Commercial Importance Tasty meat, comparable to the Pontic shad. It is marketed
fresh, salted and smoked.
Family Acipenseridae
In the Black Sea, the family Acipenseridae is represented by two genera: Huso
and Acipenser. While species in the genus Huso have a large mouth shaped as a
crescent moon, occupying almost the entire width of the lower surface of the head,
species in the genus Acipenser have a suitably large transversal mouth, occupying
only part of the lower surface of the head. The vast majority of species, subspecies
and ecological or intraspecific forms of sturgeons are characterised by migratory
life. Sturgeon migration is carried on long distances along the seabed (Maximov
et al. 2014).
In the marine zone of the Romanian Black Sea coast, three species of the family
Acipenseridae were documented: beluga (Huso huso), Danube sturgeon (Acipenser
guldenstaedtii) and starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus). Monitoring was also
performed for Acipenser sturio (European sea sturgeon), but no individual was
reported.
Genus Huso
Beluga – Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758) (Fig. 26.3)
Synonyms
Acipenser huso Linnaeus, 1758
Huso huso Berg, 1904
Huso ichthyocolla Bonaparte, 1846
Acipenser vallisnerii Molin, 1853
Huso huso ponticus Salnikov and Maleatzky, 1934
Distribution Marine anadromous species, distributed in the Black, Caspian and
Adriatic Seas and the rivers that flow into them. Beluga is frequently encountered in
Fig. 26.3 Beluga – Huso
huso (Photo NIMRD)
448
C.G. Nicolae et al.
fresh, salted and smoked.
Family Acipenseridae
In the Black Sea, the family Acipenseridae is represented by two genera: Huso
and Acipenser. While species in the genus Huso have a large mouth shaped as a
crescent moon, occupying almost the entire width of the lower surface of the head,
species in the genus Acipenser have a suitably large transversal mouth, occupying
only part of the lower surface of the head. The vast majority of species, subspecies
and ecological or intraspecific forms of sturgeons are characterised by migratory
life. Sturgeon migration is carried on long distances along the seabed (Maximov
et al. 2014).
In the marine zone of the Romanian Black Sea coast, three species of the family
Acipenseridae were documented: beluga (Huso huso), Danube sturgeon (Acipenser
guldenstaedtii) and starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus). Monitoring was also
performed for Acipenser sturio (European sea sturgeon), but no individual was
reported.
Genus Huso
Beluga – Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758) (Fig. 26.3)
Synonyms
Acipenser huso Linnaeus, 1758
Huso huso Berg, 1904
Huso ichthyocolla Bonaparte, 1846
Acipenser vallisnerii Molin, 1853
Huso huso ponticus Salnikov and Maleatzky, 1934
Distribution Marine anadromous species, distributed in the Black, Caspian and
Adriatic Seas and the rivers that flow into them. Beluga is frequently encountered in
Fig. 26.3 Beluga – Huso
huso (Photo NIMRD)
448
C.G. Nicolae et al.