Black Sea salmon is familiar to fishing enthusiasts, like trout or Lavrik. It was once abundant in the area of the Azov and Black Sea, but is currently rare. The number of this fish in Azov was especially reduced. Despite the fact that measures are being taken to restore the population, it continues to decline steadily. This type of fish is listed in the Red Book, illegal fishing is suppressed, but today the situation has not changed.
Habitat
Black Sea salmon is a subspecies of salmon; the species is trout. Its habitat is the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. These are: Krasnodar Territory, Abkhazia, Georgia, as well as the coast of the Sea of Azov. But recently, it is noted that this fish is practically not found on Azov. It is most widespread in the region of large rivers, such as Psou, Psezuapse, Mzymta and others. But the main spawning rivers are in Georgia and Abkhazia.
Black Sea Salmon (trout)
Lives in places where rivers flow into the sea, therefore this subspecies has two forms:
- Passing through. Lives in salty sea water. For spawning, it rises up the river. The length of the fish reaches up to 110 centimeters, and the mass is up to 25 kilograms. But such instances are very rare. Basically, the size of the Black Sea salmon is: length 50 centimeters, fish weight 3.5 kilograms.
- Residential. This form of fish resides in the river. Better known as trout. She is much smaller than her fellow living in the sea. This is due to the fact that there is less food in the rivers, so its size is: length 25 centimeters, fish weight - up to 1.5 kilograms.
Black Sea trout is a predator. Its food in the sea consists of small fish and invertebrates (crustaceans and mollusks). Trout also feeds on small fish, invertebrates and insects. In its way of life, trout is a solitary fish that does not live in a large flock, but can go into small flocks.
Description
What does the Black Sea salmon look like? In the photo we see an elongated body, covered with small scales, from the back the fish has a dark silver color with a bluish tint. The lower part of the sides is silvery, smoothly turning into a whitish abdomen. Dark spots are scattered throughout the body, sometimes black. It has a large number of gill stamens and a high caudal peduncle. The trout has a large mouth in which there are many small teeth. They are even in language.
Breeding
Black Sea salmon spawn for the most part in the spring, but sometimes it occurs in January-March. What it is connected with is unknown. Both forms of fish go to spawn. It passes in rivers, in places of rapids, where sea fish rises. The female digs small holes and lays eggs. On this, her child-bearing mission is over, and the female trout goes to sea.
The male remains to guard the nest from the trout, which is not averse to feast on delicious eggs. Their number can reach 12 thousand. After the eggs are fertilized, he fills the pits with bottom pebbles, forming the so-called spawning hillocks. The male guards the nest for some time, and then goes to sea.
Fry development
Eggs develop approximately 45 days. This requires a constant temperature of the water, which will be maintained throughout the incubation period. Then fry appear, or as they are called speckled. They feed on the larvae of water insects or on the individuals themselves (adults). In the second year, the motley begins with the preparatory period, during which preparation for living in salt water occurs.
The duration of the motley in river water can reach three years. Moreover, they are similar to trout and lead the same way of life. Having gained a mass of 200-250 grams, Black Sea salmon migrates to the sea, where it quickly loads weight. An interesting fact, the marine and riverine species of salmon during spawning can give offspring of two forms.
Salmon fishing
Commercial fish is its continuous form - trout. Trout is an object of sport fishing. Black Sea salmon is on the verge of extinction. For a very long time, people did not think about the fate of this fish, increasing its prey from year to year. At the same time, he blocked the rivers where there were places of spawning, polluted them, not thinking that juveniles developed in them. Sobering came only after it became clear that in spawning places the remaining fish can simply be counted.
She was banned from catching, but now it continues. Under the guise of catching mullet, red mullet or horse mackerel during spawning, fishers try to put netting closer to shore. In Georgia and Abkhazia, no one is stopping poaching; for the most part, fish that go to spawn are caught, which also negatively affects the number of fish.
Fishing
Little is known about fishing Black Sea salmon in the sea. This fish can mainly be caught by trout when it goes into the river to spawn. He is caught on a float rod or fishing rod without a float with one sinker 3-4 grams. It can not be caught on a light trout snap, as it easily copes with it. In those places where fish can be caught, use a thick fishing line with a thickness of 0.3 mm. When fishing, use a worm as a nozzle. They also use spinning or fly fishing for fishing.
In addition, in the Caucasus they use a casting network for fishing. With its help, salmon is caught in the period of prolonged summer rains, when the water becomes completely opaque. A place with a weak current is selected and a network is thrown. In Georgia, trout is caught in shallow rivers with clear water at night, using brightly flaming torches and harpoons.