Fish book son indd

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waters in the early 1950s amounted to 250 tons, but they grew to 920 tons by 
the early 1960s.
It performs feeding, spawning and post-spawning migrations. For 
spawning, it mainly enters the Kura River, and to a lesser extent – the 
Volga and Ural, the rivers of the Dagestan (Samur, Terek) and Azerbaij an 
(Lenkoranka, Astara), and the Sefi d Rud River in Iran.
The Persian sturgeon feeds most actively during diurnal and nocturnal 
hours. Seasonal changes in diet are characteristic for this species. In spring, 
the main food intake is crustaceans and fi sh, mostly silverside.
In the Kura River, spawning grounds are located at the dam area of the 
Varvarinskiy Reservoir up to the village of Piraza; in the Aras River – 10 
km below Bagramtapinskiy dam. Before runoff  control activities, spawning 
grounds were located in the mid-fl ow of the Kura River at the town of 
Mingechaur (660 km from the mouth), and in the Aras River – at the village 
of Karadonly (330 km from the mouth).
The Persian sturgeon approaches the spawning grounds in the Kura 
between the second half of April to the middle of September, with the peak in 
August. The Persian sturgeon breeding effi
  ciency depends on abiotic factors 
– hydrological regimes and water temperature. In the Kura River, spawning 
of the Persian sturgeon is interrupted from mid-summer to September due to 
a high water temperature.
During its development, the Persian sturgeon passes the same stages 
as all other sturgeon species: embryo, prolarva, larva, alevin, juvenile and 
adult.
The duration of the incubation period is the same as that of the Russian 
sturgeon. During embryonic and the early stages of the post-embryonic 
development, the spawn of the Persian sturgeon does not practically diff er 
from the spawn of the Russian sturgeon. Embryonic development lasts from 
two to ten days. The time from hatching to active feeding is nine days. Having 
achieved 17-18 mm in length, the prolarva transitions to catching from 
outside. Aft er juveniles have reached the pubescent state, they will become 
adult fi sh. In the Kura River, males reach maturity at the age of 7-8 years, and 
females – at the age of 10-11.
Persian sturgeon catches are drastically decreasing. Whereas in the 1980s 
its share in the total sturgeon catch in the Volga River was 4.0%, in 2000it 
was only 0.03%.. The catch in the Ural River did not exceed 5%. In off shore 
fi shing near the Iranian coast, during the juveniles’ catch, the number of 

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Sturgeons – contemporaries of dinosaurs
115
the spawning population decreases, leading to the reduction of natural 
reproduction.
The main anthropogenic factors causing the reduction in the population 
of the Persian sturgeon include: runoff  control activities in rivers and the loss 
of spawning grounds, and long-term increasing pollution of the Caspian 
basin. Off shore fi shing in the Iranian sector of the Caspian was one of the 
reasons for a fall in the numbers of sturgeon.
Barbel sturgeon – Acipenser nudiventris Lovetsky, 1828
Common names: Russian – ship; Azerbaij an- chalamo,  chaya balygi, gyrt; 
Iranian – keshdi, shenavar; English – Ship sturgeon, Fringebarbel sturgeon, Spiny 
sturgeon.
Fishermen in the Volga River call all cross-breeds (hybrids) of sturgeons 
by the name “ship.” However, there is an independent species, named barbel 
sturgeon.  The barbel sturgeon is a didromous fi sh. It inhabits the Caspian 
Sea, Aral Sea, Black Sea, and Sea of Azov basins, but it is very rarely found in 
the Black Sea and in the Sea of Azov in particular.
It has a torpedo-like body and a cone-shaped snout; gill membranes 
are connected to the isthmus. Its mouth is inferior, transversal, and exceeds 
half of the snout’s width, forming a rostrum. Specifi c features include: large 
fi rst scute and solid (not split in the middle) lower lip. Barbels are fringed 
and almost reach to the end of the snout. There are no platelets on the body 
between scute rows. The body is brownish; the coloration is similar to that of 
the sterlet and diff ers from other sturgeon species. The belly is white. There 
are fi ve rows of large light scutes. The number of dorsal scutes is 11-16; lateral 
– 51-74; and ventral – 11-17.
The barbel sturgeon is not distinguished from sturgeons in a commercial 
net. In the Caspian Sea, the barbel sturgeon mainly inhabits the southern part, 
entering from there into the Kura River for spawning; in the Iranian sector, it 
enters into the Sefi d Rud River.

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G.M.Palatnikov,  R.U.Qasimov
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The barbel sturgeon is rare in the Volga River, but enters the Ural River. 
Before the transfer of the Caspian starred sturgeon, the barbel sturgeon was 
the only representative of sturgeons in the Aral Sea. The barbel sturgeon only 
exists in the Aral Sea in early-run stocks. For spawning, the barbel sturgeon 
migrates from the Aral Sea to the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya Rivers.
The barbel sturgeon lives up to 30 years and more, reaching 214 cm 
in length and 30 kg in weight. The age of the majority of barbel sturgeons 
caught in the Aral Sea is 12-21 years. It reaches sexual maturity at the age of 
12-14 years. In the Kura River, the catch of barbel sturgeons is the fi sh at the 
age of 6-23 years; males - 9-16 years; females – 14-19. The average commercial 
weight of the barbel sturgeon in the Aral Sea is approximately 12-16 kg; in 
the Kura River – approximately 20 kg. Fecundity of the Aral barbel sturgeon 
varies from 216,000 to 388,000 eggs; and that of the Caspian barbel sturgeon 
– 280,000 to 1,290,000 eggs (593,000 eggs on average).
In the Aral Sea, the barbel sturgeon feeds mainly on mollusks, and in the 
Caspian – on fi sh and mollusks. In Lake Balkhash, the barbel sturgeon is a 
predator; and, as in the Aral Sea, only early-run stocks can be found here. In 
1933-1934, 289 adult Aral barbel sturgeons, weighing 6.7-30 kg, were released 
into the Ili River. In 1934, the barbel sturgeons spawned in the Ili River and 
produced off spring that again entered again the Ili River at the age of 12-
13. In Lake Balkhash, a barbel sturgeon at the age of 11 reaches 130 cm in 
length and 9-9.5 kg in weight. It is an aggressive predator and euryphagous. 
In the sea, adults mainly feed on fi sh (90%), pugolovka, sand smelt, kilka 
and gobies. Their diet also includes diff erent kinds of minor crustaceans; the 
consumption of crabs and shrimps has been observed in particular; mollusks 
are found in their diet, as well. Juveniles feed on zoobenthos.
The spawning grounds of the barbel sturgeon in the Kura River are located 
at a distance of 600 km from its mouth. The spawning substrate includes 
gravel, sandstone, coarse sand, and stiff  clays with a shell mixture.
The barbel sturgeon’s migration to the Kura River is observed throughout 
the year with two peaks: the main – in March-April, and the less intense – in 
October- December. The spring migration to the Kura River commences when 
the water temperature reaches 6.2-10.4°
 
C, and the peak of migration is observed 
at 7.4-16.4° C. The autumn migration peak is observed at temperatures of 
17.9-12.1° C. Breeding takes place in May-June at temperatures of 15-25° C. 
The average fecundity of the Kura barbel sturgeon is 594,000 eggs (between 
280,000 and 1,003,000 eggs). Embryonic development of the barbel sturgeon 
takes place at a water temperature of between 19.5 and 21.9° C.

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