Inhabitants of the Baltic Sea: types and description, habitat, photo

The Baltic Sea belongs to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean, is located in Northern Europe and has a surface area of 415 km ². Many rivers flow into it, so it has average salinity, it is one of the largest seas in the world with such a feature. There are no big storms in the Baltic Sea; the maximum wave height rarely reaches more than 4 meters, therefore it is considered calm in comparison with other seas. The water temperature is quite cold, no more than 17-19 degrees Celsius, but it still does not stop local residents from swimming in the summer.

9 Baltic neighbors

The Baltic Sea washes the shores of several countries: Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It has four bays: Finnish, Bothnian, Riga and Curonian. The latter is separated from the sea by a strip of land - the Curonian Spit, which is a national natural park and protected by the state. Interestingly, this nature reserve is divided between two states: Russia and Lithuania.

The inhabitants

The Baltic Sea is rich in seafood. Their production is carried out in the Kaliningrad region and European countries. The water here is not as salty as in other seas. Therefore, some scientists conditionally divide the inhabitants of the Baltic Sea into freshwater and marine. The bays are mainly inhabited by freshwater fish. The marine is located offshore. In the Baltic Sea there are:

Salaka. This is a small fish of the herring family, rarely grows more than 25 cm. It is the main commercial fish of the Baltic Sea, about half of the total catch falls on it. Smoked salaka, fried and canned.

Baltic sprat. A very common fish in Europe, one of the famous names "European sprat". Sprats are less than herring, an adult grows no more than 15 cm. In cooking, this fish is universal, like salack, but most often canned food is made from it.
Cod. This is a sea fish of the cod family, meat is rich in protein and minerals, it is a good source of B vitamins. Also, cod meat has a lot of niacin, which is useful for liver diseases. It grows up to 1 meter long, the largest individuals can reach a size of up to 2 meters, but this happens very rarely. Cod is loved in many countries of the world, there are a lot of recipes for cooking dishes from it, a special delicacy is cod liver oil preserved in oil. Cod is one of the most delicious marine inhabitants of the Baltic Sea.

Flounder. This is a bizarre flat-bottomed marine bottom fish. Its most memorable feature is a flat body and eyes located on one side, so it is impossible to mix up flounder with other fish. The scales of this fish are rough as sandpaper. On average, flounder lives for 5 years and grows up to 40 cm in length. She has white, tasty, tender meat, though when cooking it comes from a specific smell that not everyone can like. To get rid of discomfort during cooking, you need to remove the skin from the fish. Flounder meat contains proteins and beneficial amino acids that are well absorbed by the body. Flounder is considered diet fish.

Acne. This amazing inhabitant of the Baltic Sea is included in the list for a reason. It is found in all reservoirs of the Kaliningrad region. You can catch eel not only in seawater, but also in freshwater rivers. Outwardly, eel looks like a snake, has a long body and swims, wriggling like snakes. In length, an adult grows to 1.5 m, and weighs about 2 kg. Eel meat contains proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and is also a source of omega-3s. The most common form of cooking eel is smoking.

Perch. Very bony and tenacious fish, can live up to 15 years. The meat is stored for a long time, it contains many vitamins and nutrients.

Valuable fish

Salmon. This is a fish from the salmon family. Atlantic salmon, sometimes called “Baltic”, is found in the slightly salted Baltic waters. This kind of "noble" sea fish is popularly known as "salmon", it is quite large, an adult male can reach a length of more than 1.5 m. The taste of salmon meat is tender and buttery, the color varies from light pink to red. Salmon fillet practically does not contain bones, so it is popular among those who do not like fish because of the fear of swallowing a small bone. Many dishes are prepared from this fish, including the well-known red salmon caviar, which appears on our tables for special occasions.
Smelt. Surprisingly, the smelt known to everyone belongs to the salmon family. It is generally accepted that this fish is not valuable, despite the fact that it is caught in the Baltic Sea in large numbers. Smelt meat is rich in iron and fluoride; doctors recommend that older people include it in their diet.

Rapachka. This small fish is also from the salmon family, its peculiarity is that it lives exclusively in the waters of the Baltic Sea. Ranapak from noble fish, therefore, is considered a valuable raw material. She is loved in Europe and the Scandinavian countries. In many regions of Russia, vendace is protected and you cannot just catch it.
Whitefish. Salmon family fish is considered a valuable commercial fish and has more than 40 species. Despite the fact that whitefish belongs to the salmon family, its meat is white and very fatty. Because of this feature, whitefish meat is not stored for a long time, so it is consumed or salted immediately after capture.

Shellfish, Crustacea and Jellyfish

In addition to these fish, mollusks, squids, small crustaceans and bottom fish live in the Baltic waters. Very rare shaggy crab, which appeared here relatively recently. Jellyfish are also found in the Baltic Sea, the largest - cyanoea - lives near the waters of Denmark. In the rest of the space lives a harmless aurelia, an inhabitant of the Baltic Sea, whose photo is not as intimidating as the one presented above.