Fish "Capelin" photo and description

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Almost everyone who hears the word capelin immediately remembers the taste of this small fish. It is so popular that you are unlikely to meet a person who has never tried it. We are more interested in capelin not in gastronomic terms, but in the sphere of its fish life. It's hard to believe that this little girl is a predator. Let's try to find out about this fish in more detail, starting with the history of its origin and external features and ending with the number of livestock, without forgetting to mention the most interesting facts related to capelin.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Capelin

Capelin is also called uyok; it is a ray-finned fish belonging to the order Smelt-like, the family Smelt and the genus capelin. In general, this fish family is distinguished by small-sized representatives, the maximum length of which can reach up to 40 cm, but most often the length of these fish does not exceed the 20-centimeter limit, which is quite suitable for the parameters of capelin. The body of smelt has an elongated shape, and the color is dominated by silver.

At first glance, capelin may seem like an inconspicuous small fish, the scales of which are practically invisible. Speaking about the size of capelin, it is worth noting the presence of sexual dimorphism in this fish. Male capelin are larger in size, have a pointed snout and lush fins. Females are smaller, more inconspicuous, but have tasty caviar. Before spawning begins, males develop something like bristly scales, similar to hairs. Experts believe that they are necessary to have more close contact with females.

Interesting fact: Thanks to these scales located on the sides of the fish’s body, the French call capelin capelin.

When discussing the name of the fish, we must add that it has Karelian-Finnish roots. The word means a small fish used as bait to catch larger fish (mainly cod). In Finnish the name “maiva” translates to “young whitefish”. Far Eastern Russian-speaking residents call the fish “uyok”. Some research scientists talk about two subspecies of capelin, which are distinguished by their places of permanent residence.

They highlight:

• Atlantic capelin;
• Pacific capelin.

Methods of catching capelin

So, capelin is caught on an industrial scale, using fine-mesh seines. Since capelin are found far from the shore and at great depths, fishermen most often use purse seines. It is with its help that it is possible to capture a school of this fish, which is located in the depths of the open sea. The best time for catching capelin is spring, since during this period large schools of fish pass almost close to the shore. Capelin is especially often used in the cod fishery as bait. In addition, capelin is used as bait when catching predatory fish in lakes and rivers. Pike is best caught with capelin, and according to experienced fishermen, it is most often possible to catch trophy specimens using this bait. During spawning, capelin can be caught with large nets by going into the water. It is eaten smoked, dry and fried.

Appearance and features

Photo: Capelin fish

The size of capelin is small, the length of its body varies from 15 to 25 cm, and its weight usually does not exceed 50 grams. As already mentioned, females are smaller than males.

Interesting fact: Researchers have found that the largest capelin lives in the Sea of ​​Japan. Males of this fish are 24 centimeters long and weigh 54 grams.

The body of capelin is elongated, streamlined, flattened on the sides. The fish has a small head, but is distinguished by the presence of a rather wide mouth slit. The upper jaw bones of this fish species end in the middle of the eyes. Capelin has small, numerous, very sharp and well-developed teeth. Capelin scales are barely visible. They are located along the entire length of the lateral line, on both sides of the fish’s belly, including the back and sides. The diamond-shaped fins on the back are moved back. The pectoral fins are triangular in shape, slightly shortened at the top and rounded at the base. They are located on both sides of the head.

A clear feature of capelin is the presence of a black edging on the fins, so it can be easily recognized. The main tone of the fish body is silver. The ridge is greenish-brown in color, and the belly is light; it can be called silvery-white with the presence of small brownish inclusions. The fish body is equipped with a small caudal fin, which has a characteristic bifurcation from the middle of its length. It is worth noting that this tail fin cutout is characterized by the formation of an almost right angle, if you look at it from the side.

Capelin fish

It's hard to even imagine that such a small fish is (comparatively) a predatory marine fish. Capelin belongs to the class “ray-finned fish”, to the order of smelt-like fish, to the family “smelt” and to the genus of the same name “capelin”.

This fish received the name “capelin” quite a long time ago, and this name comes from the language of the Karelian-Finnish group. In Karelian it is “maima”, and in Finnish “maiva”, which means a small fish that served as bait to catch larger fish such as cod. In the Finnish language, the word "maiva" meant young whitefish.

This small fish is also called “chaplain” fish in English.

Where do capelin live?

Photo: Capelin in the sea

Capelin is an exclusively marine fish that settles in the thickness of sea and ocean waters. Typically, this fish conquers depths of 200 to 300 meters; moving schools of fish even deeper is very rare. Capelin leads a collective life, forming small schools, which during the spawning period increase significantly, representing huge schools of fish. Capelin never enters river waters and other freshwater bodies. The fish prefers open sea space, meeting in the coastal zone only when spawning is in progress.

If you analyze the habitat of capelin by its subspecies, it is easy to understand that the Atlantic subspecies of fish has chosen the Atlantic waters, but it is also found:

• in the Arctic Ocean;
• in the waters of the Davis Strait;
• in the cold Norwegian waters;
• in the water column of Labrador;
• in the Greenland region.

Capelin also inhabits the space of other northern seas, found in:

• Bel;
• Karsk;
• Barentsev;
• Chukotka;
• Laptev sea.

The Pacific subspecies lives in the Pacific Ocean, preferring its northern regions, stretching to the Korean coast and Vancouver Island, located near Canada. In the Seas of Japan, Bering and Okhotsk, fish also feel great.

Interesting fact: With the arrival of June, residents of some Canadian provinces have an amazing opportunity to collect the required amount of capelin. To do this, they just need to walk along the coast, where fish come to spawn in huge quantities.

As for our country, some time before the spawning period (this can be in early spring or autumn), the fish gather in huge herds, heading to the Far Eastern coastal zone. When a storm occurs, in the Russian Far East you can see a lot of fish washed ashore, and for many kilometers of the surf line, large areas are covered with a solid silvery layer of capelin that came here to spawn.

Capelin: habitats

This fish is found mainly in sea water at a depth of 200 meters. In rare cases, shoals of capelin go to great depths, but there are still cases when this fish can be caught from a depth of more than 500 meters. Capelin does not enter reservoirs of any size and purpose with fresh water. Throughout the year, capelin remain in the waters of the open sea, approaching the coastal zone and on the shallows to spawn. You can meet capelin of the Atlantic species in the Atlantic Ocean, in Labrador, and this fish is also successfully caught in the Davis Strait and is found in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Pacific capelin is found in the Pacific Ocean, namely in the northern part. This species feels comfortable in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, Japan and Bering Sea. Capelin (uek), like other fish of the smelt family, feeds on shrimp larvae, zooplankton, eggs of other fish, small crustaceans and worms that are found in the water area. It is important to note that capelin actively feed throughout the year, with the exception of spawning.

What does capelin eat?

Photo: Sea capelin

Although capelin has not grown in size, we should not forget that it is a predator, and even quite active, as befits all smelts. Proof of this statement is the presence of small but very sharp teeth found in large quantities in the fish’s mouth. The capelin menu is suitable for a miniature predator that cannot handle a larger appetizer.

So, the capelin diet consists of:

• caviar of other fish;
• zooplankton;
• shrimp larvae;
• sea ​​worms;
• small crustaceans.

It is worth adding that the motor activity of capelin is very high, so the fish constantly needs to replenish its energy reserves, which are spent on long migrations and searching for food. In this regard, capelin feeds even in winter, which is why it differs from many other fish.

Interesting fact: The main food competitors of capelin are herring and young salmon, the predominant part of their diet is also zooplankton.

To summarize this section, it is worth noting that capelin, as befits a predatory fish, feeds on products of animal origin. If it weren’t so small in size, it would happily snack on other fish, which, unfortunately for capelin, are too big for its small fish teeth.

Beneficial features

The capelin fishery is very active, and all because it is a desirable dish on every table. Uyok fish are regularly caught in huge quantities, which can reach 0.5 million per year. It's not just about the taste of this fish, although they are also important. Its low calorie content is highly valued, which makes it the main ingredient in many dietary dishes. Capelin pulp consists of easily digestible proteins. Their content in fish is approximately 23%. In addition, since fish has very little connective tissue, it cooks very quickly.

However, the point is not only that capelin is a dietary and tasty product. Besides everything else, it is also very useful. Fish contains polyunsaturated fatty acids. They can significantly reduce the level of cholesterol that accumulates on the walls of blood vessels. Regular consumption of capelin can serve as an excellent preventive measure against strokes, coronary heart disease and heart attacks.

The flesh of this fish contains vitamins A, D, group B, which are necessary for the human body to function properly. Uyok fish is also rich in minerals: sodium, potassium, phosphorus, which is necessary to prevent dementia and improve human mental activity, and iodine, which plays a huge role in the functioning of the thyroid gland.

Capelin is that rare product that normalizes the production of sugar in the blood and even helps to lower it to normal levels. As you can see, uyok fish is an indispensable ingredient for the diet of diabetics, those losing weight, and people who take care of their health.

At the same time, uyok fish has some contraindications. It should not be consumed by those who have individual intolerance. It is not recommended to eat fish in too large quantities, as the high content of carcinogenic substances in it can contribute to the occurrence of malignant tumors. Even with proper processing, fish can retain a large number of parasites, which, in turn, can lead to the development of a number of diseases.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Capelin in the water

Capelin is a schooling sea fish that prefers a collective existence. It forms especially large aggregations during the spawning period, and in everyday life it tries to stay in small flocks. Capelin prefers the upper water layers, most often staying at a depth of 300 m, but sometimes it can go down to 700 m. Only when the fish spawns does it swim to the coastal zone, at which time it can be found in river bends.

For a huge part of its fish life, capelin is stationed in the sea, constantly migrating over long distances in search of places abundant with food suitable for it. For example, capelin, living in the Barents Sea and near the Icelandic coast, in winter and spring travel to the coasts of northern Norway and the Kola Peninsula in order to spawn. In the summer and autumn seasons, this same fish rushes closer to the northeastern and northern regions, looking for a rich food supply.

Interesting fact: The seasonal movement of capelin is associated with the functioning of sea currents. The fish strives to follow them all the time, because... Currents transport plankton, which is the main dish on the capelin menu.

So, it is clear that the life of capelin is quite dynamic, consisting of seasonal migrations. Capelin is very active, mobile, always in search of food, even in the dead and cold winter it does not fall into a state of suspended animation, but continues to look for food and eat in order to stock up on energy.

Description of capelin

Capelin is a small fish belonging to the smelt family, which, in turn, belongs to the class of ray-finned fish. fish Its name comes from the Finnish word “maiva”, almost literally translated as “small fish” and thus indicating its small size.

Appearance, dimensions

Capelin cannot be called large: its body length is usually from 15 to 25 cm in length, and its weight can hardly exceed 50 grams. Moreover, the weight of males and their size may be slightly larger than that of females.

Its body is slightly flattened laterally and has an elongated shape. Its head is relatively small, but the mouth opening of this fish is very wide. The maxillary bones in representatives of this species reach the middle of the eyes. The teeth of these fish are not large, but there are a lot of them, and they are also very sharp and quite well developed.

The scales are very small, barely visible. The dorsal fins are set back and are almost diamond-shaped. The pectoral fins, which look like a triangle slightly shortened at the top and rounded at the base, are located in representatives of this species near the head, on the sides of it.

A characteristic feature of this fish is its fins, as if edged with a black border, thanks to which it can be easily “identified” among the rest of the catch.

The main body color of capelin is silver. At the same time, its back is colored greenish-brown, and its belly is a much lighter silvery-white shade with small brownish inclusions.

The caudal fin is small, bifurcating from about half its length. At the same time, the notch on the fin of representatives of this species forms an almost right angle if you look at it a little from the side.

Sexual differences in capelin are well expressed. Males are larger, in addition, their fins are slightly longer, and their muzzles are slightly more pointed than those of females. Before spawning, they grow special scales that look like hair and form a kind of bristles on the sides of the belly. Apparently, male capelin need these scales for closer contact with the female during mating.

It is because of these bristle-like scales located on the sides of the body of males of this species that capelin in France is called chaplain.

Capelin lifestyle

Capelin is a schooling sea fish that lives in the upper layers of water in fairly cold latitudes. Typically, she tries to stick to a depth of 300 to 700 meters. However, during the spawning period it can approach the shore and even sometimes swim into river bends.

Representatives of this species spend most of their time at sea, making quite long seasonal migrations in summer and autumn in search of a richer food supply. For example, capelin, which lives in the Barents Sea and off the coast of Iceland, makes seasonal migrations twice: in winter and spring, it goes to the coast of Northern Norway and the Kola Peninsula in order to lay eggs. And in summer and autumn, this fish migrates to more northern and northeastern regions in search of food supply. The Icelandic population of capelin moves in the spring closer to the coast, where it spawns, and in the summer it moves to a zone rich in plankton, located between Iceland, Greenland and the island of Jan Mayen, which belongs to Norway, but is located about 1000 km to the west.

Seasonal migrations of capelin are associated with sea currents: the fish follow where they move and where they carry the plankton that the capelin feed on.

How long does capelin live?

The lifespan of this small fish is approximately 10 years, but many representatives of this species die much earlier for a variety of reasons.

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Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Capelin

As we have already found out earlier, capelin is a schooling fish species. The spawning period is directly dependent on the region where the fish are constantly stationed. Fish living in the western parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans begin to spawn in the spring, continuing this process all summer, until the very end. East Atlantic capelin also spawn in the autumn, which is also done by fish living in the eastern Pacific waters.

Before the spawning journey, small schools of capelin begin to cluster together, turning into huge schools of fish, numbering more than one million fish individuals. Such large masses of fish begin to migrate to those places where they always spawn. It often happens that during a storm, a lot of fish, rushing to spawning regions, are thrown ashore in tens of thousands, covering the coastal zone for several kilometers; this can be seen in the Far East and the Canadian coast.

For spawning, the fish chooses spacious sandbanks where the depth is shallow. The main point of successful spawning and further successful development of eggs is sufficient saturation of water with oxygen and proper water temperature conditions (2 - 3 degrees plus).

Interesting fact: In order to successfully fertilize the eggs, the female capelin needs the help of a pair of males at once, who act as escorts when she moves to the place of spawning. The gentlemen stay on the sides, on both sides of their passion.

Having arrived at the right place, the males begin to dig holes in the sandy bottom, they do this with their tails. The female begins to lay eggs in these holes, which have excellent stickiness, immediately sticking to the bottom surface. The diameter of tiny eggs varies from 0.5 to 1.2 mm, and their number can range from 6 to 36 thousand pieces, it all depends on the regions of residence. Most often, the number of eggs in one clutch can be from 1.5 to 12 thousand pieces. After the spawning is completed, the capelin returns back to the places of its permanent residence; not all of these fish that have returned home will participate in the next spawning.

The appearance of capelin larvae from eggs occurs after a 28-day period from the moment of their laying. They are so tiny and light, so they are instantly carried away by the current into the sea. Not everyone manages to turn into a mature fish; a huge number of larvae die from other predators. Those lucky enough to survive quickly develop and mature. Females become sexually mature at one year of age, and males are closer to 14 or 15 months of age. It is worth noting that the entire life cycle of capelin is about 10 years, but a huge number of fish, for a number of different reasons, do not live to their old age.

Capelin spawning

Depending on the habitat, the spawning process of capelin occurs at different periods. Numerous schools of this small fish that roam the western waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans lay eggs throughout the spring and summer, and the fish that prefer to live in the eastern waters of the Atlantic continue to spawn in the fall. Inhabitants of the eastern waters of the Pacific Ocean spawn during 3 autumn months.

Before going to spawn, the small fish gather together in numerous schools. These giant schools are accompanied throughout their entire journey by birds, seals, schools of cod, and also whales, since capelin is part of their diet. When these schools get caught in a storm, a lot of spawning capelin are often thrown ashore and the shore is literally covered with a thick layer of fish.

To spawn, the fish need to find shallow areas of water with a sandy bottom, although some schools choose deeper water areas. For normal development of eggs, there must be a sufficient concentration of oxygen in the water, and its temperature should not exceed +2.5 degrees. To ensure reliable fertilization of eggs, each female is accompanied by 2 males, who make a depression in the bottom with their tails, after which the female lays eggs in this depression. The maximum size of the eggs is a little more than 1 mm, while they are quite sticky and reliably stick to the base.

Depending on age and living conditions, the female is capable of laying from 6 to 40 thousand eggs. After spawning, the fish returns to their normal habitats. Some individuals go to spawn a second time, although many of the individuals do not survive the spawning process when they return: there are too many predators who do not mind eating capelin.

After a maximum of a month, larvae appear from the eggs, about 5 mm in size. After hatching, they are carried by waves into the open ocean, where the larvae develop. Before the onset of autumn, capelin fry grow up to 4 cm in length. After a year, females can take part in spawning, while males are ready for this process after about 1 year and 3 months.

Natural enemies of capelin

Photo: Capelin fish

It is not difficult to guess that the small capelin is full of enemies, both sea and land. If we talk about other larger predator fish, capelin often serves as one of the main components of their daily menu.

Some of these marine life include:

• mackerel;
• squid;
• cod.

Cod constantly accompanies capelin during its spawning movements, so it provides itself with an abundance of food supply. In addition to cod, other lovers of this tasty fish, represented by seals, killer whales and whales, also rush on a long journey for huge shoals of capelin.

In addition to marine fauna, capelin is the main component of the diet for many birds that exist thanks to this fish. It is worth adding that seagulls also follow schools of capelin when they go to spawning grounds.

Interesting fact: A huge number of birds of the Kola Peninsula can exist due to the fact that the coastal waters are abundant in capelin, which serves as the basis for the diet of birds.

Capelin also has another more serious enemy, which is the person involved in fishing. Capelin has long been considered a commercial fish, caught in large quantities in places where it is permanently located. It is known that, starting from the middle of the last century, capelin began to be mined on a huge scale, the scope of which is simply incredible.

Among the leading countries in terms of capelin catch today are:

• Norway;
• Canada;
• Russia;
• Iceland.

Interesting fact: There is evidence that in 2012 the global catch of capelin amounted to more than 1 million tons, and most often they catch young fish, the age of which ranges from 1 to 3 years, and the length - from 11 to 19 cm.

Economic importance

Mallotus villosus is a desirable fishery object; it has always been caught in huge quantities. For the uyok fishery, special purse-seine “washing” trawl seines with a very small mesh were even invented and implemented. Since the mid-twentieth century, the scale of production of this fish has reached amazing heights. World statistics claim: in 2021 alone, the world catch exceeded a million tons (mostly juveniles aged 1-3 years, 11-19 cm in length). The market is driven by the situation: the demand for capelin is high and growing steadily from year to year. The global fishery is strictly regulated, but so far there is no basis for strict restrictions: Mallotus villosus is not a protected species, catch quotas are simply set.

Please note: Mallotus villosus does not have conservation status; its population is huge and quite recoverable. Capelin spawning is stable. This delicacy can be purchased and eaten without regard to animal rights activists.

The economic importance of this seafood is not limited to culinary practice. The capelin family is a significant part of the ocean food pyramid, an important component of the well-being of many other species of animals with which it lives, and in whose diet it is included.