Sakhalin Fisheries Association Chairman: Declining Pacific salmon runs are reshaping the Far East fisheries landscape

Maxim Kozlov, Chairman of the Sakhalin Region Fisheries Enterprises Association, said in an interview with Fishnews on November 5, 2026, that the decline in Pacific salmon runs is posing serious questions for the Far East fisheries, and that natural conditions themselves are shaping a new face of the Far East fisheries complex.

Kozlov noted that the Far East fisheries are standing on the threshold of a new period. Fisheries regulation and resource access principles had previously been revisited, introducing investment quotas and auction mechanisms, but the result is that nature itself has decided the situation—natural conditions are forming a new face of the Far East fisheries complex, reflected first of all in changes to the resource base. He believes these changes cannot be described as merely a short-term phenomenon lasting one or two years.

In Kozlov's view, the processes under way need to be recognized at the industry management level. He said it is time to sit down and examine the longer-term outlook, and to consider how the federal and regional levels can support the fisheries complex in this difficult period and how to preserve it.

Kozlov cautioned that it is not only Pacific salmon numbers that are declining. Climate change appears to be affecting other aquatic biological resources as well—perhaps not as quickly or as visibly, but the effects are real. He mentioned that colleagues are already saying that, due to warming, kelp in the South Kuril Islands is dying off, and this could affect the condition of other harvested species.

Kozlov stressed that it is very important now to predict the further impact of natural changes on the resource base. He said salmon, which has supported the regions of the Far East, was once an important part of the economy and employment, and now appears to be dropping out of the ranks of major harvested species, while some enterprises still lack raw material security and need to study what should be done.