Marine Programme of WWF: Step by Step

2010

• In November 2010 at the meeting of the Public Advisory Council (established with the WWF support, November 2008) under the Federal Fishery Agency (FAR) WWF Russia presented its proposals concerning the strengthen control on fisheries, namely to monitor the fish from the place of catch to consumer. It’s possible to save the aquatic bioresources for the future generations only through the teamwork, the work throughout the chain - catch, processing, sale and consumption. The Public Advisory Council recommended to the Federal Fishery Agency to introduce such measures in practice. The same recommendations are in the resolution of the round table, witch took place in Murmansk, where WWF made similar proposal. Plenary speech attracted the attention of foreign buyers to the problem of lack of control of salmon traffic from Russia to Japan and China, and promoted the idea of fish tracking system at the Seafood Summit in Shanghai.
• A round table on sustainable fishing took place in Murmansk in December 2010. It was organized by the WWF Murmansk office, the Marne Stewardship Council and the Union of Fishermen of the North. The situation in the fishing industry may be changed only by joint and concerted efforts of the State, fishermen, scientists and environmental organizations. Concrete proposals to improve fisheries management and monitoring have been formed at the meeting.
• WWF with the WSC took practical steps to prepare a pilot project to track the traffic of salmon from Sakhalin to Moscow. Especially for this, WWF held talks with the supermarket “Metro” on the use of a system of fish traceability “from the board to the counter”.
• WWF participated as the interested party in the full assessment of the fisheries state of Pollock, cod and haddock in the Bering, the Okhotsk and the Barents Seas by the Marne Stewardship Council (MSC).
• The participation in the International Congress of Fishermen in Vladivostok (2010), a meeting on commercial fishing in Pertopavlovsk – Kamchatsky (December, 2010), Summit in Dalian seafood (2010), the International Exhibition Interfish in Moscow (2010) allowed to discuss deficiencies in monitoring and tracking operations with fish and fish products with the Fishermen Associations (Association of Alaska Pollock Catchers Association, the Union of Fishermen of the North), major buyers of Russian fish (Iglo, Birdeye, Frosta, Ocean Trawlers, Pacific Andes, Metro, etc.).
• The Kamchatka Regional Fishery Management Council (RFMC), organized with WWF help is the recognized legal entity advising the Federal Fishery Agency on the questions of catch of all species of fish (except salmon). Under the federal law, part of Council’s powers were delegated to the Kamchatka Commission on the anadromous fish species. The Commission’s decisions concern the seasonal fisheries management and are related to the salmon.
• WWF elaborated the guide on MSC standards, which contains the information about the process and benefits of certification, case investigations and the information about the customers. WWF distributed it among the fishermen of Kamchatka.

2009

• WWF pilot project for mapping of environmentally sensitive zones on the Pechora Sea coast was elaborated.
• The joint project of WWF Russia and the Marine Mammal Council on conservation of walruses got a further development. Every year from August to November tens of thousands of Pacific walruses gathered on the Arctic coasts of Chukotka rookeries. According to results of observations in 2007 total number of roosting animals reached approximately 50 thousand individuals, making it possible to call this rookery the largest new coastal rookery in the world. Changing climate leads to the fact that in summer there is almost no ice fields in the Chukotka and East Siberian Seas, as all the drifting ice moves northwards. Therefore, the coastal rookeries at the Arctic coasts of Chukotka are so unique and important for conservation of Pacific Walrus. “Bear Patrol”, WWF and the Marine Mammal Council started the project on monitoring and protection of rookeries at Cape Kozhevnikov, near the Chukotka village Ryrkapy.
• In 2009 – 2010 the works on the project to reduce seabirds’ mortality during the bottom longline fisheries in the Far East continued. A few years ago WWF started economically and environmentally beneficial project in collaboration with academic and basin fishery research institutes. The main objective of the project is verification of equipments and methods of catch in the Russian seas conditions which on the one hand reduce the hit on the hooks and the loss of sea birds, on the other – raise the economic efficiency of fisheries by preventing of loss of the bait swallowing by birds, in moment of setting of the stage. At the WWF initiative the longline fleet of Kamchatka will be equipped with streamer lines. It will reduce the mortality of sea birds and increase the profitability of fishing. At the meeting of Scientific Council of KamchatNIRO WWF proposed to oblige legislatively tiered fishing vessels to use streamer lines. The draft changes to the “Rules of fishing for the Far Eastern fishery basin” sent to the Far East Scientific-Fisheries Council. In case of approval of this proposal by the Federal Fishery Agency, the rule will come into force on 1 January 2012. All 2011 year will be given to Fishing Companies for equipment of medium-tiered ships by “sea scarecrow”.
• In 2009 several animal protection organizations had extensive campaign against the baby seals hunting in the White Sea. WWF drew public attention to the impact of climate change and baby seals mortality in the White Sea because of the reduce of the ice areas for seals breeding. WWF Russia has called the Ministry of Transport to take precautions against winter navigation in the White and Barents Seas in order to preserve the pups’ rookeries and received a positive answer from the Ministry, witch promised to take measures to reduce pups mortality.
• WWF Russia supports actively the sustainable use of the fishery resources and offers its recommendations to combat poaching and illegal fishing: certification on MSC standards, gain port control and satellite monitoring, organization of observers system on board of fishing vessels, reducing the capacity of fishing fleet in the Barents Sea and in the Far East.

2008

• At the WWF suggestion necessary changes made in the new Fishing Rules for the Far East fishing basin. The draft of these rules allowed salmon fishing and seaweed harvesting in protected zones of marine mammals, including the Red Book species. WWF appealed to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture. As the result this provision is excluded from this document. The threat of human impact on the breeding grounds of sea otters, sea lions and other animals reduced.
• After fishermen and WWF appeal to the Federation Council the provision of new law concerning the sale of fishing quotas at auctions was repealed.
• The Russian Government has ordered to restrict foreign vessels fishing operations in the economic zone of Russia since 2009. It affected primarily large-scale drift-nets fishing by Japanese vessels, against which WWF opposed consistently. WWF supports the development of coastal fisheries as a more environmentally friendly form of fishing and the basis of economic well-being of coastal settlements of the Far East. Active campaign of Fund and others public organizations served as one of the reasons for the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation.
• Due to the long-term work of WWF on promotion in Russia the environmental certification of fisheries, the largest union of fishermen in the country – Alaska Pollock Catchers Association and one of the largest fishing companies in Sakhalin – JSC “Gidrostroy” applied for a preliminary evaluation of their activity in accordance with MSC criteria, Council, created by WWF and Unilever. The preliminary assessment of fisheries on these criteria for three companies fishing in the Khabarovsk and Kamchatka regions is executed with the financial and experts’ support of WWF.