Programs
SSI Regional Monitoring PlanSakhalin Salmon Initiative
The SSI Regional Monitoring Plan was conceptualized during the November, 2007 SSI Monitoring Seminar, held in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Participants in the seminar, including Gordon Reeves of the USDA Forest Service and scientists from the Sakhalin Fisheries and Oceanography Institute and the Sakhalin Branch of the Federal Fisheries Agency, outlined a plan to examine status and trends among eight species of Sakhalin salmonids (pink, chum, masu, coho, Sakhalin taimen, Dolly Varden, arctic char and arctic grayling) and their habitat over time. The plan draws from methodologies employed both in Russia and in the United States.
The plan will employ a rotating panel model, examining six ecoregions of Sakhalin over a six year period. In a given year, three rivers will be closely monitored in one of the six ecoregions - a highly developed/impacted river, a medium-condition river and a highly pristine river. One river in each ecoregion will be studied on a yearly basis to use as a control for year-to-year variations. A suite of population and habitat parameters will be measured on focal rivers.
In 2008, the Taranai, Naicha and Kura rivers of Aniva Bay are the focal rivers of study.
Download a copy of the 2008 work plan for this and other SSI projects.