Beluga fish - the most interesting facts about the sea giant. The largest beluga in the world - a few facts

Beluga is one of the largest predatory fish. Previously, it was a fairly common species, but due to the constantly worsening environmental situation, as well as increasing cases of poaching, the beluga was recognized as an endangered species and listed in the Red Book.

The main advantage of a fish like beluga is its cost. Although the fish is distinguished by fairly tough meat, it is much cheaper (no more than $15 per kilogram) than most sturgeon representatives, while not inferior to them in its taste qualities.

Because beluga caviar is one of the most expensive in the world, the beluga population in natural conditions so insignificant that it is supported only by fish breeding in fish farms and private reservoirs.

Sturgeon family: description

The sturgeon family includes fish, the first representatives of which appeared many centuries ago. They differ from other types of fish characteristic features appearance, main feature which consists of five rows of bony scutes located along the elongated body of the beluga.

Like everyone else sturgeon fish, the beluga has an elongated head, and in its lower part there are 4 antennae that reach the beluga’s mouth. In addition, the structure of sturgeon contains features of cartilaginous fish that are more primitive in structure, but the main distinctive feature sturgeon is that the base of their skeleton is made up of an elastic cartilaginous chord, thanks to which the fish fully develops even taking into account the fact that it does not have vertebrae in its structure.

The most common sturgeon species include various varieties of sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, kuluga, beluga and sterlet. These are quite large fish, among which the largest is the beluga. The fish can reach a length of up to 4 meters. Moreover, the weight of some individuals in rare cases exceeds a ton. Despite the fact that beluga is found in large numbers mainly within the Caspian and Black Seas, where it is distributed almost everywhere, during the spawning period the beluga literally fills large freshwater rivers.

Beluga: description of fish

Beluga is one of the largest freshwater fish. Depending on its habitat, its weight ranges from 50 kg to 1 ton. The average weight of beluga fish caught in industrial scale, ranges from 50-80 kg. This migratory fish is a true long-liver, as some individuals reach one century in age.

In fact, the beluga is a predator that begins to hunt even in the juvenile stage. Individuals that spend most of their lives in sea ​​water, feed mainly on fish. In addition, in nature, beluga can form mixed (hybrid) varieties, including greatest distribution received crosses:

• With sterlet - forms a fish called bester, which is the most common beluga hybrid. It is grown as the main source of sturgeon fish on an industrial scale. This is explained first of all good characteristics its meat obtained during processing, as well as direct nutritional value, as a result of which the quality of products created from this fish allows us to maintain a consistently high demand for it.
• Sevruga.
• Thorn fish.
• Sturgeon.

These beluga hybrids are distributed both within Sea of ​​Azov, and in some reservoirs.

Distinctive Features

In addition to its size, this fish can be distinguished from other sturgeon representatives by its thick, cylindrical body and short, pointed nose. It is slightly translucent due to the fact that there are no bone scutes on it. Her mouth occupies the entire width of her head, with a thick lip hanging over it. The antennae on the lower part of the head differ from the similar organ of other fish belonging to the sturgeon group in their width and length: in other fish they are smaller. The bony scutes on the head, sides and peritoneum are underdeveloped. On the back the number of scutes reaches 13, on the sides - 40-45, and on the peritoneum does not exceed 12.

The body of the beluga is predominantly ash-gray. The color of the belly ranges from white to light gray, the nose is yellowish.

Beluga meat

Unlike other fish, beluga meat is quite coarse in structure, but nevertheless has excellent taste, for which it is valued all over the world. Excellent balyk products are made from it. In addition, many cold and hot dishes, as well as a variety of snacks, are made from it.

It is from beluga that the most the best caviar, catching on an industrial scale individuals whose weight starts from 5 kg, however, since beluga is the largest freshwater fish, its weight in most cases significantly exceeds these indicators. Despite the fact that beluga fish is a long-liver, the maximum age of individuals caught on an industrial scale does not exceed 30-40 years.

Habitat

The main habitats of the beluga: the Black and Caspian Seas with all the rivers flowing into them. In fact, the beluga is a fish that lives most of the time in water, and enters rivers only when it reaches an age suitable to begin breeding.

After this, she returns back to the sea, but together with the fry. It is noteworthy that she prefers not to go far, even though, thanks to her impressive size, she may have little fear of attack from other freshwater predators. In addition, the beluga has almost completely stopped natural reproduction, and its numbers are maintained mainly by fish farms and private reservoirs.

Zimovye

Beluga is a red fish that prefers to spend the winter in yatovs (river pits), where it goes out in order to rise and spawn with the onset of spring. Young animals prefer to go to the rivers for the winter or settle on insignificant deep sea. Beluga prefers to rest at medium depths, having already spawned eggs and returned to the sea before the first frost. The largest and most mature individuals can only be found on great depth, however, due to their physiological characteristics most of them are no longer capable of reproduction.

During the onset of cold weather, the body of the beluga becomes covered with a thick layer of mucus (sleen), and the fish falls into a state of torpor until the onset of a thaw. At the same time, the beluga, hibernating, stores food for several months. When a beluga is caught during this period, undigested mollusks, small crustaceans and the remains of waterfowl wintering on rivers are often found in its stomach.

Calf throwing

Beluga spawning different sizes passes into different times However, for the youngest individuals this period falls in mid-spring and continues until autumn. The place for spawning is deep places with fast current, in which a rocky or cartilaginous bottom predominates. Some of the spawning individuals go to the deepest and coldest places on the river, and some return back to the sea.

Beluga caviar is quite large and resembles the size of a pea. It is noteworthy that one individual can reproduce volumes of eggs constituting 1/5 of its body. In this case, the number of eggs reaches several million. Young fish soon go to sea, where they live until they reach sexual maturity.

Food and cost

Beluga is a fish whose food consists mainly of mollusks, crustaceans and small fish. In some cases, it can eat birds resting or hunting on the water, as well as small freshwater animals.

Within the Caspian Sea, it serves as the main source of fishing, and although beluga is a fish whose price is much lower than sturgeon (from 10-15 dollars per kilogram), its unique large caviar is much more expensive than that of other red fish. An example is “diamond” albino beluga caviar, the cost of which reaches 18,000 euros. This cost is due to the fact that albino belugas lay their rich golden eggs approximately once every 100 years. At the same time, no more than 8-10 kg of caviar goes on sale in Europe per year.

• The commercial weight of beluga starts from 5 kilograms, but the most big beluga fish reached a length of 7 meters and weighed more than one and a half tons.
• When a fish gets ready to spawn, it tries to find an ideal place, and if it fails to find it, it may not spawn at all.
• When starting to spawn, the beluga breaks the bottom and lays eggs surrounded large quantity driftwood and reeds.
• It produces up to a million eggs, which are extremely prized by hobbyists from all over the world.

Biological features

Beluga can be divided into two main varieties:

• winter:
• spring

This fish leads an exclusively bottom-pelagic lifestyle.

At sea it stays mostly alone. The period of sexual maturity occurs in males at 12-15 years, and in females - at 16-18 years, it must be remembered that since beluga is a long-lived fish, individuals whose age exceeds 50-60 years completely lose ability to reproduce offspring.

Beluga, which is bred in captivity, reproduces through artificial insemination. In addition, thanks to this method, it was possible to breed the majority of beluga hybrids grown in fisheries.

Beluga fishermen deservedly call the king fish for its gigantic size.

Black and Caspian Sea - permanent place Beluga habitats are found in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. This fish is a long-liver, capable of living 100 years and laying eggs several times during its life. Beluga feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, and fish.

This is a predator. Ducklings and baby seals were found in the stomachs of fish.

Having reached sexual maturity, Belugas go to spawn in freshwater rivers. It is believed that the spawning time of beluga occurs in May - June and lasts for a month. Eggs are deposited in deep-water rivers with fast currents and rocky bottoms.

Not finding a suitable place, Beluga will not spawn eggs, which will eventually dissolve inside the fish. To occupy a place for spring spawning, female belugas remain overwintering in rivers, hibernating and becoming overgrown with mucus.

One female can carry up to 320 kg of caviar. Pea-sized eggs, dark gray. Beluga caviar is eaten by other fish and carried away by the current. Out of 100,000 eggs, 1 survives.

The juveniles, having spent a month at the spawning site, slide into the sea. Beluga caviar has great nutritional value. This was the reason that fish were caught in huge quantities, which led to a decrease in their numbers.

Currently, the sale of beluga caviar is prohibited by law.

After spawning, hungry belugas are busy searching for food. Old females even swallow inedible objects: driftwood, stones. They are different from juveniles big head and an exhausted body. Our ancestors did not eat such fish as food.

To catch a beluga, fishermen go out to sea, sailing 3 km from the coast. Using a pole, you need to find a place where there is a lot of shell rock at the bottom, which indicates the beluga’s feeding area. The bait is roach, asp, and herring.

When dragging caught fish into the boat, you need to be careful, because there have been cases when a huge fish overturned the boat and the fisherman ended up in the water.

Beluga is listed in the Red Book and is an object of sport fishing. The caught trophy must be released.

At the beginning of the 20th century, beluga was common commercial fish. Tons of this fish were caught in the Danube, Dnieper, and Volga. After the loss of natural spawning grounds, the number of beluga sturgeon decreased significantly. There are no adults, 98% are juveniles.

A hybrid of beluga and sterlet is artificially grown.

There are stories that belugas weighing 1.5 tons and 2 tons were caught, but these facts have not been confirmed. In 1922, the Caspian Sea had the most big beluga in the world, weighing 1224 kg.

A stuffed beluga 4.17 m long, caught at the beginning of the 20th century, is exhibited in the Kazan museum. in the lower reaches of the Volga. When caught, the fish weighed 1000 kg. The Astrakhan museum houses a stuffed beluga caught in the Volga delta and weighing 966 kg.

All this allows us to call Beluga the largest freshwater fish. There are many facts known about the capture of belugas weighing 500, 800 kg. All of them date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nowadays average weight this fish weighs from 60 to 250 kg. Hydroelectric power plants, sewage treatment plants, dams - all this interferes with the reproduction, growth and survival of fish.

Here additional information about Beluga fish from Wikipedia:

Maturation and reproduction

Beluga is a long-lived fish, reaching 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.

There is evidence that large (2.5-2.59 m long) Volga females lay an average of 937 thousand eggs, and Kura females of the same size - an average of 686 thousand eggs.

In the past (according to 1952 data), the average fecundity of the running Volga beluga was 715 thousand eggs.

Nutrition

According to the method of feeding, the beluga is a predator that feeds mainly on fish. 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.

Artificial breeding and hybridization of beluga

In nature, beluga hybridizes with sterlet, stellate sturgeon, sturgeon and sturgeon.

Viable hybrids were obtained on the Volga and Don using artificial insemination - beluga X sterlet (Bester).

These hybrids have been introduced into the Sea of ​​Azov and some reservoirs. Sturgeon hybrids are successfully grown in pond (aquaculture) farms.

Beluga caviar

Female belugas are tossing black caviar. Beluga eggs are large, they reach 2.5 millimeters in diameter, the weight of the eggs is 1/5-1/4 of the body weight.

Beluga caviar is considered the most valuable among all other sturgeon caviar. It has a dark gray color with a silver tint, a strong odor and a delicate nutty flavor.

Before the revolution, the best prepared variety of granular beluga caviar was called “Warsaw redistribution”, since most of its supplies went to Russian Empire from Astrakhan to Warsaw, and from there abroad.

By the end of 2005, 1 kg of beluga caviar cost about €620 on the black market in Russia (with an official ban on the sale of this caviar) and up to €7,000 abroad.

I invite everyone to speak out in

Of those currently existing. Mentions of her are found in many historical documents. In Rus', this fish, brought to the capital city from the distant Caspian Sea, was served at the table of princes and kings. There are many descriptions of fantastic specimens reaching simply incredible sizes. It is not surprising that many people have a question about which of these testimonies is true and which is absolute fiction.

The largest beluga, the existence of which is confirmed by sufficient evidence, is striking in size. There are many contenders for this title, but, unfortunately, all the facts of the existence of giant belugas were recorded a long time ago. Nowadays, large specimens are almost never found.

King fish

Beluga is a long-lived fish. She can live a hundred years. During this time, the largest beluga can grow to gigantic size a few meters. This species is considered one of the largest sea ​​fish on the planet.

This fish spawns several times in its life. Experts say that the clutches of beluga eggs are also gigantic - weighing up to half a ton.

To spawn, females go to rivers flowing into the sea, sometimes rising upstream for several kilometers. It is noteworthy that if there is no place suitable for babies, it will not exist, and the caviar inside will gradually dissolve.

Where does the beluga live?

The largest beluga is found in the Caspian, Black, Adriatic, Mediterranean and Azov seas.

During spawning, this fish can be found in the Volga, Terek, Don, Kama, Dnieper and many other rivers that flow into the seas. Large females that have not had time to spawn sometimes even remain in rivers for the winter, hibernating.

How to catch the biggest beluga?

Today, industrial fishing of this fish is prohibited. An equally strict veto was imposed on the collection of beluga caviar. But the law does not prohibit sport fishing. Special gear is used for it, which minimally injures the fish.

Fishing is one way to establish and document facts. The largest beluga in the world, caught by an enthusiast in a competition, will certainly be measured, weighed, photographed, and then released. If this did not happen regularly, we would know much less about the life of these amazing fish.

To catch the storm of the seas and rivers, you need to swim 3 kilometers from the sea into the river. Beluga is a voracious predator; fishermen have even found ducks and white whales in its stomach more than once. When choosing bait, you should give preference raw meat and fish. Professionals know: although the beluga is not aggressive, like, for example, a catfish, it is quite capable of seriously misbehaving. In an attempt to get away from the fisherman, she can even capsize the boat.

The largest representatives: confirmed facts

The largest beluga caught in Russia in 1922 still holds the title. She weighed 1224 kg and was caught in the Caspian Sea. was filled with caviar. The photo of the largest beluga is simply amazing. The king fish is comparable in size to ocean monsters: sharks, killer whales, narwhals.

Several other cases of giant-sized beluga sturgeons have been caught. In Kazan there is even one that weighed a ton during its lifetime. The 4.17 m long carcass was donated to the city by Nicholas II himself, and today a stuffed animal made from it is exhibited in the museum. Anyone can admire the huge fish.

There is an exhibit a little more modest than the Kazan one in one of the museums in Astrakhan - the beluga caught in the Volga reached 966 kg. Another curious specimen during life had a length of almost 6 meters and a weight of up to a ton. His story is amazing. This beluga was caught by poachers, the most valuable caviar was gutted, and the carcass was thrown away. But of course, they simply could not help but know what treasure fell into their hands! Fearing arrest for illegal activities, the poachers simply called the museum and told them where they dumped the carcass. It was damaged by careless cutting, but taxidermists managed to make a stuffed animal out of it.

Language barrier

Sometimes confusion arises for completely unusual reasons. For example, for a very long time the word “beluga” in Russian was also applied to the whale, today known as beluga. Whales, of course, are larger than sturgeon, but this did not prevent fantastic rumors from arising. Eyewitness accounts of the catch of two-ton belugas most likely refer specifically to marine animals. By the way, beluga whales can sing. It was their singing that formed the basis of the phraseological unit “Roar like a beluga.” Of course, they don’t know how to roar.

And in English Many sturgeon fish, including beluga, are often designated by one word - sturgeon. This also often brings confusion to the question of the largest beluga. Some of the declared contenders for the championship belong to other species of the Sturgeon family.

Human factor

The largest beluga caught in our time reaches only 2-3 quintals. Uncontrolled fishing and caviar collection, deteriorating environmental conditions, irrational use of resources - all this has negatively affected the population. The number of beluga has decreased, the fish have become smaller, and spawning has become less frequent. The habitat has also shrunk. To spawn, the beluga goes very close to the rivers, trying to stay close to the sea.

Prospects

The largest beluga is a rarity today. Fortunately, humanity is trying to correct the mistakes of the past. Beluga is listed in the Red Book, the state is fighting poaching. Today beluga is artificially bred in many countries. Several hybrids have been bred in Russia that have shown excellent viability and industrial value. This allows us to maintain the number of beluga in wildlife. The positive dynamics give hope that the beautiful king fish will not sink into oblivion in the coming years, but will someday again amaze people with its enormous size.

Beluga is a freshwater fish that has survived to this day from ancient times. Its ancestors existed on earth back in Jurassic period, which was 200 million years ago.

This is the largest of all freshwater fish that has ever existed on our planet. Its body can reach a length of about five meters, and it can weigh about two tons.

This giant fish has only one relative - the kaluga, which lives in the Far Eastern rivers.

The body of the beluga is shaped like a torpedo, it narrows towards the tail, and along its sides there are five rows of bone plates, which are also called scutes, the task of which is to protect the fish from external influences. Upper part This fish is colored greenish or dark gray, and its belly is usually white.

The beluga's muzzle has a peculiar shape: its lower part is elongated and slightly upturned. It is on this part of it that the antennae are located, which have the functions of the olfactory organs. Behind them is a mouth shaped like a sickle. Heterogeneous representatives of this species do not differ from each other in color. But females are larger than males in size.

The main habitat of the beluga is the Caspian Sea, although it can also be found in other seas - for example, the Azov, Black or Adriatic. But as the spawning period approaches, the beluga leaves salt waters and goes upstream of freshwater rivers, and rises quite high along them. Belugas lead a solitary lifestyle, making exceptions only during the spawning period in order to mate.

Beluga is the largest among the family.

Egg spawning occurs in the spring, and not every year. Typically, this fish requires a break of 2 to 4 years. After the female rises up the river, she lays a huge number of eggs - from three hundred thousand to seven and a half million. After which he considers his mission completed and returns back to the sea. Young beluga whales hatch around May-June and immediately display their predatory nature to the fullest extent. Small invertebrates become their main food at this time. So, refreshing themselves along the way, beluga whales gradually move towards the sea. In a month they grow to 7-10 cm, and in a year - up to 1 meter.

Beluga is a relative of the sturgeon.

Under favorable circumstances, a female can spawn about nine times in her life. But the fact that this fish and its caviar are of enormous commercial value does not allow it to live, in most cases, even half of the time allotted to it by nature. They catch it both legally and illegally.

Beluga is the largest species among freshwater fish. Even in historical documents you can find mention of it. Previously, in times ancient Rus', only the king and his close princes could eat it. Only for them it was brought specially from the Caspian Sea. And in those days they were already talking about its incredibly large size. There is even evidence. But that was a long time ago. Those days have passed, and nowadays such huge fish are no longer found.

Beluga fish

Beluga is amazing fish long-lived Many claim that she can live more than a hundred years. And in such a long time it reaches gigantic proportions. This type is the most great view on the planet. Oddly enough, but the beluga throws the game only a few times throughout its entire life. long life. In this case, the mass of caviar reaches up to half a ton.

In order to lay eggs, belugas swim far into rivers that flow into the sea, and if they do not make sure that this place is safe, then they simply do not spawn, but swim back. And the caviar dissolves on its own over time. Young fish begin to lay eggs from mid-spring until autumn. She lays her eggs in the deepest places with a rocky bottom and strong currents. The caviar itself is very large in size, like walnut. And the number of such eggs reaches several million.

Gallery: beluga fish (25 photos)

What does she look like

This view applies to the sturgeon family. The beluga has five rows of bony scutes that are located along the body, and its head is long and elongated. The lower part of the head has four whiskers. The nose is pointed and slightly translucent. This is due to the fact that it does not have bone brushes. Her mouth is very wide, and upper lip thick and hanging over him. The body is quite thick and looks like a cylinder. She doesn't have a spine, but instead has cartilage. It grows up to four meters, and its weight can reach a ton.

Its meat is quite tough, but tasty. Many dishes and snacks are prepared from it. And caviar is the most expensive in the world. This type of fish is a predator, so it feeds on fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. But there were cases when fishermen, when ripping open her belly, even found ducks.

At sea they live alone. Puberty occurs, on average, after fifteen years, and at fifty it already fades away.

The individual overwinters in river pits so that with the onset of spring they can rise to the surface and lay eggs. Young fish, which are not yet able to lay eggs, also go into rivers or remain in the sea, but at shallow depths. Adults do not go anywhere and spend the winter in the sea at great depths. When cold weather sets in, the beluga's body is covered with a large layer of mucus, after which it hibernates until spring. But before that, she carefully stocks up on food for the entire winter period.

In nature, beluga can form hybrids, such as:

• Bester - crossing with sterlet;
• With fish spike;
• Sturgeon;
• Sevruga.

Where does the beluga live?

This type of fish can be found in the Black, Azov, Caspian, Azov, Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.

When the time comes for spawning, there is a chance of meeting it in rivers such as Terek, Don, Kama and Volga. Those females that do not have time to lay eggs remain in these rivers for the winter.

The largest beluga

The largest representative of this species was caught back in 1922 in Russia in the Caspian Sea. Her weight was 1224 kilograms, besides, it came with caviar. And it is still a leader in the world.

When you look at the photograph confirming this fact, you simply cannot believe that this is true. This fish looks more like a monster.

There are several more examples confirming the enormous size of this fish. Anyone can see this giant fish in the Kazan Museum. She was stuffed. When she was caught, her weight reached a whole ton, and her size was 4.17 meters.

Another copy can be seen in the Astrakhan Museum. This fish was caught in the Volga and reached its maximum weight - a ton, or more precisely, 966 kilograms. The length of this beluga was slightly less than six meters. According to sources, poachers caught this fish, gutted the eggs from it, and threw away the fish itself. Fearing that they might be imprisoned, they reported this discovery to the museum staff. So this fish turned into a giant stuffed animal.

Reasons for confusion

You can often find people who confuse beluga with other types of fish. Why? And it’s all very simple: the word “beluga” used to refer to whales. Everyone knows that whales are undoubtedly larger than beluga. As a result, incorrect facts appeared that a beluga weighing about two tons was caught. Perhaps it was just a whale, also called a beluga whale. But beluga whales are distinguished not only by their enormous mass, but also by the fact that they can sing. Such confusion also occurs abroad. There, beluga is designated by a word such as sturgeon. In this regard, when fishing large fish of the sturgeon family it is classified as beluga.

The Azov beluga is different from the rest wide and short head , wide snout and forehead, as well as tall body. Beluga also grows much faster in the Sea of ​​Azov than in other basins. The main place where this fish lays eggs is the Don River. Migration occurs from March to December. Juveniles feed on fry. Larger individuals feed on gobies and crustaceans. There is even evidence that they can even eat jellyfish and ctenophores. As a result of the reduction in the number of gobies, which they mainly feed on, there was a decrease in the number of this fish.

How to catch this type of fish

Today this fish fishing is strictly prohibited. But if you are engaged in sport fishing, you can try to catch it. What is needed for this? First of all, you need to purchase special gear that will not harm the fish. If you do manage to catch this fish, you will not be able to eat it, because according to the rules of sport fishing, it must be measured, weighed, photographed, and then released back into the water.

For success to be obvious, it must be caught in rivers such as the Volga or Don. For bait, it is better to take small fish or raw meat. But be careful - this fish is very strong, it can easily capsize the boat. Currently, the largest individual has been caught, weighing 300 kilograms.

Reasons for the disappearance of the beluga

All this led to a reduction in the number of this species, it began to lay eggs rarely and became small in size.

Currently, this type of fish is listed in the Red Book. Special services fight poachers. In many cities and countries around the world, it is bred artificially to maintain the numbers of endangered fish. Thanks to all this, there is hope that there will be a lot of this fish again and large sizes. And if not us, then our children or grandchildren will be able to see the giants with their own eyes.