Programs
Sakhalin Habitat ConservationSakhalin Salmon Initiative
Overharvest and habitat destruction in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan have led to declines in wild salmon populations in the past 200 years, completely destroying some salmon stocks and reducing others to a mere percentage of what they once were. When salmon stocks crash, local fishery-based economies suffer, as do the over 100 species of flora and fauna that depend on the marine nutrients that salmon bring to freshwater ecosystems from the ocean.
Unless we employ a new strategy to protect the last remaining Pacific salmon strongholds, they will likely suffer the same fate. Now more than ever a new strategy is needed as salmon face a threat to their survival potentially more serious than all others: climate change.
The Wild Salmon Center (WSC) is the only international conservation organization working to identify, understand and protect wild Pacific salmon throughout their entire range. WSC works with a wide variety of partners in the United States, Canada, Russia, and Japan to achieve this mission and jointly conserve a network of globally significant salmon rivers.
SSI Conservation Program
The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative (SSI) is a public-private partnership effort that brings together businesses, local communities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the effort to safeguard wild salmon, promote sustainable fisheries management and build conservation capacity on Sakhalin Island. SSI was officially launched in 2007 by its main sponsors: WSC, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, and the Sakhalin Oblast Administration. The SSI Center, a local nonprofit organization based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, was created in 2007 to serve as a coordinating body for the various efforts, including the conservation program.
Conservation Action Plan (CAP) workshops provide training in new project management methods.
The SSI Center worked with local partners to determine which conservation strategy was best suited to local conditions and needs. Methods considered for conserving freshwater ecosystems include the creation of whole-watershed protected areas, establishment of riparian buffers or other officially protected zones within a watershed, preparation and implementation of conservation plans, and leasing of forest lands and other resources for conservation. After consultations with relevant stakeholders and thorough examination of the various options, conservation planning within priority basins proved to be the best solution.
A conservation plan uses existing data to analyze threats to a watershed and to develop strategies to address the threats. The plan also contains monitoring measures that quantify how well these strategies are working. The SSI conservation program is based on Conservation Action Planning (CAP), a conservation project management method originally developed by The Nature Conservancy. CAP utilizes a detailed scientific analysis of existing threats to "conservation targets" (for example, salmon), as well as the identification of conservation strategies and monitoring procedures in order to measure success
The Langry River Conservation Plan
The Langry River, with its relatively pristine habitat and rich salmonid species diversity, is one of Sakhalin's priority salmon rivers. It is also the only region where Siberian and Sakhalin taimen are known to cohabitate. In 2007, the SSI Center and local teams of scientists began compiling existing data on the Langry s fish, flora, fauna and physical environment. Two comprehensive scientific expeditions to the region were conducted in 2008, and this new data was integrated with existing data to develop a conservation plan for the Langry.
Poaching on Sakhalin
Anti-poaching measures are a key component of the Langry Conservation Plan, which contains a monitoring system that accurately assesses the success of anti-poaching activities. Putting the plan into action, the Okha watershed council has established road blocks to restrict public access to the river during spawning runs, and the SSI Center is working with a local forest leaser to set up the anti-poaching patrols. The Federal Fisheries Agency research station at Langry will be assessing the success of these efforts through spawning counts and out-migration surveys. The plan also includes taimen surveys and water quality assessments.
Future Plans
Additional stronghold basins have been identified by the 2007 prioritization: the adjacent Vengeri and Pursh-Pursh basins are protected from headwaters-to-ocean by the Vostochniy Zakaznik, created with the support of local environmental NGO, Sakhalin Environment Watch; the Dagi River, where data collection began in 2009; and the adjacent Kura and Naicha basins. If work on the Langry conservation plan proves successful, a conservation planning initiative for remaining priority basins will follow.
Stronghold Strategy
WSC's salmon conservation strategy is based on identification and conservation of salmon rivers across the North Pacific where salmonid diversity, abundance and habitat quality provide the best chance for long-term survival of the species. Scientific research shows that genetically diverse salmon populations are more likely to include individuals that can successfully survive and reproduce when exposed to new environmental challenges. In order to maximize genetic diversity within a network of conserved salmon rivers, WSC has worked with leading scientists and used best available data to divide the North Pacific region into environmentally-distinct ecoregions. By focusing our efforts on the best salmon rivers within each of these ecoregions and creating a network of 'salmon strongholds', we have the best chance of protecting salmonid genetic diversity and habitat.
Protecting Salmon Strongholds
In 2006, through the work of WSC and local partners on Kamchatka, the world's first salmonid protected area, the Kol River Salmon Refuge, was created in western Kamchatka. The 220,242 hectare Zakaznik protects all seven species of Pacific salmon and is home to a research biostation operated by Moscow State University. While commercial fishing occurs at the mouth of the river, the river's freshwater habitat is protected from poaching and other threats through protected area management-led efforts. Fisheries zakazniks could be created on Sakhalin through the SSI if local stakeholders and the government voice interest in adapting the Kol model for use on the island.
The Stronghold Strategy and Sakhalin
Sakhalin Island is a particularly important ecoregion for the stronghold strategy. It is home to four species of Pacific salmon in abundant quantities (pink, chum, masu and coho) and accounts for approximately 15% of the world's Pacific salmon catch. In 2007, in conjunction with the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative, WSC convened local government officials and scientific experts in a collaborative study to determine which Sakhalin rivers are priorities in terms of salmonid abundance, diversity, and habitat quality. The resultant priority basins form the basis of the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative conservation effort, which contributes to the North Pacific-wide stronghold strategy.
Download a copy of the 2009 work plan for this and other SSI projects.