Omul fish from the whitefish family. Description and habitat

Fish omul, a photo of which is in this article, from a squad of salmonids and a family of whitefish. It is considered semi-transit and commercial. It is highly appreciated for its taste qualities and useful properties. It does not dwell in all water bodies and is considered a deficit.

Habitat

This fish can be of several varieties, depending on the habitat. Main: Arctic and Baikal. Passage omul (otherwise - arctic) lives on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. It spawns into the Eurasian or North American rivers. On the territory of Russia, the Arctic omul lives in almost all northern reservoirs, except for the Ob River.

The second form is the fish of Lake Baikal. Omul Baikal lives mainly in Lake Baikal. Sometimes found in the Far East or in the tundra rivers of the Yenisei Bay. The Baikal omul is distributed unevenly in the lake. South-east of this fish just abounds, and in the north-west it is not at all.

Hypotheses of the appearance of the Baikal omul

There are two hypotheses that scientists are proposing about the appearance of an omul in Baikal. The first says that this fish is endemic. Her ancestors lived in the lake millions of years ago, and at that time the climate was warm. This hypothesis is supported by most scientists.

In the second it is asserted that the Baikal omul is a fish that sailed into the lake during the interglacial period along the Lena River from the Arctic Ocean. Despite the fact that most scientists support the first hypothesis, its similarity to the Arctic fellow is very strong. The Baikal omul differs only in some insignificant signs.

Habitat features

Omul is a fish that prefers to live in cold clean water, rich in oxygen. He likes deep places. It's a schooling fish. It hibernates at great depths. Can descend to a depth of 300 meters. Omul is able to live in low-salinity water.

According to scientists, Baikal omul prefers places where the lake connects with large rivers. There is the largest amount of silt in which are found such larvae of insects and crustaceans, so loved by omul. This simplifies the search for food, it is probably in this lies the reason for the largest concentration of omul in such places.

Description

Omul - the fish is semi-passable. Body elongated, covered with shallow, densely seated silver scales. Mouth small, jaws of equal length. There is a fatty fin. Silvery coloring of the body. Back with a brownish-green hue, the belly is light, the sides and fins are silvery. During puberty, males develop epithelial tubercles. A dark thin strip can pass along the sides.

Omul is a small fish, usually does not exceed 800 gr. But sometimes large specimens come across. Their length reaches up to half a meter, and the mass - more than a half kilogram. Fish live no more than 18 years. On average, the life expectancy of the omul is 11 years.

Food

Omul is a fish that, like most salmonids, stops eating only during spawning. At other times, the fish's diet is quite diverse. In the diet - zooplankton, juvenile small fish, benthic invertebrates. Fish are caught in autumn and summer, eating in the coastal zones of mysids, ranch plankton and gammarus.

Reproduction

The fish reproduce annually, as soon as it reaches the sexually mature age. At this time, the length of the individuals is often more than 30 centimeters. Moreover, males often ripen one year earlier than females. The sexual maturation of the omul can last from 2 to 3 years.

This fish goes far to spawn, more than 1000 km. At the same time, it does not approach the shores and avoids shoals, keeping in the middle of the riverbed. On spawning omul goes in the beginning-middle of August. When approaching the spawning grounds, a large shoal of fish is divided into small flocks.

The omul begins to spawn in late September and early October. The water temperature at this time is no more than 4 degrees. To throw the eggs, the omul chooses a sand and pebble bottom, at least two meters deep.

Diameter of eggs from 1.6 to 2.4 mm. They are not sticky, bottom. Catching the caviar, the omul goes to the feeding grounds. Omul can save up to 67,000 eggs, which slip into the lower reaches of the river, without lingering in the spawning grounds.

Economic importance

Omul is a valuable commercial fish. Its uncontrolled catch led to a sharp decrease in the population in Lake Baikal. Over the past 50 years, the Baikal omul has been on the verge of extinction more than once. But thanks to the timely introduction of prohibitions on its catch, the fish population was restored. Now again, the omul was threatened with extinction.

Fish omul: useful properties and nutritional value

It's a delicious fish. Almost 20% consists of fat, especially marine subspecies. The omul meat is quickly absorbed (1-1.5 hours) and has a great nutritional value. Fat in the fish is located in the abdominal cavity, liver and subcutaneous layer. Evenly distributed over the fins and muscles.

Omul is rich in fatty acids, reducing the viscosity of the blood and improving the work of the heart and nervous system. In the meat of omul contains a lot of vitamin B. Much more than in other fish. These vitamins are necessary for the human nervous and reproductive system.

Mass fraction of omul bones is not more than 7%. Thanks to this, high-quality canned food is prepared from this fish. It is also used for dietary nutrition.