggs, as well as larvae and fry that live in rivers, are eaten by freshwater predatory fish.

This is interesting! Paradoxical as it may seem, one of the main natural enemies beluga is the fish itself. The fact is that beluga calves, which have grown to 5-8 cm, happily eat the eggs of their relatives on the spawning grounds.

Population and species status

By the beginning of the 21st century, the beluga population had decreased significantly, and this species itself began to be considered endangered and was listed in Russia and in the International Red Book.

IN natural environment Due to the small population of its species, beluga can interbreed with other related sturgeon fish. And in 1952, through the efforts of scientists, an artificial hybrid of beluga and sterlet was bred, which was called bester. It is bred, as a rule, in artificial reservoirs, since bester is not released into natural ones, where other sturgeon fish are found, in order to keep the natural populations of other species clean.

Beluga is a fish belonging to the sturgeon family, the order Sturgeon. It is a valuable commercial species; it has been caught in large quantities for a long time, which is why its numbers have greatly decreased; is now an endangered species.

This species is the largest freshwater sturgeon fish. A catch of individuals reaching a length of up to 4.2 m has been recorded. The maximum weight is 1.5 tons. Fishermen claim that when the largest beluga was caught, it reached 9 m in length and weighed more than 2 tons, but these facts are not confirmed by anything. The average size of the fish is smaller: most often you come across beluga, whose weight does not exceed 300 kg.

The appearance of this underwater inhabitant is similar to the appearance of other sturgeon representatives: the body is elongated, wide, rounded. The beluga's body narrows towards the tail. The scales have a gray-ash tint. The belly is light, dirty white, with a possible yellowish tint.

Beluga and beluga whales should not be confused: the latter is a type of toothed whale. Previously, both words denoted a mammal; Now “beluga” means fish, “beluga” means whale.

Distinctive features

Feature appearance is a large head, in the lower part of which there are antennae connected together. The nose is small and pointed. A large mouth with no teeth inside. There are spines on the back, the first of which is small. Between the gills there is a membrane connecting them.

Behavior and lifestyle

Natural enemies this type almost none. The eggs, however, can be eaten by other predatory species. Some underwater predators also destroy larvae and fry. The young of this sturgeon species can also be eaten by the grown fry of this large predatory fish.

Exists a large number of underwater inhabitants, which representatives of the largest freshwater species of sturgeon feed on - and the beluga feeds on those that are smaller. These are small species of fish, smaller relatives, mollusks, crustaceans, and even waterfowl. Cases have been recorded in which the remains of seal pups were found in the stomachs of captured individuals. The fry eat insect larvae and zooplankton.

Habitat

Previously, the range was wider. This species of sturgeon could be found in the Adriatic Sea. Over the past 30 years, not a single individual has been found in this salty reservoir, so the population is considered destroyed.

Now this species can be found in the Azov, Black and Caspian seas. Previously, these seas were also inhabited big amount individuals, now the population from the Black Sea is on the verge of extinction, because too few in number.

During the breeding season, fish move to fresh rivers, from where it then returns to the seas to live in salt water for 1-2 years.

Lifespan

How long this representative of the underwater fauna lives depends on external conditions. If the habitat is favorable, life expectancy can be up to 100 years.

Reproduction

Belugas go into rivers to spawn. Migration patterns depend on the species—what the fish looks like and where it lives. The Azov beluga moves to the Don. Fewer individuals flock to Kuban. The Black Sea swims into the Danube, Dnieper, and Dniester. Rare specimens rise along the Southern Bug. The Caspian beluga swims to the Volga to breed; a smaller number of representatives of the species rise upstream of the Urals, Terek, and Kura. It often rises to spawn in August, after which it remains in fresh water for a year, breeding only in May.

Reaches sexual maturity late. Males become capable of reproduction from 13-18 years, females - from 16-27. The Azov variety ripens faster than others.

Fecundity depends on the size of the individual. One female is capable of laying from 500,000 to 1,000,000 eggs at a time. The largest representatives of the species can lay up to 5,000,000 eggs. There is information about beluga fertility interesting fact: populations living in different areas move different quantity caviar. It is believed that Volga females spawn approximately 50% more at a time than those breeding in the Kura.

After spawning, adult fish go to sea, where they live until the next breeding. Beluga spawning occurs once every 2-4 years; During their life they reproduce up to 8-9 times.

Caviar is sticky, bottom, pearly gray. Large in diameter, can reach 5 mm. It often becomes prey for other river predators; the survival rate is low. Beluga cubs quickly leave their birthplace and slide downstream into the sea. Individuals may remain in fresh water up to 5−6 years.

There have been recorded cases of beluga crossing with sterlet, sturgeon, thorn, and stellate sturgeon under natural conditions.

The benefits of beluga meat

This fish has tougher meat than other members of the sturgeon family. Its fat content is also less. For this reason, the product can be used in the diet. The protein it contains is easily digestible human body. It contains vitamins A, D, PP, E, C, iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, molybdenum, potassium, fluorine, sodium. The pulp also contains fatty acid Omega-3, amino acids, including essential ones. Milk is also used for food: it can be eaten fresh or in the form of a pate.

Beluga delicate black caviar is also useful. This expensive product contains a large amount useful substances. Considered a delicacy.

You should not eat beluga meat if you have inflammatory diseases, an allergic reaction, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, gastritis, edema. In these cases, it can harm the body.

Artificial breeding of beluga

Due to excessive population decline, the species' status has changed to endangered. Beluga has long been listed in the Red Book for protection from poachers. Because of this, fishing has been severely limited; in some countries it is prohibited to catch these underwater inhabitants. To restore the species' numbers, other methods are also used: people breed beluga in artificially created conditions.

By using artificial insemination A hybrid capable of producing offspring was bred on the Don and Volga. To obtain it, belugas were crossed with sterlet. The resulting individuals were relocated to the Sea of ​​Azov. In addition, they populated several reservoirs.

Artificial breeding of the breed is also carried out in some aquaculture farms.

Beluga is the largest fish that can be found in the waters of our planet. According to official data, its length can reach 4.5 meters and weigh up to 1,500 kilograms. Although, there is evidence that belugas were caught twice large sizes. In any case, such data indicate that the beluga is the most major representative sturgeon family.

Nowadays, such dimensions are something from the realm of fantasy. As a rule, there are individuals weighing no more than 300 kilograms, which indicates certain problems associated with life cycle this giant of rivers and seas.

Habitats

No more than 100 years ago, this giant was found in the basins of the Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic seas. Nowadays, it can only be found in the Black Sea basin, or rather in the Danube River, as well as in the Caspian Sea basin, exclusively in the Urals. In a swimming pool Sea of ​​Azov, or rather in the Volga River, one of the subspecies of beluga is found, the number of which is maintained by artificial means.

Since many countries are engaged in artificial fish breeding, the beluga population has not yet decreased in the reservoirs of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey. And this is due to the fact that measures to restore the numbers of this fish occupy a special place in the solution similar problems. Only at the state level is it possible to solve such complex problems.

The appearance of the beluga reminds of its similarity with sturgeon species fish TO distinctive features should include:

• Quite a big mouth.
• Not a big nose obtuse shape.
• The first spike, located on the back, is small in size.
• Between the gills there is a membrane that connects them.

Beluga is distinguished by a wide, heavy, rounded body, which is painted in an ash-gray hue. The belly is off-white in color, with sometimes a yellowish tint. Located on a massive body big head. The whiskers located at the bottom of the snout resemble leaf-shaped appendages as they are joined together.

Beluga sometimes interbreeds with its relatives, such as sterlet, thorn, and Russian sturgeon. The result is hybrids that have some differences in appearance related to the structure of the body, gills or coloring. Despite this, hybrids are no different in their behavior from their relatives.

Beluga is a fish that is distinguished by its peculiar behavior among representatives of its species. There are two forms that differ in the period of spawning migrations and the duration of stay in fresh water. At sea, the beluga prefers to lead a solitary lifestyle, and while in the river, it gathers in numerous flocks. This is due to the fact that it comes to rivers to spawn, and in the sea it only feeds and develops.

Beluga is predatory fish and she begins to lead this lifestyle quite early. The diet includes fish such as herring, carp, pike perch and gobies. At the same time, the beluga is not averse to swallowing its relative if it is small in size and hesitated somewhere.

In addition to fish, she is able to swallow shellfish, waterfowl and even seal pups if she reaches the appropriate size. Experts have come to the conclusion that the migrations of the beluga are associated with the migrations of its food supply.

One of the subspecies spawns earlier than the other. Its spawning period coincides with the maximum spring water level in the rivers. At the same time, the water temperature can reach +8-+17 degrees. Another subspecies comes from the seas to spawn around August. After this, individuals overwinter in deep holes and begin to spawn in the spring. Beluga begins to spawn at the age of 15-17 years, after reaching a weight of about 50 kg.

Beluga lays eggs at a depth of at least 10 meters. At the same time, she selects areas with a hard rocky bottom and fast current, which provides the spawning site with oxygen.

Fish that live in the seas enter rivers to spawn, and are therefore called migratory. While in fresh water, it continues to actively feed. After spawning, as soon as the eggs hatch into fry, they return to the sea with them. Beluga comes to spawn once every 2-3 years. At the same time, there is a species that lives in rivers permanently and does not migrate over long distances.

Commercial fishing

Until recently, beluga was of industrial interest and was caught at a huge rate. Because of this, this breed of fish was on the verge of extinction.

Since this fish may disappear altogether, its catch is significantly limited in all countries of the world. In some countries it is prohibited to catch it at all. Beluga is listed in the Red Book as a species that is on the verge of extinction. In some countries it is permissible to catch it under a special license and only for the purpose of scientific research. This fish is caught with fixed or floating nets.

Black beluga caviar is the most expensive food product these days. Its cost can reach several thousand euros per kilogram. Caviar that is found in markets is either counterfeit or illegally obtained products.

1. Beluga can live more than 100 years, which is why it is considered one of the longest-living fish in the world.
2. Parents do not care about their offspring. Moreover, they do not mind feasting on their relatives.
3. When a beluga goes to spawn, it jumps high out of the water. This is still an unsolved mystery.
4. The beluga, like the shark, has no bones, and its skeleton consists of cartilage, which becomes harder and stronger over the years.
5. A lot of eggs can be found in the female. Thus, an individual weighing about 1200 kg can contain up to 150 kg of caviar.
6. In the Amur River basin there is a similar species - kaluga, which can reach a length of about 5 meters and weigh up to 1000 kg. Attempts by scientists to cross kaluga and beluga ended in nothing.

According to scientists, the beluga population has declined by 90% in just the last 50 years. Therefore, based on such research results, we can consider that this is not a reassuring result at all. Back in the middle of the last century, about 25 thousand individuals came to the Volga to spawn, and already at the beginning of this century this number decreased to 3 thousand.

Moreover, all these processes occur against the backdrop of enormous efforts that humanity is making in order to maintain the population of the species at least at the same level. The main reasons for the reduction in numbers are the following:

1. Construction of hydroelectric power stations. The presence of huge dams does not allow fish to rise to their natural places spawning grounds Such structures practically cut off the routes of beluga migration to the rivers of Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia.
2. Actions of poachers. The fairly high prices for the meat of this fish and its caviar are of interest to people who are accustomed to making money illegally. Since they catch the largest individuals that are capable of producing numerous offspring, the damage is quite significant. As a result of such actions, the Adriatic population completely disappeared.
3. Ecological violation. Since the beluga can live for a long time, during this time harmful substances accumulate in its body and enter the water, as a result economic activity humans, such as pesticides. Similar view chemical substance affects the reproductive functions of fish.

We can only hope that people will still be able to preserve this species of fish, which is distinguished by its enormous size, for their descendants.

This is a fish of the sturgeon family, included in the Red Book as an endangered species. Lives in the Black, Caspian, Adriatic and Mediterranean seas. Due to the gigantic size of individual individuals, the beluga is the largest freshwater fish. Which is probably not surprising, since this species is unusually ancient. The sturgeon dates back more than 200 million years, when very large fish and animals reigned on Earth. Just look at the Danube Beluga - a relative of dinosaurs. So, what is the weight big beluga on the ground?

In 1827, a beluga weighing one and a half tons, that is, 1,500 kilograms, was caught in the lower reaches of the Volga. Just imagine, this weight is comparable to the weight of some whales. Thus, a narwhal whale weighs about 940 kilograms, and a killer whale weighs 3,600 kilograms. That is, this fish weighed as much as half an orca and more than a narwhal!

On average, a standard beluga weighs about 19 kilograms(fish weight typical for the Northern Caspian). In past average weight beluga on the Volga was about 70-80 kg, in the Danube habitat of the Black Sea region - 50-60 kg, in the Sea of ​​Azov the fish weighed 60-80 kg. But in the Don delta, males weighed 75-90 kg, and females - as much as 166 kilograms. Even the average weight already speaks of the enormous size and heaviness of this fish.

However, the average weight of most individuals in the population does not even come close to the record weight of the largest beluga. On May 11, 1922, at the mouth of the Volga, in the Caspian Sea, a beluga weighing 1224 kilograms, that is, 1.2 tons, was caught! At the same time, there were 667 kilograms on the body, 288 kilograms on the head and 146.5 kilograms on the calf.

The weight of the female during the spawning period increases many times. After all, beluga lays millions of eggs! In 1924, a female of the same weight of 1.2 tons was caught on the Biryucha Spit in the Caspian Sea. At the same time, 246 kilograms of weight were in the caviar. Total eggs amounted to 7.7 million!

One female can carry up to 320 kilograms of caviar. Beluga carries them in itself until spring spawning. While waiting for him, the female spends the winter in the rivers, hibernating and becoming overgrown with mucus, like a stone. If it happens that the female does not find a suitable place for spawning, she will not spawn, and the eggs will eventually dissolve inside her.

It is not by chance that a huge amount of caviar is placed in the beluga by nature. Its task is to ensure the survival of the species. After all, beluga caviar is carried away by the current and eaten by other fish. Out of a hundred thousand eggs, only one will survive.

The records of giant belugas do not end with the above examples. On May 3, 1926, a 75-year-old female weighing more than one ton was caught at the mouth of the Urals. She carried 190 kg of caviar.

Beluga, stuffed of which is kept in National Museum Tatarstan, weighs about one ton. This fish was caught at the beginning of the 20th century in the lower reaches of the Volga. In the southern part of the Caspian Sea in 1836, a beluga weighing 960 kg was caught.

Over time, the record weight of the most large belugas It kept getting smaller and no longer exceeded a ton. In 1970, an 800-kilogram beluga was caught on the Volga, which contained 112 kg of caviar. There, in 1989, a fish weighing 966 kg was caught. Now it is kept in the Astrakhan Museum.

It can be considered the largest freshwater fish on Globe. If information from unverified sources is correct, then sturgeon fish Beluga in the past, as an exception, reached even nine meters. In this case, you get second place in the row the largest fish from fresh water.

The maximum measured beluga specimens caught in different years do not reach five meters:

• 4.24 meters is the length of a female caught in the Caspian Sea near the mouth of the Ural River (1926). It was a 75-year-old fish that weighed more than one ton.
• 4.17 meters - the length of the beluga from the lower reaches of the Volga (early 20th century). The age of this specimen was estimated at sixty to seventy years.
• 4.20 meters – the length of a specimen caught in the Volga River delta (1989). Now a stuffed beluga can be seen in the museum of the city of Astrakhan. There is no information about age.

If we rely on reliable data on measurements of the length of the largest individuals, then the beluga fish still yields first place to the kaluga, the largest measured specimen of which exceeded five meters and was equal to five meters and sixty centimeters.

If we analyze the weight of beluga fish caught in different years and documented, we can assume that the largest individual of this species still greatly exceeded five meters. Published in 1861, “Research on the State of Fisheries in Russia” reported on a huge beluga caught in 1827 in the lower reaches of the Volga, weighing one and a half tons (1,500 kilograms). If these figures are compared with the weight of an individual 4 meters 24 centimeters long, which was more than one ton (1000 kilograms), then the reality of the existence of a beluga measuring more than five meters becomes obvious. After all, the 1,500-kilogram fish caught in 1827 was probably about 6 meters long or more.

Thus, the maximum measured weight of the beluga fish (1500 kg) is the criterion for recognizing it as the largest freshwater fish. And Kaluga takes second place, since its Weight Limit estimated at one ton (1000 kilograms).

Appearance Features

The description of the beluga fish is very reminiscent of its relative kaluga:

• The long body looks like a huge spindle of gray color, lighter in the abdominal part.
• The caudal fin is unequally lobed with the upper lobe almost twice the size of the lower one.

Below is a photo of a beluga fish, in which all the descriptions of the features of its appearance are clearly visible.

The beluga has a pointed but short snout, under which there is a huge crescent-shaped mouth that extends over the head and two pairs of whiskers with clearly visible leaf-like appendages along the entire length of each antennae. In the photo of the beluga fish, you can clearly see both the mouth and the leaf-like appendages on the whiskers.

How can one distinguish between these two huge fish from the sturgeon family of the order Sturgeon and those belonging to the same genus Huso? After all general description Beluga fish is almost the same as for kaluga, but there are clearly visible differences. Kaluga (Huso dauricus) differs from beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) in the structure of its antennae, located under the elongated snout. Watch a video of how Moskvarium guides show these differences during the tour.

Lifestyle and distribution

Beluga sturgeon is migratory, as are salmon. As an adult, it lives in seas with different salinities:

• In the Caspian and Azov seas (salinity from twelve to thirteen ppm).
• In the Black Sea, the salinity of which is from seventeen to eighteen ppm.
• In the Mediterranean Sea, with high salinity, like in the ocean - about thirty-five ppm.

Belugas enter rivers to breed:

• From the Caspian Sea they go to the Volga, Kura, Ural and Terek to spawn. In past years, beluga whales ascended to spawning grounds located quite high in the Volga River basin. They even reached Tver, entered the Kama River and moved to its upper reaches. Currently, this is no longer observed.
• From the Sea of ​​Azov, beluga goes to the Don to spawn, and in very small numbers to the Kuban. In the past, along the Don, spawning adults rose very high, now - no higher than the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric station.
• From the Black Sea greatest number sexually mature individuals are sent for spawning to the Dniester, Danube and Dnieper, since it is the northwestern part of the Black Sea waters that is the main habitat of beluga in this sea. In past years, as in the spawning rivers of other seas, during reproduction, fish were observed moving very high in the basin of each of the listed rivers. For example, along the Dnieper, rare specimens were noted even near Kiev.

Reproduction and hybridization

Beluga is a long-liver, living up to the age of one hundred years. If Pacific salmon are able to spawn only once in their life and die immediately, then beluga spawns many times during their life. Having finished spawning, adult individuals return to the sea and continue to feed until the next spawning. Fish with this lifestyle that migrate to rivers to reproduce are called anadromous.

Beluga caviar is dark gray with a silver tint, quite large (up to 2.5 millimeters in diameter) and sticky. It is deposited on the bottom, where it adheres to various substrates. The fry that emerge from the eggs are also rather large – from fifteen to twenty-four millimeters. Almost immediately after hatching, they roll into the sea. It happens that individual specimens can remain in rivers for several years (from five to six).

IN natural conditions There are hybrids of beluga with other species of sturgeon, for example, with sterlet, sturgeon, thorn and others. The result artificial breeding is a hybrid called bester: the result of crossing a beluga with a sterlet. Bester is quite resilient and is successfully grown in both reservoirs and pond farms. He was settled in the Sea of ​​Azov, where he feels good.

Timing of puberty and fertility

Beluga males become sexually mature earlier (at the age of thirteen to eighteen years). Females begin spawning at the age of sixteen, and some at twenty-seven, but most of them first participate in spawning at the age of 22. The beluga sturgeon living in the Sea of ​​Azov matures earlier than other populations: males can spawn as early as twelve years of age.

In Huso huso (beluga whale), fertility varies among females different sizes: from half a million eggs to one million. It's rare to have five million. IN different rivers females of the same size can have markedly different fecundities. For example, there is evidence that in the Volga large individuals (about two and a half meters long) spawn approximately a little more than 900 thousand eggs. In the Kura River, females of the same size lay slightly less than 700 thousand eggs.

Migrations and nutrition

When migrating to rivers to spawn, most beluga populations spawn in the same year. These are spring fish. But there are a number of fish that winter in the river and spawn the following year. They spend the winter in holes located at the bottom of the river, spawn in the spring, and then return to the sea.

Belugas are predators; the main diet consists of fish. The hatched fry immediately begin to predatory. While feeding in the sea, belugas eat mainly fish, such as herring, gobies, sprat), and can also eat shellfish. Sometimes baby seals (pups) of seals were found in the stomachs of beluga sturgeons from the Caspian Sea. Belugas going to spawn in the waters of the Volga usually do not feed.

Man and beluga

Beluga has always been and is now a very valuable commercial species. Not only caviar and meat are used for food, but even the chord from which viziga is made. And swim bladders are dried to prepare a special glue, which is used in winemaking to clarify wine.

In the Sea of ​​Azov, there is currently a decline in the number of beluga sturgeon.

There are several reasons:

• Destruction of natural spawning grounds in rivers, which occurred as a result of the construction of hydroelectric power stations.
• Small natural spawning population.
• Shortage of producers for effective artificial reproduction.
• Too much fishing for a long time.

In the Sea of ​​Azov, since 1986, there has been a ban on beluga fishing. In the International Red Book, beluga has protective status as a species on the verge of extinction.