Omul fish, the photo of which is in this article, is from the order of salmon-like and whitefish family. It is considered semi-aisle and fishing. It is highly appreciated due to its palatability and beneficial properties. It does not live in all water bodies and is considered a deficit.
Habitat
This fish can be of several varieties, depending on the habitat. Principal: Arctic and Baikal. Passing omul (aka Arctic) lives on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. It spawns into Eurasian or North American rivers. On the territory of Russia, Arctic omul lives in almost all northern water bodies, except for the Ob River.
The second form is Baikal fish. Baikal omul lives mainly in Lake Baikal. Sometimes found in the Far East or in the tundra rivers of the Yenisei Gulf. Baikal omul is distributed unevenly in the lake. The southeast is abundant with this fish, and in the northwest it is not at all.
Hypotheses of the appearance of Baikal omul
There are two hypotheses that scientists put forward about the appearance of omul in Baikal. The first is that it is an endemic fish. 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.
The second claims 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 with the Arctic counterpart is very strong. The Baikal omul differs only in some minor signs.
Habitat features
Omul is a fish that prefers to live in cold, clean water rich in oxygen. He loves deep places. This is a school of fish. Winters at great depths. It can descend to a depth of 300 meters. Omul is able to live in slightly salted water.
According to scientists, the Baikal omul prefers places where the lake connects with large rivers. There is the largest amount of silt, in which there are insect larvae and crustaceans so beloved by the omul. This simplifies the search for food, probably this is the reason for the largest omul accumulation in such places.
Description
Omul is a semi-fish. The body is elongated, covered with small, tight-fitting silver scales. The mouth is small, the jaws are the same length. There is a fat fin. Silver body color. The back is brownish-green, the belly is light, the sides and fins are silver. During puberty, males develop epithelial tubercles. A dark thin strip may extend along the sides.
Omul - a small fish, usually does not exceed 800 gr. But sometimes large individuals come across. Their length reaches up to half a meter, and the mass is more than one and a half kilograms. Fish lives no more than 18 years. On average, omul’s life expectancy is 11 years.
Food
Omul is a fish that, like most salmon, stops eating only during spawning. At other times, the diet of fish is quite diverse. The diet contains zooplankton, juveniles of small fish, and bottom invertebrates. Fish is fed in autumn and summer, eating misid, crustacean plankton and gammarus in the coastal zones.
Breeding
Fish reproduces annually as soon as it reaches puberty. At this time, the length of individuals is often more than 30 centimeters. Moreover, males often mature one year earlier than females. Omul puberty can take from 2 to 3 years.
To spawn, this fish goes far, more than 1000 km. At the same time, it does not approach the shores and avoids shallow water, keeping in the middle of the channel. Omul goes to spawn in the early to mid-August. When approaching the places of spawning, a large school of fish is divided into small schools.
Omul fish starts to spawn in late September - early October. The water temperature at this time is not more than 4 degrees. For throwing eggs, omul chooses a sand and pebble bottom with a depth of at least two meters.
The diameter of the eggs is from 1.6 to 2.4 mm. They are not sticky, bottom. Having spawned, omul goes to feeding grounds. Omul can lay up to 67, 000 eggs that slide into the lower reaches of the river, not lingering in places of spawning.
Economic value
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 prohibitions on its catch, the fish population was recovering. Now again omul is in danger of extinction.
