"WE ARE READY TO OUTSTAY A SQUALL OF BEEFS..."

As early as April, Kamchatrybvod (Kamchatka Fish and Game) suggested to Fishing Department of Kamchatka Regional Administration the methods of fisheries coordination for the coming salmon season. However, their recommendations were not considered. Kamchatrybvod predicted the rapacious poaching on salmon on the part of coastal residents long before the season start. They suggested to repeat the last year's practices, when fishing was supposed to be one by organized teams of fishermen within allocated areas, and fish was distributed among the residents of Sobolevskiy and Ust-Bolsheretskiy districts only. As far as the Kamchtrybvod's ill-proven forecast is concerned, the general point is that until the official data on pink salmon spawners are available, we cannot take that premature prediction. Also ungrounded are the assumptions about the overcatch of pink salmon on the Bolshaya river by the following reasons. The thing is, KamchatNIRO provided forecast for the whole coast. The break-downs by the river are very approximate. So, in reality, situation may change.

In addition, it should be noted that a much more significant damage is incurred when the spawning grounds are overcrowded with the spawners, rather than if salmon is overcaught.

Regarding the salmon caught by the coastal residents, a single positive factor can be set off against the background of negative ones: the locals, having been experiencing extremely hard social and economic situation, received several thousand metric ton of high quality protein product at low or no cost.

That was why Kamchatrybvod was ready to stand the squall of questions and complaints coming from many environmental and law enforcing structures, staying God knows where and doing God-knows what, while Kamchatrybvod, within their competence an under conditions of imperfect environmental legislation, ensured the normal coordination of the salmon season.