Russian Federation country information

Common names: Beluga, Kyrpy, ??????
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Distributed in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, but less than in the Caspian Sea.The main spawning grouand is the Volga. All spawning grounds are inaccessible for fish due to the presence of power station dams (Ref. 26334). Reported from Don (Ref. 58293) and Kuban River drainages (Ref. 58296). This has been translocated to areas within the country for aquaculture and stocking in open waters however, it failed to establish populations in areas where it has been transplanted to (Ref. 45022). Also Ref 3561. EurRus
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Reshetnikov, Y.S., N.G. Bogutskaya, E.D. Vasil'eva, E.A. Dorofeeva, A.M. Naseka, O.A. Popova, K.A. Savvaitova, V.G. Sideleva and L.I. Sokolov, 1997
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and paddlefishes) > Acipenseridae (Sturgeons) > Acipenserinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Белуга, 欧洲鳇, Béluga, ... more

Main reference

Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof. 2007. (Ref. 59043)
References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 800 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 59043); common length : 215 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 3.2 t (Ref. 59043); max. reported age: 118 years (Ref. 47437)

Length at first maturity
L_m ?, range 200 - ? cm

Environment

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 70 - 180 m

Climate / Range

Temperate; 10°C - 20°C (Ref. 2059), preferred 16°C (Ref. 107945); 57°N - 35°N, 17°E - 60°E

Distribution

Eurasia: Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic Sea basins. Considered critically endangered (Ref. 59043). Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna). International trade restricted (CITES II, since 1.4.98; CMS Appendix II).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 62-73; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 28 - 41. Snout moderate and pointed, turning slightly upward. Lower lip not continuous, interrupted at center. Barbels oval or flat, leaf-like posteriorly, reaching almost to mouth. Five rows of scutes, dorsal 11-14 (first one smallest), lateral 41-52 on each side, ventral 9-11 on each side. Back ash-grey or greenish, flanks lighter, belly white.

Pelagic at the sea, following its prey. Undertakes upriver migration to spawn. Juveniles occur in shallow riverine habitats during their first summer. Spawns in the main course of large and deep rivers with strong current and on stone or gravel bottom (Ref. 59043). Feeds mostly on sea fishes (Black Sea whiting, anchovies, flatfishes, gobies, fry of bottom-living fishes), also crustaceans, mollusks, mysids and amphipods. Fisheries are based almost entirely on the value of the caviar, but meat also is sold fresh, smoked and frozen; eaten broiled, boiled, fried and baked (Ref. 9988). Bester, a hybrid of female Huso huso and male sterlet Acipenser ruthenus, has been successfully cultivated for its high quality eggs (Ref. 9988). The largest sturgeon and largest European freshwater fish. In Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive fish (Ref. 6472). Threatened due to overfishing for meat at the sea and for caviar in estuaries. These threats will soon cause global extinction of the natural populations. Survival can only depend on stocking (Ref. 59043).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bcd)

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.7500 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.4 ±0.3 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.1; tm=13-22; tmax=100; Fec=360,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Very high vulnerability (89 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Unknown

Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758)