One of the best commercial fish in Siberia is the muksun, which belongs to the whitefish family (which also includes omul, whitefish, chir and many other fish). Usually, the length of the muksun is 40-45 cm, and the mass is about 2-3 kg. Individual individuals reach a length of 75 cm and a weight of up to 8 kg. Since it is a northern fish, muksun lives in almost all major Siberian rivers: in the Irtysh, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, lakes on the Taimyr Peninsula, as well as in the desalinated water of the Gulf of Ob and Yenisei. Muksun is not evenly distributed throughout Siberia, preferring cold and clean water. Most of the muksun lives in the Gulf of Ob and Taz, as well as in the Yenisei.
The composition of the diet of muksun depends on the season. In the summer, muksun fish feed mainly on benthic crustaceans and mollusks. The staple food in winter is zooplankton.
Like other semi-aisles, muksun fish migrate many kilometers from the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean to the spawning site. Usually, the spawning course of the muksun begins immediately after the completion of the ice drift. Rising upstream, the Muksun reaches its spawning grounds only in the fall (late September – early October). Spawning itself begins with the onset of the formation of the first ice (usually in October) and ends when the water temperature drops to 4 ° C (i.e., somewhere in November).
For spawning, muksun fish prefers places where the bottom is pebbly or sandy, and the current is quite fast. The amount of eggs depends on the size of each individual. By the way, muksun does not come to spawn every year. During its lifetime, a fish spawns several times (usually three to four). And the fact that males become sexually mature by about ten years, and females even later, makes the muksun very vulnerable to humans. That is why the population of this fish needs reliable protection.
In most regions of the Urals and Siberia, fishing for muksun is prohibited. And where it is allowed, the catch is carried out by fishing teams on the basis of a license and strictly in limited quantities.
As for sport fishing, the muksun is usually caught in the fly. It is worth noting that this is a very capricious fish, and therefore, for successful fishing, you must accurately select the bait corresponding to the food base of a particular reservoir. Therefore, a muksun caught on a fishing rod or spinning is a fish, the photo of which is a special pride of an amateur fisherman.
It differs from other whitefish muksun by its body rising steeply behind its head. The sides of the muksun are silver, the back is dark, and the abdomen is light white.
Like all those living in cold water, muksun fish is very oily. Juicy, tender, digestible and high-calorie meat, in addition to fatty acids useful for the body, contains many nutrients and trace elements. It contains substances such as chromium, zinc, molybdenum, as well as copper and bromine, which are useful for the nervous system and circulatory system.
An incredibly large number of delicious and healthy dishes can be prepared from muksun. It is fried, boiled, salted, smoked and even eaten raw. Frozen muksun during defrosting retains all its nutritional properties.
