FOR IMM
MEDIATE RELEASE
June 12,, 2012
halin Is
sland salmon
s
n fishe
ery awa
arded MSC
Sakh
certificatio
on
hip Councill label awa
arded to Piink salmonn fishery in NE Sakhallin Marine Stewardsh
h volumes up to 6500
0 metric toons annuallly representing catch
The Sakh
halin Island trap net pink
k salmon fish
hery in the R
Russian Far East has su
uccessfully
achieved
d the Marine Stewardship Council (M
MSC) certificcation. After more than fo
our years off
preparato
ory work, six
x fishing com
mpanies thatt annually ca
atch up to 65
500 metric to
ons of pink
salmon have
h
been aw
warded the coveted MSC label.
This is th
he first Russian fishery certified
c
since
e Iturup Isla nd’s pink an
nd chum salm
mon fishery
received MSC certific
cation in 200
09. While Itu
urup was the
e first fisheryy in Russia to
o receive the
e
MSC cerrtification, NE
E Sakhalin is
s the first willd salmon-ba
ased (non-h
hatchery) fish
hery to receiive
the award. Many of NE
N Sakhalin Island’s salmon will ulti mately spaw
wn in protectted nature
reserves that were re
ecently estab
blished to sa
afeguard fresshwater hab
bitat and spa
awning grounds
for wild fiish.
afood industrry, governme
ent agencies
s, and conse
ervation grou
ups all want abundant a
and
“The sea
diverse fisheries. Thiis MSC certification poin
nts to a grow
wing trend in Russia’s sa
almon fisheriies
and demonstrates that effective fish
enefit all inte
f
manage
ement can be
erested partties. By
collabora
ating on sharred goals we
e can ensure
e the future o
of these fish
heries remains bright,” said
Brian Caouette, Director of Susta
ainable Fisheries and M
Markets Program at the W
Wild Salmon
Center.
“MSC certification of Sakhalin Islland’s NE sa
almon fisherry representss a major acchievement in
protecting and mana
aging a pristine wild syste
em,” said Ho
oward Johnsson, Global Programs
f the Susta
ainable Fisheries Partne
ership. “We ccongratulate
e the client g
group and
Director for
h
Russian salmon fishe
ery managers in achieving this milesstone that w
will pay divide
ends for both
ses and ecos
systems.”
business
t owner off Plavnik and
d Sadko, two
o of the fishing companies that are b
being
Vladimir Smirnov is the
MSC cerrtified and together harve
est nearly 50
000 metric to
ons of salmo
on from the NE Sakhalin
n
Island fis
shery.
“MSC certification will inform not only fishermen but also consumers on a large scale that there
are still places where salmon are naturally reproducing and that we all need to take good care of
them in order to preserve natural production and spawning habitat,” said Smirnov.
There are a number of other Russian salmon fisheries in the MSC pipeline, including Ozernaya
sockeye salmon on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island’s Aniva Bay pink
salmon. Both may receive MSC certification later this year. Collectively, 65,000 metric tons of
Russian salmon are either certified or in the certification process, representing 20-25% of
Russian’s total salmon supply.
The 600-mile long Sakhalin Island is located at the far eastern end of Russia, between the Tatar
Strait and the Sea of Okhotsk, north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and represents 20
percent of global Pacific salmon stocks.
For more information, please contact:
Brian Caouette, Wild Salmon Center, (971) 255-5554, bcaouette@wildsalmoncenter.org
Howard Johnson, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, (541) 899-4975,
howard.johnson@sustainablefish.org
Wild Salmon Center
Based in Portland, Oregon, Wild Salmon Center is an international non-profit organization
whose mission is to identify, understand and protect the best wild salmon ecosystems of the
North Pacific. Learn more at www.wildsalmoncenter.org.