Black-Backed Caspian Herring
Black-Backed Caspian Herring
(Alosa kessleri kessleri), a fish of the family Clupeidae. It is found in the Caspian Sea; it goes up the Volga to spawn. Length, 52 cm; weight, up to 2 kg (the largest of the Volga herrings). During spawning it splashes forcefully in the water (hence the Russian name beshenka, “crazy or frenzied one”). It is a valuable commercial fish; its numbers have been decreased sharply because of destruction of its reproduction conditions, caused by the construction of several hydroelectric works.