Fishes of Baikal. The smallest and largest fish of Baikal Valuable Baikal fish

The Baikal sturgeon, its length reaches 1.5 - 1.8 m, and its weight is 100 - 130 kg or more. The second largest and heaviest is taimen. Its length is up to 1 m, and its weight is up to 40 - 50 kg. The Gurvich shirokolobka is the smallest fish in Baikal, the weight of an adult is only 2 - 3 g.

Minnows are the most common fish in the bays of Baikal. And only the insignificant size of this fish is the reason that there is still no fishing for it.

The most prolific fish of Lake Baikal: burbot and sturgeon. A female burbot weighing about 4 kg lays up to 2.3 million eggs. The amount of sturgeon eggs laid increases with the age of the females to 350 - 400 thousand pieces.

But the most numerous fish of Baikal are the large and small golomyanka. The total number and biomass is 2 times greater than all other fish and amounts to 150 - 170 thousand tons. The biomass of other fish in Baikal is 76 thousand tons.

There are no herbivorous fish in Baikal, those for which plant food is the main food. Some species of coastal bottom gobies - broadhead - eat algae - ulotrix, and possibly also tetraspora - in small quantities. Algae plants are eaten by the sorog in the summer.

Pelagic fish are fish that live in the upper layers of the open part of Lake Baikal, some of them spend most of their lives away from the shores, and approach the shore only to lay eggs. Omul is also a pelagic fish, but lives in the open part of Lake Baikal, when the water warms up and a sufficient number of food planktonic organisms appear there. Golomyanok can be classified as pelagic fish. They live in deeper water layers and near the bottom, and are almost never found near the shore, except when, after the birth of larvae, dead females are thrown ashore by wind currents and waves. Of the pelagic fish in Baikal that are of commercial importance are: omul, yellowfin and longwing. There are 5 species of pelagic fish in open Baikal. Others prefer bottom ecotopes, coastal areas and bays and are rare in Baikal.

Sturgeon fish (sturgeon, beluga, etc.) were considered red fish in Rus'. The color of their muscle tissue (“meat”) is not red, but pale pinkish. It is called red for its taste and delicacy. Salmon fish, most of which are marine inhabitants, have red flesh. In fresh waters they only reproduce and spend the first period of life. In Baikal there are representatives of red fish based on the color of their meat - Davatchans. They are found more often in deltaic areas of shallow waters. In Baikal itself, davatchans (Salvelinus alpinus var erythrinus Georgy) are rare, mainly in northern Baikal, mainly in the area of ​​Frolikha Bay and in coastal areas from the Tompa River to the Upper Angara.

All fish of Baikal belong to three groups (complexes): Siberian, Siberian-Baikal and Baikal.

How many species of fish live in Baikal?

According to the latest reports, Baikal is inhabited by 55 local species and subspecies belonging to 28 genera of 13 families, together with acclimatized 6 species - to 32 genera of 15 families. Lake minnow, tench, spined loach are random species, i.e. they can enter Baikal with flood waters, but they do not have the conditions to live in it. The Davatchan is also not a Baikal species, although the conditions for feeding in the lake are sufficient. It was not noted that after accidentally entering Baikal he returned to the lake again. Frolikh or lakes along the river. Neruchanla, where he is a permanent resident. Acclimatized vendace has not been detected for the last 10 years. Some authors include these fish in the general list of Baikal species, others do not, which is why there is no agreed list. In addition, the species composition of endemic sculpin gobies is still being refined.

1. Sturgeon family ACIPENSERIDAE.

Genus - sturgeon, species - Siberian sturgeon, subspecies - Baikal sturgeon - Acipenser, baeri baicalensis (F. Nikolski, 1896).

2. Salmon family SALMONIDAE - 3 genera.

Genus - lenok, species - lenok - Brachymystax lenor (Pallas, 1773).

Genus - taimen, species - common taimen - Hucho taimen (Pallas, 1773).

Genus - char, species - Arctic char, subspecies - Davatchan - Salvelinus alpinus erythrinus (Georgi, 1775).

3. Whitefish family COREGOMIDAE.

Genus - whitefish, vendace, species - (common) whitefish, subspecies - whitefish, Siberian whitefish, lake-river whitefish - Coregonus Lavaretus pidschian (Gmelin, 1788), subspecies - Baikal lake whitefish Coregonus Lavaretus baicalensis (Dybowski); species - (Arctic) omul, subspecies - Baikal omul Coregonus autumnalis migratorius (Georgi).

4. Grayling family THYMALLIDAE.

Genus - grayling, species - Siberian grayling, subspecies - black Baikal grayling Thymallidae arcticus baicalensis (Dybowski), subspecies - white Baikal grayling T arcticus brevipinnus Svetovidov (Egorov, 1985).

5. Family ESOCIDAE.

Genus - pike, species - common pike Esox lucius (Linnaeus).

6. Cyprinidae family CYPRINIDAE: 5 genera, 7 species. Genus - dace, species - ide Leuciscus idus (Linnaeus); view -

common dace, subspecies - Siberian dace Leuciscus leuciscus baicalensis (Dybowski).

Genus - minnows, species - lake minnow Phoxinus perenurus (Eallas), species - common minnow Phoxinus phoxinus (Linnaeus).

Genus - roach, species - roach, subspecies - common roach Rutilus rutilus lacustris (Pallas).

Genus - crucian carp, species - silver crucian carp, Chinese crucian carp, subspecies - silver crucian carp Carassius auratus gibelio (Bloch, 1782).

Genus - tench, species - tench Tinea linca (Linnaeus).

7. Balitoridae family BALITORIDAE.

Genus - Whiskered loaches, species - Siberian loach Barbatula tom (Dybowski).

8. Loach family COBITIDAE.

Genus - spined loach, species - Siberian spined loach Cobitus melanoleuca (Nichils).

9. Burbot family LOTIDAE.

Genus - burbot, species - burbot Lota lota (Linnaeus).

10. Percidae family PERCIDAE.

Genus - perch, species - river perch Perea tiuviatilis (Linnaeus).

The noted 21 species and subspecies of fish belong to Euro-Siberian and Siberian representatives of the ichthyofauna. They are adapted to varying degrees to Baikal conditions, and some of them were included in the totality of Baikal organisms and have evolved together for quite a long time.

To the group of truly Baikal autochthonous fauna

include golomyanka-goby fish. They dominate in the number of species, ichthyomass and distribution in the water column, so Baikal is more often represented as a golomyanka-goby body of water. According to the latest data from V.G. Sideleva, the endemic complex includes 34 species and subspecies of three families. But this generalization also seems incomplete.

Order - scorpion-shaped SCORPAENIFORMES, suborder slingshot-shaped Cottoidei.

11. The family of sculpins and slingshots includes 4 genera and 9 species.

12. Family of deep broadheads

ABYSSOCOTTIDAE includes 7 genera, 23 species.

13. Family Golomyankae COMEPHORIDAE, one genus, two species.

Of these, the most notable are the viviparous fish - the large golomyanka, Coterbin baicalensis, and the small golomyanka, or Dybovsky's golomyanka, Comephorus dybowski. They are also the most numerous in Baikal. Their biomass makes up 67% of the biomass of all fish in the lake. But they have not yet been studied enough to reasonably talk about the roots of their origin.

In addition, Baikal is acclimatized

Whitefish family COREGONIDAE.

Genus - whitefish, vendace, species - peled, cheese Coregonus peled (Gmelin); species - vendace Coregonus aibula Linnaeus. Confirmation of its availability in Baikal is required.

14. Firebrand family ELEOTRIDAE.

Genus - firebrands, species - firebrands Perccottus glenii (Dybowski, 1877).

15. Catfish family SILURIDAE.

Genus - Far Eastern catfish, species - Amur catfish Parasilurus Azotus (Linnaeus).

Cyprinidae family CYPRINIDAE.

Genus - bream, species - bream, subspecies - eastern bream Abramis

brama orientalis (Berg, 1949).

Genus carp, species - carp, common carp, subspecies - Amur carp Cyprinus carpio haematopterus (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846).

In total, 16-17 different forms of fish entered Baikal accidentally, were released intentionally and without justification.

Among the golomyanka-goby fishes, only four species were of commercial importance: the yellowfish Cottocomephorus grewingkii, the long-winged broadmouth Cottocomephorus inermus, Alexandra (Northern Baikal yellowfish) Cottocomephorus alexandrae and the large red broadfish Procottus major. Currently, they are not being developed as a fishery. However, a method has been found for catching golomyankas, which allows them to be caught at any time at almost any point throughout the entire water column.

The Baikal omul is a complex collection of fish that occupies almost the entire 300-meter thickness of Lake Baikal. More than half of the total fish catches on Lake Baikal are omul. Therefore, Baikal is glorified as an “omul barrel”.

Baikal omuls differ in appearance, main (characteristic) habitat zones, maturation periods, spawning sites, and population dynamics. Based on these characteristics, they are combined into groups: bottom-deep-water omuls (omuls of small rivers), coastal-pelagic (North Baikal and Barguzin populations) and pelagic (Selenga population) fish. This made them accessible for understanding the way of life to a wide range of the population, who previously subdivided omul only by spawning sites, appearance and taste.

Baikal whitefish are represented by two subspecies: the lake, the Baikal form itself, spawning in the lake, and the lake-river whitefish, widespread in the rivers of Siberia. At the same time, lake whitefish are differentiated not only by spawning areas, but also by spawning time: autumn and winter spawning (Malomorsky - November and January, Chivyrkui - November and December). The most numerous are the Selenga and Chivyrkui populations.

Pyzhyan forms lake and lake-river forms throughout its range. In Baikal, its lake-river form - Its spawning is currently mainly in the rivers Upper Angara and Barguzin, much less in the river. Selenga and especially in small rivers. Each of them is represented by populations, i.e. they are separated from each other according to their spawning and main habitats. Among the whitefish (whitefish, omul) of Baikal, this is the fastest growing and most delicious fish. But it is easily accessible to fishing and is not taken into account by fishing statistics. Consequently, fish farming measures and protection from unregulated fishing, as well as from official fishing, did not significantly affect it, although the biotechnology of breeding and breeding prospects have been developed in sufficient detail, including at the Limnological Institute. Whitefish numbers are vanishingly small.

Baikal grayling - white and black - differ quite strongly in the annual course of physiological processes, habitat zones (sandy, rocky soils), the predominant composition of food organisms they consume, spawning sites, growth rate and fat content.

How many endemic fish species are there in Baikal?

All 34 species and subspecies of golomyanka-goby fish are endemic. These include the Baikal omul, the Baikal black and white grayling and the Baikal lake whitefish.

How many species of fish live in open Baikal?

There are 6 species in the pelagic zone of Lake Baikal: two pelagic species of golomyanka; three species of benthopelagic yellowflies: yellowwing, Alexandra, and longwing; Baikal omul. Part of the annual cycle of the pelagic Selenga population of omul and of the coastal pelagic North Baikal omul takes place in the surface layer of the pelagic zone.

Other fish prefer bottom and coastal biotopes of open shallow waters, bays and quarrels of Lake Baikal. Among them are bottom-deep-water populations of large big-eyed omuls, breeding in small rivers (small river omuls) and living to depths of 300 m.

Is it possible to relocate Baikal organisms to other bodies of water?

Omul, for example, has been resettled and is successfully developing in reservoirs in England, Czechoslovakia, Japan, Irkutsk,

Bratsk reservoirs and in the Ivano-Arakhlei lakes of the Chita region. There are observations that spawning schools have already formed in the Bratsk Reservoir, which entered the river to spawn. White. Omul was also moved to Lake Khubsugul and, according to Mongolian ichthyologists, a residential form formed there. It spawns in tributaries flowing into the lake. Sturgeon from Lake Baikal were moved to the Ivano-Arakhlei Lakes.

Can resettled organisms disrupt the ecological balance?

Issues of resettlement and acclimatization require a very careful approach, especially if it concerns such unique reservoirs as Baikal. Without thinking carefully, without knowledge of the ecology of a reservoir, the biology of resettled organisms and their possible competition with natives (residential forms of organisms in a given reservoir), one can seriously disrupt the existing ecological balance in it and cause damage to traditional local fisheries.

At the same time, the resettlement of, for example, Sevan trout (gigarkuni) to Lake Issyk-Kul has improved the species composition of commercial fish, and trout in this lake grows faster than in Sevan and reaches 2-3 times more weight.

In each individual case, the decision to relocate organisms to a new body of water must be preceded by a thorough study of the possible consequences, otherwise a good intention can turn into environmental pollution. Sometimes this happens unintentionally, as happened, for example, with the aquatic plant Elodea canada. Having accidentally fallen into the reservoirs of the Old World, it has now occupied all the biotopes available to it. According to the observations of hydrobiologists, elodea has already appeared in the bays of Baikal, for example, in Posolsky Sora, and is causing harm to fisheries. According to research in recent years, elodea was discovered in the Small Sea (Mukhor Bay), in the Barguzin Bay and in the north of Lake Baikal. Dracena, after the construction of the annals connecting the river basins of the European part, flowing into both the southern seas (Volga, Don, Dnieper), and the northern (Northern Dvina), into the Baltic Sea (West Dvina, Neva), spread throughout all reservoirs , and currently serves as a serious obstacle to water intakes at power plants, as well as to shipping.

What are the largest and smallest fish living in Baikal at present?

The largest fish is the Baikal sturgeon, its length reaches 1.5-1.8 m, and its weight reaches 100-130 km or more. The second largest fish is taimen, its length is up to 1 m and its weight is up to 40-50 kg. The smallest fish in Lake Baikal is the Gurvich broadhead. Adult specimens of this fish weigh only 2-3 g. Minnows, or moths as locals call them, are one of the many fish in the bays of Baikal.

What are the most prolific fish in Baikal?

Burbot and sturgeon. A female burbot weighing about 4 kg lays up to 2.3 million eggs. The amount of eggs laid by sturgeon increases with the age of the females, reaching 350-400 thousand pieces.

What is the most numerous fish in Baikal?

Big and small golomyanka. Their total biomass is 2 times greater than that of other fish living in the lake, and is about 150 thousand tons. the biomass of all other fish in Baikal is 74 thousand tons. If we assume that these fish weigh on average about 30 g in adulthood, then 5 billion of these fish live in Baikal. But since the biomass of both species is approximately equal, and the weight indicators differ by more than 3 times, then, consequently, the relative abundance of the small golomyanka is approximately 3 times greater.

Why do the same fish lay different amounts of eggs in different years?

The amount of eggs that mature and are laid by fish depends on feeding conditions and the abundance or lack of food. With an abundance of food and favorable feeding conditions, more eggs are laid. In unfavorable years, when there is a lack of nutrients for the formation and ripening of eggs, fish may not go to spawn at all, and in some cases, in particularly unfavorable conditions, already formed eggs are completely or partially absorbed. For different species of fish, the amount of eggs depends on their biological characteristics. The omul lays up to 30 thousand eggs and does not care about it anymore. And goby fish, for example, have a very important feature: laying a relatively small amount of eggs, they protect them until the fry hatch. Males guard the egg laying. This probably allows them to survive the abundance of predatory gammarids in Baikal, which quickly destroy eggs if they are not protected. In addition to protecting the eggs, the males, by moving their fins, create an influx of fresh water to the clutches and thereby ensure a constant supply of oxygen.

Why is it impossible for fish to have a “population explosion”?

In any ecosystem, the number of animals is associated with available food. Those born in excess are disposed of at different levels. Thus, a female omul spawns up to 30 thousand eggs, and only 5-7 survive to become adult fish. Otherwise, after 3-4 generations there would be more omul than water. But there is always the potential to instantly increase your numbers. Therefore, when relationships in the predator-prey system are disrupted or when the ecosystem experiences more dramatic changes in the reservoir, population explosions are a common occurrence. An example of this is the appearance of numerous generations in fish during the formation of reservoirs. Periodic changes in numbers over generations also depend on hydroclimatic factors. Of course, they are also observed in Baikal, and in connection with this there is a service for forecasting the number of animals and plants. In the late 1950s - early 1960s. climatic conditions on Lake Baikal were optimal for the birth of numerous generations of many fish species. At the same time, the lake level was raised by the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station. The overall impact of the climatic factor and the “regulatory effect” caused an outbreak in the number of fish, the young of which are born and fatten in the shallow coastal zone. The increased number of fish and other aquatic organisms affected all parts of the Baikal ecosystem. Scientists are still unraveling this tangle of interconnected phenomena.

In this regard, the effects of pollution that reduce the reproductive potential of animals are also taken into account.

Is there red fish in Baikal?

Sturgeon fish (sturgeon, sterlet, beluga) were considered red fish in Rus'. The color of their muscle tissue (“meat”) is not red, but pale pink. It is called red for its taste and delicacy. The red color of the meat is found in salmon fish, most of which are marine inhabitants. In fresh waters they only reproduce and spend the first period of life. In Baikal, there are representatives of fish that are red in their delicacy - sturgeon and red in the color of their meat - Davatchans. They are found more often in deltaic areas of shallow waters. In Baikal itself, mainly in the area of ​​Frolikha Bay and in coastal areas from the Tompa River to the Upper Angara.

Are there representatives of cod fish in Baikal?

The cod species include burbot, which lives in quarrels and rivers - tributaries of the lake, as well as in the lake itself.

Are there fish migrations in Baikal?

Very significant along-shore migrations are made by large fish: sturgeon, taimen, lake-river whitefish, acclimatized carp, catfish, rotan, bream. But for the latter, they are associated with the choice of place in a new body of water. Born in certain areas, they spread along the entire coast of Lake Baikal.

The most ambitious migrations are made by fish in the early stages - larvae and fry. The juveniles of coastal-spawning yellowfin and sand shrew are pelagic and are found in the zone of along-shore and so-called circular general currents in Baikal. Already

two months after birth, juvenile sand flies can be found throughout the surface layer of warm coastal waters, and yellow flies can be found anywhere in Lake Baikal.

It is impossible not to notice that the Baikal omul has a Latin name - migratorius - “wandering” whitefish.

The North Baikal population of omul migrates to the Maloye More region to feed, sometimes reaching Kultuk-Slyudyanka. Part of the Selenga omul population comes to these same areas to feed. Basically, it feeds in the Selenga shallow waters and in the open part of Lake Baikal after the water warms up. Spawning migrations occur in the rivers where omul lays eggs - Selenga, Upper Angara, Kicher, B. and M. Chivyrkue, Barguzin, Bolshaya, Kultuchnaya, Abramikha, etc.

Fish migrations in Lake Baikal depend on water temperature and food availability. Some species of fish (sculpin gobies) are adapted exclusively to life on the bottom, and their migrations are very insignificant, and then only near the bottom. Others, for example, golomyankas, are very sensitive to changes in water temperature and therefore perform vertical migrations in the water column. In spring, omul migrates along shallow waters, where food plankton develops a little earlier, and as the water in open Baikal warms up and the food it needs appears there, it begins to migrate throughout the entire water area. Migration of organisms is also caused by anthropogenic influences. Almost all organisms avoid places with contaminated water.

What are pelagic fish?

Fish that live in the upper layers of the open part of Lake Baikal. Some of them, for example, yellowwing and longwing gobies, spend a significant part of their lives away from the shores and approach the shore only to lay eggs. Omul also belongs to pelagic fish, but in the open part of Baikal there is more of it when the water warms up and a sufficient number of food planktonic organisms appear there. The actual pelagic fish, or rather bathypelagic fish, which are not even associated with the substrate by reproduction, include golomyanok. They live in deeper layers and near the bottom, and are almost never near the shore, except when they are carried in by currents.

Can Baikal fish change their color?

Omul, grayling, and whitefish change their color depending on the color of the substrate. Above the sandy bottom they become light; over dark stones - darker ones, matching the color of the stones; under artificial conditions, against the blue background of the bottom of the aquarium - gray-bluish. Moreover, only sighted fish change their color. Fish that are blinded or have their eyes covered with an opaque film are dark-colored, almost black.

Do fish have a sense of smell?

It has been established that salmon in a complex river system find their place of birth by the odors of bottom sediments. The eel has a keen sense of smell, returning to its place of birth to reproduce tens of thousands of kilometers from its feeding grounds. Some fish, especially deep-sea ones, are able to detect their victims by smell. Experiments in aquariums on Lake Baikal revealed the ability to distinguish smell in bottom-dwelling coastal gobies. A small grayling (100-150 g) was allowed into a flow-through aquarium with a capacity of 7-8 m3 of water, where there were broadhead gobies, which could not swallow the gobies living in the aquarium. However, as soon as the grayling was released into the water of the aquarium, the bullheads instantly hid in secluded places, from where it was not easy to extract them. Even the release of a seal (weighing 15-20 kg), which eats them, caused them less “horror” than the presence of a small grayling. Grayling and omul themselves react negatively even to industrial wastewater from the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, diluted 10 thousand times or more.

Do fish have a sixth sense organ?

Fish, amphibians, as well as amphibian larvae have so-called lateral line organs - sensory organs located along the entire body. They consist

They are made from sensitive cells with hair-like processes emerging. These organs detect the slightest fluctuations in water caused by any organism or object moving nearby. Some fish are able to detect a moving body at a distance of more than 15 m. Although other animals do not have similar organs, they should probably be considered specific auditory-tactile organs of aquatic vertebrates, since they perceive the oscillatory movements of the environment in which they live (like the auditory organ ), and its mechanical pressure (as a tactile organ).

How do deep-sea fish (animals) differ from fish that live near the surface?

Deep-sea fish often lack a swim bladder or have a very small one. Their buoyancy is ensured mainly by fat, like in golomyankas. Many of them have large mouths and simply capture and strain large volumes of water. Animals that constantly live at great depths, as already mentioned, often lack organs of vision, or rather, visual pigment, and therefore cannot see, but they have organs adapted to enable them to navigate and search for food. Organisms that live permanently at great depths are often colorless or dirty gray in color. Almost all fish living close to the surface have a swim bladder, sighted eyes, their body is painted in different colors, etc.

How does storm wind affect fish behavior?

In summer on Lake Baikal, with northwestern winds, warm surface waters are driven along with food plankton from the western to the eastern shores. Commercial fish schools also migrate beyond these waters. In place of warm water, cold, clear, dark blue water rises from the depths. This water is poor in both food organisms and fish. Fishermen know that they should not set nets for omul in cold water. But where there is yellowish-green warm water, there are fish, you can set up nets. But black Baikal grayling is better caught in cold water in coastal areas with a rocky bottom, and white Baikal grayling is better caught in warmer areas with sandy soil.

How is the age of fish determined?

Along the scales, on which rings are deposited, similar to the growth rings of trees. The age of the fish is determined by the number of such rings, and the growth rate during the season is determined by their width. The age of scaleless fish (gobies, golomyanok, etc.) is determined by otoliths - spherical calcareous stones in the inner ear. In otoliths, successive layers are also deposited from year to year. In a cross section, they are visible, as are the rings on the scales. By counting their number, the age of the fish is determined.

Baikal is one of the most magnificent and breathtaking lakes. The waters of this Russian landmark are home to a wide variety of fish species. This feature developed a long time ago, when a large number of vertebrates of different fauna complexes entered the lake. To date, it has been established that 54 species of fish live in the waters of Lake Baikal.

Groups of fish

Ichthyologists have divided all species of fish into three large groups:

• Siberian - includes vertebrates living in the bays, shores and litters of the lake. Another name for the group is sora. This complex includes representatives of carp, perch and pike. It should be noted that this also includes acclimatized species of fauna, namely: carp, catfish and bream.
• Siberian-Baikal - consists of the family of grayling, sturgeon and whitefish. Vertebrates live in coastal zones, as well as in the pelagic zone of open Lake Baikal.
• Baikal - this group includes about 50% of all fish species. Vertebrates focus on greater depths and water edges. This complex includes representatives of sculpins.

Baikal is considered an ideal place for fishing. Thanks to the huge number of different fish, every fisherman is satisfied with his catch.

Fishes of the Baikal region

There are fish that are most valuable and in demand among fishermen. These include:

Perch

Perch - the maximum height of vertebrates is 25 cm, all - 200 g. In the warm season, 30% of the fish of this species are concentrated in the lake; in winter, perch migrates to rivers.

Dace

Elets - this representative of the aquatic world is in the lake all year round and loves to swim off the shores of Lake Baikal.

crucian carp

Crucian carp – the lake is predominantly inhabited by gray crucian carp, the length of which can reach 30 cm, weight – 300 g.

Pike

Pike - a fish that can grow up to 50 cm and weigh about 10 kg or more. The predator does not swim far because it loves warm coastal water.

Roach

Roach - the length of the fish rarely exceeds 18 cm. Vertebrates love a muddy bottom with abundant vegetation, so they are often found in shallow water.

Shirokolobka

Gobies (broadheads) are considered bodies of water and are concentrated on the bottom of the lake.

Trophy fish

We also provide a list of the most “trophy” specimens of fish living in the waters of Lake Baikal:

Omul

Omul is a descendant of the Arctic omul. Reaches a weight of 2 kg. There are small-, medium- and multi-stamen omul.

Grayling

Grayling – the lake is inhabited by representatives of black and white grayling.

Taimen

Taimen is a fish belonging to the salmon family and listed in the Red Book. The toothy fish can grow up to 30 kg and have a length of about 1.4 meters.

Whitefish, a representative of vertebrates, lives in the lake all year round and comes in lake and lake-river forms.

Sturgeon

Sturgeon is a rare fish, a representative of cartilaginous fish, listed in the Red Book.

Davatchan

Davatchan - belongs to the salmon family, also listed in the Red Book.

Burbot

Burbot is a unique fish that has mucus containing a natural antibiotic.

Non-commercial fish

In Lake Baikal you can also find species of fish that are classified as non-commercial:

Golomyanka

Golomyanka is a unique species of vertebrate, distinguished by the birth of live fry. The lake is inhabited by small and large golomyanka. The maximum length of the fish is 30 cm.

Longwing - the weight of the fish is about 100 g, length - 20 cm. The representative of the aquatic world is endemic to the lake.

Yellowfly

The yellowfly is a miniature fish, the length of which reaches only 17 cm, weight - 16 g. An interesting representative of vertebrates, having yellow fins.

Residents of the aquatic world of Lake Baikal also include lenok, ide, bream, gudgeon, Amur catfish, Siberian spined loach, sleeper firebrand and various types of broadhead (long-winged, stone, sandy, white, small, Elokhinsky, rough, half-naked, armored, flat-headed, sharp-snouted and others).

Lenok

Gudgeon

Amur catfish

Rotan head

Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater body of water in the world by volume. In its depths, more than 23,000 km³ of clean water is stored for future generations, which is 4/5 of the Russian reserves of the most important liquid on the planet and 1/5 of the global total. Its dimensions are amazing: the length from southwest to northeast is more than 700 km, the width is 25-80 km. Baikal is a unique holiday destination. There are many legends and songs about the reservoir. Hundreds of thousands of travelers from Russia and dozens of other countries around the world want to come to him.

Where is Lake Baikal located?

It is located in the center of Asia, in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. The border between the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia runs along the water surface of the lake. The coordinates are as follows: 53°13′00″ N. w. 107°45′00″ E. The distance from the southern shore of the reservoir to the border with Mongolia is 114 km, to the boundary with China – 693 km. The city located nearby is Irkutsk (69 km from the reservoir).

Flora and fauna

The nature of Baikal pleasantly surprises travelers. The water reservoir is home to more than 2,600 species of animals and birds. More than 50% of them can be found only on this lake. On the banks of the reservoir there are:

• the Bears;
• hares;
• wolves;
• wolverines;
• foxes;
• stoats;
• tarbagans;
• red deer;
• proteins;
• moose;
• wild boars

Of the sea animals, only seals or seals, as the Buryats call them, adorn the natural necklace. The reservoir abounds in fish. Swimming in the depths of the lake:

• omuli (salmon fish);
• grayling;
• roach;
• sturgeon;
• burbot;
• taimen;
• lenki;
• perches;
• sorogs;
• ide and pike;
• Golomyanka

The last representatives of the fauna are unique in that they have special swimming feathers stretching the entire length of their body. The tissues of their loin consist of one third of fat. Almost all of the fish described above can be caught from Baikal if you have special equipment (rods, nets, etc.) and desire.

The fauna of the lake itself and its coast is also unique. Pines, spruces, cedars, firs, birches, larches, balsam poplars and alders grow near the reservoir. Common shrubs include bird cherry, currant and Siberian wild rosemary, which every spring delights people with its beautiful pink-purple color and intoxicating aroma.

At any depth in the lake you can find freshwater sponges - animals that consist only of individual tissues and cellular layers.

Lake Baikal has a large volume not due to its huge area. According to this indicator, the natural reservoir ranks only 7th in the world. The preservation of water is ensured by the enormous depths of the lake basin. Baikal is the deepest lake on planet Earth. In one place the bottom is 1642 meters away from the water surface. The average depth is 730 meters. To completely fill the reservoir, it would be necessary to force all the rivers of the world to release their flow within 200 days.

According to official data, more than 300 rivers flow into Lake Baikal. But most of them are very small. The width of the flowing rivers does not exceed 50 meters. There are only 3 large streams that carry their waters to the lake. Only one river flows out of the lake - the Angara.

There are 36 islands scattered across the water surface. The area of ​​the largest piece of land, Olkhon, is 730 km². On its banks there are 2 fishing villages: Yalga and Khuzhir.

The Circum-Baikal Railway runs along the southern coast - a complex engineering structure, during the construction of which several dozen tunnels, viaducts and bridges were erected.

The main problem of the lake is the difficulty of protecting flora and fauna from poachers. Due to the large territory of the reservoir and adjacent lands, the presence of many small bays and bays on the coast, it is very difficult to track down lawbreakers even with modern technical means of searching for watercraft and people.

Holidays in 2019 on Lake Baikal

Several dozen resort towns and villages are scattered along the shores. The largest of them are:

• Listyanka- a village located at the source of the Angara. It houses the only museum dedicated to the lake. Also in the village and its surroundings, tourists will enjoy the St. Nicholas Church, built in the 19th century, and the Taltsy architectural and ethnographic complex, where you can learn birch bark weaving and clay modeling.
  
• - a small town on the southwest coast. It is famous in Russia due to the presence of a station built of marble - the starting point of the Circum-Baikal Railway and a mineralogical museum.
  
• Goryachinsk– the oldest resort of the lake. It was founded at the end of the 18th century by order of Catherine II. Its springs are perfect for healing, and its picturesque sandy bay is perfect for taking great photographs. Pictures of this resort can be found in guidebooks published in the 19th century.
  
• Big Cats- a village located several kilometers from Listvyanka. It boasts the aquarium of the Institute of Biology and old vertical mines where gold was mined more than 100 years ago.
  
• – a unique place, the only corner of the Mediterranean climate in Siberia. It is perfect for summer holidays for “savages” in tents, with fires and guitars.
  

Buses or commuter trains run regularly to these health resorts. Other points can only be reached by car or minibuses. The distance of the resort from major transport hubs also dictates the price level. Thus, the highest cost of accommodation in guest houses and recreation centers is observed in Slyudyanka, the lowest in settlements on the northeastern coast of the lake.

What to do on and near the pond?

Drink mineral water. Some of the resorts of Lake Baikal (Goryachinsk, Khakusy, Dzelinda) are balneological. People with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous, genitourinary, and cardiovascular systems can take healing baths and drink mineral water in these places.

Take excursions. The routes of several hundred excursions have been laid along the shores of Lake Baikal. Conventionally, all walks conducted by guides from the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia can be divided into:

• ethnographic;
• local history;
• historical;
• natural history.

Most of the excursions are conducted by residents of the shore of the reservoir. They are happy to show travelers places where they can take great photos.

Go hiking. Hiking trails of all difficulty levels are offered along hiking trails through forests and mountains located near Lake Baikal. They last from 2 to 30 days. Such tests provide an opportunity to see with your own eyes all the beauty of nature, get a lot of pleasant impressions and acquire some skills necessary for survival (learn to make fires, cook food in the open air, cross rivers).

Have a nice time on cruises. Several thousand cruises take place on the surface of the lake every year. Some of them have the goal of showing tourists the most beautiful places in the reservoir and attractions that are located on the shores of Lake Baikal, and some are entirely dedicated to fishing. The routes of cruises of the first type are designed so that travelers can explore the waters and bays, and visit the most famous museums located near the reservoir. The price of the second type of tour includes the rental of fishing equipment and the services of experienced huntsmen who know where to find the most valuable and delicious Baikal fish.

Swim and sunbathe. The beaches of Baikal are places that are great for swimming and getting an even tan. Most of the cozy corners of the coast are covered with fine-grained sand. In the summer, when the water near the beaches warms up to +17-19 °C, everyone has the opportunity to swim and feel the purity and power of this great lake with their own bodies.

Learn extreme sports. Baikal is one of the favorite places of Russian extreme sports enthusiasts. In summer, amateurs train on the water surface of the lake:

• surfing;
• windsurfing;
• kiting;
• diving;
• snorkeling.

Every year in March, competitions are held on the ice of the reservoir in:

• karting;
• motocross;
• quadcross;
• speedway;
• enduro.

At this time, parachuting competitions are taking place in the skies above Lake Baikal.

The fame of Baikal fish goes far beyond Siberia. And its taste is legendary. Smoked or dried omul is the best gift that a Siberian brings to his friends in other cities of Russia. Having tried Baikal fish dishes once, many guests plan a trip to Baikal again in order to again experience the delicate taste of fried grayling and smoked whitefish, the aroma of hot smoked omul, which you can eat several “tails” at a time, and of course, the unusual taste dried golomyanka.

Currently, there are 52 species of fish living in Baikal. Of these, only 15 are considered commercial fish. The most famous among them are omul, grayling and whitefish. Baikal sturgeon and lenok, taimen and burbot are found in smaller numbers. Sorog, perch, and ide live in the lake. The most important commercial areas are the Maloye More, the shallow waters of the Selenga and Upper Angara rivers, the Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky bays, as well as Proval Bay and Posolsky Sor (a shallow water area separated from Baikal by a sandy spit - like a small lake). The total biomass of fish in Baikal is about 230 thousand tons, including commercial fish - about 60 thousand tons. The annual increase in fish is about 190-200 thousand tons. The average annual fish catch reached 13 thousand tons or more. Currently it is 3-4 thousand tons.

BAIKAL FISH

1. Omul
Five populations of omul live in Baikal: Selenga, Posolskaya, Severobaikalskaya, Chivyrkuiskaya, Barguzinskaya

Before you even reach Baikal, you will meet its most famous and delicious representative - the Baikal omul. He will be everywhere - in cities, towns, railway stations. All the way you will be accompanied by salted omul, dried omul, and, finally, when you get to Baikal itself, freshly caught omul. The most popular is cold smoked omul. It is considered a real delicacy, not only in our country, but also abroad. Smoked omul has a very special taste. The meat of this fish is very fatty and tender. When properly prepared, it acquires an unusual flavor, for which it is valued. The indigenous people call it “omul with a scent.” Most people who have tried this perfection at least once say that they have never eaten anything tastier.

2. Whitefish
In the Chivyrkuisky Bay, in the Small Sea, in the Severobaikalsky litter, the Baikal lake whitefish is found - a delicate juicy fish weighing up to three or more kilograms.

Fish pie stuffed with whitefish are signature dishes on Lake Baikal. There are also lake and river whitefish pyzhyan in Baikal. Fishermen around the fire, where the fish soup is boiling, can tell you so much about the habits of lake fish - you’ll listen!

3. Grayling
In spring, the rivers are free of ice. Swift, clean, “talkative”, they are “waiting” for grayling to spawn.

Baikal is home to a subspecies of Siberian grayling of two forms: black and white, which in a bright (nuptial) plumage will go to spawn in the fast tributaries of Baikal, jumping over waterfalls and creases up to a meter high with graceful jumps. After 14-17 days, larvae form from the eggs and roll into Baikal.

4. Sturgeon
Truly royal fish is called the Baikal sturgeon, a large fish (up to 100 kg in weight) with delicate black caviar, in adult females it can be up to nine kilograms.

About three centuries ago, a well-known supporter (zealot, preacher) of the Old Believer faith, Archpriest Avvakum Petrov, in “The Life Written by Himself”, assured that “the fish in it [Baikal] are very thick, much fatty, you can’t fry them in a frying pan - everything will be fat... " However, there cannot be “very dense” sturgeons in Baikal, because sturgeon prefers shallow waters, and in Baikal there are seven percent of them from the bottom area, and the Baikal sturgeon, as a result of overfishing, is listed in the Red Book.

5. Garbage fish

Along the rivers and streams, well-known fish in Siberia “came” into the lake: pike, perch, dace, ide, crucian carp, sorog, burbot, etc., but deep Baikal, as they say, did not accept them, since here there are different depths, different temperature, other feed. This ichthyofauna is perfectly located in the shallow bays of Baikal - in the litter, and lenok and taimen "came" along the large tributaries of Baikal and are located in the pre-estuary parts of the rivers.

6. Golomyanka
It is the most numerous in Baikal. The total number and biomass are twice as large as all other fish living in the lake, and amount to about 150 thousand tons. The peculiarity of the golomyanka is that it does not spawn, but gives birth to live larvae, which is why it is called a viviparous fish.

There are two species of golomyankas living in Baikal - large and small. Both species are found at various depths all the way to the bottom. Golomyankas, along with zooplankton, also eat their smaller counterparts - juveniles. Despite this, the annual growth of golomyanka is about 150 thousand tons, i.e., within a year it completely renews its population.

Industrial fishing cannot be organized for golomyanka. It leads a dispersed lifestyle and is the main food for omul and Baikal seals, since its body is half composed of fat. The largest specimens of females of the large golomyanka reach 25 cm, males - 15 cm. Females of the small golomyanka grow up to 15 cm, males - up to 12 cm. The large golomyanka usually gives birth to its offspring in September-October, and the small one - in the spring, after the lake is cleared from the ice. At the same time, golomyankas rise to the surface layers so that the offspring have the opportunity to feed here on epishura, cyclops and macrohectopus fry. Large specimens of the large golomyanka give birth to up to 2.0-2.5 thousand larvae, small golomyanka - up to 1.5 thousand pieces. According to some authors, golomyankas die when their offspring are born; according to others, not all individuals die. By the way, golomyankas mature in the 2-3rd year of life. There are seven-year-old females and four-year-old males.

DISHES FROM BAIKAL FISH

The local highlight is lightly salted Baikal omul, the fame of its delicate taste is known far beyond the borders of Siberia. There are different ways of salting it, gutted and ungutted, depending on the cooking recipe and the time that has passed since the day of salting, the taste of the fish changes greatly. Freshly salted omul is so tender that even those who usually avoid fish eat several tails of it at a time. Among gourmets it is valued as an ideal snack for chilled vodka.
Many tourists try to take Baikal omul as gifts for their family and friends. For transportation, it is recommended to buy cold-smoked omul and pack it in paper, not in plastic bags, so as not to suffocate.

Fried fish
It is best to fry fresh lenok (in spring), or fatty gray and white grayling (but not black), or whitefish.
The tastiest fish is freshly caught by a fisherman when it has not fallen asleep, when no more than two hours have passed since the catch. Large whitefish are cut along the spine and then cut into large pieces so that they can be fried. The oil must be free of foreign odors. It is better to fry in butter, fresh melted seal fat or livestock fat. For 1 kg of fish you need about 100 grams of butter. First, the fish is cleaned all around and freed from scales, spread out, and the gills and entrails are removed. Spread out fish is not washed in running water so that it does not lose its taste. Only newcomers to Lake Baikal wash it; real fishermen never wash gutted fish. To form a golden crust, the pieces are rolled in flour, to which salt and black pepper are added. Gray flour or crushed crackers are preferable. Properly cooked fish has an even, crispy, unbroken skin. Fry it in a large frying pan so that it goes in with the head. Whole fried fish has different tastes in different parts of the body. When the fish is fried on one side, it is turned over to the other side, and coarsely chopped onions are added to the frying pan. A dish with cooked fish is decorated with herbs and lemon slices.

Fish soup according to A. Burmeister's recipes
Historical background: In the 19th century, the main snack for Irkutsk residents was omul with cedar oil and green onions. Selenga was especially valued. When the first omul and freshly salted caviar were brought to the city, half the city gathered on the shore. Everyone bought as much as they could. At the beginning of the 19th century, a barrel of omul cost 13 rubles.

For fish soup, it is better to take fatty fish, grayling or whitefish. The fish is not washed if it is fresh. This makes the most delicious soup. For real fish soup there must be a lot of fish, a full pan. The fish is dipped in cold salted water and boiled for 7-10 minutes. When cooked, take out and finish cooking the muhler (broth), adding a pinch of rice, finely chopped potatoes and onions. If the fish is not pulled out, it will fall apart. Delicious fish soup is made over a fire made from deciduous and pine wood. It has been noticed that burning coals entering the pot impart a piquant taste to the broth, which is why local fishermen call it “smoky fish soup.” An unforgettable experience of real fish soup can only be obtained on the shore of Lake Baikal, at dusk by the light of a fire, to the sound of the surf and the drinking song “The Glorious Sea - Sacred Baikal.”

On the eastern shore of the lake, fish soup is cooked according to a different recipe. In the Chivyrkuisky Bay, where a variety of fish are caught in the net: perch, burbot, pike, white grayling and whitefish, “triple fish soup” is cooked. To prepare it you need a large container. All fish are gutted, but not washed. Trash and noble fish are sorted. The sor is ripped open, but the scales are not removed. The noble one is cleaned all around from scales and ripped open. Rice, finely chopped potatoes and trash fish (crucian carp, burbot, ide) are placed in cold water. When the fish is boiled, it is pounded and squeezed into the main broth, the remains along with the gauze are removed. Secondly, the perch is placed in clean gauze, also not cleaned of scales. When it is cooked, it is also squeezed out and the remains are removed along with gauze. The resulting broth is made from two types of fish; various spices are added to it. Then add pieces of noble fish, cleaned of scales, and cook for 7 minutes until the eyes of the fish turn white. Then the fish is taken out of the broth, additionally salted and served on the table in a separate plate.

Omul caviar

The taste of caviar depends on how you flog the fish - in the block (split only the belly) or in the layer (split only the spine). It is not permissible for blood and bile to enter the caviar. For beating (freeing eggs from the film), a special cross is made from the crown of a young green larch. Select crowns 30-50 cm long, which have at least four 1.5-2 cm branches in different directions. Then the cross is freed from the bark, clamped between the palms and turned in a container with caviar, as when making fire, periodically removing it with a knife film wrapped around it. This operation continues until the entire film breaks and the eggs are separated from each other. With high-quality beating, there should not even be two eggs in the film. The caviar is then washed in water - the more water, the purer the product. For 2 calves, take an enamel container of at least 10 liters. The purest selected fish settle to the bottom, and all the particles of film, blood and unripe caviar float to the surface. The entire upper cloudy solution is drained. This procedure is repeated many times until the water with caviar is pure. If you shake such water with a layer of eggs at the bottom and look, then the color of the solution should be uniform, without any impurities. The caviar washing is completed, and you can start salting. There are two ways: five-minute and slow.
For a five-minute salting, take boiled water, pour in as much salt as will dissolve, i.e., make a supersaturated solution. Coarse salt is used (GOST 00).
The caviar is poured into cheesecloth and dipped in a hot salt solution. After five minutes, the bag is hung out to drain the brine. The caviar is ready for use.

For slow salting, pour a lot of salt into cold water. Gauze with caviar is immersed in a cold saline solution for 6 hours. Then they hang it out in the same way so that the solution drains, and the caviar is ready.

Gourmets recommend eating chilled caviar with hot white bread and butter or rolling chilled caviar into hot pancakes. The caviar that is sold is prepared industrially using a different method using preservatives and is intended for long-term storage, so its taste is an order of magnitude lower than that of properly prepared caviar at home.

Splitting

Frozen fish is beaten from all sides with a hard object. After this, the skin is easily removed, and the frozen pulp is torn and separated from the bones. Pieces of frozen fish are eaten raw, dipped in a mixture of salt and black pepper.

Omul "with flavor"

In Siberia, salted omul, flogged and unflogged, culturally salted, is most valued.
True lovers and connoisseurs believe that chopped salted omul with its aroma - a peculiar piquant smell and very tender meat in texture - is preferable to all other types of preparation.

To an unaccustomed person, such omul seems somewhat rotten (however, this only seems so, this is the specific smell of delicious fish. Not everyone likes, for example, Roquefort cheese, but lovers will not exchange it for any other).

Other recipes for fish dishes of Siberian and Buryat cuisine can be read in the article about