The author, ichthyologist, candidate of biological sciences Vladimir Vasilievich Korkosh, who worked for many years at the Southern Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (Kerch), talks about the historical past of the Black Sea, one of the most amazing on our land, and the fate of sturgeon fish in the Azov-Black Sea basin at different times. It also describes in an entertaining way the life, habits and taste qualities of the main commercial fish of the Black Sea and methods of catching them.