Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecologie
marien; zoet water; brak water; anadroom (Ref. 51243); diepte 70 - 180 m. Temperate; 10°C - 20°C (Ref. 2059); 57°N - 35°N, 13°E - 60°E
Eurasia: Caspian, Black, Azov and Adriatic Sea basins.
Extirpated from Adriatic Sea.
Lengte bij maturiteit / Grootte / Gewicht / Leeftijd
Maturity: Lm ?, range 200 - ? cm
Max length : 800 cm TL mannelijk / geslacht onbekend; (Ref. 59043); common length : 215 cm TL mannelijk / geslacht onbekend; (Ref. 3397); max. gepubliceerd gewicht: 3.2 t (Ref. 59043); max. gerapporteerde leeftijd: 118 Jaren (Ref. 47437)
Dorsale stekels (totaal) : 0; Dorsale zachte stralen (totaal) : 62 - 73; Anale stekels: 0; Anale zachte stralen: 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).
Enters rivers from March, usually April and May (also in autumn). Survives largely by artificial propagation. About 360,000-7,700,000 eggs per female. Females carry eggs only once every five to seven years (Ref. 9988).
Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 pp. (Ref. 59043)
Status op de Rode Lijst van het IUCN (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Gevaar voor de mens
Harmless
Gebruik door de mens
Visserij: commercieel; Aquacultuur: commercieel
Tools
Speciale rapporten
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Internetbronnen
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 7.7 - 15.6, mean 9.1 °C (based on 19 cells).
Fylogenetische diversiteitsindex (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00427 (0.00257 - 0.00707), b=3.12 (2.98 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trofisch niveau (Ref.
69278): 4.4 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Weerstandsvermogen (Ref.
120179): Zeer laag, minimale populatieverdubbelingstijd meer dan 14 jaar (K=0.1; tm=13-22; tmax=118; Fec=360,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (89 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): Very high vulnerability (79 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 6 [3, 12] mg/100g; Iron = 0.234 [0.128, 0.408] mg/100g; Protein = 17.9 [15.5, 20.5] %; Omega3 = 0.34 [0.15, 0.73] g/100g; Selenium = 27.1 [11.7, 60.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 5.85 [1.52, 24.89] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.331 [0.221, 0.505] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
