Aspius Aspius

a commercial fish of secondary importance, a member of the family Cyprinidae, with a body length of 60–80 cm and weight of 2–4 kg, occasionally reaching 10–12 kg. Aspius aspius is found in the basins of the North, Baltic, Black, Caspian, and Aral seas. It prefers rivers but is also known in lakes and freshwater parts of seas. In the lower reaches of southern rivers they lead a semimigratory life: in the spring they enter the rivers for reproduction, then travel in summer to fluvial waters of the sea and in winter to river mouths, where they lie in depressions. Aspius aspius matures in three to five years. Spawning is in April through May, usually on rocky bottoms in places where the current is swift. They lay 40,000 to 300,000 eggs. The young feed on crustaceans and bottom invertebrates, and the adults are predators.