Black Sea flounder: photo and description

Black Sea fish-flounder, a photo and description of which is in this article, from the family of flounder. Outwardly strikingly different from other species of fish.

Description

It is very useful, it contains a lot of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. This Black Sea flounder has another name - the Kalkan. This species is one of the largest in the family of flounder. The body of the Black Sea flounder sometimes reaches 85 centimeters, and the mass reaches up to fifteen kilograms. Kalkan can live sixteen years.

Habitat

Black Sea fish flounder where? You can meet her in the Azov and Black Seas, in some parts of the Mediterranean. Sometimes the kalkan appears in the mouths of the Dniester and the Dnieper. It is often found on the coasts of the Kerch Strait and the Western Crimea. Kalkan is found near Theodosia Bay. And also near the coast of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

Habitat

Where does the flounder live? Habitat - silty and shell-like (sandy) Soils. Lives at a depth of 100 meters. A smaller subspecies resides in the Azov Sea. In the summer and winter seasons, the Kalkan prefers to stay at a depth. And in the autumn and spring - floats in shallow water. In summer, large young animals can be seen floating near the bottom in beach areas.

Appearance

What does Black Sea fish look like? Its description is very different from other species. The Kalkan has a high elongated body, somewhat flattened, up to 80% of its own length. Sometimes it happens even more. The whole body is covered with bony tubercles. Like other brothers of this species (flounder), it is formed in the form of horizontally arranged sides, like a thick pancake.

The eyes of the Black Sea flounder are located on the upper (left) side. Fins on this side are asymmetric. Below the kalkan is the white-bellied. Above, where the eyes are located, brownish, with small reddish spots. Scale does not have scales at all, but at the slightest risk, he can change the color to the color of the bottom. The jaws of this fish - with a set of even bristles. They are arranged in the form of bands. There are teeth even on the vomer.

Food

The Black Sea flounder is a predatory fish. It feeds on small fishes, crustaceans and molluscs. An adult calico eats at least 150 grams of food. And prefers bottom fish and crabs:

• Sultanu;
• Hamsu;
• Sprats;
• Horse mackerel;
• The Black Sea haddock;
• Tulk;
• herring;
• Fry.

Reproduction

Basically, the sexual organs of the males of the Black Sea flounder ripen at the age of 5 to 8 years, and females - from 6 to 11. Reproduction occurs at a depth of 25 to 70 meters in the open sea. Favorable temperature should be from 8 to 12 degrees. Reproduction begins in March-April and lasts until June. In some places and until the end of July. But the peak of spawning occurs in May.

One fish sweeps up to thirteen million eggs. Black Sea flounder is the most prolific fish in the Black Sea. Despite the fact that the kalkan is dying from sometimes unfavorable habitats and it is often destroyed by sea predators, a huge amount of caviar is compensated for these losses in full.

Ripening of eggs

The eggs of the Kalkan are transparent and have the shape of a ball. With a small fat droplet. Caviar of the Black Sea flounder is floating, keeps close to the surface and is carried by the current. As a result, at 1 m. Water accounts for up to 10 eggs. Many of them die in polluted waters or are eaten by marine inhabitants. Therefore, only 500 larvae ripen out of half a million eggs.

The first four days they have a yolk sac, which they eat. On the fifth day, the mouth begins to form. But the vision is still bad, so they move very slowly. This is a critical period, since only 25 out of 500 larvae survive.

After 15 or 20 days they become fry and settle on the bottom. Survive to the fall of them about 6 young individuals. Their length is first 7 centimeters. Hibernate at a depth of 30 meters. In the spring, young Kalkans move to the coastal zone. By this time, their length is already 10 centimeters, and by autumn reaches 16 cm. At this age, the Black Sea flounder has no enemies, except for the shark-katran.

The second wintering Kalkan spends at a depth of 50 meters. By spring it becomes a length of 20 centimeters. In four years the Kalkan is already 35 centimeters. Some individuals begin to spawn already at this age.

On the verge of extinction

Black Sea flounder, a photo of which is in this article, is a commercial and very valuable fish. She has a very tasty fillet. Therefore, in the 60 years of the fish was caught very much, and the number began to decline sharply. As a result, the fishing of the Kalkan in 1986 was banned, since it was on the verge of extinction.

But the demand for this fish is huge, and the ban is not being observed now. Kalkana is caught by nets. Establish them even on the site of migration routes, when the fish goes to spawn. Which greatly undermines the number of this valuable fish. In addition, the network of poachers also includes other species, sometimes very rare.

Curious facts

Kalkan spawns not annually. Age of his ichthyologists can determine by the size of ear stones. And the number of eggs is able to tell about the area, time and efficiency of spawning. The Malek of the Kalkan, hiding on the bottom, buries into the ground with the help of a tail and a fin. He makes them wave-like movements, and he falls asleep with bottom soil. In the made deepening it becomes absolutely imperceptible.

Black Sea flounder has different places for wintering, feeding and spawning. Caviar swims along the coasts, in summer it hides in the depths. And in autumn, he returns to the coast again. The older the individual, the deeper the fish drop. In one of the expeditions the submariners saw the Kalkan at a depth of over 10 thousand meters.

Catching the Black Sea flounder began in the third century BC. In those days, from the thorns of this fish, women made necklaces. A lot of fish were caught in ancient times.

There are no small bones in the Kalkan. There are only large ones on the ridge. Fat is concentrated mainly in the fin area. If you need low-fat meat, fins are simply cut off. And if this fish is baked in a foil or pot, then on the contrary, it is necessary to leave the fins and you can not add additional fat or oil. Freshly frozen fish has a somewhat specific smell. But it is easily cleaned. You just need to cut the fins and pull the skin off the carcass.

Useful properties of the Kalkan

Black Sea flounder contains many useful substances and minerals for the human body. This fish is almost not inferior in value to the family of salmonids. As part of the Black Sea flounder there are polyunsaturated acids "Omega-3". In the Kalkan there is a whole bunch of microelements:

• sodium;
• potassium;
• cobalt;
• phosphorus;
• iodine;
• molybdenum;
• chlorine;
• sulfur;
• calcium;
• zinc;
• magnesium.

In the composition of fish there are a number of useful amino acids that help to regulate the level of cholesterol:

• Threonine;
• glycine;
• Serine;
• Aspartic;
• Glutamic.

This fish contains a large number of vitamins. Vitamin A gives the person vitality and energy. And it also strengthens the immune system and promotes early healing of wounds. Vitamin B has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and improves the functioning of the brain. Kalkan is a low-calorie fish, so it is ideal for diets. Vitamin C prevents inflammation and infection. And vitamin E slows down the aging of cells and improves their nutrition, strengthens blood vessels.

Thanks to these valuable components, the growth of cancer cells is prevented, the risk of obesity and diabetes is reduced.