If such representatives of the whitefish family, such as vendace, whitefish, omul, which are widely heard by many, then chir or chokur are less known to a wide range of anglers. And all because they live only beyond the Arctic Circle. This is a freshwater and semi-passage fish with a life span of 26 years.
How to find out chira?
The fish has large sizes - the maximum length is 80 cm and weight is 16 kg. But mostly fishermen catch individuals that do not exceed fifty centimeters in length and weigh about two to three kilograms.
The body of the chira is fleshy, high, highly compressed on the sides. The entire body, except for the head, is covered with large scales that fit tightly to the body. The head is very small, disproportionate to the body, with a hunchbacked nose. Lower mouth, pike picks up food from the bottom; upper jaw wide and short protrudes forward.
He is a salmon-like fish, so he has an additional fin - fatty, which is a leathery fold. All fins have a dark gray color, the back is also dark-colored, the sides are silver with a yellowish tint, on which you can distinguish bronze stripes, the belly is yellow-white, light.
Chokur habitat
This representative of fish lives only in cold clear waters. Therefore, it is found exclusively in the Arctic, in the rivers flowing into the coldest ocean - the Arctic Ocean. He was especially fond of the Yenisei. They catch it both in Kamchatka and in reservoirs of the Siberian region.
Each species of whitefish representatives, depending on the habitat, is classified as a river or lake-river type, chokur is no exception:
- River form of chokur lives in rivers with running water, giving preference to areas with a small current. In such places, the fish finds a good forage base for itself, in areas with a strong flow of food is much less.
- Shchokur lake-river type constantly lives in continental lakes, emerges from them only during the spawning season, going to small rivers flowing into a reservoir. Here expanse for fish, plenty of food. After all, many representatives of the world insect in still water lay larvae.
Nutrition
At first, only small organisms are present in the diet of fry, which freely drift in the water column and cannot resist the flow - these are plankton and benthos - various organisms that live on the bottom and in the soil of continental lakes. The grown young growth begins to eat bottom inhabitants.
The main food of adults:
- numerous crustaceans;
- mollusks;
- chironomid larvae (mosquito-jerk or mosquito-bell).
A variety of insect larvae act as concomitant food.
The most diverse and intense food in chokur is in the warm season. In winter, the fish loses its appetite, during this period it is inactive, and when it spawns, it eats nothing at all.
About feeding pond fish more is written here.
Spawning
Any teal, regardless of type, moves into rivers to spawning grounds. In early August, sexually mature individuals (puberty occurs at 6-7 years of life) rush to spawn. Late in the fall, they find a suitable place for spawning with a rocky, pebble-sandy bottom, slow flow and a depth of up to 2.5 meters.
Other individuals prefer small flowing lakes, where the water is constantly updated. Indeed, for the normal growth of fry, a high concentration of oxygen in water is required.
During the spawning period, the female and male are transformed, dressing in a “mating” outfit. Both individuals have small white epithelial tubercles the size of a pinhead. They cover the torso, head and fins. The female can be distinguished from the male by the white first ray of the pectoral fins, when, like the rest, they do not change color and remain dark gray.
Fish spawns in October - November, when the water in the reservoirs cools down to + 1C. Spawning lasts for 20 days, and can continue with freezing, which helps preserve the population.
The female spawns up to 250 thousand eggs, they are light cream in color, large in size. Larvae appear in March. Fish spawning is not annual and can occur with an interval of 3-4 years.
After spawning, the fish returns to their main habitats, some individuals seek a new place of residence. After hatching, fry gradually descend downstream, feeding the weight.
Catching
A chir is a valuable commercial fish, but there is no specialized fishing for it. Since it lives in remote and inaccessible waters.
It is the remoteness of habitats that allows him to maintain his population, and therefore he is under the least threat of extinction. It is forbidden to catch chokur only during spawning.
Fishermen catch this fish for spinning, fishing rod and bottom gear. Well, he bites during the day, because at this time the fish goes hunting and is active. Shchokur is careful, silence and caution should be observed when fishing.
Chir pecks on natural and artificial bait. A worm or a piece of clam meat is placed on the hook. When choosing artificial baits, they prefer that they imitate flying insects and their morphological forms, which are painted brown with various shades.
When choosing a spinning rod, pay attention to the rod, it should be durable - from carbon fiber or fiberglass, of sufficient length and stiffness class. Since the pike can reach a large size, care must be taken to ensure that the fishing line is not torn and does not deprive the fisherman of the catch. The best option is a monofilament fishing line, a fluorocarbon fishing line, the latter is less noticeable in water, because it has a low refractive index and is very flexible, does not deform, or a strong cord with a diameter of 0.25-0.35 mm in dark color.
Spinner-turret with fur plumage or small wobblers act as bait.
Armed with float tackle, choose a telescopic or Bologna fishing rod, equip it with an inertia-free reel and a durable fishing line. The float should not scare the fish, so the best option is a float in the form of a transparent ball. Tooling is allowed downstream.
The nutritional value
Chir, like nelma, is famous for its tender and fatty meat. The high fat content is due to the fact that the fish lives in harsh conditions and without sufficient fat in such conditions simply can not survive.
100 g of the product contains 88 kcal, proteins - 18 g and fats - 2 g.
Of the useful substances in it there is a large amount of nicotinic acid or vitamin PP, which plays a significant role in redox energy-exchange reactions. With its deficiency, violations of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system and a negative effect on the skin condition are observed.
And also the following mineral composition:
- chromium;
- chlorine;
- zinc;
- fluorine;
- molybdenum;
- nickel;
- sulfur.
A large proportion is accounted for by chromium, which is necessary for regulating blood glucose levels and enhancing the action of insulin.
A variety of dishes are prepared from chokur. They smoked, salted, dried, fried, baked and boiled. A small number of bones and juicy meat make it an ideal filling for pies, dumplings and meatballs. From it prepare stroganina and sugudai - a dish of fresh fish.
Growing chokur
A fast-growing teal is of great interest for breeding in artificial reservoirs located in the northern regions of the country, however, it is not bred on an industrial scale. Two-year-olds are fed with chironomids, the diet of three-year-olds consists of chironomids and mollusks (50:50).
When fish of different ages and species are grown, the overall fish productivity decreases. In the northern regions, underyearlings weigh up to 30 g, two-year-olds up to 400 g, three-year-olds up to 800 g. When grown in warmer areas, the weight increases dramatically. Yearlings feed a mass of up to 200 g, two-year-olds up to 1000 g and up to 1850 g, respectively, three-year-olds.
So, chir or chokur is a rare and poorly studied fish. However, it is of gastronomic interest, as it is environmentally friendly and not susceptible to disease.