Nelma
(Stenodus nelma)

Stenodus nelma, known alternatively as the nelma, sheefish, siifish, inconnu or connie, is a freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is widespread in the Arctic rivers from the Kola Peninsula (White Sea basin) eastward across Siberia to the Anadyr River and also in the North American basins of the Yukon River and Mackenzie River.

Nelma belongs to the family of trout and salmon and resembles whitefishes from the genus Coregonus. But, it stands out very impressive sizes - its mass can reach 15 kg.

In appearance, it differs from other salmon, in particular, there are no dark specks characteristic of them, and the body is generally lighter and silver, only the back is painted in a grayish-green shade. An extended spine-shaped fish body has a fatty fin and from the front side with a large mouth whose jaws are littered with small sharp teeth. The females and males differ in little - only in the marriage season the second rampasses become pronounced. The fish has a large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and a high and pointed dorsal fin.

It grows Nelma very quickly - in just 5 years it reaches the stage of an adult individual. Already for the first year of life, she begins to eat bottom larvae, small worms and even fry of other fish, and in adulthood switches to young other Sigovy - Ryaskushki, Koryushki.

Nelma is an anadromous fish, up to 150 centimetres (59 in) in length. An adult fish weighs from 14 to 25 kilograms (31 to 55 lb).

Nelma lives in the northern part of Eurasia (from the Kola Peninsula to Canada), where it is found in the Great Rivers of the Ice Ocean Ocean Basin Rivers, Yenisei, Irtysh and Lena.

As a rule, she lives in river deltas and desalinated bays. This fish will spawn on the middle and the upper flow of rivers, where it rises immediately after the ice plant, most intensively - in June and July. After about 2 months, she gets to the numerous rivers of Southern Siberia and goes along the direction itself to the place of spawning. On the way, it actively feeds on races, mollusks, worms and young fish, thanks to which it quickly picks up their nutritional fat.

Due to uncontrolled poaching, Nelma is under threat of disappearance. Because of this, its fishery is prohibited in Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansiysk AO, Tyumen and Tomsk regions.