PCD Yuzhno-Kurilsky Ryibokombinat Co. Ltd
Russia Kunashir salmon – trap/net Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) focuses on coastal trap nets, beach seines, and anchored set gillnets operated by PCF Yuzhno-Kurilsky Ryibokombinat Co., Ltd. (YKRK Co., Ltd.) on Kunashir Island, part of Sakhalin Oblast in Russia. Currently, the fishery primarily uses coastal trap nets to catch Pink and Chum salmon along the island’s coast.
Founded in 1946 and restructured in 1999, YKRK Co., Ltd. is a leading fishing company in its region, boasting an annual harvest of 42,000 metric tons across various species. YKRK harvests pollock, cod, halibut, flatfish, squid, and other species in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, supported by a fleet of 14 fishing, processing, transport, and specialized vessels. Since 2018, its salmon hatchery at Lagoonnoye Lake has been releasing juvenile Chum salmon.
YKRK Co., Ltd.: Leading the Way in Sustainable Fishing Practices
In 2021, ForSea Solutions conducted an MSC pre-assessment for YKRK Co., Ltd.’s Kunashir salmon fishery, meticulously evaluating it against MSC standard’s three Principles focusing on fish stock sustainability, minimal ecosystem impact, and fishery management effectiveness. Following the pre-assessment, a comprehensive fishery improvement project was launched and has been publicized on FisheryProgress.org, aiming for MSC certification.
As the designated FIP lead and MSC technical consultant, the FSS team developed a rigorous FIP work plan and has been diligently monitoring progress against its environmental goals and compliance with social policy requirements, ensuring transparent reporting and the achievement of milestones within the FIP.
The client-fishery demonstrates strengths such as the use of selective fishing gear, minimal bycatch, and largely compliant management practices, including a low activity of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Nonetheless, it faces challenges like insufficient escapement monitoring and hatchery impacts on the wild Chum population that spawns in the Lagoonnoye Lake.
🌊 By December 2026, the FIP will achieve these objectives:
- 📈 Improve data collection to include fishery-independent escapement monitoring
- 🛠️ Develop a rebuilding plan and harvest strategy that achieves a high likelihood of maintaining pink and chum salmon escapements that meet management targets and that reduces fishing mortality when abundance is low to promote stock rebuilding
- 🐟 Implement hatchery release fry marking and use this data to assess the effects of hatchery operations on the wild stock and its contribution to catches
- 👀 Increase ETP catch monitoring and research to ensure the fishery is not harming ETP species
- 📜 Promote management actions that are responsive to the status of the stock
The FIP is designed to address these issues and prepare the fishery for an MSC full assessment by carefully guiding YKRK Co., Ltd. and other FIP participants through improvement efforts, implementing vital modifications in the fishery management system, and maintaining active engagement with stakeholders. This initiative not only aims to bolster sustainability but also to forge potential new markets in North America and Europe.