Kamchatka and Koryakia
Salmon Sanctuary on the Ring of Fire
L. Zimmerman
Koryakskaya volcano
Kamchatka salmon are the life-blood of this region. The rich fish ecology supports healthy populations of brown bears, larger than Alaskan grizzlies, and soaring Steller’s sea eagles. A chain of volcanoes and geysers runs along the peninsula, part of the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire.” The region’s small population is based primarily in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky metropolitan area, supported by a robust fishing economy. Koryakia is more isolated to the north, and some Koryak peoples still subsist through reindeer herding, fishing, and hunting. Industrial scale salmon poaching, offshore oil
development, and pipeline construction through key spawning habitat put all this at risk.
