Iturup Island pink and chum salmon: the fishers' story
Meet the Iturup Island salmon fishers
MSC certification is bringing new recognition to the sustainability efforts of Iturup Island’s centuries-old salmon fisheries, the first Russian fisheries to be certified.
Quick facts
"MSC certification, together with traceability procedures already in place, assure our customers that our products meet or exceed requirements for legally caught and processed wild, sustainable fish. In addition, it underscores our longstanding dedication to ensure that this resource will be here for future generations."
– Alexander Verkhovsky, president of JSC Gidrostroy, which operates the certified fishery
Why we chose MSC certification
The Iturup Island pink and chum salmon fishers chose to pursue MSC certification knowing that they would become the first Russian fishery in the MSC program, thus giving their products a unique recognition and advantage in the marketplace and the ability to break into new markets around the world.What sets us apart
Here are a few of the steps the Iturup Island pink chum salmon fishery has taken towards sustainable fishing:
- Strategically placed trap and careful harvesting techniques lead to low bycatch levels
- No significant habitat impacts
- Harvest strategies ensure minimum spawning levels
- Ongoing commitment to preserving centuries-old fishery through close monitoring of catch levels and transparent management processes and goals
Environmental benefits of MSC certification
The fisheries are managed by the Russian government and JSC Gidrostroy as individual river units, with managers ensuring minimum spawning levels are maintained each year and that the stocks are not depleted. This is done through monitoring programmes that collect data on the age and size of fish caught and on escapement levels. Annual assessments of stock statuses provide the basis for total allowable catch (TAC) levels. The MSC certification process found the regulatory processes to be transparent with good levels of enforcement.
Since the fisheries use stationary traps set in strategic locations at set times, they are able to target pink and chum salmon with low bycatch of non-target species. Monitoring provides estimates of the bycatch, which are limited to not more than 2 per cent of the total harvest, and, since the fish are kept alive until processing, fishermen may release non-target species that may be present in the nets or in the kungas as they see them. The traps are heavily anchored and secured to the shore with leads, so the fisheries have no significant habitat impacts and gear loss is rare or nonexistent.
"Attaining such international recognition for our fisheries and management practices validates our long-term commitment to sustainable resource management," Alexander Verkhovsky, president of JSC Gidrostroy, said at the time of certification. "MSC certification, together with traceability procedures already in place, assures our customers that our products meet or exceed requirements for legally caught and processed wild, sustainable fish. In addition, it underscores our longstanding dedication to ensure that this resource will be here for future generations."
How else does MSC certification benefit the environment?Economic benefits of MSC certification
As the first Russian fisheries to receive MSC certification, it is hoped that this will spread an awareness of sustainability issues to new markets and that the economic benefits of being certified will reach new communities of fishers.
Products from the salmon caught on Iturup are sold in Asia, Europe and North America.
How else does MSC certification improve economic prospects for fisheries?Looking ahead...
As part of the certification process, the Iturup salmon fisheries are continuing to monitor more closely what proportion of their catch originates in the two hatcheries on the island and establishing goals for the level of wild-born versus hatchery-born stocks. They are also establishing independent indicators of the spawning abundance of some non-target species and providing public access to research plans of ecosystem impacts.
Get recipes for sustainable fish dishesFind MSC labelled products from this fishery
More about MSC certified fisheries and fish
The article above was written by an independent journalist commissioned by the MSC to find out how MSC certification has helped this fishery.
