What part of stellate sturgeon is considered the most delicious. Useful properties of stellate sturgeon

Sturgeon species of fish are distinguished by the fact that they live in salty, sea ​​water, and for spawning they go to rivers with fresh water or to other bodies of water. At the same time, it should be noted that sturgeons have representatives of small sizes, from 30 to 100 cm long and weighing from half a kilogram to 5 kg, as well as representatives that grow up to 10 meters in length, weighing about 3 tons. The catch of sturgeon species of fish in our time is a serious fishery, reaching large volumes. Because of this, the population of these fish species is constantly decreasing, and some of the species are forbidden to be caught at all. Sturgeons are valued for their tasty and valuable meat, as well as caviar.

The sturgeon family is distinguished by an elongated body shape, on which there are 5 rows of hard spines made of bone tissue. Two rows are located on the belly, two on the sides and one row on the back, and in the gap between them there are bone protective plates.

The sturgeon is characterized by a cone-shaped, somewhat elongated snout, in the form of a shovel. On the underside is a mouth, with fleshy lips and four mustaches. The structure of the jaw is distinguished by a retractable shape, on which there are no teeth.

The pectoral fin is distinguished by the shape of a “thorn” with a thickening, and the dorsal fin is slightly shifted back. The swim bladder is connected to the esophagus and is located below the spine. The fish skeleton is distinguished by a cartilaginous, invertebrate structure in the form of a chord. The membranes of the 4 gills are connected in the throat area. In addition, there are 2 additional gills.

Almost all species of sturgeon, before the process of spawning, move to shallow depths of freshwater reservoirs. Sturgeons are quite prolific, since adults are able to lay up to 1 million eggs. Most spawning occurs in the spring. Some species of sturgeon not only spawn in fresh waters, but quite often wait out the winter in them. Sturgeons prefer a benthic lifestyle, feeding on worms, small fish, insects, and mollusks.

Sturgeon species of fish, or rather about 20 species, are long-lived, since they can live up to 100 years, although this applies to only one species. The life span of other species does not exceed 60 years. The period of sexual maturity in many species occurs at different periods, depending on the conditions of existence and the availability of food resources. Some of the species begin to spawn at 15 years of age. Wherein:

• Females mature at the age of 10-12 years.
• Males are ready for fertilization, starting from 7 years of age.

Sturgeons are a type of fish that grow quickly and gain weight quickly. In the Don and Dnieper rivers, sturgeons mature somewhat faster than representatives living in the Volga. This is not surprising, since the climate is somewhat colder on the Volga.

Only the sterlet spawns annually, while other species do not differ in this feature and can spawn in a year or even two. They spawn in spring and summer in fresh rivers, characterized by a rapid current. Sturgeon caviar is highly sticky, therefore, it is firmly held on pebbles and other rocks.

Sturgeon fry, when born, are in the yolk sac, which is what they feed on in the first days, until this sac is resolved. After that, they begin to independently search for food. Sometimes they linger in their places of birth, but mostly, they roll into the sea. The diet of fry consists of zooplankton, after a certain period, having matured a little, their diet consists of:

• From mysid.
• from chironomids.
• From the Gammarids.

But, as for the beluga fry, they are born without a yolk bladder and immediately begin to independently look for food for themselves. Almost up to sexually mature age, sturgeons develop in salty, sea water. There are 2 varieties of sturgeon: winter and spring. The last species enter the rivers in spring, before the start of spawning, and the first species enters the rivers in autumn, winter in these reservoirs and lay eggs in spring.

Classification of sturgeon fish species

There are 2 types of the sturgeon family:

• Skafir.
• Sturgeon.

Previously, there were more than 20 species of fish that were found in the waters of America, Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, in our time, the sturgeon population has a slightly smaller number of species, no more than 20.

List of sturgeon fish species with photos and names

Sturgeons occupy a special niche in the fishery. In our time, it is worth paying attention to some representatives of this family, which are of commercial interest. The following types are considered the most popular and in demand.

This is the oldest representative of the sturgeon family, and also the largest. Beluga is able to live for about 100 years, while growing up to 10 meters in length and gaining weight of 3 tons. The body of the beluga looks like a torpedo and is protected by 5 rows of protective plates. It is white on the bottom and gray on the top. The mouth is located at the bottom of the head and has a crescent shape. It also has a mustache that helps the fish navigate in space and look for food. Females are different large sizes, compared to males. They lay eggs once every 2-3 years. This is a predatory fish whose diet consists of gobies, anchovies, roach, herring and other fish.

Belongs to freshwater fish of the Beluga genus and can grow up to 5.5 meters in length and gaining weight up to 1 ton. Kaluga has a relatively large mouth. Distinguish kaluga fast-growing, firth and migratory. To a greater extent, this fish is found in the basins of such rivers as the Amur, Sungari, Shilka and Argun.

This fish is characterized by a spindle-shaped body, which ends in a blunt snout. Mustaches are located at the ends of the mouth. The belly of the Russian sturgeon is white, the sides are gray-brown, and the back is dark gray. It can grow up to 3.5 meters in length and weigh up to 120 kg. Can live up to 60 years. AT natural environment habitats, this fish can create hybrids with beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and spike. In fact, this happens very rarely, but hybrids still come across. Habitat - Black Sea, Caspian and Azov Seas.

It grows up to one and a half meters in length and gains weight up to 4.5 kg. It has a flat and rather long tail with bony fins. Big swim bladder and small eyes. It is mainly found in the Amudarya river basin.

Numerous bone plates and fulcra are placed on the body of this fish. There are no teeth, while the mouth is retractable, and 4 antennae are located in front of it. This fish inhabits the basins of such rivers as the Ob, Yenisei, Kolyma and Lena. The Siberian sturgeon lives for almost 50 years, growing up to 3.5 meters in length and gaining a weight of about 150 kg. Spawns in July. The diet includes organisms living at the bottom of water bodies: mollusks, chiromid larvae and polychaete worms. In other words, this fish leads a benthic lifestyle.

It has a classic appearance inherent in sturgeons. There are 5 rows of bone spikes on the body. Habitats - basins of the Aral, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.

Habitats are common with such a representative of the sturgeon family as a spike. At the same time, spring and winter stellate sturgeon are distinguished. Characteristic features body structures are: a poorly developed lower jaw, a convex forehead, a long nose, a smooth and thin mustache. Almost the entire body is covered with protective bone plates. The belly of the stellate sturgeon is white, and the sides and back are blue-black. It can grow up to 6 meters in length and weigh about 60 kg.

This is the smallest representative of this family, as it grows in length no more than 120 cm, with a weight of 20 kg. The fish is distinguished by the presence of long whiskers that reach the mouth and a narrow but elongated nose. At the same time, the lower lip is divided into 2 parts, and on the sides the body is covered with solid shields. The same shields protect the fish from the back. Depending on the habitat, the sterlet may differ in different colors, although its main coloring is a yellow-white belly and a gray-brown back. All fins are grey. There are sharp-nosed and blunt-nosed sterlet. Habitats - northern regions of Siberia.

It has long been believed that sturgeon species of fish are a delicacy fish with special taste characteristics. It is sold fresh, live, frozen, smoked and chilled. Sturgeons serve as an initial product for the preparation of balyk and various canned food. The sale of sturgeon, in salted form, is prohibited, since a pathogenic anaerobe, botulinum, is found in sturgeon meat, which is a source of acute poisoning.

In the old days, only sturgeon species of fish, such as beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon, were classified as red fish. Moreover, they called her red not because she had pink shade meat, but for excellent taste and very useful caviar. In our time, the status of red fish is more attached to salmon species of fish. Therefore, salmon, pink salmon and chum salmon are also called red fish. Most likely, this is due to the fact that in our time there are much more salmon than sturgeons.

Sturgeons have their own characteristic trade and culinary classification, depending on their habitat. The first group includes sturgeon species that are found in the Black and Caspian Seas. The first category includes: beluga, sterlet, spike, sturgeon and stellate sturgeon. The second category includes salmon, such as trout, pink salmon or chum salmon. The latter group includes salmon with white meat, such as coho salmon, whitefish, nelma and taimen.

Red fish is valued for a large assortment nutrients found in meat. These are vitamins of groups "A", "B", "E", "PP" and "D", as well as minerals such as zinc, phosphorus, calcium, fluorine and iodine. Also, this list is not complete. But the most important advantage is the presence in the meat of this fish of fatty acids, such as Omega-3. Due to the presence of this acid, the work of the central nervous system, immunity increases, memory improves, etc.

Scientists have proven that the category of people who regularly consume red fish is less susceptible to manifestations of depression, and their risks of developing hypertension or oncology are reduced by 3 times. Therefore, in our time, some species of both sturgeon and salmon have been banned for commercial fishing. Their fishing is allowed only with special licenses. This also applies to recreational fishing. Heavy fines are imposed for unauthorized fishing. Unfortunately, these measures do not stop poachers.

Sevruga is a fish of the Sturgeon family and the Sturgeon order, the second name chevryuga. Large concentrations of this species are observed in the Caspian, Black and Azov seas. A small number lives in the Aral Sea, it was launched here in 1993 from the Caspian Sea. Fish spawning grounds in Russia are located in. The stellate sturgeon comes to spawn from the northern part of the Caspian Sea, the main spawning grounds are located from the city of Volgograd to the city of Saratov. A smaller number of places for spawning are located in the river. Ural (mainly to the territory of the city of Uralsk), the length of spawning grounds is about 400 km (beginning with the Ural mouth and ending with the Inder Mountains). From the south of the Caspian Sea, a representative of sturgeons enters the rivers: Astara, Kura and Lankaranka. In the basin of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, the stellate sturgeon lives in the river. Kuban, this river has long been considered a place mass gathering of this fish, a slightly smaller number falls on the Don. At present, the main spawning grounds are located on the territory between the village of Tbilisskaya and up to the city of Kropotkin. From the Black Sea, the stellate sturgeon enters the waters of the Dniester, the Southern Bug, the Dnieper, the Danube, the Rioni, etc.

The habitat region affects the rate of maturation and development of fish, the Volga stellate sturgeon fully matures at the age of 10-15 years, males mature before 9-11 years. On average, the commercial weight at this age is 8-10 kg. In Kura stellate sturgeon, puberty in females ends at 15-17 years, males - 10-13, the average weight ranges from 7-9 kg. Stellate sturgeon females from the Urals mature at the age of 13-15 years, males at the age of 7-9 years, the average weight is 5-10 kg. In the Don and Kuban, females mature at 9-12 years old, males - 5-7 years old, weigh an average of 6-9 kg and 7-9 kg. There are known cases of catching fish weighing about 80 kg, such a stellate sturgeon was caught in the river. Danube - 80 kg, r. Kura - 70 kg and Don - 67 kg. On average, this representative lives up to 35-40 years, the longest living was 41 years old. The main diet of stellate sturgeon is made up of small crustaceans, worms and small fish: sprat, herring, gobies. This representative occupies the first position in the sturgeon fishery.

The stellate sturgeon differs from other sturgeons in its unusually elongated nose, which resembles a dagger in shape. Its nose is strongly flattened and makes up about 60% of the entire head, because of this the forehead looks somewhat convex, which introduces unusual features into the morphology of the fish. Young females have a shorter nose, the Azov sturgeon is considered the shortest nose of all the others, it also has a slightly different shape. Near the mouth, on the lower part of the body are smooth and narrow antennae. The body is very elongated in length, and white bony bugs are located along the body, they are similar to the pattern and are very close to each other, we can say that they are close. The ridge itself contains 12-18 pieces, in the side strips there are more of them - about 30-40 pieces, closer to the tail part the bugs are more convex and extend into processes in the form of hooks. In the belly area, the bugs are very developed, their number is from 10 to 12 pcs.

The body is red-brown in color, which clearly shows purple, as well as white bone bugs that stand out brightly against dark tones. The belly, sides and other parts of the body are painted in White color. Comparing stellate sturgeon with other sturgeons, a clear feature stands out: with the same mass, they are many times longer than their relatives (stellate sturgeon weighing 24 kg has a length of about 2 meters). The next difference between stellate sturgeon is speed and agility, during the spawning period, the fish travels a long distance against the current and can travel 30 km in a day. She goes back at the end of spawning and laying eggs. Naturally, it is easier to swim with the current and you can do this by using the force of the current of the river, so it rolls on its side into the sea.

The stellate sturgeon from the Caspian begins to spawn at the end of March-beginning of April, navigation is accompanied by a large course of schools, at this time the fish goes along the shallows and all the time adheres to the shore, during the movement its nose constantly looks up. She enters the rivers 2 times, the first time - in the lower reaches of the Urals, for throwing caviar, after which she again enters the sea, the second time she falls in the fall, the area is the same, only here the stellate sturgeon remains to winter, and in the spring lays eggs and again goes to the sea . Due to this property, the stellate sturgeon, unlike other representatives of the Sturgeon family, spawns annually. Fishing begins around April 23rd. The spawning of stellate sturgeon in the Volga coincides with the spawning of sterlet, as a result, a mixture of sterlet and stellate sturgeon is often obtained - a sterlet spike. In r. Don fish spawning occurs at the beginning of May. The fecundity of fish is quite high, an average of 40,000 fish. eggs, 2 mm in diameter. The development of eggs takes place at a temperature of 16-23°C, in the first version, the eggs hatch after 132 hours, in the second - almost several times faster - 68 hours. During the year, juveniles reach a size of 27-37 cm, and the ability to reproduce comes at the age of 4 years.

Sevruga fishing is carried out with seines, flowing nets, yarygs and lines. Stellate sturgeon is a hiking commercial fish, has the best stickiness, but is inferior in quality to beluga and sturgeon caviar, which is why it has the lowest price. The stellate sturgeon is included in the IUCN Red Book species list.

The reason for the critical state of the population of stellate sturgeon and all other sturgeons is uncontrolled fishing. After all, back in the 17th-18th century, the largest number of sturgeons on the entire planet lived in the Caspian Sea (90% of the indicators of other countries).

For example, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the number of sturgeon catches was about 50-55 thousand tons, in the 20th century the catches decreased to 40 thousand tons, the 21st century is a crisis for stellate sturgeon and all sturgeons, at that time their catch was only 0, 7 thousand tons. As you can see, at this stage, the number of stellate sturgeon is in a very deplorable state, and if compared with past centuries, its number has decreased by 65-66 times.

With a decrease in the total number of all fish of this species, their distribution in the Caspian has changed significantly. In some traditional aggregation areas, density has decreased to such an extent that ichthyologists have not been able to detect fish with all currently existing methods of counting. Thanks to trawl studies, it was found that the most a large number of stellate sturgeon in the Caspian Sea was in 1960-1970. and amounted to approximately 100 million copies.

A sharp decline in the stellate sturgeon population began after the collapse of the USSR, and only now people have begun to think about its restoration. The state of the stellate sturgeon population in the Caspian is also determined by the period of life in the river. Everything here is also sad. There is a huge reduction migrating to the river. Volga producers, which affects the further replenishment of the number.

This is largely due to the ill-conceived regulation of the flow of the river. Volga and the construction of a hydroelectric power station. The main mistake in this case is forgetting about sturgeon, which had a huge number of spawning grounds in different places, and now more of them have been destroyed. A sharp decrease in the passage of spawners into the river has a very negative effect on the natural replenishment of the stellate sturgeon population, and then on the scale of the catch.

At this stage, artificial replenishment of the stock of stellate sturgeon and other sturgeons is foreseen. This is done by sturgeon hatcheries in Russia and other Caspian states. During the entire existence of the plants, approximately 3 billion units were produced in the Caspian Sea. juveniles. However, there is a problem - a large percentage of juveniles do not take root in natural conditions and die. It has been noted that the older the juveniles, the more resilient they are, but the long-term rearing of juveniles is an expensive and difficult task. Therefore, our fish farmers still have something to think about. AT modern conditions the proportion of replenishment of stellate sturgeon stocks with "artificial" juveniles is 41%.

next very important issue the disappearance of stellate sturgeon and sturgeon is poaching, which is very difficult to fight. Modern technology allows poachers to equip their vessels with such equipment, in front of which fish protection is powerless. In addition, it is not always possible to catch all illegal immigrants. This issue deserves special attention at this stage.

As you can see, stellate sturgeon is an amazing fish with its own unique features and characteristics. Since it is on the verge of extinction, it is necessary to preserve this unique creation, while applying all possible methods to combat illegal fishing and improve the technology of artificial reproduction.

Sevruga video:

(synonyms, obsolete names: motley, chevryuga)
Appearance. Stellate sturgeon is a fish of the sturgeon family, which has a very characteristic appearance due to the strongly elongated shape of the nose or snout, the length of which is about 60% of the entire length of the head. Antennae short, without fringe. There are 40-54 rays in the dorsal fin, 22-35 in the anal fin. Dorsal scutes - 9-16, lateral - 26-43, abdominal - 9-14. The sides of the body between the rows of scutes are covered with stellate plates. Gill rakers 24-29.

The back is usually blackish-brown, the sides are light, the belly is white.
In terms of size, the stellate sturgeon is somewhat inferior to other sturgeons ( beluga, sturgeon), except for sterlet and thorn , which are smaller. Average weight stellate sturgeon various in different rivers and reservoirs and is, on average, about 7- 10 kilograms , however, some individuals reach a length of more than two meters and weight 80 kg . The maximum size that this species reached in the past, according to ancient remains, is 270 cm ; in the twentieth century, the largest instance of stellate sturgeon had a length 218 cm and weight 54 kg . The usual size of the Volga stellate sturgeon in the late 1960s and early 70s of the last century ranged from 126 to 152 cm and weight from 6.2 to 12.7 kg.

Like all sturgeons, stellate sturgeon is a long-liver among freshwater fish. According to archaeological materials, the maximum recorded age of stellate sturgeon was 41 years; modern fish- 35 years.

Lifestyle.Passing fish. In the Caspian Sea, it is distributed mainly along the western coast, in the area from the Astrakhan Spit to the Apsheron Peninsula, occurring at depths from 100 to 300 m . In spring, it gradually migrates to the Northern Caspian, where it lives at depths from 3 to 15 m.

Food.The main food of stellate sturgeon in the Caspian are acclimatized here polychaete worm nereis Nereis diversicolor, as well as crustaceans. The Azov stellate sturgeon feeds on worms, amphipods, mysids and small fish (gobies, anchovy).

Reproduction.Migration to rivers begins later than other sturgeons (beluga and Russian sturgeon). It begins to spawn in the Volga in mid-April at a water temperature of 6-9 ° C, the peak of the run is in May at a temperature of 10-15 ° C (spring form). In June, the pace weakens. The intensity of the course increases again in August, September and October (winter form). Migration ends in December. In terms of numbers, the spring form sharply predominates. Volga stellate sturgeon reaches sexual maturity at the age of 9-12 years (males) and 11-15 years (females). Azov stellate sturgeon (Don River) matures earlier: males - at 7-8 years old, females - at 9-11 years old. The spawning grounds of the stellate sturgeon in the rivers are lower than those of the beluga and Russian sturgeon. The fecundity of the Volga stellate sturgeon ranges from 106-466 thousand eggs, the Ural - from 48 thousand to 950 thousand, the Don - from 90 to 537 thousand eggs. Spawning in the Volga stretches from May to August and occurs in a wide temperature range - from 12 to 26 ° C. The development of eggs at a temperature of 16 ° C lasts 132 hours, at 23 ° C - 67.5 hours. do not linger in the rivers and roll into the sea.

Spreading. Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic (rarely) seas, from where it enters the rivers for breeding. The main sturgeon rivers are the Volga, Ural, Terek, Kura, Don, Kuban, along the Volga it used to rise to the city of Rybinsk, along the Urals - to Uralsk, along the Don - to Pavlovsk, along the Kuban - to Armavir. In the 1930s, an attempt was made to acclimatize stellate sturgeon in the Aral Sea, but it was unsuccessful. In the drawing of the area, the lost parts of the area are marked in red, the places of archaeological finds of the remains of stellate sturgeon are marked with crosses.

In the 19th century, the distribution area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis species of fish was wider and stretched from Siberia to Western Europe. According to the famous Russian zoologist and connoisseur of hunting and fishing Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev (1844-1898), it could be found even in the rivers of Austria, Germany and Italy. This is probably where the famous Italian dish, known as “Italian sturgeon”, comes from.

Economic value. The most valuable commercial fish. In the sturgeon fishery, it shares 1-2 place with the Russian sturgeon. The main area of ​​production is the Northern Caspian, where catches of stellate sturgeon in the 70s of the last century ranged from 10.0 to 13.2 thousand tons. Its bulk was caught in the Urals: from 7.0 to 9.9 thousand tons.

Along with its closest relatives sturgeon, beluga and sterlet, stellate sturgeon occupies one of the first places among all types of fish in terms of its culinary value. Since ancient times, the tender, soft and healthy meat of this fish has been considered a delicacy. Also, for several centuries, stellate sturgeon caviar was highly valued. For a long time, the export of caviar to Europe brought Russia a considerable income.

Commercial production of stellate sturgeon up to recently occupied important place in the fishing industry of our country. However, over the past few decades, the number of this species has declined sharply and is now on the verge of extinction.

security status. AT last years the number and catches of this species began to decline sharply. If in 1985 . according to the All-Caspian survey total strength stellate sturgeon (from a year old and older) in the Caspian basin amounted to 75.9 million specimens, then by 1994 . it fell to 13.5 million copies. (almost 6 times). Stellate sturgeon is included in the IUCN Red List.

Description of stellate sturgeon from the book by L.P. Sabaneev "Fish of Russia. Life and fishing of our freshwater fish" (1875)

The stellate sturgeon is easily distinguished from all other sturgeons by its extraordinary long nose, which is almost shaped like a dagger and gives it a very strange look. Her forehead is rather convex, the antennae are smooth and narrow, not reaching the mouth, on which the lower lip is poorly developed; her body is also elongated in length and all the bugs on the body are quite close; dorsal (12-18) and lateral (30-40) rise towards the posterior end and are elongated into uncinate processes; ventral scutes (10-12) relatively well developed.

The body color is red-brown with a bluish-black tint, the sides and belly are white. The length and shape of the nose, however, varies greatly; so in females and young it is always shorter, and in the Sea of ​​Azov stellate sturgeons, which generally reach the greatest growth here, are distinguished by a short snout, which, moreover, has a slightly different shape (var. donensis). Probably, the so-called motley, which the fishermen of the southwestern provinces consider a special breed from the stellate sturgeon, belongs to the same variety; however, her bugs (staple) are located more often, and she rarely reaches 16 kg . In general, in terms of size and weight, this fish occupies the middle between the sterlet and the sturgeon. With the same weight, stellate sturgeon is always much longer than other sturgeon fish, and a 24-kilogram stellate sturgeon (Grimm) has a length of up to 2 m.

The area of ​​distribution of stellate sturgeon is even more limited than the distribution of beluga, which occasionally enters the Mediterranean Sea, as well as sturgeon, found in Western Siberia, the more sterlet. Caspian and Black Sea, especially the Azov, and big rivers, flowing into them, constitute the only habitat of this fish, which, however, in its numbers significantly exceeds its relatives, with the exception of one sterlet. In the largest number, stellate sturgeon enters the Urals, Kura, Kuban, Dniester and Bug, but nowhere, however, does it rise very high; in the Urals, it rarely goes above Uralsk, in the Volga - above Samara and Simbirsk, and in extremely rare cases is seen in the upper Volga (up to Yaroslavl and Rybinsk) and in the Kama (up to Chistopol); in other tributaries of the Volga, apparently, it does not exist at all; in the Kuban it is very numerous and goes higher than the Laba and even flies in the latter; from the southern part of the Caspian, it enters all rivers, even small ones, such as, for example, the Atrek. On the Don, she was noticed as far as Pavlovsk; in the Dnieper, however, it rarely rises above the rapids and is almost never caught near Kyiv. Finally, in the Danube, where it, however, is included in a relatively small amount; stellate sturgeon is almost never seen in Austria, although it comes into the Drau and Teys.

In size, the stellate sturgeon is significantly inferior to the sturgeon and never exceeds 5- 5.5 m length and 47 kg weight. The average weight of this fish in the Caspian is 5.2- 5.6 kg , in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, where it is more numerous, - 8 kg.

The rarity of stellate sturgeon in the upper reaches of the rivers depends partly on the fact that it rises during the flood itself, when fishing becomes extremely difficult in general, but mainly on its spawning in the lower reaches and a very short stay in fresh water. Having spawned, in contrast to the sturgeon and especially the beluga, which for some time "fatten" in the river and slide down very slowly, with long stops, the stellate sturgeon immediately returns to the sea; as for its autumn course into the river, it is almost always much less than in spring and does not extend further than the lower reaches, and then only in the Urals. Most of the stellate sturgeon winters in the sea or in front of estuaries, rarely in river yatov, and its main catch is made in the open sea.

Here she is thus holding most season, and fresh water is of less importance to her than to other red fish. However, it is rarely seen on large sea ​​depths and, apparently, chooses here, like sturgeons, places abounding in shells, which constitute her exclusive food. The stellate sturgeon almost never feeds on fish. Nevertheless, in the speed and agility of its movements, it surpasses all red fish: the first onslaught of stellate sturgeon, according to the fishermen, is always faster than that of the beluga, and it rises up the river in the spring at a considerable speed, so that 25- 30 kilometers . Down, it usually rolls sideways, leaving itself to the will of the current.

This autumn run of stellate sturgeon always begins later than the run of beluga and sturgeon. In the Caspian Sea, it sets off at the end of March or at the beginning of April; its main catch occurs in the Urals in the second half of this month, around April 23rd. At this time, it enters the river in large schools and goes shallow, closer to the surface, adhering to the banks and keeping its nose up. This first halt of the stellate sturgeon to the shores is known among the Ural Cossacks under the name of the Yegoryevsky belyak. Its second exit from the sea is already significantly inferior to the first and is called Nikolsky belyak. According to Severtsev, the stellate sturgeon for the first year goes from the sea to the lower reaches of the Urals and spawns there, then rolls into the sea and goes back to the lower reaches in the fall, winters there, rises a little higher and, having spawned eggs here in the spring, again rolls into the sea, winters on sea yatov and so on. Thus, the stellate sturgeon tosses, like a sterlet, every year. It enters the Don in March and April.

Judging by the fact that stellate sturgeons are not found in the river or are very rare in 3.2 kg weight and 70 cm growth, it must be assumed that only such fish Reach puberty; yet the smaller ones are in the sea. At least young stellate sturgeons stay in the rivers for a very short time, and even then they come across only in the very lower reaches; For example, they were seen in 46 kilometers above Guryev (in the Urals).

The time of spawning of stellate sturgeon almost coincides with the time of spawning of sterlets - it is in the Volga (near Simbirsk), according to Ovsyannikov, that it happens around May 10; in the Urals, she rushes from the first days of May to the middle of June, mainly at the end of May. This circumstance explains why, among the sturgeon crosses, the so-called sturgeon is most often noticed. sturgeon spike, i.e. a mixture of stellate sturgeon and sterlet. On the Don, stellate sturgeon spawning occurs in early May. According to Potekhin, in the Saratov waters, the stellate sturgeon thrashes on the right bank of the Volga in stones. Saratov fishermen claim that the female, when throwing eggs, beats hard and rubs against stones.

Sevruga caviar is very numerous and on average there are about 400,000 eggs the size of a large fraction. In general, stellate sturgeon, with the same weight as other red fish, gives a relatively larger amount of caviar. The spawning itself takes place, as has already been noted, in the very lower reaches of the rivers, sometimes even, apparently, almost in the sea itself, which, however, is an abnormal phenomenon caused by the abundance of false mouths of the Ural River. According to fishermen, stellate sturgeons always toss in large flocks, in much larger numbers than other red fish, and at this time they crowd and often jump out of the water. However, the stellate sturgeon, which has already stopped for spawning and is disturbed by something, often goes back to the sea, although it probably comes back again. Young stellate sturgeons grow up to 27- 36 cm (fishing measure), and it must be assumed that this fish becomes capable of reproduction in the 4th year.

Stellate sturgeons are caught, of course, in the lower reaches of the rivers, mainly in the Don, the Urals and then the Volga, exclusively in spring and with smooth nets. Autumn and especially winter fishing, they are of much lesser importance, and in the Urals they are never crimson, like a fat red fish, which rises much higher for wintering. Then, stellate sturgeons are also caught with seines, trains, yarygs, traps, etc. It is remarkable that in the last century the relative number of these fish has increased significantly in comparison with the number of sturgeons. This circumstance, in our opinion, can be explained very simply - by the fact that the stellate sturgeon does not rise as high for spawning as other sturgeons, and (also the fry) soon go back to the sea.

area

Distributed in the basins of the Caspian, Black and Azov seas. It is found singly in the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea (included in the Maritsa River). From the city, the Caspian stellate sturgeon began to be introduced into the Aral Sea, however, naturalization did not occur. It has winter and spring forms. It enters the Volga from the Northern Caspian, but does not rise high (although there have been cases of stellate sturgeon being caught near Rybinsk). The main spawning grounds were located as far as Volgograd; many fish spawned higher (mainly up to Saratov). In much smaller quantities enters the Urals, rises to Uralsk (and higher to Rubizhnoye). Spawning grounds are located below the Inder Mountains, 300-400 km from the mouth of the Urals. Single specimens are included in the Terek, Samur, Sulak. From the rivers of the South Caspian, the stellate sturgeon enters mainly the Kura, enters Lankaranka, Astara. Along the Iranian coast, it enters the same rivers as the sturgeon (Sefidrud and others). From the Sea of ​​Azov, for spawning, it enters mainly the Kuban, less in the Don (the Kuban has always been a "stellar" river). The main spawning grounds for stellate sturgeon in the Kuban were located between the village of Tbilisskaya and the city of Kropotkin. From the Black Sea it enters the Dnieper, rarely (but more often beluga) into the Dniester. It enters the Southern Bug, Danube, Rioni (up to Kutaisi), entry into other rivers north of the Rioni was noted: Inguri, Kodori, etc.

Description

The snout is elongated, narrow and flattened, its length is 62-65% of the length of the head. The lower lip is broken. Antennae short, devoid of fringes. Between the rows of scutes, the body on the sides is usually covered with stellate plates.

The first dorsal fin has 40-46 rays; in the anal 24-29 rays; dorsal scutes 11-14, lateral scutes 30-36, ventral scutes 10-11; gill rakers on the 1st gill arch 24-26 .

The average commercial weight of the Volga stellate sturgeon is 8-9 kg, the Kura - 7-8 kg, the Ural - 5-10 kg, the Kuban - 6-8 kg, the Don - about 7-8 kg. highest weight noted for the Danube - 80 kg, Kura - 70 kg, Don - 67 kg. Known are crossbreeds of stellate sturgeon with sterlet ("stellate sturgeon" - in the Volga, Danube, Don), with a thorn ("stellate sturgeon" - in the Urals, Kura).

Biology

It was possible to obtain viable hybrids: sterlet X stellate sturgeon and stellate sturgeon X sterlet, spike X stellate sturgeon.

Reproduction and life cycle

Spawns in rivers. In terms of timing, the course of stellate sturgeon in the Volga, Ural, Terek is approximately the same. The stellate sturgeon enters the Kura all year round, cold winters and hot summers to a lesser extent. Spawning in the same places where sturgeon spawns, in addition, in soddy areas of the coast, temporarily flooded with flood waters. Spawning begins in May at a water temperature of 15 °C, peaking at 18-20 °C.

Fertility 58.8 thousand (female 10 years old from the Urals), 416 thousand eggs (female 19 years old). The average fecundity in the Urals is 198.5 thousand, in the Volga - from 218 to 238 thousand eggs.

Natural reproduction has been preserved in the Urals. In other rivers, reproduction is based on hatchery rearing of juveniles. There are sturgeon hatcheries in the lower reaches of the Kura (1954), Volga (1955) and Pahlavi (1971, Iran).

Migrations

The stellate sturgeon regularly migrates to feeding grounds, in spring to the north and to the coastal strip, and back in autumn. The stellate sturgeon enters the Urals to spawn at a water temperature of 5.4-7.2 °C. At first, males predominate in the catches; at the height of the run, the number of males and females is approximately the same. The peak is in May. At the end of May, individuals arrive that differ from the early spring ones. In mid-June, when the water level in the river drops sharply, the late spring stellate sturgeon runs at its peak. The move ends in June. In the Volga delta, the stellate sturgeon begins to spawn in early April at a water temperature of 3-9 °C. The peak of the course in the lower reaches is the end of April-May, above the delta - June. The stellate sturgeon enters the Kura all year round, two peaks are observed: in April-May and October-November. In Kura, stellate sturgeon also occurs in early and late spring.

Human interaction

Among the sturgeons of the Caspian Basin, the stellate sturgeon occupies the first place in terms of the size of the catch. In the USSR, catches amounted to 10 thousand tons. In Iran in 1968-1971. 0.6-0.8 thousand tons of stellate sturgeon were harvested annually. Domestic catch in 1995, the domestic catch of stellate sturgeon in the Black and Azov Seas was 0.30 thousand tons, and in 1996 it decreased to 0.15 thousand tons, in the Caspian Sea - in 1995 0.98 thousand tons , in 1996 - 0.69 thousand tons. The total catch of stellate sturgeon in Russia was (in thousand tons): 1997 - 0.45; 1998 - 0.34; 1999 - 0.23; 2000 - 0.18. In Russia, stellate sturgeon is hunted only in rivers with smooth nets and mechanized cast nets. In marine territorial waters Iranian stellate sturgeon is mined with fixed nets.

The meat of stellate sturgeon is distinguished by high palatability. It is prepared chilled and frozen, yastyki is used to prepare pressed and granular caviar, sometimes mixed with caviar of other sturgeons. A vizigu is prepared from the dorsal string, canned food from cartilage, and fish glue from the swim bladder. The fat content of the body of stellate sturgeon does not exceed 11%, caviar - 10%.

The number of stellate sturgeon is declining as a result of river pollution and poaching. Stocks of stellate sturgeon are formed due to natural reproduction and industrial sturgeon breeding (90%). The volume of release of juvenile stellate sturgeon by fish hatcheries is lower than that of sturgeon. Stellate sturgeon is bred at the Hillinsky sturgeon hatchery. In 2016, fishing for Caspian sturgeon is prohibited. Since 2000, commercial fishing of Azov sturgeon has been prohibited. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has given the species the conservation status "Species on the verge of extinction".

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Notes

1. Yu. S. Reshetnikov , A. N. Kotlyar , T. S. Russ , M. I. Shatunovsky Five-language dictionary of animal names. Fish. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / under the general editorship of acad. V. E. Sokolova. - M .: Rus. yaz., 1989. - S. 53. - 12,500 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00237-0.
2. : information on the IUCN Red List website (eng.)
3. in the FishBase database
4. commercial fish Russia. In two volumes / Ed. O. F. Gritsenko, A. N. Kotlyar and B. N. Kotenev. - M .: VNIRO publishing house, 2006. - T. 1. - S. 70-71. - 624 p. - ISBN 5-85382-229-2.
5. Life of animals. Volume 4. Lancelets. Cyclostomes. Cartilaginous fish. bony fish/ ed. T. S. Rassa, ch. ed. V. E. Sokolov. - 2nd ed. - M.: Enlightenment, 1983. - 575 p.
6. Frolova Lyubov. . Ural Basin Project. uralbas.ru. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
7. . www.wwf.ru Retrieved 7 September 2016.
8. Babanin L.. azovcenter.ru. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
9. Tishchenko N.N., Tkacheva I.V.. Branch Agroindustrial Portal - RusAgroSouth. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
10. . Fishnews.ru. Retrieved 7 September 2016.

Links

• Stellate sturgeon- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
• View in the World Register of Marine Species ( World Register of Marine Species) (English)

An excerpt characterizing Sevryug

Iogel had the funniest balls in Moscow. This was said by mothers, looking at their adolescentes, [girls] doing their newly learned steps; this was said by the adolescentes and adolescents themselves, [girls and boys] dancing until they dropped; these grown girls and young people who came to these balls with the idea of ​​descending to them and finding the best fun in them. In the same year, two marriages took place at these balls. Two pretty princesses Gorchakovs found suitors and got married, and all the more they let these balls into glory. What was special at these balls was that there was no host and hostess: there was, like fluff flying, bowing according to the rules of art, good-natured Yogel, who accepted tickets for lessons from all his guests; was that these balls were still attended only by those who wanted to dance and have fun, as 13 and 14 year old girls want this, putting on long dresses for the first time. All, with rare exceptions, were or seemed pretty: they all smiled so enthusiastically and their eyes lit up so much. Sometimes the best students even danced pas de chale, of which the best was Natasha, distinguished by her grace; but at this, the last ball, only ecossaises, anglaises and the mazurka, which was just coming into fashion, danced. The hall was taken by Yogel to Bezukhov's house, and the ball was a great success, as everyone said. There were many pretty girls, and the Rostov young ladies were among the best. Both of them were especially happy and cheerful. That evening, Sonya, proud of Dolokhov's proposal, her refusal and explanation with Nikolai, was still circling at home, not allowing the girl to comb her braids, and now shone through with impetuous joy.
Natasha, no less proud of the fact that for the first time she was in long dress, at a real ball, was even happier. Both were in white, muslin dresses with pink ribbons.
Natasha became in love from the very moment she entered the ball. She was not in love with anyone in particular, but she was in love with everyone. In the one she looked at at the moment she looked, she was in love with him.
- Oh, how good! she kept saying, running up to Sonya.
Nikolai and Denisov walked through the halls, looking affectionately and patronizingly at the dancers.
- How sweet she is, she will be, - said Denisov.
- Who?
“Mr. Athena Natasha,” answered Denisov.
- And how she dances, what a g "ation!" After a pause, he said again.
- Who are you talking about?
“About your sister,” Denisov shouted angrily.
Rostov chuckled.
– Mon cher comte; vous etes l "un de mes meilleurs ecoliers, il faut que vous dansiez," said little Yogel, approaching Nikolai. "Voyez combien de jolies demoiselles. [Dear count, you are one of my best students. You need to dance. Look how much pretty girls!] - He turned with the same request to Denisov, also his former student.
- Non, mon cher, je fe "ai tapisse" ie, [No, my dear, I'll sit by the wall,] said Denisov. "Don't you remember how badly I used your lessons?"
- Oh no! – hastily comforting him, said Yogel. - You were only inattentive, but you had the ability, yes, you had the ability.
The newly introduced mazurka began to play; Nikolai could not refuse Yogel and invited Sonya. Denisov sat down next to the old women and leaned on his saber, stomping to the beat, telling something merrily and making the old ladies laugh, looking at the dancing youth. Yogel in the first pair danced with Natasha, his pride and best student. Softly, gently moving his feet in his shoes, Yogel was the first to fly across the hall with Natasha, who was timid, but diligently doing her steps. Denisov did not take his eyes off her and tapped time with his saber, with an air that clearly said that he himself did not dance only because he did not want to, and not because he could not. In the middle of the figure, he called to him Rostov, who was passing by.
“That's not it at all,” he said. - Is this a Polish mazu "ka? And she dances well." Knowing that Denisov was even famous in Poland for his skill in dancing the Polish mazurka, Nikolai ran up to Natasha:
- Go ahead, choose Denisov. Here she is dancing! Miracle! - he said.
When it was Natasha's turn again, she stood up and quickly fingering her shoes with bows, timidly, ran alone through the hall to the corner where Denisov was sitting. She saw that everyone was looking at her and waiting. Nikolai saw that Denisov and Natasha were arguing with a smile, and that Denisov refused, but smiled happily. He ran.
“Please, Vasily Dmitritch,” Natasha said, “let’s go, please.”
“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Athena,” said Denisov.
“Well, that’s enough, Vasya,” said Nikolai.
“It’s like Vaska is being persuaded,” Denisov said jokingly.
“I will sing to you all evening,” said Natasha.
- The sorceress will do everything with me! - said Denisov and unfastened his saber. He stepped out from behind the chairs, firmly took his lady by the hand, raised his head and put his foot aside, expecting tact. Only on horseback and in a mazurka was Denisov's small stature not visible, and he seemed to be the same fine fellow as he himself felt. After waiting for a beat, he looked at his lady from the side, victoriously and jokingly, unexpectedly tapped with one foot and, like a ball, rebounded resiliently from the floor and flew along in a circle, dragging his lady with him. He silently flew half the hall on one leg, and seemed not to see the chairs standing in front of him and rushed straight at them; but suddenly, snapping his spurs and spreading his legs, he stopped on his heels, stood like that for a second, with a roar of spurs, his feet tapped in one place, quickly turned around and, snapping his left foot with his right, again flew in a circle. Natasha guessed what he intended to do, and, not knowing how herself, followed him - surrendering to him. Now he circled her, now on his right, then on his left hand, then falling to his knees, circled her around him, and again jumped up and rushed forward with such swiftness, as if he intended, without taking a breath, to run across all the rooms; then he would suddenly stop again and make another new and unexpected knee. When he, briskly circling the lady in front of her seat, clicked his spur, bowing in front of her, Natasha did not even sit down to him. She fixed her eyes on him in bewilderment, smiling as if she did not recognize him. – What is it? she said.

chordates

Class

ray-finned fish

Detachment

sturgeon - Acipenseriformes

Systematic position

Family: Sturgeons - Acipenseridae

Status

Not determined due to a technical error in the adoption of the Resolution of the head of the administration (governor) Krasnodar Territory dated December 9, 2011 N 1463 (Resolution N 1463, 2011). The proposed status in the Red Book of the Krasnodar Territory: 1A "In critical condition" - 1A, KS. It is listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan with category 1 - a subspecies of the most valuable commercial species, which is under the threat of extinction (Chikhachev, 2004).

Critically Endangered, CR A2cde (IUCN, 2012.1).

According to IUCN Red List criteria

The regional stellate sturgeon subpopulation is categorized as Critically Endangered, CR A1ac; C1; E.M.S. Chebanov.

Belonging to the objects of international agreements and conventions,

ratified by the Russian Federation

Listed in Appendix II of CITES.

Morphological description

Compared to the Caspian, the Azov subspecies differs in: a shorter head and snout, a shorter snout to the cartilaginous vault of the mouth, but a wider snout at the base of the middle pair of antennae. In addition, the Azov subspecies is characterized by earlier maturation and a high growth rate (Makarov, 1970). From other species of the genus Acipenser stellate sturgeon is distinguished by its elongated and flattened snout. The lower lip is interrupted in the middle, the antennae are short, without fringe. The sides of the body between the rows of scutes are covered with stellate plates. Coloration: blackish-brown back with a blue-black tint, light sides, white belly with a silvery tint (Atlas…, 2002).

Spreading

global range: inhabits the basins of the Black, Azov and Caspian seas. In the Russian Federation, it lives in the basin of the Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas, from where it enters the rivers (Volga, Don, Kuban) for reproduction. Before regulation along the river. The Volga rose to the city of Rybinsk, along the river. Ural - to the city of Uralsk, along the river. Don - to Pavlovsk (Atlas ..., 2002). Regional range includes the waters of the Sea of ​​Azov and the rivers Kuban and Protoka. Before the construction of the Fedorovskaya dam, the Kuban stellate sturgeon bred in the middle reaches of the river. Kuban. The lower boundary of the spawning grounds was considered st. Starokorsunskaya (270 km from the mouth), and the upper one - st. Caucasian (470 km from the mouth) (Musatova, 1973), their area was about 370 hectares (Doinikov, 1936; Musatova, 1973). In the 1930s “mature” ♀ were caught 560 km from the mouth: near the city of Armavir, and at st. Nevinnomysskaya (Doinikov, 1936).

Features of biology and ecology

In the basins of various rivers: Danube, Volga, Kuban - forms winter, spring, and summer-spring seasonal races (forms). The total duration of the spring-summer anadromous migration is 120 - 130 days. AT natural conditions spawning takes place from April to September. The stellate sturgeon reaches sexual maturity earlier than other species of the family Acipenseridae. The stellate sturgeon reaches sexual maturity at the age of 5 - 6 years (♂) and 8 - 10 years (♀). The Kuban stellate sturgeon matures 1–2 years earlier than the Don sturgeon (Makarov, 1970), 2–4 years earlier than the Kura sturgeon, and 4–5 years earlier than the Volga sturgeon.

As a rule, ♀ reach maturity two or three, and sometimes five years later than ♂ (Derzhavin, 1922; Chugunov and Chugunova, 1964; Borzenko, 1942).

Spawning grounds are pebbly or sandy-pebbly rifts and spits at a depth of 0.5 - 3.5 m, and a water flow rate of 0.5 - 1.3 m / s and are located below the spawning grounds of the beluga and Russian sturgeon.

Currently, the main food organisms of stellate sturgeon are worms and molluscs. In the rivers, juveniles, when switching to exogenous feeding, feed on benthos and nektobenthos: gammarids, chironomid larvae, mysids, and oligochaetes. It should be noted that the food preferences of juveniles are somewhat different in different rivers. Plankton plays an important role in their nutrition only on early stages larval development (Zheltenkova, 1964). Natural habitat conditions in the sea for the existence of populations of the Azov stellate sturgeon remain favorable.

Numbers and trends

The number is insignificant and has been steadily declining since the end of the 20th century. Under the natural flow regime of the rivers of the Azov basin, the natural reproduction of stellate sturgeon occurred mainly in the river. Kuban (70%). In the Sea of ​​Azov, stellate sturgeon predominated among other sturgeons - about 80%. On the Kuban River in 1968, the Fedorovskaya dam cut off all the main spawning grounds for stellate sturgeon, the conditions for natural reproduction of which worsened even more with the construction of the Krasnodar hydroelectric complex in 1974 (Chebanov, 1996). The average loss of measured fish in the Azov stellate sturgeon population before 1999 was 40%, in 2000 these figures increased to 73%, and in 2001 to 91%, which indicates the catastrophic nature of changes in the age composition of the population. Since 1996, the absolute abundance of this age group of the Azov stellate sturgeon has decreased by 260 times.

Fedorovskiy fish-passage lock in the period from 1989 to 1999 transplanted 2380 pcs., and from 2000 to 2009 - 334 pcs. stellate sturgeon, i.e. in ten years, the number of transplanted fish decreased by 86%. In 2010, 461 specimens of two-year-old stellate sturgeons released by the SF FSUE FSGTSR in 2009 were transplanted into the headwater below the Fedorovskaya dam. In the period from 1989 to 1999, the Krasnodar RPS transplanted 116 specimens, and from 2000 to 2010 - 10 specimens. The decrease in the number of transplanted fish for the specified period amounted to 91.4%. Moreover, it should be noted that the transplanted RPS over the past 10 years, the producers were mainly ♂.

Since the 1970s the reproduction of stellate sturgeon in the basin of the Sea of ​​Azov was carried out only thanks to artificial reproduction. However, from 1996 to 2004, there was a decrease in the number of harvested stellate sturgeon spawners by 98.6%. In 2007 - 2011 stellate sturgeon was not reproduced in the ORZ of the Krasnodar Territory, since not a single wild ♀ was harvested. In general, the release of stellate sturgeon juveniles by fish farms in the Azov-Kuban region has decreased by 99.1% over the past 9 years.

In recent years, the mass release of stellate sturgeon juveniles into the Sea of ​​Azov was carried out in 2007 from eggs obtained from the broodstock of the YuF Federal State Unitary Enterprise FSGTSR, and amounted to about 100 thousand pieces. juvenile stellate sturgeon weighing 2.0 - 2.5 g. Kuban 14 thousand two-year-old stellate sturgeon weighing 700 - 800 g. “standard fry” (1.5–2.0 g).

Limiting factors

The reduction in the area of ​​natural spawning grounds due to the regulation of the flow of the river. Kuban: in 1967 almost 2 times (Musatova, 1973), in 1974 more than 25%. Low efficiency of operation of three artificial spawning grounds created in the downstream of the Fedorovsky hydroelectric complex (5 ha) and one in the downstream of the Krasnodar hydroelectric complex (5 ha) due to the drift of the spawning substrate with sand, fouling of zebra zebra and the lack of reclamation work.

Increase in poaching over 15 years: until the mid-1990s. the state of stocks, achieved mainly due to industrial breeding, made it possible to catch annually 300 - 400 tons of stellate sturgeon without damage, but after the collapse Soviet Union In the Sea of ​​Azov, poaching of sturgeon fish with large-mesh nets-Akhans has become widespread, as a result of which, in just six to seven years, the stellate sturgeon population has been brought to the brink of extinction (Kottelat et al., 2011). The unrecorded (poaching) loss of only the spawning part exceeded the official catch by 13 times.

Habitat pollution in the Sea of ​​Azov caused a change in the hormonal balance, in connection with this, an increase in the number of hermaphrodite individuals was noted (Kornienko et al., 1998) and the feminization of the population. According to studies of water pollution and bottom sediments of the Sea of ​​Azov (Klenkin et al., 2007), the concentration of oil products, pesticides, heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls in the Eastern part of the Sea of ​​Azov, adjacent to the mouth of the river. Kuban in the last 15 years has significantly exceeded the MPC. Moreover, it was noted that a significant accumulation of all these toxicants (especially organochlorine compounds and heavy metals) in organs and tissues (especially gonads and liver) of adult stellate sturgeon caused severe pathological changes in the body of fish and led to a decrease in the reproductive quality of spawners (Kornienko and et al., 1998; Chebanov, 1996; Chebanov, 1998).

Genetic pollution is a potential threat to the regional stellate sturgeon population. In 1960-1980. fertilized eggs of the Caspian sturgeon were introduced to the Azov sturgeon hatcheries, however, the introduction was recognized as ineffective and unacceptable and banned in 1986 (Chebanov, 1996; Chebanov et al., 1999; 2002; 2008).

The low level of control over the turnover of fertilized caviar from the Caspian basin (despite the ban, it was carried out in 2002-2003), as well as the uncontrolled cultivation of bester and other low-chromosomal, fertile hybrids on commercial fish farms in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories and the Republic of Adygea, can lead to negative genetic consequences in the structure of the vanishing population of stellate sturgeon, since if hybrids are accidentally crossed in natural conditions with stellate sturgeon, the offspring will be fertile.

Necessary and additional security measures

Similar to those given for the Russian sturgeon.

Sources of information

Atlas of freshwater fish of Russia: In 2 volumes. V.1. / Ed. Yu.S. Reshetnikov. M.: Nauka, 2002. 379 p.

Berezovskaya V. I., Savelyeva E. A., Chebanov M. S., Shepilenko N. D., Reusov M. P., Chelushkin G. A. Spawning complex for the reproduction of rheophilic fish. // Copyright certificate No. 1755752. B.I. No. 31, 1992. 12 p.

Borzenko MP Caspian stellate sturgeon (Systematics biology and fishing). // Izv. Azerbaijan scientific research fish farm. stations. 1942 Issue. 7. S. 3-114.

Derzhavin A. N. Sevryuga ( Acipenser stellatus Pallas). Biological essay. // Izv. Baku itiologist. lab. 1922. S. 1-393.

Doinikov KG Materials on the biology and assessment of sturgeon stocks in the Sea of ​​Azov. // Works by Dono-Kuban. scientific fish farm stations. Rostov-on-Don, 1936. Issue. 4. ‒ P. 5–213.

Zheltenkova M.V. Feeding of sturgeons in the southern seas. // Sturgeons of the southern seas of the Soviet Union. Tr. VNIRO, Vol. 54, Sat. 2. M., 1964. S. 9-48

Klenkin A. A., Korpakova I. G., Pavlenko L. F., Temerdashev Z. A. Ecosystem of the Sea of ​​Azov: anthropogenic pollution. Krasnodar, 2007. 324 p.

Kornienko GG, Kozhin AA, Volovik SP, Makarov EV Ecological aspects of reproduction biology. Rostov-on-Don: Everest, 1998. 238 p.

Makarov E. V. Evaluation of the dynamics and structure of the Azov sturgeon herd. Proceedings of VNIRO. T. 71. 1970. S. 96-115.

Musatova G. N. sturgeon fish rivers of Kuban and their reproduction. Krasnodar, 1973. 12 p.

Chebanov M.S. Ecological bases for the reproduction of anadromous and semi-anadromous fish under conditions of regulated runoff (on the example of the Kuban River). Abstract diss ... doc. biol. Sciences. M.: VNIPRKh, 1996. 47 p.

Chikhachev AS Approaches to the conservation of the gene pool of rare and endangered species of the river. Don. // Materials international conference"Conservation of genetic resources". - St. Petersburg. 2004. S. 882-883.

Chugunov N.L., Chugunova N.I. . Comparative commercial and biological characteristics of sturgeon in the Sea of ​​Azov. // Proceedings of VNIRO. 1964. V. 52. S. 87-182.

Chebanov M.S. 1998. Conservation of sturgeon genetic diversity: enhancement and living gene bank. Action before extinction. Proceedings of the International Conference on Conservation of Fish Genetic Diversity. Vancouver, Benwell-Atkins Ltd. pp. 163-173.

Chebanov M.S., Galich E.V., Ananyev D.V. Strategy for conservation of sturgeon under the conditions of the Kuban River flow regulation. Special Publication of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, 2: 2008. 70-82 pp.

Chebanov M.S., Karnaukhov G.I., Galich E.V., Chmyr Yu. N. Hatchery stock enhancement and conservation of sturgeon, with an emphasis on the Azov Sea populations // J. Appl. Ichthyol. 18: 2002. pp. 463-469.

Chebanov M.S., Savelyeva E.A. New strategies for broodstock management of sturgeon in the Sea of ​​Azov basin in response to changes in patterns of spawning migration. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 15(4-5): 1999. 183-190 pp.

CITES 2001. Identification Guide - Sturgeon and Paddlefish. Canadian Government Publishing. 165 pp.

Kottelat M., Gesner J. Chebanov M., Freyhof, J. 2009. Huso huso. In: IUCN 2011.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1.