Wild Salmon Center Pressroom
Our Newsletter
Volume III, Issue 2, June - July 2005
Dear Wild Salmon Center Friend
As we head into summer, the Wild Salmon Center would like to share a few key developments with our friends and partners.
The last time I wrote I announced the publication of our Atlas of Pacific Salmon and the convening of the State of the Salmon Conference in Alaska. The Atlas and the conference were a resounding success.
Over 200 people representing multiple disciplines across the Pacific Rim attended the three day event led by Wild Salmon Center and Ecotrust--scientists, government representatives, policy makers, native peoples, and conservation NGOs. The conference created tremendous momentum towards a consistent international salmonid monitoring strategy with shared language and data for salmon ecosystem conservation. A complete summary of the proceedings can be found at State of the Salmon. Thanks to all who attended, and please consider purchasing our Atlas.
Meanwhile our programs in the Russian Far East have been gathering steam. For over two years we've worked on Sakhalin, an island dividing the Sea of Japan from the Sea of Okhotskâand an area which represents an important opportunity for wild salmonid conservation. Salmon provide much of the employment on the island and are an integral part of local culture. In partnership with local groups, financial institutions and oil industry representatives we're using science to promote protection and conservation of wild salmonids, as well as sustainable use of the resource. We have been engaging international finance institutions to make sure resource extraction projects use best international practices, and these institutions now view the Wild Salmon Center as the experts on salmon-related issues. Our actions now are raising the standards for oil and gas projects across the Russian Far East.
One important player, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC), a consortium of Shell Oil, Mitsui, and Mitsubishi, is currently engaged in a $12 billion oil extraction project that will cut across many salmon rivers on the Island. Highlights of our activities include:
- Carefully positioning ourselves with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to help them determine the environmental conditions of their loan for this project.
- Urging the company to adopt best international practices for pipeline construction and operation.
- In parallel, launching the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative, a collaborative conservation effort to protect wild salmon rivers, build institutional capacity and promote sustainable development.
- And finally, helping to build a restoration partnership with the support of local officials and community members, and with the participation of Oregon nonprofits and the United States Forest Service under a newly executed USFS/WSC Memorandum of Understanding.
Please see below for more Wild Salmon Center activities, including tales from a recent research expedition on the wild Koppi River.
Enjoy the summer, and thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Guido Rahr, President and CEO
In This Issue
- Russia Far East Research Expedition Monitors Ancient Sakhalin Taimen Species
- Wild Salmon Center President Gives Keynote Speech in Norway
- Cascadia North Scientists Release Results
- russia far east research expedition monitors ancient sakhalin taimen species
- In spring 2005, IUCN Salmon Specialist Group (SSG) Co-chair and Wild Salmon Center/State of the Salmon staff, Dr. Pete Rand, along with Program Associate Brian Caouette and colleagues from Japan and Russia embarked on a ten-day research expedition to the wild Koppi River in Khabarovsk Territory of the Russian Far East. The goal of the expedition was to conduct research and monitoring of the largest and most ancient species of salmonid, the Sakhalin taimen or Hucho perryi. This trip represented the first opportunity for the IUCN SSG to complete a Red List Assessment for an anadromous salmonid. We've posted an informal trip report with pictures.
- wild salmon center president gives keynote speech in norway
- Wild Salmon Center President and CEO, Guido Rahr gave a keynote address at the 4th annual World Recreational Fishing Conference in Trondheim, Norway. Guido spoke alongside the Chair/CEO of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund, Orri Vigfússon, and Dr. Ken Whelen, Chair of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization. Guido provided a review of North Pacific Salmon issues and "lessons learned" from the international salmon conservation community. "One stunning fact came out regarding the sad and dramatic decline of Atlantic salmon which confirmed the importance of our work in the Pacific," stated Guido Rahr. "After a spirited debate discussing the fact that Ireland is one of the last nations fishing the high seas commercially for Atlantic salmon, it was mentioned that there are only 3-4 million Atlantic salmon remaining in the North Atlantic. I pointed out that we have that many wild salmon returning annually to the Kol River in Kamchatka, Russia alone!"
- cascadia north scientists release results
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WSC salmonid experts John McMillan and James Starr recently reported that Steelhead redd counts
on the Hoh River are at their lowest point ever in the eight years the Wild Salmon Center has been studying this Northern
Cascadia river basin. A "redd", which can contain between 900 and 2000 individual salmon roe, is used to estimate
the number of adult salmon returning to and spawning in the river system. This data can be used to determine if a run is
healthy or in decline. "This follows the downward decline in abundance we've seen over the past three years in the Hoh,"
states McMillan. "We're also seeing fewer redds in the survey reaches we monitor in the Quileute, and snorkel surveys in the
Calawah and Sol Duc suggest their run was small as well."
In addition to their field work, McMillan and Starr have recently presented their work to the Wild Steelhead Coalition's Annual Steelhead Summit and the Puget Sound Winter Steelhead Biological Review Committee.