Monument to the Blockade Sticker in Kronstadt

There is a small fish - spine, it is worth noting - not to be confused with smelt. It belongs to the family of fish of the barbed order, has eleven species. Its representatives in front of the dorsal fin have spines, on the belly - two needles that replace the abdominal fins, scales are absent. Many species are characterized by a high tolerance to salinity: they live in fresh, brackish and salty waters.

Stickles are very voracious. In the waters where they penetrate, it is not easy to breed other fish. When you catch a spine on the rod, it easily swallows the nozzle, even the hook without bait. It has no commercial significance. In 2005, an unusual monument to the spine 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 small fish. Such a high honor this inconspicuous fish was awarded because in the difficult years of the blockade saved a large number of Leningraders from starvation. When the food ran out, and larger fish in the vicinity could not be found, the inhabitants of the island of Kotlin (Kronstadt) caught the spine with nets, because through any nets this small fish slipped into the water. In conditions of terrible hunger, the spines, ground into mince, seemed a true delicacy. Cutlets were fried on fish oil bright orange color, which was obtained from it. And a unique culinary delight was considered the ear, which was boiled from spines and to which fishmeal was added. This fish was built a monument in Kronstadt, on which verses dedicated to it by local residents were carved. To the small monument, the blockade constantly brings flowers. Fishermen also come here often. They believe in the omen: if you visit a prick before fishing, pecking will be just wonderful. It 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, plastics.