Wild Salmon Center Pressroom
Our Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue 2, March - April 2006
Dear Friends of the Wild Salmon Center
Greetings from Portland!
In this issue of the WSC Newsletter, we're focusing on our Kamchatka Peninsula programs in Russia. Kamchatka is home to vast and pristine salmon rivers—among the most important and biologically diverse in the North Pacific. The peninsula is also a region in transition, as new areas are opened to large scale natural resource development.
The West Kamchatka Shelf is attracting the interest and investment of multinational companies as a site for future oil and gas development projects. This January the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) began the first stage of offshore oil and gas exploration in the Sea of Okhotsk, one of the world's most productive and protein-rich seas. Under the direction of Canadian corporation CEP International Petroleum, exploration is also beginning onshore on Kamchatka's salmon-rich West coast, north and south of the Tigil River and near the Icha River. The Wild Salmon Center is carefully following these projects as they take shape, and is prepared to take a proactive role supporting local efforts to protect this globally significant salmon producing region. Read more . . .
Also on Kamchatka we've seen the way that a small investment in salmon science and economics can make a big impact. Earlier this year Sergei Sinyakov, a scientist with KamchatNIRO, the Russian fisheries agency of Kamchatka, published a book comparing the value of salmon fisheries to other economic sectors in Kamchatka. His book also includes a chapter analyzing oil and gas projects in another WSC project area, Sakhalin Island. This publication, inspired by research initially commissioned by the Wild Salmon Center, has had a tremendous impact in Russia and is influencing local politics and decision-making on oil and gas exploration on Kamchatka. Read more . . .
Finally, on the broader scale of North Pacific salmon conservation, we've been engaged in an exciting project to determine which rivers can make the most important contribution to the long-term survival of wild Pacific salmon. This effort, using rigorous scientific criteria and involving partners in the US, Canada, Japan and Russia, is part of a year-long strategic planning process and will play a vital role in our program development. The Pacific Salmon Conservation Assessment will help the WSC and our partners prioritize the rivers where we focus our work, and point us towards the rivers that harbor the greatest diversity, abundance and offer the best long-term chances for conservation. Read More . . .
As wild salmon friends and colleagues, your continued interest and support are critical as we work to preserve important salmon rivers on both sides of the North Pacific. Contributions to the Wild Salmon Center are an excellent way to honor the next generation—please consider a gift of support today.
Our next newsletter will look at our Pacific Northwest programs. As always, you're welcome to contact me or other members of staff with any questions.
Warm regards,
Guido Rahr, President and CEO