Smelts: eagerly awaited
Photo: Tiit Hunt
Translation: Liis
Smelt.
| Smelt, sparling |
Meritint
|
It is rumoured that the Old-Pärnu men have caught some smelt. Last year the smelt frying pans had been singing for several weeks already. Years are not brothers - this year the seawater level is low, the ice is thick, and it is covered with a thick snow blanket. In Pärnu River the fish usually start spawning in April.
The smelt is an ice-age relic in the Baltic. It is semi-migratory and spawns in brackish water bays and rivers. In the Gulf of Riga, the Bay of Pärnu and Pärnu River are important spawning areas for this cucumber-smelling fish.
The catch is mostly made up of fish up to 30 cm long. The smelt has a slender body, a large head for its size, and a mouth with sharp teeth. The back is greyish-green, the flanks and belly pale white, without any silvery sheen. The fins are translucent, including the adipose or fatty fin that is characteristic for fishes in the salmon group – see Tiit’s photo. The tail fin is deeply notched. The body of the smelt is semi-translucent, and in the spawning period the head and back of milt-carrrying fish have a clearly visible beading. A very interesting creature.
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