The NE Sakhalin Island salmon fishery in Russia is now a proud owner of MSC certification.
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate has been awarded to the NE Sakhalin Island pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) fishery on Russia’s east coast. The fishery has successfully completed the independent assessment against MSC standard as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. The pink salmon harvested from this fishery may now display the blue MSC ecolabel.
The information revealed that the fishery occurs in FAO statistical area 61, along the east coast of Sakhalin Island in the Nogliki and Smirnykh districts. Commercial salmon fishing has been conducted on Sakhalin Island since the beginning of the 20th Century. The assessment encompassed all companies fishing in the two regions, but use of the certificate will apply only to the companies that have agreed to a certificate sharing arrangement with the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center and the Sakhalin Regional Fisheries Association.
The fishery primarily uses coastal trap nets to fish for pink salmon. A minority of the companies use diverse gear types such as river weirs, beach seines, and floating gillnets. Coastal trap nets are considered passive since the nets are set in a single location for fish to swim into, and thus catch per net set varies depending on the intensity and strength of any particular run in that locale.
Sergei Didenko of the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center said that MSC certification for their pink salmon is part of a change in momentum for fishing practices in the Russian Far East. He added that this would lead to solidifying markets in Russia along with opening up new markets in other parts of the world, and all while perpetuating fishing jobs in the region.
Kerry Coughlin, MSC Regional Director, Americas, said that the certification of NE Sakhalin Island pink salmon is an important indication of a growing commitment to sustainable fishing in the Russian Far East.
