Description of the attraction
There is a small fish - stickleback, it is worth noting - not to be confused with smelt. It belongs to the family of fish of the order of sticklebacks, there are eleven species. Its representatives have spines in front of the dorsal fin, on the belly there are two needles replacing the pelvic fins, scales are absent. Many species are distinguished by a demonstration of a high tolerance to salinity: they live in fresh, brackish and salty waters.
Sticklebacks are very gluttonous. In the bodies of water where they penetrate, it is not easy to breed other fish. When you catch a stickleback with a fishing rod, it easily swallows the bait, even a hook without bait. It has no commercial value.
In 2005, an unusual monument to stickleback was erected in the city of Kronstadt, on the wall of the Obvodny Canal, near the Blue Bridge. Currently, this monument is the only monument in the world in honor of this little fish. This inconspicuous fish was awarded such a high honor because in the difficult years of the blockade, a large number of Leningraders were saved from starvation. When the food ran out, and there was no larger fish in the vicinity, the inhabitants of Kotlin Island (the city of Kronstadt) fished stickleback with nets, because through any nets this small fish slipped into the water.
In conditions of terrible hunger, sticklebacks ground into minced meat seemed to be a true delicacy. Cutlets were fried in fish oil of bright orange color, which was obtained from it. A unique culinary delight was considered to be fish soup, which was cooked from stickleback and to which fish meal was added. It was to this fish that a monument was erected in Kronstadt, on which poems dedicated to it by local residents were carved.
The blockademen constantly bring flowers to the small monument. Also, fishermen often drop in here. They believe in a sign: if you visit a stickleback before fishing, the peck will be just wonderful.
Stickleback is very useful in modern times and continues to serve people. Its fat is added to weight loss products, in addition, it is used for the production of varnishes, linoleum, and plastics.
Interestingly, stickleback is, as is commonly believed, not just a trash fish. While the female stickleback lays eggs, the male is engaged in the development of a special secret - mucus. Then he waters the caviar with them and protects it, fanning it with fins. It happens that the development program in the egg is disrupted, and mucus gives it an order for self-destruction - apoptosis. In addition, stickleback flour is used both as a treatment for stress after fights with other males, and for healing wounds. Perhaps, in the near future, mucus will be used in the treatment of trophic ulcers, boils, psoriasis, and even in oncology.
