Message on the topic of katran herring shark. Katran shark: a safe inhabitant of the Black Sea

We are accustomed to consider the Black Sea one of the safest in terms of sea creatures. In fact, this is how it is, although there are also some individuals here whose meeting does not bode well. These include the cornet jellyfish, sea ruffe, stingray, sea dragon. There are also sharks here, which, by the way, are completely safe for humans. Let's talk about them.

There are two types of sharks in the Black Sea - katran and catfish. They pose no threat to humans. The only exceptions are fishermen, who may get injured while catching them. But here, as they say, they themselves are to blame. This is all due to carelessness when removing the caught fish from the hook, which can injure you with its fins. As for cases of attacks on humans, they were not recorded. Katran is not an aggressive predator. Even when wounded by a harpoon, he does not attack the fisherman, although he could well have done so. Fortunately, his teeth are very sharp. Once hooked, he desperately struggles, trying to free himself. That is why you need to be especially careful when removing a fish from a hook. Before doing this, the katran must be stunned.

Katran skin is very rough. It is covered with plates of scales with sharp spines. By appearance they resemble shark teeth, which are similar in sharpness to the teeth of a bench saw. If a tooth wears out or breaks, a new one immediately grows in its place. This process is constant for the katran, and does not end until his death. A similar situation exists with the skin of the Black Sea shark. When it is wounded, the regeneration process is activated, and the wound quickly heals.

Until recently, the katran was caught not only for the sake of delicious meat, but also because of its skin, which was used for polishing metals, products made of precious wood, and marble slabs. It was also used in the manufacture of book bindings. IN ancient China the skin was pulled over the shields of warriors. It was almost impossible to penetrate such a shield with a spear. Shark teeth were also used in ancient times. They were equipped with war clubs, which then became deadly weapon. Speaking of residents North America, then they used shark teeth as razors. Katran skin is still used today. It is used to make handbags, shoes, and household items.

Compared to other types of sharks, the katran has a relatively small size, from 1.5 to 2 meters in length. Its body is gray-brown in color, with white spots on the sides. The dorsal fins are very sharp, with spines at the ends. He has no bone skeleton. It is replaced by cartilage, which makes the katran extremely agile and fast. After all, it is the cartilaginous skeleton that allows the shark to make energetic movements of the body, which is its peculiar mover.

IN summer time Katran prefers to be in warm coastal waters. In winter, it goes into the open sea to great depths, up to 100 meters. The Black Sea shark lives on average 30 years. The period of puberty occurs by the 15th year of life. For a long time, the katran remains faithful to its chosen one, so there is a balance in the sex ratio of fish. Katran is a viviparous fish. She gives birth to offspring in April and May. This happens in the open sea, at a depth of up to 100 meters. Born sharks are ready for independent life from the first minutes. They feed on shellfish, small fish, and shrimp.

The depths of the sea are fraught with many mysteries and dangers. Scientists have not yet revealed all the secrets that are hidden under the water column. Little-studied underwater inhabitants, widely famous fish, marvelous underwater plants - all this can be found at the bottom of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.

It's no secret that the water is not inhabited by fewer predators than on land. Piranhas, sharks, poisonous jellyfish represent real threat for human life. But sometimes there are exceptions, for example, the Katran shark.

Description

This representative underwater world belongs to the order Katraniformes, the family of dog (or spiny) sharks. Compared to its relatives, the Katran shark is small, its body does not exceed 120-125 cm in length, and its weight is also relatively small, about 11-12 kg. None of the spiny shark's relatives live in the Black Sea, except for the katran.

In appearance it is a small predator, very similar to its relatives. Elongated body, most often gray in color. Bottom and belly of fish white. The dorsal fin is triangular, there is no anal fin, the lateral fins are smooth, straight and medium length. Distinctive feature Katran sharks are considered to be presence of a third blinking eyelid- a kind of eye membrane.

The scales of this subspecies are strong and dense, similar to bone tissue. The fins are sharp. Like everyone else, a shark's teeth are arranged in several rows and are very sharp. Happens throughout life permanent shift teeth: old ones fall out, new ones grow. The shark has sharp spines coated with a toxic mucous substance, however, the poison is not fatal.

The spiny shark has an excellent sense of smell, which helps her hunt. Gill covers are absent, the forehead is convex, the eyes are round and black. This species can be called a long-liver; it lives for about 25 years. Fast and nimble fish. Males are larger than females.

The Katran shark never attacks a person. A person can only injure himself on the sharp scales of a fish. The fish itself is practically incapable of experiencing pain.

Habitat

The spiny shark is found in many seas, it prefers temperate climate zone. Found in the Western Atlantic, Angola, Argentina, and the Mediterranean Sea. Was spotted in Japan. This is not a heat-loving fish, so they feel much better in a cool sea than in a warm one. But she likes life in the Black Sea, as there is unique flora and fauna there. It does not move far from the shore, but also avoids shallow water. The optimal depth for a spiny shark is 100-200 meters deep. Prefers to lead a gregarious lifestyle. Often migrates in search of food, mainly behind schools of fish that are hunted.

The greatest depth to which dog sharks are capable of descending is 1649 m. There is evidence that the dogfish were caught from this depth.

Nutrition

Like any predator, representatives of this species prefer to eat fish. There is plenty of food on the sea and ocean floor, so favorite delicacies for katran are:

Black Sea anchovy. This is a small fish, approximately 10-12 cm in length. Refers to European anchovies. Katrana is of particular interest in anchovy in autumn time the year when anchovy is most plump.
Black Sea sprat.
Whiting. A member of the cod family, a small fish. The fish prefers to flock together in schools; it is this species that the katran often migrates behind.
Horse mackerel. Belongs to the perciformes family. About 30 cm long. It is loved by the spiny shark, which is a competitor to humans when fishing for horse mackerel.
By bulls. Ray-finned fish of the perciform family. small fish The spiny shark eats when the main components of the daily diet are not enough to satiate.
Herring. Belongs to the herring family. This fish is actively caught by people; katran fish love herring for its subcutaneous fat.
Shellfish. Katrans do not experience any particular pleasure when eating shellfish. They eat if there is nothing else to snack on.
Crustaceans. They eat it as a necessary measure so as not to die of hunger.

The Katran shark is capable of hunting even a dolphin. Dolphins are eaten mainly by females.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in males and females occurs at at different ages. Females are ready to spawn at the age of 17 years, with a body length of 125 cm. Sometimes puberty can occur a couple of years earlier, that is, at the age of 13-14 years, with a body length of 110-115 cm, the female is ready to spawn.

The male reaches sexual maturity at 13-14 summer age, the length of its body is 110-120 cm. The mating season usually begins in the spring, in April or May.

This type of fish prefers to mate at a depth of about 40 meters. The female bears the fry for more than 20 months; it is considered to be an ovoviviparous shark. Fertilization of the female is internal.

By autumn, pregnant females rise 10-20 meters upward, staying closer to the shore. One female is capable of giving birth to about 10-12 fry.

The fry are born about 28-30 cm long and vaguely resemble their parents. In the first days of life, the fry feed through yolk sac, it stores a supply of nutrients.

Shark and man

Despite the fact that this species is marine and ocean fish is not dangerous for humans; katran sometimes confuses a person’s all his plans. It can cause damage to fishermen:

chews through fishing gear;
eats commercial fish;

However, it should be remembered that the spiny shark is not an ornamental fish, it is a predator and can become aggressive. Curious tourists are not recommended to handle the fish - there is a chance of being injured by its thorns and causing an infection. The poison is not lethal, but the pain after the injury is very noticeable.

Shark meat has a specific ammonia smell. Katran is one of the few sharks that has this bad smell absent. Industrial fishing has been established. In the regions of England, China, and Norway, spiny sharks are caught on an industrial scale.

In the 30s of the last century, canned food was actively produced from spiny shark meat. They were called “Smoked Eel” and were very popular. Today, katrana is also used in medicine. The meat is used to make balyki, which are somewhat reminiscent of smoked sturgeon. The liver of the spiny katran shark is used in the manufacture of medicines; it is extremely rich in vitamins A and D.

On the banks Atlantic Ocean The dog shark has been classified as a vulnerable species. Due to the fact that the female bears the fry for a long time, the population does not have time to grow and uncontrolled catching of this species can lead to the disappearance of the dogfish.

Exotic lovers tried to breed this species at home. This is possible if you provide proper space and maintenance for the fish. You will need a large aquarium with plenty of space. These fish love space and move a lot. If there is a lack of free space and a sedentary lifestyle, the fish will die.

Katran shark or the more common name - ordinary spiny shark katran, and also the sea dog is found in many seas.

Although it should be noted that she has some kind of preference in choosing places to stay. Not being a heat-loving representative of the shark family, the katran feels great in cool sea water, and therefore, warm seas she likes it less.

True, in Black sea katran I like living, probably because the local waters have unique marine fauna and flora. It is not in her rules to move far from the coast; she prefers coastal waters. This “fish” rarely swims in shallow water; it likes life at depths of 100 to 200 meters in the kingdom of semi-darkness.

If we look at photo of a dogfish shark, then you can see that it is a little reminiscent of an ordinary representative of the sturgeon breed, however, the predatory breed is given away by its cigar-shaped body, shark mouth and the very unfriendly look of its empty black eyes, reminiscent of glass balls.

The peculiarity of this representative of the shark genus is the absence of gill covers, the absence of an anal fin and spiny spines, which are located on the fin from the back. Such a device is a kind of protection.

The tail resembles an oar. However, signs that can be seen visually are present in all tribesmen of this order. Typically, sharks of this species do not grow more than 1.5 meters, and their weight rarely reaches 12-15 kg, although you may be lucky and then be able to meet an individual of quite large size - 2 meters with a mass of 20 kg.

The nature of the katran has deprived it of a color palette and therefore its color is not too bright, ordinary gray, sometimes has a blue or steely metallic tint. Light-colored spots can be recognized on the back and sides.

Like everyone else, the katran's teeth, which have become unusable, are periodically replaced with new sharp teeth. Experts have calculated that during the entire shark’s life, there are up to 1 thousand teeth in the mouth of this predator. This ability can be envied - no matter what this fish eats for lunch, it is not afraid that it will have to insert dentures in order to grind solid food.

The skeleton of this representative is cartilaginous. This helps katran do oscillatory movements body and move quickly. Good speed should be grateful to its fins. In addition, fins serve to maintain the position of the fish's body in a vertical or horizontal position. But the tail has its own task - to provide steering control.

Character and lifestyle

A special role in orientation in the limitless sea waters serves as an organ - the lateral line. Thanks to this unique organ, she is able to feel any, even the slightest, vibration of water.

The sense of smell of the auls should be thanked to the pits - the nasal openings that go straight into the pharynx. is capable of detecting at a considerable distance a special substance that the victim secretes when frightened.

The appearance of the shark speaks for itself. at first glance it is clear that this is an active fish, capable of developing good speed and pursue the prey until it reaches the prey.

Surely many people are interested in the question: “Does prickly wood pose a danger to humans?” Here we must immediately dispel all doubts and give a clear answer that katran never attacks a person.

In this regard dog shark no more dangerous than perch or pike perch, which, like the katran, has prickly spines on its back. So the Katran shark, which lives in the Black Sea, and in any other sea basin, does not pose a danger to humans.

Of course, if you try to stroke it with unprotected hands black sea dogfish shark, then the likelihood of getting pricked is high. Moreover, the injection site may become inflamed. Although there are probably few daredevils to touch a shark with their hands.

It is also not recommended to check whether a shark’s teeth are sharp or not - getting hurt is a trifle. And naturally, you should not stroke a sea dog “against the grain”, because, firstly, it will not like it and, secondly, scales are a small but very sharp covering of the body.

Interesting fact: The dried skin of this shark, which resembles emery, is used for wood processing - grinding and polishing the wooden surface.

If we consider the katran from the point of view of danger to the inhabitants of the sea, it should be noted that the inhabitants sea coasts It has long been noticed that dolphins are becoming fewer and fewer every year, and the credit for this, among other things, goes to this representative of the shark genus.

Although this statement is hard to believe, because the shark is almost the size of a dolphin and therefore the katran will not hunt such prey alone, unless in a flock. Man has long noticed that Katrana huge size liver, which contains very useful fish fat.

For information: Shark liver contains 10 times more vitamin A than cod liver. In addition, the meat is incredibly tender and, after careful processing, can be a gourmet delicacy on the table.

Catran shark feeding

This type of shark loves to feast on small species of fish - anchovy, herring. Although for lunch he prefers larger fish, for example, horse mackerel or mackerel. A sea shellfish, squid and crustaceans for the spiny shark table are usually served for dinner.

Seriously, the main prey of this species of shark are schooling fish, which are also called pelagic - living in the water column. Fishermen use this observation in their fishing - they know that it is easiest to catch a katran where there are huge schools of herring or mackerel.

Reproduction and lifespan

spiny shark is a representative of the ovoviviparous shark breed. The female carries eggs in special capsules located in the oviduct for almost two years. Young sharks are born in numbers from 15 to 20 and their size does not exceed a quarter of a meter.

Shark babies grow quickly, and the offspring born of a katran are immediately adapted to lead a predatory lifestyle, which is no different from the parent way of life.

By the age of 12, teenage sharks become sexually mature, which means they are capable of procreation. It is interesting that katrans are distinguished by monogamy, that is, they have a constant life partner with whom this fish builds family relationships. Life expectancy by fish standards is long - a quarter of a century or more, so this species of shark can be called a long-liver.

The Black Sea katran is a small spiny shark that in schools chases schools of small fish moving in search of food in the bottom layers of the sea.

Katran is found both in the water column and on its surface, most often at night. If there is a lack of food, the katran can come close to the shore. But this usually happens at dusk.

Until recently, among the local population, both in Crimea and on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, katran was considered an inedible fish. But today there is a demand for katran meat; now you can often see this fish on the shelves of seaside markets - by the way, it is not sold so cheaply.

Properly cooked katran meat differs little from sturgeon. The Black Sea katran can reach a length of 2 m and a weight of up to 15 kg. But usually, much smaller specimens are caught on hook tackle. Since for the average fisherman the katran is an exotic fish, the first question that arises is: in which areas of the Black Sea and when to look for it?

Katrana are most often caught at depths of 25-60 m, usually at a distance of several hundred meters, or even several miles from the coast. Katran comes across everything Black Sea coast and the coast of Crimea, but since this predator migrates after a school of forage fish, the search for the latter plays a decisive role.

Fishing season in coastal zone lasts from May to early December, although in my practice there have been cases when during a whole month of being at sea I was not able to catch a single katran. However, when it was possible to make long journeys by boat and an intensive search for fish was carried out, everything ended successfully.

So, in September 2000, in the Utrish area (near Anapa), I regularly caught smarida and horse mackerel, schools of which could most often be found a mile from the coast, but katran gear did not give any results. After asking fishermen from the local artel, who often went to the Taman region for a good catch of mullet, I learned that from time to time they come across small katran fish there in their nets.

I quickly put together a team of several exotic fishing enthusiasts, we rented a boat and set off to those parts. Having taken us to the place, the experienced boat captain, using an echo sounder, quickly discovered an underwater bank familiar to him, and near it a good school of fish and suggested fishing here. The tyrants came across large horse mackerel.

But fishing with a katran line above the bank itself (the depth above its flat top was 28 m) did not give any results. We asked the captain to drop the anchors so that it would be possible to lower the gear from different sides along the edge of the bank to different depths. The first katran took the horse mackerel baited on a longline hook as soon as it was at the very foot of the bank, at a depth of 38 m (Fig. 1).

A few minutes later, the rod of a comrade standing next to me bent into an arc. When two more fishermen came on board, their gear started working as well. On that short trip we managed to pull out ten katrans ranging from 5 to 8 kg. A few words about the tier. They are caught on a long line with two or three hooks No. 12-14, baited with horse mackerel, small haddock, emerida, small herring, goby or other fish.

It is advisable to use metal leashes with soft braiding. When fishing at great depths, use a heavy (150-300 g) sinker. The stake is attached to the main line using a carabiner and a swivel (Fig. 2). It is better to cut off the tail of the bait so that the tackle is less twisted; you can also make several cuts on the sides so that the predator can smell the fish better.

They are often caught near the bottom or in the lower layers of water. The fishing technique is the same as for vertical trolling: the sinker is lowered to the bottom, slightly raised above it and a short smooth swing of the rod is made. After loosening, the sinker should stop just above the ground, but not lie on it, so that the turbidity does not scare away the fish.

Katranovy tyrant. I got the impression that the Katran gathers in schools according to the size of the individuals; it was rarely necessary to catch “different-sized” predators in one place. This was the case last year, when at the end of June I short time came from Anapa to visit my friend, a resident of the village of Lazarevskoye.

In a telephone conversation, Volodya mentioned the successes of his acquaintances, who are “cutting” hake with all their might and even caught one small whiting fish, and they go to sea for fish on a pleasure boat that departs from the pier every day at eight in the morning. It so happened that from the gear we They took only two tyrants.

The captain of the ship, apparently, was well versed in the choice fishing spot, because we immediately found a school of hake near the bottom at a depth of 40 m. At first we fished without bait on bare shiny hooks, but after a couple of fish were caught, we cut them into fillet pieces and made bait. The hake pecked superbly at the meat of their fellow fish!

We already had half a bucket of fish, when suddenly the bite stopped, and Volodya seemed to have a snag - the rod bent into an arc and at first it didn’t move. But soon he began to bring the fish to the surface. The leashes were quite strong, so he was able to lift a small dog weighing about 2 kg over the rather high side of the boat. Many curious people gathered around, one fisherman grabbed the katran with his hands, but immediately released it, painfully pricking himself on a fin thorn.

When he unclenched his palm, blood flowed from a deep, knife-like wound. Then Volodya said that this vacationer’s hand did not heal for a long time, apparently because the mucus of the poisonous glands located at the bases of two dorsal fins. Following the first, within half an hour, three more katranchikas of almost the same weight were caught, after which they were cut off. Information on fishing for Black Sea bluefish -

By the way, the hake bite did not resume either, so the captain had to look for a new place. The fact that with the appearance of the katran, another schooling fish moves away is a common thing. To make a universal tyrant, suitable for catching haddock, hake, smarida, and for small Katrans, the following equipment is used: the main line with a diameter of 0.5 mm, the thickness of the line for the stake is 0.4 mm, leashes made of monofilament line - 0. 3mm.

A sinker weighing from 200 to 400 g is tied to the end of the stake so that the tackle can quickly sink to a depth of 70-80 m; the supply of fishing line should also be appropriate. Six to eight leashes are attached to special washers that rotate on the main line, clamped by two stoppers (Fig. 3). The distance between the leashes is 25-30 cm, starting from the sinker.

Feathers can be tied to the hooks, then they can catch quite effectively without a bait. It is important that the leashes sag as little as possible (their length is no more than 7 cm), and the feathers puff up. Hooks No. 10-11 with a long shank. You can take light, dark, reddish and variegated feathers, but the best bite is on blue ones.

After the sinker has touched the bottom, the tyrant is raised higher by 15-20 cm. Then, with a smooth swing, they are raised about another half meter and sharply lowered down. Flashing. Katrana are usually caught at great depths from a vessel. If you expect to catch a large specimen, then it is advisable to have a metal leash.

Bait - a heavy spoon, such as a herring jig, or a tackle with a fish (mackerel, smarida, small hake, etc.). On artificial baits and on the tackle, treble hooks No. 10-11 or a single hook of the same size as on the longline, or a couple of numbers larger, are placed. For the rig, you can use a rig with a sliding sinker (Fig. 4).

They lure both vertically and at a slight distance from the boat, when the bait moves in steps, alternately taking off and touching the bottom (Fig. 5). Sometimes the katran approaches the shore and at shallow depths chases schools of small fish. In this case, they usually fish with a spinning rod using various wobblers, narrow oscillating spoons and modern soft baits in combination with a jig head.

The best fishing time is early morning and late evening. The bite of the katran is powerful. You always need to be on your guard so you can start fishing right away. At the initial stage of lifting the tackle, the katran seems to hang with a heavy load or is strongly pulled down, and at the surface it begins to rush from side to side and, in general, behave unpredictably. Sometimes slightly loosening the line helps.

At this moment, the katran calms down a little, and you need to try to quickly pull it into the boat. The scales of the katran are rough; you need to remove it from the hook carefully so as not to injure your hands. Bottom tackle and float rods. In spring, summer and autumn, katran can be periodically caught near the shore.

You need to choose areas under rocks where there is great depth, or fish from piers, breakwaters and similar structures that extend far into the sea. Usually several bottom rods are left overnight. The leashes, from two to five on one tackle, are fixed with pellets in a sliding position, a float is placed near the hook, which does not allow the baitfish to hide in bottom shelters (Fig. 6).

Thus, my friends and I were quite successful in catching katrans near Sevastopol. Sometimes the gear remained untouched for several days, but it happened that we caught a fish from all three to five bottoms. The katran comes across float tackle mostly by accident. I have witnessed a couple of incidents where two fairly large dogfish (each over a meter long) were caught with a float rod from the piers.

One happened in Turkey with my friend Alexander, a karting coach. Towards nightfall, he left a fishing rod with live bait on the very edge of the pier, and it was not dragged into the sea only because the shark wrapped the fishing line around the piling. Another happened late autumn in Gurzuf. Quite a lot of fishermen gathered on the pier, opposite the House of Writers - then a large school of smarida approached the shore, and the fish fought briskly until the evening.

Already at dusk, when there were only three anglers left on the pier, and I was one of them, one local guy got something solid on his hook. After a long struggle, he managed to pull out a 3-kilogram katran using a 0.25 mm fishing line. Hope you got enough full information about catching katran, and if now, sitting over a glass of beer in a cafe on the embankment of some seaside resort, you hear:

“Who wants the Katraniy balyk? A strip costs 50 rubles,” - don’t rush to shell out money, because you can catch this fish yourself.

The Black Sea katran belongs to the family of katran sharks, or, as they are also called, spiny sharks. It lives, according to its name, in the Black Sea. In some countries this fish is called the sea dog.

She received this nickname for her characteristic behavior: when she got into fishing nets, she tore and gnawed them. The katran does not attack people, but its thorns can cause great trouble to unwary fishermen.

Katran is an object of fishing, its meat is used for food. Previously, the skin of this fish was also used on the farm. It was used to make aprons for blacksmiths, used it for polishing, and bound books.

The Black Sea shark katran is a sea cartilaginous fish, belongs to the family of katran sharks, is a subspecies of the common katran. This species is much smaller than its brothers in the family. Females are slightly larger than males, they can reach a length of 1.8 m. The weight of 1 specimen reaches 15 kg, but more often it remains between 10-12 kg.

The body of the fish is grayish-brown in color, the back is darker. There are rare white spots on the sides, the belly is light - grayish-white or white. Therefore, this type of shark is also called spotted.

At the base of the dorsal fins there are sharp spines, with the help of which the shark protects itself from enemies. The tail is powerful with a multi-lobed fin. The spindle-shaped shape allows the shark to develop greater speed. The fins serve mainly to support desired position body in the water, the tail performs steering functions.

The mouth is large, transverse, sickle-shaped, with several rows of sharp teeth, which are replaced throughout the life of the animal. Total quantity Over the life of a shark, the number of teeth reaches 1000.

A special feature of the Katran shark is its scales. Diamond-shaped scales are hidden under the skin, and small, sharp spines emerge on the surface. They are located in the direction from head to tail. The structure of these spines is similar to shark teeth.

This type of scale is called placoid. When the skin is wounded, the scales are regenerated.

Sea dogs live on average 20-30 years.

Habitat

The distribution area of the Black Sea katran covers the entire Black Sea water area and the adjacent part Kerch Strait. Sometimes it can be found in the southern part of the Azov Sea.

Katrans in the Black Sea most often live in the coastal zone, at depths not exceeding 120 m, but they can also be found far from the coast, above great depths.

Lifestyle

The predatory lifestyle of the katran determines its habitats and interactions with other species.

The water temperature favorable for these fish is +6…+16°C. Therefore, katrans come close to the shore in spring and autumn. In winter and summer they prefer to be at great depths (100−120 m).

They live in schools, during the day mainly at the bottom at depths of up to 70 m, and at night they rise to the surface. Schools of Black Sea sharks often migrate behind schools of small fish that they hunt. In summer and autumn, males and females keep separate flocks.

Nutrition and reproduction

The spiny dogfish shark is a predator; its main prey is bottom-dwelling and pelagic fish. In addition, its diet includes mollusks and crustaceans. The katran hunts for anchovy, sprat, horse mackerel, whiting, gobies, and less often for herring, bellyfish, mullet, and burbot. Sometimes female sharks can attack dolphins.

The diet varies somewhat depending on the habitat. So, off the coast of Romania, the main diet is whiting, and near Sevastopol, crabs are added to the fish.

Females acquire the ability to reproduce at 13−17 years old with a body length of 1.1−1.3 m, males at 13−14 years old with a length of 1−1.1 m. Black Sea sharks are ovoviviparous fish, internal fertilization, no egg spawning , the female immediately gives birth to 8-15 fry 22-28 cm long, sometimes up to 33 cm.

Mating games take place in the spring, at a depth of 40 to 90 m. Then sea dogs move to depths of more than 60 m. The development of the offspring in the female’s body lasts about 18 months. This is the most long term pregnancy among sharks.

For spawning, fish return to a depth of 25-35 m. This happens in the second half of autumn. AND mating games, and the birth of offspring takes place in permanent places water area and may differ in time by about a month between different geographical points. After giving birth, adults go to depths of more than 60 m.

Sharks prey on fry of other fish, small mollusks and shrimp.

Is katran meat edible?

Katran meat is not only edible, but also a tasty, tender dietary product. The spiny katran shark is commercial fish, all Black Sea countries are fishing for it. However, it should be remembered that due to a number of features (late puberty, long prenatal period), this species is more sensitive to overfishing than others.

Katran meat contains 17.6% protein and 4.2% fat. This is a protein moderate-fat fish. Katran meat contains vitamins, macro- and microelements: retinol, niacin, tocopherol, iodine, potassium, phosphorus, etc.

Fat containing polyunsaturated fatty acids omega 3 and 6, vitamins A, D, E, and alkylglycerols is rendered from the liver. Fat and cartilage are used in the pharmaceutical industry.

The meat of the Black Sea katran is white or pinkish-white, after culinary processing juicy and tender, does not contain small bones (only central cartilage), can be used in dietary nutrition.

Balyk products are prepared from katran and subjected to hot and cold smoking. This fish can also be boiled, stewed and fried, and a delicious soup is made from the fins.

You can stew katran according to this recipe: place pre-cleaned and chopped fish in a wide pan with vegetable oil. Place a layer of onion, cut into rings, and grated carrots on top.

You can repeat all 3 layers again. Add salt, pepper, spices and simmer over low heat for about half an hour. Ready dish sprinkle with fresh herbs.

Katran is also tasty and tender when fried. To keep the fish juicy, it must be breaded. For breading you can use flour, crackers, egg. The fish slices should be salted, peppered and sprinkled lemon juice and let stand for about 15 minutes.

Before frying, dip each slice in an egg, then in flour or breadcrumbs. You can also use a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs for breading. Some housewives do not use eggs. Fry in a heated frying pan greased with vegetable oil.

The sea dog is also suitable for cooking steaks and kebabs.

How dangerous is the Katran shark for humans?

Katranas do not attack people. Since ancient times and until now, not a single case of an attack by a Black Sea katran on fishermen or swimmers has been described.

From this point of view, the answer to the question of whether sharks are dangerous in the Black Sea will be negative. But do not forget that the Black Sea shark is a predator with sharp teeth and thorns, so careless contact with it can lead to unpleasant injury.

The spines of this shark are covered with mucus containing irritating substances, which, if released into the puncture wound, can lead to the development of severe swelling. You can also get scratched by the rough skin of the fish.