Beluga sturgeon fish. Beluga (fish): description and photo. Beluga: description of fish

Beluga is a unique fish that lives for a very long time, and its maximum age capable of reaching 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, 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, 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. The maximum weight can be approximately 1500 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 reservoirs with fresh water, into which fish fall 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 those who feed are considered 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

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. Because of gigantic size 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 of the largest beluga on Earth?

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.

The Beluga, a stuffed animal of which is kept in the National Museum of 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 record weight the largest belugas kept decreasing 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.

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. Body adult reaches a length of 4.2 m, and weighs about 1.5 tons, with females 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. Antennae located on the sides lower jaw, 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 on average depth, and then fattens up 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 very young ages. at a young age, being 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 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 in different time 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.

The fry that are born immediately move on to higher nutrition, bypassing a diet consisting of simple organisms. Without stopping, the juveniles go to the seas, where they live until the onset of puberty.

Beluga is a fish of the sturgeon family, which today is an endangered species as a result of unauthorized catching and brutal extermination for the sake of caviar.

This is the largest fish found in fresh water. It is enormous in size (the largest known specimen reaches 6 m in length and weighs about two tons).

Beluga is a fish of the sturgeon family, which today is an endangered species

Specimens of this size are almost never found these days. Due to the fact that until recently this species was a commercial species, as well as due to the loss of natural spawning grounds, the population has noticeably decreased. So you won’t see an unusually large fish today.

The beluga has a very unusual face for sturgeon. A huge mouth, resembling a giant crescent moon, occupies most of it. The antennae near the mouth are slightly flattened, resembling small leaves in shape, and serve for the sense of smell, which is very developed in these fish. But their eyesight is poor, so they navigate with the help of developed coordination.

Individuals of different sexes have the same color. Dark gray or greenish back and light, almost white belly. Typically, females are larger than males.

Beluga is a unique species that has existed for almost 200 million years and has reached us without changing its appearance (except perhaps its weight). Because of the bone covering, it seems that it is encased in a shell in order to survive safely to this day and be protected from attacks by other predatory inhabitants of water bodies.

Gallery: beluga fish (25 photos)

The biggest trophies caught by fishermen (video)

Habitats

Habitat is mainly Black, Caspian and Sea of ​​Azov. The largest abundance was recorded in the Caspian Sea - this is where this fish can be found most often. She goes to the Volga to spawn and goes upstream to the upper reaches of the Kama. This fish was also found off the coast of Iran. A fish lift was built for it at the Volgograd hydroelectric complex, but due to bad work after some time they did not use it, and the valuable fish ceased to live en masse in the Volga.

This is the largest fish found in fresh water

The Black Sea beluga was also spotted off the coast of Yalta, not far from the coast of Crimea, and was actively distributed in the Danube (there were about 6 species there). The migration of fish in the Danube continued naturally until a hydroelectric power station was built between Serbia and Romania. As a result, routes to the usual spawning routes were blocked for many kilometers. Unable to migrate, the population began to lose genetic activity as a result of crossing between related individuals.

Fish of this weight can only find sufficient food in the sea, and their presence in a reservoir indicates healthy ecological situation. To spawn, this species travels long distances to reach freshwater environments.

If it turns out that the water is polluted, then the female refuses to spawn, and after some time the eggs are absorbed in her body.

The fish constantly changes its location in the reservoir, this is also typical for the white beluga; it likes to go to the depths, where there is a strong current, here it finds food, and deep holes are most suitable for rest. IN spring period When the upper layers of water have warmed up sufficiently, you can notice large fish near the surface and in shallow water.

With the onset of autumn, the fish go deeper and change their behavior and diet, starting to eat shells and crustaceans.

All members of the sturgeon family travel long distances in order to find a spawning site and sufficient food. Beluga can be found in both salt and fresh water, but some species are freshwater only and live exclusively in rivers. Reproduction occurs only in rivers, and due to the long life of individuals, a very long period of time is required in order to reproduce offspring.

Beluga (video)

Reproduction

Puberty occurs quite late. The male Azov beluga is ready to breed at the age of 12 years, and the female - not earlier than 16-18 years. The Caspian species matures later, so the female becomes sexually mature by the age of 27 and gains weight. Unlike other fish that die after spawning, the Azov beluga can produce offspring repeatedly, but with a certain period of time ranging from 2 to 4 years, thus spawning can occur 8-9 times during its life. On average, a female lays about a million eggs, and in some cases much more, depending on her size and age.

There are 2 races that go to spawn and choose spring or autumn period migration. Entering the river from January to May, the female lays eggs in the same year, and the autumn race, in order to find a place convenient for spawning and safely occupy it, comes in August and is forced to stay for the winter. Thus, she spawns only the next year after entering the river. Hibernating and covered in mucus, the beluga waits until May or June, after which it lays eggs in places with a rocky bottom and fast currents. Males appear in the spawning grounds earlier than females, and the process of fertilization occurs in almost the same way as in all bony fish - externally. In the future, individuals continue to lead a solitary lifestyle.

During beluga spawning, you can observe the fish jumping out of the water, thus ensuring easy release of eggs. Having an oval shape and the size of a small pea, the dark gray eggs stick to the stones and, well secured, remain in this position for up to 8 days. But most of them are eaten by other fish, and therefore the survival rate is very low.

After spawning occurs, the female is sick for some time and does not eat. After a short break, the need for food increases, and the beluga begins active search food. It is almost impossible to find it in such volumes in the river, so sturgeon go back to the sea and find food at great depths. Since the beluga is a predator, its diet consists mainly of fish. Herring, roach and anchovies are the most preferred food. Moreover, this predator begins to feed on living organisms while still a fry. Beluga cubs live in well-warmed areas of shallow water and, as they grow older, go to the sea, eating small invertebrates along the way, and later small fish. They grow quickly and within a year reach a meter in size.

By the way, in order to increase the number of beluga, adult females are caught and the eggs are removed, after which artificial insemination is carried out and incubated in devices designed for this purpose. The fry are allowed to grow and then released into rivers to grow naturally.

The disadvantages of this method are that juveniles raised in unnatural environment, cannot fully take care of food and has no instinct of self-preservation. The amount of fish that comes back is very small. Thus, this method turned out to be ineffective.

Fishing and illegal fishing

The fishing of all sturgeon species is strictly prohibited. In private farms where they are bred, the ban does not apply. If a rare fish is suddenly caught on the river, it must be released, or it will be considered poaching. But, despite all the prohibitions, fishing for valuable fish continues, and the beluga caviar business is thriving.

Danube Beluga – oldest species, which has been preserved since the time of the dinosaurs and is carefully protected, but smuggling continues to gain momentum, and European markets are saturated with caviar from this and other sturgeon breeds. The fairly high price is due to excellent taste qualities. In terms of its properties, beluga caviar exceeds the calorie content of the meat itself and is very useful product, supporting health and beauty. The high protein content, which has the unique property of being completely absorbed by the body, and the presence of antioxidants reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Such valuable qualities of caviar lead to the barbaric destruction of the beluga as a species. Since the fish is on the verge of extinction, it is listed in the world Red Book and is protected by the law of those states in which it is found.

In Russia there is a mechanism of administrative influence on persons engaged in illegal extraction of this valuable breed. Large fines for each individual caught, combined with the fine for illegal fishing, represent impressive amounts. There is also criminal liability up to imprisonment for up to 5 years.

As a result, beluga sturgeon has become a pipe dream for law-abiding fishermen, and finding one will require a lot of time and many fishing licensing problems.

Fishermen told many mythical stories related to the huge fish. For example, there was a legend about a stone that was found in the kidneys giant beluga. The miraculous properties of healing from any ailments and ailments were attributed to him. The owner of such a trophy was protected from all sorts of troubles and misfortunes, attracted good luck and ensured a rich catch and the safety of the ship in bad weather and storms.

They also said that one could be poisoned by the poison of an enraged beluga. The meat and liver of the young individual were allegedly poisonous, but no one found confirmation of such “facts”. The expression “roar (or scream) as a beluga” is still often heard, but this has nothing to do with the sturgeon representative. Loud sounds are made by a whale with a consonant name - beluga whale.