THE KURIL ISLANDS, RUSSIAN FAR EAST
The Kurils Island chain is 1,200km long comprising 28 larger islands and hundreds of smaller islands. It is situated north of Hokaido in Japan and south of Kamchatka. At present there is 40 active volcanoes in the range. The ocean is very rich in life including whales, seals, an endangered species of sea lion, dolphins, an endangered species of the 'Kurillian sea otter', sea birds ( including the rare white tailed eagle). For whales it is a feeding ground, seals and birds use the Kurils as a breeding ground.

DRIFTNET FISHERIES IN RUSSIAN WATERS
In Russian waters, driftnetting is the most destructive pelargic fishing method. In the Russian economic zone (EEZ) there is 74 Japanese drfitnetters with permits licensed to take 16,500 tons of salmon. In the Russian fishing fleet, drifnet fishing methods commenced just three years ago; today 5 or 6 Russian driftnet vessels are operating most working on scientific programs (studying species stock) they have scientific limits but the harvest is sold. Both of the above are part of the general quota system.

MARINE FISHERIES INSPECTION OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
Three inspectors are presently onboard the Rainbow Warrior. There are only 5 inspectors for the entire Kuril Islands region which is more than 840,000 square kilometres. On average there is 150 illegal Russian fishing vessels. In addition there is Japanese, as well as Taiwanese and Chinese vessels operating in the region in the summer season fishing for salmon and calamari.

There is no control of the fisheries in the Russian EEZ and negligible funding for fisheries inspection - previously (up to 1995) aeroplanes and Border Guard vessels were used for patrolling. Now there is no funding for this and the inspectors have to occasionally charter private vessels for use for inspection. This means that only the coastal fisheries can be controlled.

BACKGROUND ON JAPANESE DRIFTNETTING IN THE RUSSIAN EEZ
Japan started to develop its driftnet fishery in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1930's.Since the fishery started and up, its activity has had several peaks and downfalls. In 1977 the Soviet Union set up a 200-mile marine economic zone, and for a time (11 years) Japanese ships stopped driftnet fishing for salmon in the Soviet Far East coastal waters. At this time, the Japanese driftnetting fleet continued its work under international agreements in the US economic zone; the adjoining international waters in the Pacific; and in central area of the Bering Sea. In 1989 the US closed driftnetting in its economic zone, since this time the Japanese driftnetting fleet has been constantly increasing its presence in the Russian economic zone.

THE PERMITTED CATCH
Japanese driftnetters are allowed to work only in permitted areas of the Russian Far East. Each of these areas has its own fishing quotas and season determined annually. This fishing is usually carried out by medium tonnage displacement ships (130-150 tons), the numbers of which has not exceeded 100 for the last few years. The ships are land-based and during the fishing season they make 2 to 5 port calls at Japanese ports to unload their catch. The majority of the ships work with commercial quotas. About one tenth of the quotas are allocated for scientific and research needs.

DRIFTNET FISHING METHODS IN RUSSIAN WATERS
For salmon fishing the ships usually use standard 50x8m drift nets that are interconnected with one another to make up a 4km long set of nets. According to the regulations the total length of sets installed by one ship cannot exceed 32 km and the distance between the sets should be at least 4km. Each set is marked at its ends with buoys and radio beacons as soon as it is in the water. Meshes with less than 110mm diagonal are prohibited. Commercial ships usually use nets with a mesh of 124-132mm.

Each Japanese medium displacement ship has a Russian observer who stays aboard for the whole fishing season and sees that the fishery regulations are observed, maintains record of fish caught and registers birds and animals caught by the nets. The fishing season starts in the second half of May and ends in late June - early July.

THE REAL STORY - KEY PROBLEMS WITH DRIFTNETTING IN RUSSIAN WATERS
Japan has carried out driftnetting in the Russian economic zone since 1989. The official record of birds and animals killed by the driftnetting started in 1994. Since that time, experts say, the number of killed birds and animals including those from the Red Book of endangered species, has exceeded hundreds of thousands.

The official data say that in 1993-1998 more than 1.2 million birds of different species died in driftnetting in Russian waters. Unofficial sources say that the actual damage made by the driftnet fishery is usually significantly understated, because fishermen are fined for each bird or animal caught in their nets. The captain of a Japanese ship would rather pay the Russian observer for the their oversight than pay a fine for each killed animal to the State.

In addition to this there is the large scale problem of hundreds of pirate fishing vessels in Russian waters by Russian, Japanese, Chinese (calamari and non-salmon species mainly) and Taiwanese vessels (20-50 vessels in a season) as well as flag of convenience ships. All of the above figures are approximate and vary from season to season.

RUSSIAN BIORESOURCES - A HUGE LOSS TO THE ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Estimates of Russia's annual loss of sea bioresources from this region is from $US2.5 to US$5 Billion (according to experts from the State Committee for Environmental Protection and the Federal Border Guard Service). More than four million tons of bioresources are harvested annually in the Russian Far East EEZ. The most sought after species in this region are: salmon, walleye pollock, crabs, shrimp, sea urchins and sea cucumber.

Instead of catching fish Russia sells the right to fish inside the Russian economic zone. The quota price of any salmon species is $2.2 - 2.5 per kilogram. The wholesale price of red salmon in the Japanese market is $12-17 per kilogram.

On April 28, 1992 the Board of the Federal Fishery Committee (at the time the ruling body for fisheries in Russia) issued a resolution and drew a decision to completely ban the use of driftnets by foreign ships in the Russian economic zone by 1995. However it in 1995 that Japanese fishermen received a maximum salmon fishing quota. In 1997 the Fishery Committee decided to raise Japanese quotas from 22 thousand tons.(1996) to 26 thousand. Russian quotas were decreased from 18 thousand tons (1996) to 6 thousand.

DRIFNET FISHING IN RUSSIA IN 2000
In 2000, the number of fishing vessels given permission to driftnet in Russian waters became lower,the price for kilogram of fish increased and the total quota decreased. At the same time Japanese driftnetters were granted a right to expand their fishery on additional territory of some 1,500 square kilometres. As a result, part of the protected territory of the Komandorsky nature reserve (east of Kamchatka) was included into the commercial fishing area. This nature reserve includes the shelf of the Komandor Islands inhabited by a great amount of birds and animals. This region is an important route of the largest school of red salmon in the Russian Far East. Red salmon is the most expensive salmon species sold in the international market.

The State Committee for Environment have a position that driftnetting in Russian waters should be banned. A special paper is in process for the government to pass this as law in 2001. Documentation and data collected in the Rainbow Warrior expedition to the Russian Far East will be used as evidence for the Environment Committee ban.

CRAB FISHERIES - POACHING
Another form of poaching is through placement of crabpots in the Russian EEZ. This is done by largely Russian vessels that then sell their catch to the Japanese and Korean markets in the southern Kurils and in the mid-and northern Kurils. The crabs are sold to the US market. The damage caused by poaching of crabpots and sea urchins is estimated at US$1 million per day (according to data from FederalSecurity Service (ex-KGB)). Sea urchins are harvested by diving. Crab pots are steel cages 2m X2m covered with netting and usually are found in a line of 20 or more.