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The Arctic
The Kamchatka Salmon Conservation Initiative
Salmon are born in freshwater streams but live in oceans until they head back to the rivers in which they were born to spawn.
© WWF-Canon / Michel ROGGO
In 2006, WWF, with support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, launched an ambitious salmon conservation program to address the complex challenges facing the salmon populations along the Kamchatka Peninsula and in the Bering Sea. WWF will ensure that salmon populations are maintained at levels that support sustainable fisheries. We will also work to eliminate particularly damaging fishing practices and drilling for oil in critical salmon habitat.
In the next ten years, our goal is to:
- Reduce illegal salmon trade
- Institute new management paradigms so that Kamchatka salmon stocks are managed according to science-based fishery management plans produced with public participation
- Phase out bottom trawling in the Bering Sea and reduce salmon bycatch in the pollock fishery
Improve governance and management of salmon
In 2006, WWF brought together a diverse group of government agencies, fishery industry representatives, indigenous peoples and other non-governmental organizations in Kamchatka to develop and establish the Salmon Coalition. The Salmon Coalition advises the Russian government on ways to improve commercial fishery management promote conservation and sustainable use of salmon, protect critical salmon habitat, prevent poaching and support international and domestic market efforts for sustainable salmon products.
The Salmon Coalition's current efforts include:
- Developing a framework for regional management councils to advocate for the endorsement and reform of councils in Moscow with federal structures
- Providing a forum for information exchange and monitoring of the coalition work
- Developing a prototype fisheries management plan for the Russian Department of Fisheries Policy under the Russian Fisheries Agency
- Developing and implement local salmon management plans in Kamchatka
- Assessing Russia's at-sea salmon fishery including environmental impacts of coastal and at-sea fishing management practices
- Analyzing income subsidies and the biological and ecological benefits and harms of Kamchatka & Russian Far East salmon hatcheries.
Recent Accomplishments:
- Analysis conducted by WWF delayed the adoption of proposed regulations by the Kamchatka Regional Parliament that included the lack of process transparency, the absence of conservation over exploitation, potential violations of traditional fishermen's rights and unfavorable incentives for investment in hatchery development by fishermen.
- In March 2007, WWF hosted a Russian Far East fishermen delegation to develop management measures for the Kamchatka's salmon fisheries that could allow the fisheries to achieve the same success as the United States North Pacific fisheries. The Russian delegates met with experts from government, industry and science along with participating in the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) process. The NPFMC is renowned as the most successful regional fishery management organization in the world. This opportunity fostered a greater understanding of fisheries management by officials from both countries as well as contributed to sustainable fisheries management in the North Pacific.
Introduce market-based incentives to encourage sustainability
An often overlooked aspect of resource conservation involves the use of supply and demand. Providing incentives for sustainability through the marketplace is critical to preserving the integrity of salmon stocks while ensuring profitable operations in the fishing industry. Recent efforts in Alaska to support sustainable market branding have proven successful in reducing the demand for unsustainable products. WWF is leveraging Alaska's proven market-based conservation measures and sharing models of successful salmon marketing with Russian fishing and processing industry leaders.
MSC Logo - look for this label on your seafood.
WWF is also working with Seafood Choices Alliance to assess consumer attitudes related to salmon conservation and potential interest in buying certified sustainable products. These findings, to be released in the summer of 2007, will support a focused marketing approach designed to promote sustainable salmon and salmon conservation.
Increase enforcement and combat illegal fishing
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to threaten salmon stocks in Kamchatka and the western Bering Sea. WWF and TRAFFIC are monitoring the illegal and legal trade in Kamchatka's salmon products, including caviar.
Current efforts include:
- Investigating the chain of custody for Kamchatka salmon products
- Developing an anti-poaching strategy
- Developing policy recommendations for improving enforcement
- Analyzing the Russian system of fisheries observers and developing recommendations for improvement of the system
- Educating and influencing fishermen and other communities to fight poaching
- Building capacity in fishery enforcement techniques, natural resource legislation and methods for addressing IUU fishing
Shallow rivers with gravel bottoms are places where salmon from the Pacific Ocean come to spawn. Bystrinsky Nature Park, Kamchatka.
© WWF-Canon / Hartmut JUNGIUS
Promote and establish protected marine areas for salmon
While some of our partners, such as the Wild Salmon Center, are focusing on conserving key salmon watersheds, WWF is protecting important salmon habitat in the marine environment. WWF has proposed the creation of a precedent-setting marine fisheries protected zone off the Kamchatka coast. This will provide for vital salmon feeding habitats threatened by planned oil development on the western Kamchatka shelf. WWF is conducting a feasibility analysis to determine what type of protected area would be the most effective and classifying the most important marine salmon habitats surrounding Kamchatka.
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