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Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Sums Up 2009 AchievementsPress Releases

Sakhalin Salmon Initiative (SSI) held its end-of-the-year Coordinating Committee meeting to review year's accomplishments and plan for 2010

Representatives from Sakhalin Oblast government, municipalities, oil and gas companies, fisheries, salmon specialists, NGOs and others met on Sakhalin Island to discuss results achieved in 2009 and approved 2010 plans for the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative, an international program focused upon protecting wild salmon residing in Sakhalin's rivers.

Six projects have been successfully carried out in the past year as part of this effort sponsored by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, the Wild Salmon Center, and other public and private donors. These include: "Watershed Council Network"; "Regional Monitoring Plan"; "Educational Program", "Habitat Conservation"; "Sustainable Fisheries", and "Sakhalin Salmon Park".

The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative was launched in 2006, followed by an agreement signed in February 2008 between Sakhalin Energy (operator of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project) and the Wild Salmon Center on jointly funding the effort for four years in the amount of US $8.8 million.

Broad recognition of the success of the program was received this year when the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative (SSI) won first place at the 2009 Corporate Donor of Russia Awards in the category "Best program demonstrating corporate philanthropy policy and social investment principles".

Some of SSI's achievements in 2009 include:

Sakhalin kids with salmon banners. Click for larger image.

• Scientists and specialists continued to study salmon rivers in Sakhalin and surveyed rivers of the Dolinsk District. According to the established methodology, every year they select the three most distinctive rivers in different ecological regions and monitor river conditions throughout the project.
• In 2008, the Eastern Sakhalin Fishery was pre-assessed according to the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) environmental certification criteria for sustainable salmon fisheries. This year, SSI began to compile a database required for completing environmental certification the fishery. In September 2009, the JSC "Gidrostroi" became the first company in Russia to obtain MSC certification for sustainable fisheries near Iturup Island.  It is expected that the final phase of certification of the Eastern Sakhalin Fishery will be completed in 2011, so Sakhalin fishermen will be able to fully access international environmentally sensitive markets for salmon.
• In 2009, six watershed councils, advisory bodies established in administrative districts of Sakhalin Oblast with support of SSI, carried out a valiant efforts to fight poaching – the main threat to Sakhalin salmon, as well as to restore salmon migration routes affected by severe storms in southern Sakhalin last summer.
• SSI continues to actively work with youths on environmental programs. About 200 children participated in educational excursions where they studied salmon in their natural habitat. Full methodological packages for the Salmon Watch and Droplet educational programmes were distributed to 30 schools and 22 kindergartens. These ongoing programmes aim to help children learn about salmon, their habitat and role in the environment.
• In 2009, SSI organised the first international salmon stewardship camp in Portland, Oregon, as a part of the Education and Awareness project.  Twenty-four teenagers from Sakhalin and the US attended the camp.

In 2010, the SSI will continue its conservation efforts in a number of focal areas to ensure that Sakhalin's wild salmon populations and their ecosystems enjoy the protection they deserve.

Background Information

The Wild Salmon Center (WSC) is the only international conservation organisation working to protect wild Pacific salmon throughout their entire range. The WSC partners with governments, local communities, and businesses to create a network of healthy salmon ecosystems across the North Pacific. WSC’s work is based on the best available science and its conservation solutions support sustainable economies, regional cultures, and the great rivers of the Pacific Rim.

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC) is the operator of one of the world’s largest oil and gas integrated projects – Sakhalin-2, with the shareholding structure consisting of Gazprom (50% + 1 share), Royal Dutch Shell (27.5% - 1 share), Mitsui 12.5% and Mitsubishi 10%.

The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative (SSI) is managed by the Sakhalin-based SSI Center (an independent non-commercial organisation) and overseen by the SSI Coordinating Committee of organisations including the Sakhalin Oblast Administration, regional and federal agencies, academic institutions, business enterprises, commercial fishermen, indigenous communities, local and international NGOs.

The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative is separate from the Sakhalin-2 or other specific oil and gas projects on Sakhalin. SSI is not designed to address or replace Sakhalin Energy’s Health, Safety or Environmental obligations under Russian or international laws and agreements. This program is aimed at conservation of wild salmon, a corner-stone resource for sustainable development and ecology of Sakhalin Island.

Download pdf of the joint SEIC, WSC and SSI press release.

Related Links

• Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Program