'Monster fish' in Russia's 1,642m deep lake: Inside there is an extremely expensive 'pearl', spending too much money may not be able to buy it

The world's deepest lake in Russia contains a "fish monster" weighing hundreds of kilograms.

Lake Baikal is located in the center of the East Siberian Plain in Russia. This is the largest freshwater lake in the world (contains about 1/5 of the freshwater on Earth's surface) - the deepest in the world (1,642 meters) - the oldest in the world (20 million–25 million years old). 

As a world natural heritage recognized by UNESCO in 1996, Lake Baikal has many unique biological resources. Plants and animals in the lake are very rich and diverse. There are approximately 1,500 to 1,800 species of animals at various depths and hundreds of species of plants living on or near the surface. The majority of species are endemic to Baikal, the most surprising of which is the Russian sturgeon . 

Sturgeon in the world's largest freshwater lake Baikal.

Russian sturgeon is one of the most valuable species inhabiting Russian rivers and is distributed east to Lake Baikal.

Sturgeon in general in the world are an ancient family of migratory fish that originated about 200 million years ago. Lake Baikal's sturgeon alone dates back more than 2,500 years , and over the centuries, sturgeon have formed the core of Lake Baikal's ecosystem.

Russian sturgeon (scientific name is Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), also known as diamond sturgeon or Danube sturgeon . This fish can live up to 48 years old and lives mainly in salt water, but they migrate to freshwater to reproduce.

Lake Baikal sturgeon are very large. In the natural environment, sturgeon here can be up to 2 meters long and weigh up to 100kg. Sturgeon's body is also very wide. The sturgeon's scales are also very beautiful, silver-gray in color, which can protect the sturgeon from the influence of the external environment and also help the sturgeon have better hydrodynamic effects in this process.

Lake Baikal is the largest, deepest and oldest freshwater lake in the world. (Photo: Sohu).

The largest sturgeon in Lake Baikal has become a legend among lake biologists. Not only is it huge in size, but it also has a long history. This is one of the biological protection focuses at Lake Baikal.

At Lake Baikal, sturgeon occupies a core position in the lake's ecosystem and is one of the keys to maintaining the ecological balance here.

Sturgeon may become extinct in Russia

Today Russian sturgeon is listed as critically endangered . Sturgeon populations are rapidly decreasing in the wild due to illegal fishing for the caviar industry. At the current rate of decline, extinction in the very near future is inevitable.

Catching sturgeon on the Volga River, Volgograd, Russia. (Photo: Jonathan Wright/Bruce Coleman Inc).

Although the Lake Baikal Reserve has implemented a series of protection measures, due to overfishing by foreign fishing vessels and people's demand to buy sturgeon, many sturgeon have been hunted, many of them That's just the small body also becomes a victim. 

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Russian sturgeon is critically endangered and the next step could be extinction.

According to the English Encyclopedia Britannica, sturgeon is valuable thanks to its meat, eggs and fish bladder. Their meat is sold fresh, pickled or smoked. 

Caviar from sturgeon is a highly valuable food.

Sturgeon eggs are removed from the females and then released. This is a luxury food with a very high price because it contains many nutrients. 

Among them, Royal Osetra salted sturgeon eggs [belonging to the Russian Sturgeon species (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)] are extremely expensive . Royal Osetra caviar has been reserved for aristocratic families for centuries, bringing ultimate luxury, Caviarcentre said. This type of salted sturgeon caviar is famous for its scarcity and delicate flavor.

To buy 50 grams of Royal Osetra caviar, the buyer must spend 285 USD (more than 7.2 million VND at the current exchange rate). The price of 1kg of this type of salted sturgeon caviar is 5,600 USD (more than 142 million VND), Caviarcentre informed. However, because of the scarcity of this type of salted egg, not everyone who spends too much money can buy it.

The inner membrane of the sturgeon bladder is used to make isinglass microgels - a very pure form of gelatin used for a variety of industrial purposes.

The integrity and health of Lake Baikal's ecosystem is extremely important, because it is related not only to human life but also to the balance of the entire material cycle and energy metabolism. Earth. 

Lake Baikal is one of the oldest natural freshwater lakes in the world. Its formation can be traced back 25 million years ago. 

It also shows the world a deep and mysterious ecosystem. The image of a school of sturgeon in Lake Baikal cannot help but remind people that this is not only a tourist destination with a pleasant scenery but also a beautiful and lively world.