Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Russian word beluga means white, a name applied to this fish because of the extensive pale color on its flanks and belly. This pale coloring distinguishes it from other sturgeon species that often display darker tones across their bodies.
A female captured in 1827 within the Volga estuary measured four point one seven meters and weighed one thousand kilograms. Another specimen reportedly reached three hundred fifty kilograms though claims of greater dimensions remain disputed.
Males attain sexual maturity between twelve and sixteen years while females require sixteen to twenty-two years before spawning begins. They reproduce every four to seven years across vast distances up to one thousand kilometers upstream.
Scarcity has made this roe increasingly expensive throughout global markets due to critically endangered status. The United States banned imports of beluga caviar from Caspian Sea since October sixth 2005 under Endangered Species Act listing.
The Danube river retains naturally reproducing sturgeon populations within European Union as classified by IUCN. Very few locations of existing wintering and spawning grounds remain known in the lower Danube river with none in the upper reaches where nursery sites were once abundant.