Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Date of report: January 28, 2016

Observers: Denis Semenov, Vladimir Yanislavsky, and Pavel Markov Observing dates: August 09­25, 2015 Rivers: Ozernaya, Opala, Kamchatka western coast Fisheries: Vityaz­Avto, Ltd., Delta, Ltd. Fishing parcels: Vityaz­Avto – 752, 189, 191, 197, 203, 204, 78, Delta – 755, 177, 198 Fishing methods: trap and set nets, Vityaz­Avto had 6 set nets, one trap net, Delta – 2 set nets, one trap.

Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Fishery Regulations and Management Overview

This year the fish started moving to the spawning grounds later than usual, probably, because of big masses of snow, which resulted in lower than normal river water temperatures. As a result, the Kamchatka regional Anadromous Fish Committee delayed the start of commercial fishing until after June 25 on the Ozernaya River (protocol # 4 dated by April 22, 2015), and after July 1 on the Opala river. According to local fishermen, the early run was really weak which is typical for spring (early) sockeye. However, the overall run was good. The same protocol (# 4) established the following passing days (fishing not allowed): on the Ozernaya River – June 27, 28; July 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 30; August 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31; on the Opala River – July 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, 31; August 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30; September 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 29.

Sockeye salmon escapement into the Ozernaya River/Kuril Lake was sufficient to meet the spawning escapement goal in 2015. By early July, the Kamchatka regional Anadromous Fish Committee (17 people present) opened some passing days to fishing in order to avoid overspawning. According to the Protocol # 9 the passing days on July 10, 13, 14 were opened 1

on the Ozernaya river, and on Opala passing days were changed to Thursday, Friday and Saturday weekly (see pages 4­5, Protocol #9).

On August 6, KamchatNIRO confirmed that 1.3 million sockeye had passed the Kuril lake

biological station weir on the Ozernaya River which was sufficient to meet the escapement goal. The Anadromous Fish Committee issued Protocol # 16 opening all passing days on Ozernaya. Two passing days were later added with Protocol # 18: – August 22 and 28.

Regulation Compliance

The observers confirmed no commercial fishing occurred on the clients fishing parcels in the Ozernaya River on August 22, the one official passing day during the observation period (Table 1). They also verified that no fish were being unloaded at the Vityaz Avto processing plant during that day. In addition, the companies voluntarily stopped fishing on five other days during the observation period in order to let employees rest (free days).

Date Observer name Remarks

Aug 11 Markov, Yanislavsky

No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, free day

Aug 15 Markov, Yanislavsky

No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, free day

Aug 18 Markov, Yanislavsky

No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, free day

Aug 19 Semenov No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, some fishmeal was produced, free day

1 Anadromous Fish Committee Protocol 9 in Russian 1

Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Aug 22

Semenov, Markov, Yanislavsky

No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, official passing day

Aug 23

Semenov, Markov, Yanislavsky

No fishing on 2 river parcels, the plant was not receiving fish, free day

Table 1. 2015 observer notes on voluntary non­fishing “free” days and verifying fishery compliance of the official passing day (August 22) regulation.

The observers checked set net locations during the observation period in accordance with

the Russian Fisheries Regulations. All of the set nets began from the stationary beach signs (e.g. parcel #177 in the photo) and were set perpendicular to the shoreline. Paragraph 18.17 in the Russian Federal Fisheries Regulations states: 2

[...It is] prohibited to position set nets at a distance less than 2 km from each other (set

nets are installed so that the direction of the central wing of a set net, closest to the

mouth of a spawning river, is parallel to the perpendicular drawn to the shoreline and

passes through the point corresponding to the middle of the river or spawning channels

at their confluence at sea or bay. The allowed deviation in the direction of the central

wing on both sides is no more than 15 degrees).

2 Russian Federal Fisheries Regulations website 2

Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

The set net catches were delivered to the processing plant using small barges towed by the tug boats identified by unique vessel numbers that can be traced back to the fishing company. The barges were docked at the plant dock where the catch was pumped into the plant for processing (see photos below). Observers only saw barges belonging to Vityaz Avto or Delta, delivering fish to the processing plant. Each barge was also controlled by the customs officer, as most of the sockeye is usually sold for export. These officers inspected all the log books on a daily basis, beginning with delivery to the plant and to final production loading to the reefer vessel.

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Vityaz Avto and Delta have policies prohibiting carrying firearms on board their vessels to prevent fishermen from shooting at seals and sea lions. On August 22, Denis Semenov traveled onboard one of the company vessels to observe the unloading of fish from the coastal trap nets. He did not see any firearms onboard the vessel or any harassment of marine mammals.

Observers worked regularly with the fishermen on the inriver fishing parcels. They confirmed

that fishermen were working within the fishing parcels limits that were clearly marked (see photo of marker at inriver parcel #752 below which says “конец тони” [end of parcel limit]). The fishermen provided ground and boat transportation for the observers to the fishing parcels. The observers were able to interview fishermen during their breaks and follow the reporting of catches from the fishing parcel to delivery at the processing plant.

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Catch Tracking

Fishermen were knowledgeable about Vityaz­Avto and Delta’s MSC certification and their catch tracking procedures. Preliminary weights were approximated at the catch site and recorded in the primary tracking document before transporting to the processing plant where the final weight was determined. At the inriver parcels, the preliminary weight was either approximated using marks in the delivery trucks or measured more precisely using a dynamometer attached to the brailing net (as shown in photos below). The final weight was determined using a scale to weigh the truck before and after delivery at the processing plant. The difference between the two is the final weight that is recorded in the official company logbook. Preliminary weights were determined at the coastal trap nets using marks in the barge and the final weight was determined at the processing plant by weighing the containers the fish were pumped into. The preliminary weights determined at the catch site were typically very close to the final delivery weight due to the fishermen’s experience.

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Bycatch Monitoring

The observers did not see any birds and sea mammals caught in the fishing gear during the monitoring period. They observed small quantities of flounder, sculpin and crab species in the nets. These were typically not recorded in company log books. Catches of pollock, herring and cod from set nets, were recorded in log books as bycatch and were processed for fishmeal production with all legal documents.

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

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Independent Observers Vityaz­Avto and Delta Fishery Report

Monitoring of Inriver Poaching

A road runs adjacent to the Ozernaya River from the river mouth to Kuril lake. A lot of cars and trucks travel this road daily, so any poachers can be seen on the river quite easy. All fishing parcels on the river are located close to the village and mouth of the river, so any other fishermen higher on the river can be easily identified as poachers. Local enforcement and police officers patrol the river by car on a daily basis. There was only one case of social poaching reported in police records for the Ozernaya River. This poaching activity was immediately terminated by the police. There is also a private enforcement patrol on the Opala River which is partially funded by Vityaz Avto and Delta. They patrol the river using an air boat from the mouth of the river upstream approximately 50 kms. The enforcement team patrols the river for three days before taking a one­day break.

Each case of poaching is immediately reported by satellite phone to the official enforcement

brigade. They record dates of patrol, sections of the river patrolled and any cases of poaching observed. The observers checked the log books and only found one record of poaching within the last 3 years. This was a case of poaching fish by tourists, who drifted by the river on the rafts.

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