WALLS OF DEATH: KAMCHATKA FIGHTS DRIFTNETS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VLADIVOSTOK 000067 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON SENV RS SUBJECT: WALLS OF DEATH: KAMCHATKA FIGHTS DRIFTNETS VLADIVOSTO 00000067 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary. Russia is one of few countries that still allow driftnet fishing in its coastal ocean waters. Most countries have already banned the nets, referred to by environmentalists "walls of death." A proposal by the Federal Fisheries Agency to ban the practice in Russian waters has stirred up debate, pitting Kamchatka fishermen, indigenous groups, and environmental groups in support of a ban, against industry groups who hope to see the practice continued. Walls of Death Harm Aquatic Wildlife -------------- ¶2. The United Nations passed Resolution 46/215 in December 1991 urging the ban of large-scale driftnet fishing and in 1992 several countries -- including Russia, the US, Canada, and Japan -- signed the Convention on the Conservation of Anadromous Fish Resources in the Northern Pacific agreeing to implement the ban. Detractors of the practice refer to driftnets as "walls of death" which stretch several kilometers and become barriers for all species of migrating fish. As a result, the nets catch a significant amount of unwanted by-catch, including mammals and birds. These commercially unprofitable animals are thrown dead back into the water. Kamchatka fishermen, indigenous groups, the World Wildlife Fund, and other NGOs have been pressing for a ban on the practice because, they say, it will lead to the depletion of Pacific Salmon species, and interferes with local, more sustainable methods of salmon fishing. Coastal Fishing Vital to Indigenous Economy -------------- ¶3. Salmon fishing is an important traditional business in the Russian Far East, especially in Kamchatka, and over one quarter of all Pacific salmon (Pink, Chum, Sockeye, Chinook and Coho Salmon) come from the ocean to the rivers of Kamchatka for reproduction. A significant proportion of the indigenous people of the area rely on coastal fishing as their main source of income. Russian Far East residents traditionally catch salmon at the mouths of rivers. Their operations are small-scale, and are considered by environmentalists to be more sustainable. ¶4. Commercial driftnet businesses, on the other hand, tend to harvest fish at sea before they are able to reproduce, catch larger quantities, and discard at least 60 thousand tons of dead, unwanted by-catch annually. Russian driftnet fishers tend to focus on the most valuable species of salmon, the Sockeye, which fetches USD 100 per kilo at markets in Japan. Less valuable fish such as Pink and Chum salmon, which make up about 80 percent of the catch are thrown overboard dead. Many observers also allege the widespread practices of hidden catch, unreported discharge, and bribery of on-board inspectors. Duma Rejects Ban -------------- ¶5. In order to keep salmon stocks viable, Kamchatka fishermen, indigenous groups, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF),NGOs, and representatives of regional legislative and executive authorities formed the "Save the Salmon Together" Coalition, which has been pushing for a federal ban on salmon driftnet fishing in the Russia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for over a decade. Earlier this year, their efforts appeared to have paid off when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tasked the Director of the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to prepare documents outlining the implementation of a total ban on driftnets in Russian waters. The effort made it all the way to the Russian National Duma, which eventually rejected the bill in late May, saying "this decision will negatively affect the social and economic situation in the Russian Far East." Large Quotas Allotted to Japan -------------- ¶6. In late April, Federal Fisheries Agency Director Andrei Krainiy announced his agency will issue 18,380 tons salmon quotas for fishing in Russia's EEZ to Russian and Japanese drift netters. The quota includes 11,300 tons (including 6,815 tons of sockeye) for Russian companies and 200 tons for scientific research. Thirty-one Japanese fishing companies are permitted to catch 3,000 tons of sockeye and 3,880 tons of other salmon. The Japanese companies reportedly paid 2.1 billion Japanese Yen (USD 22.1 million) for the rights, which were agreed upon during the 25th session of the Russian-Japanese Fisheries Committee in mid-April. VLADIVOSTO 00000067 002.2 OF 002 ¶7. All Japanese fishing boats are required to have a Russian government inspector and those involved in scientific programs must have a Russian researcher on board. The Japanese ships are permitted only within certain areas of the Russian EEZ and are subject to time limits. In the fishing zone, Federal Border Guard Service patrol boats conduct inspections on the Japanese boats, which are also inspected before exiting the Russian waters and again in Japanese ports, where Russian observers check catch volumes. ¶8. Despite PM Putin's attitude towards the issue, officials from the Federal Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies are reportedly strongly in favor of allowing further driftnet fishing in Russian waters by both local and foreign - mostly Japanese - vessels. A special committee chaired by Vice Premier Victor Zubkov is currently working on developing guidelines for an auction of ten-year quotas for commercial salmon driftnet fishing in Russia's EEZ. Powerful Driftnet Lobby Group Has Strong Voice -------------- - ¶9. WWF specialist Konstantin Zgurovskiy suspects that continued support for the practice is the result of the strong lobby by the Association of Driftnet Fishing Companies. The well-funded, Moscow-based association has been trying to promulgate the view that a ban would serve no scientific, economical and ecological benefit. It was established five years ago to conduct scientific research, to monitor salmon stocks, and to give recommendations to fishing companies on potential volumes of catches, though it now appears to be simply be a lobbying group for the industry. ¶10. Only thirteen of the group's sixteen member companies are based in Western Russia with no long-term economic interest in the Russian Far East. The chair of the association is Yevgeniya Mironova, a Japanese citizen who married a Russian and Russified her name and is a close friend of the deputy director of the Federal Fisheries Agency Valeriy Kholodov. The largest portion of the Russian driftnet fleet belongs to Ivar Grunbergs, a Russian Lithuanian residing in Japan. The association recently pressed President Dmitriy Medvedev to scuttle the driftnet ban saying, ironically, that "environmentalists fighting against driftnet use whip up hysteria around it and are supported by various foreign agencies." Comment -------------- ¶11. Confrontation between driftnet fishers and residents of Kamchatka on driftnet fishing is growing, and the Kremlin will be the arbiter. Though some in Moscow are in support of a ban, powerful business interests may still win out. The upcoming International Fishery Congress, which will be held in Vladivostok in early September, will keep the question in the forefront. Kamchatka residents, who rely on coastal salmon fishing are seeing the issue as yet another Kremlin decision that protects Moscow's interests but is harmful to residents of the Far East. There is room for cooperation on this issue with the U.S., should Moscow be so inclined -- the American Coast Guard regularly conducts joint operations with Russian Border Guards. The Coast Guard briefed CG last year in Anchorage and showed pictures of a Chinese drift net trawler that was found illegally fishing in international waters. US and Russian forces took action and detained the trawler. The issue of by-catch is a global problem, but is significantly intensified by the use of drift nets. If Russia is to certify its catch as "sustainable," something more and more consumers are demanding, it will have to get out of the drift net business sooner or later. ARMBRUSTER