--- title: "Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A giant sturgeon that mostly hunts open-water fish and now survives largely through hatcheries." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/beluga-sturgeon-1.webp" published: "2026-10-10" updated: "2026-10-10" --- # Beluga Sturgeon (*Huso huso*) > **Status**: Checked against 3 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A giant sturgeon that mostly hunts open-water fish and now survives largely through hatcheries. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Classic Hard Rock & Southern Blues // Led Zeppelin, "Ramble On" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/3MODES4TNtygekLl146Dxd) > **Vibe Match**: Beluga spawning migrations run over 2,500 km in the Danube and Volga basins. Ramble On is Led Zeppelin's song of a long road, carried by a bass line that keeps on travelling. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Huso huso* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Critically Endangered ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-1.rlts.t10269a240929386.en)) - **Superpower**: A giant sturgeon that mostly hunts open-water fish, with spawning migrations recorded at over 2,500 km - **Habitat**: The Caspian, Black and Azov seas, running up large rivers to spawn - **Diet**: Mostly sea fishes such as anchovies, gobies and flatfishes, plus some crustaceans and mollusks - **Tags**: fish, giant-size, ancient-lineage, migratory, river ## Natural History & Behavior ## The sturgeon that hunts like a predator Most sturgeons swim along the bottom, feeding on invertebrates that live there. The beluga sturgeon (*Huso huso*) does not. Animal Diversity Web says adults are mainly piscivores, which means fish-eaters, swimming at middle depths and preying mostly on pelagic fish, the ones that live in open water. In the Black Sea its prey includes flounder and other flatfish, gobies and anchovies. FishBase adds that it also eats crustaceans and mollusks. > **Old design** > Sturgeons and their relatives have a fossil record dating back to the Lower Jurassic, about 200 million years ago, and an inner skeleton of cartilage, a trait they share with sharks and rays. ## Built on a huge scale FishBase lists a maximum length of 800 cm and a maximum published weight of 3.2 tonnes. It calls the beluga the largest sturgeon and the largest European freshwater fish, with a common length of 215 cm. In 2003 Animal Diversity Web said belugas of 4 to 6 meters, a fifth of all catches in the 14th century, were extremely rare. Female spawners in the Volga River from 1987 to 1997 measured 199 to 236 cm and weighed 48 to 160 kg, much smaller than the sizes recorded in earlier years. The maximum reported age is 118 years, according to FishBase. In 2003 Animal Diversity Web noted that most belugas were fished soon after they reached breeding age. ## A very slow family life The beluga lives in the Caspian, Black and Azov sea basins, and FishBase says it has been extirpated, meaning wiped out locally, from the Adriatic Sea. It is anadromous, which means it lives at sea and swims up rivers to breed. Animal Diversity Web calls its spawning migrations legendary, at over 2,500 km in the Danube and Volga basins. Breeding takes patience. A beluga usually matures after its 12th year, and FishBase says females carry eggs only once every five to seven years. Each female holds about 360,000 to 7,700,000 eggs, and the parents give the eggs no care. ## Running out of river The IUCN lists the beluga sturgeon as Critically Endangered. FishBase says it is threatened by overfishing for meat at sea and for caviar in the estuaries, and that it survives largely by artificial propagation, meaning hatchery breeding. Animal Diversity Web reported in 2003 that most populations were supported solely by hatchery-released fish: in the 1980s, 19.4 million young were released from the Volga each year, and an estimated 0.1 percent survived. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How big can a beluga sturgeon get? Enormous. FishBase records a maximum length of 800 cm and a top published weight of 3.2 tonnes, and names it Europe's largest freshwater fish as well as the largest sturgeon. Typical fish are far shorter: FishBase puts the common length at 215 cm. *(Source: [FishBase]())* ### How long do beluga sturgeon live? A very long time. The oldest age FishBase reports is 118 years. *(Source: [FishBase]())* ### Why is the beluga sturgeon endangered? Overfishing, says FishBase: at sea for its meat and in river estuaries for its caviar. The species now survives largely by artificial propagation, and FishBase lists it as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. *(Source: [FishBase]())* ### Does a beluga sturgeon eat from the bottom like other sturgeons? Not mostly. Animal Diversity Web says adults swim at middle depths and prey mostly on open-water fish, while most other sturgeons feed on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ## Sources 1. [Huso huso (Beluga). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758), Beluga. FishBase.]() 3. [Sayer et al. (2024). Huso huso. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T10269A240929386.]() *Published October 10, 2026. 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