River fish of Russia: list and description of species

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Our planet has been inhabited by many different animals for millions of years. Among them, a special type stands out - fish. They filled rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. These animals play a large role in the natural food chain as well as in the human habitat. Both marine and river fish serve as a source of food for people, medicines and fertilizers for agriculture, as well as raw materials for light industry. What are these inhabitants of the rivers of our country, how do they survive and what do they eat? This issue deserves due attention, because all living organisms on Earth are essential parts of nature.

Fish of Russian rivers

The most common fish living in the rivers of Russia are beluga, pike, burbot, catfish, sturgeon, stickleback, crucian carp, salmon, carp, perch, carp, rudd. And this is not a complete list of them. The fastest river fish include salmon, dace, podust, asp and sabrefish, and the most nimble - rudd, bream, roach, scavenger, tench and crucian carp. These aquatic vertebratesare divided into predatory and peaceful inhabitants. What river fish eat directly depends on this division. The former feed on smaller representatives of this class, while the latter spend most of their time looking for plankton and plant foods. In the reservoirs of Russia, especially in summer, various algae grow rapidly, which are a haven for crustaceans and mollusks. And this is not just food, but a kind of delicacy for fish. Predators (for example, pike, pike perch, perch), in turn, feed on smaller fish.

The largest representatives of river fish

In our time, any river fish, the length of which is more than 1, 80 meters, and weighs at least 90 kg, is considered a large individual. Record holders in size are several species of these aquatic vertebrates. One of them is a beluga. Its weight reaches 1400 kg, and its length is about five meters. Not far behind the size of the beluga and pike. Its largest representatives are found in the northern rivers of Russia.

European (ordinary) catfish weighs about 350 kg and is up to 4.5 meters long. It lives in almost all large rivers of both Russia and the CIS. The catfish is unusual in that its body consists of a huge head and a huge tail.

The most valuable freshwater fish

River fish of Russia have their most valuable specimens. The most expensive of them is the Russian beluga. For example, a female caught in the Tikhaya Pine River, weighing 1227 kg, produced 240 kg of very high quality caviar. Its value today is about two hundred thousanddollars.

The second most expensive is carp. It belongs to the category of especially valuable commercial fish. For example, in the seventies in the Volga River delta, the catch of carp was at least ten thousand tons per year.

Fishes of the rivers of Primorye

Russia has a huge territory, in the reservoirs of which many different species of fish live. So, considering the inhabitants of fresh water bodies of the Primorsky Territory, one can count about one hundred and fifty of their varieties. Some, such as the Sakhalin taimen, are even listed in the Red Book. Other river fish of Primorye can boast the most unusual names - for example, snake catcher, gubar horse, yellow-cheeked and skygazer. In addition to the mentioned fish, Amur pike, catfish, crucian carp, carp, salmon, lenok, kuzhda and grayling live in local fresh waters. One of the most unpretentious and common fish of the Primorsky Territory is the rudd. And although many locals consider it too bony, but in terms of taste, it is magnificent. There are two types of rudd: small-scaled and large-scaled. Usually this fish grows up to half a meter in length and weighs up to one and a half kilograms.

Fishing near Moscow

For lovers of fishing for many years, the Moscow region has been a favorite place for a relaxing holiday. Amazing nature, quiet evenings, clean air and plenty of fish in the reservoirs - all that is needed for Russian fishing. The rivers Pakhra, Severka, Ruza, Istra, Nerskaya, Protva, Nara, Besputa, Dubna, Sestra and others hide various popular and tasty fish in their waters. This isand perch, and carp, and crucian carp, and roach, and pike, and gudgeon, and bream, and chub, and bream, and asp, and bleak. River fish of the Moscow region are caught both with the help of rods and with the help of spinning, fly fishing, boat and bale.

Pike is the queen of Russian rivers

Speaking about the fish that are found on the territory of Russia, one cannot fail to mention the heroine of Russian fairy tales - the pike. It lives not only in the reservoirs of our country, but also in the rivers of Europe, as well as Asia and the United States of America. The size of the pike is predetermined by the food base: the larger the average size of the fish in the river, the larger the pike can grow. It is rightfully considered one of the most predatory freshwater fish. Her appearance fully testifies to this: a long flattened head with a huge mouth and a lot of sharp teeth looks intimidating. Many river fish have become prey for this agile predator. The color of pike is mostly gray-green, with speckles. Thanks to the slippery cylindrical body, they move quickly and swiftly. Pike feed mainly on smaller fish (roach, perch and others), but there are often cases of eating individuals of their own species. In addition, the diet of these predators includes amphibians, and reptiles, and large insects, and various garbage, and small mammals, and even chicks of waterfowl.

Rare and endangered fish

Today, in Russia, many river fish need human participation and care, the list of which is increasing every year. These include the Azov beluga, sterlet, Volgaherring, Volkhov whitefish, black carp, Baikal grayling, Baikal sturgeon, common sculpin, Kamchatka salmon and others. All these fish are on the verge of extinction. Take, for example, the Volkhov whitefish, which earlier, before the construction of the Volkhovskaya hydroelectric power station (1925), played a large role in fishing and was found in large numbers in the Volkhov, Syaz, Svir rivers.

The catch of the Baikal sturgeon in the nineteenth century reached three thousand centners, and in the nineties of the twentieth century it was reduced to two hundred centners. Today, most often these river fish are found in Lake Baikal and the rivers flowing into it - the Angara, Kitoy, Belaya, Selenga, Barguzin and Khamar-Daban. A similar fate befell the Baikal grayling, also previously widespread in these waters.

Another endangered species is the black carp. Due to a sharp decrease in the number of this fish in the seventies of the last century, a ban on its catch was established. Today, black carp is found in Lake Khanka, as well as in the Amur and Ussuri rivers.

Ecological impact

Unfortunately, today the ecological situation affects many river systems. Quite often there are cases of river pollution by emissions from factories and industrial enterprises, storm sewage, which include various hazardous chemicals. River fish, crayfish, turtles and other inhabitants under such circumstances not only change their habitual way of life, but alsobecome victims of mutations or disappear altogether. And it's no secret that insufficient attention from human society can lead to irreparable environmental disaster.