Hucho taimen

The taimen (Hucho taimen), also known as Siberian taimen and Siberian salmon, is a species of fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae) of order Salmoniformes.

Habits and range

The taimen is distributed from the Volga and Pechora River basins east to the Yana River in the north and that of the Amur River in the south. On a larger scale, this includes parts of the Caspian and Arctic drainages in Eurasia and portions of the Pacific drainage in Mongolia and Russia (the Amur River). In Mongolia the taimen is found in both the Arctic and Pacific drainages, specifically the Yenisei/Selenga, the Lena, and the Amur River Basins. The taimen lives in flowing water and is only occasionally found in lakes, usually near the mouth of a tributary. The taimen is not anadromous, but does show increased movement rates during the spawning season. The average home range size of taimen in the Eg-Uur River of Mongolia is 23 km, but some tagged individuals show home ranges up to 93 km.^[1] Some authors consider the taimen to be a subspecies of the Huchen, i.e. Hucho hucho taimen.

Description

Coloration varies geographically, but is generally olive green on the head blending to reddish brown in the tail. Adipose, anal, and caudal fins are often dark red. The belly ranges from nearly white to dark gray. The taimen is the largest salmonid in the world. The maximum size is not well known, but a fish caught in the Kotui River in Russia with a length of 210 cm (83 in) and a weight of 105 kg (231 lb) is the largest reliable record (Holcik et al. 1988). The IGFA world record is a little under 100 lb or 45 kg. [1] It can reach at least 55 years of age.

Diet

Adult taimen are mainly piscivores, though they frequently eat terrestrial prey such as rodents as well as birds.

Angling and commercial use

The taimen is becoming a more well known game fish, particularly for fly fishermen. Catch-and-release with barbless hooks is practiced in many areas in order to conserve dwindling populations of this species. [2] Organizations such as the Taimen Conservation Fund are working to conserve the remaining populations. While the taimen is sometimes (often illegally) harvested commercially, its low price and slow growth and reproduction make it more valuable as a game fish.

Folklore

• Mongolian legend tells of a giant taimen trapped in river ice. Starving herders were able to survive the winter by hacking off pieces of its flesh. In the spring the ice melted and the giant taimen climbed onto the land, tracked down the herders, and ate them all.
• According to Chinese folklore, a type of giant taimen lives in Kanas Lake in China. Villagers near Kanasi claim to have found fish weighing upwards of 3000 pounds.[3]
• National Geographic called the taimen the "Mongolian Terror Trout".^[2]

References

• "Hucho taimen". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=623484. Retrieved 30 January 2006. 
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Hucho taimen" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.
• Holcik, J., Hensel, K., Nieslanik, J., and L. Skacel. 1988. The Eurasion Huchen, Hucho hucho: largest salmon of the world. Dr. W. Junk Publishers (Kluwer), Dordrecht, Netherlands
• Matveyev, A.N., Pronin, N.M., Samusenok, V.P., and C.R. Bronte. 1998. Ecology of Siberian Taimen, Hucho Taimen, in the Lake Baikal Basin. J. Great Lakes Res. 24(4):905-916.
• Jensen, O.P., D.J. Gilroy, Z. Hogan, B.C. Allen, T.R. Hrabik, B.C. Weidel, S. Chandra, M.J. Vander Zanden. 2009. Evaluating recreational fisheries for an endangered species: a case study of taimen, Hucho taimen, in Mongolia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66:1707-1718. [4]
• Taimen Research [5]
• Taimen in Mongolia: [6]

Notes