An Overview Of Our Solution
Tool Box for Sustainable and Verifiably Legal Wild Salmon Fisheries
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Oceans/Coasts
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Europe
Problem
Describe the problem
WSC invests in anti-poaching brigades and other community-based enforcement strategies including satellite monitoring to determine legality of coastal trap net placement; promoting best practices in hatchery management; installing independent observers in fisheries to observe monitor and deter illegal activity; and promoting watershed councils to encourage community engagement in resource management. We increase the value of legal and sustainable salmon products by promoting MSC certification; creating traceability systems allowing buyers to distinguish legal/sustainable products from illegal/unsustainable products; promoting the development of a separate, verifiably legal and sustainable supply chain of salmon; and convincing major buyers to direct purchases only to sustainable sources.
Biodiversity Impact
WSC and our Russian partners create long-term, broad-based public-private partnerships, dedicated to protecting and restoring the ecological health of wild salmon ecosystems in the Russian Far East. Three highly productive river basins form the ecological anchor for the Smirnykh District of Sakhalin Island, Russia and are the central focus of this project: the Pursh-Pursh and Vengeri Rivers in the Vostochnii Nature Reserve and the Langeri River basin adjacent to the reserve. As a result of collaboration between project partners, local commercial fisheries, whose economic success depends directly on the health of salmon runs in the three rivers, have emerged as leaders in advocating for watershed protection and implementing sustainable fisheries practices on Sakhalin. With support from WSC, the coastal pink salmon trap net fishery is spearheading efforts to receive MSC certification, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability. By pursuing certification, the fishery is committing to a traceable and verifiably legal supply chain for its salmon products. This is a huge commitment to transparency of the salmon trade in Russia and an important step towards reducing large-scale illegal commercial fishing. By engaging civil society as equal partners and stewards in resolving resource management issues, and promoting a transparent and open process for conservation and sustainable management of salmon, threats of unsustainable harvest and habitat degradation are reduced and public support for salmon conservation increases.
Solution
Project partners organize community anti-poaching brigades and patrol checkpoints on access roads in collaboration with local enforcement agencies. In 2010, Sakhalin salmon councils formed anti-poaching groups, kept 24 hour surveillance of spawning rivers and conducted 360 raids, which removed base camps where poachers live and prepare illegally harvested caviar. As a result, illegal logging and unsustainable commercial fishing has been stopped and poaching for salmon roe, epidemic in the far east, has been practically eliminated in the area. Illegal access to the most pristine areas of the rivers has been brought under control for the first time. Coupled with important restoration projects, such as dismantling bridges to old logging roads in the Pursh-Pursh basin, reducing water contamination from gold mining, restoring access to spawning grounds in the Langeri basin, and preventing human-caused forest fires, these efforts have allowed ecosystem and salmon population restoration to occur naturally. Additionally, satellite images are being analyzed to determine legality of commercial coastal fisheries and to prove that the placement of set trap nets adheres to the boundaries assigned by the authorities. WSC has also facilitated the placement of independent observers in fisheries during the commercial harvest to attest to the legality of the fishery. Finally, supply chain traceability tools, such as Trace Register, are being introduced to fishermen in the RFE, in hopes that these web-based traceability systems will be adopted and used to enhance supply chain transparency. // WSCƒ??s solution is being applied to various river basins throughout Sakhalin Island which has a total area of 72,492 km2. In particular this project focuses on the Pursh-Pursh and Vengeri River basins (67,300 hectares) and the Langeri River Basin (136,000 hectares).
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 15 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // For more than 15 years, WSC and numerous partners, both western and Russian, have been creating, adapting, promoting and implementing these tools for sustainable and legal salmon fisheries. Each tool is unique and different organizations have been involved in varying degrees. This project has evolved from an effort of a small grassroots organization (Sakhalin Environment Watch) to create a protected area in two river basins, to a broad scale effort involving a number of partners (business, international NGOs, government, local communities) to protect an ecosystem comprised of three full-river basins through a combination of strict protections and raising environmental and social standards and accountability for sustainable resource use. WSC’s Sustainable Fisheries and Market’s Program is instrumental in facilitating the relationships between many of these stakeholders in the area. We organize meetings, exchanges and hold a yearly workshop to bring western NGOs together with Russian NGOs to discuss current sustainable fishery projects in Russia, share lessons learned and identify successful strategies which could be replicated and expanded elsewhere in the far east. As a result, WSC is able to adaptively manage our projects and fine tune the tools in our kit based on the outcomes and discussions in these meetings. Additionally, WSC provides significant technical and scientific advice to salmon fisheries under MSC assessment and works diligently to ensure the evaluation of fisheries under assessment is as stringent and scientifically sound as possible.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
Coastal salmon fisheries are of vital importance to the economic and social well-being of Sakhalin (population 500,000). Salmon is one of the top three seafood products in the North American market and global demand is growing. Salmon are Sakhalin’s second largest industry, contribute 11% of the region’s GDP, comprise 20% of the global Pacific salmon catch, generate $500 million in income, and support one in five jobs. Sustainable fishing practices protect the economic health of generations of Sakhalin residents. Additionally, salmon councils and anti-poaching patrols provide a new source of employment for community members that might otherwise be tempted to poach for a living. Our integrated approach to ensuring a thriving and sustainable salmon fishery is particularly groundbreaking, because it has the potential to address economically-based root causes of the rampant and highly destructive poaching that plagues the area where illegal catch of Pacific salmon is estimated to be as great as 1.8 times the legally reported catch. In most places, there is only minimal disincentive for participating in lucrative illegal fishing—poachers are unlikely to be caught, less likely to be prosecuted and even less likely to pay a fine. This project shifts the incentive structure to penalize illegal fishing and creates rewards for sustainable practices by investing in coordinated local and regional anti-poaching efforts, while simultaneously working to increase the value of fish caught by commercial fishing companies that are demonstrating investment in their long-term sustainability. // Each year regional Salmon Councils create detailed action plans and submit proposals for activities to secure funding through the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative (SSI)—a local nonprofit convened by WSC and dedicated to conservation and sustainability— and local government. Before salmon fishing season begins, the Councils organize a planning session to plan anti-poaching, monitoring, and restoration work that includes all partners. Additionally, together with the local branch of the Forestry Department and invited experts and scientists, local partner Sakhalin Environment Watch (SEW) drafts annual management plans specifically for the Vostochnii Nature Reserve that identify key ecological indicators, assess threats and detail operational plans for enforcement measures and monitoring. Annual action plans are evaluated by a group of Russian and international experts. Because of the international and public-private nature of the partnership, there is a high level of accountability and transparency for all parties. All results of the partnership are published on the WSC, SSI, and SEW websites, and communicated broadly in the press. Involvement of government regulatory and enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s office, and the police ensure the legality of actions taken.