Amid growing concern about the state of wild salmon populations facing a range of anthropogenic threats, including climate change, river pollution and poaching, the environmental project “Save Salmon” has been launched in Kamchatka. This initiative, valid until May 11, 2025, provides citizens with the opportunity to make a personal contribution to the restoration of valuable fish species, the number of which causes concern among environmentalists.
Through the regional portal of public services gosuslugi41.ru Anyone can choose a specific type of Pacific salmon – be it sockeye salmon, chinook salmon or chum salmon – and determine the number of juveniles for subsequent cultivation in fish hatcheries. Participation involves a financial contribution, the funds from which are used to support the process of artificial reproduction, a measure that has become necessary to compensate for the damage caused to natural populations.
Nikolay Kiselyov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Kamchatka Territory and Minister of Digital Development of the region, described the launched service as a unique tool, and in several ways at once. He stressed that the release of the grown juveniles into their natural habitat will take place at the end of May 2025. Kiselyov also explained that all the details of the participation, including financial aspects and the procedure for obtaining a personal certificate, are available on the official website of the project and the portal Gosuslugi 41. He noted that this project is the result of joint efforts of the Northeastern Branch of the Glavrybvod Federal State Budgetary Institution, the government of the Kamchatka Territory, as well as the regional ministries of fisheries and digital development. According to Kiselyov, the uniqueness of the service lies not only in its novelty for the Far East and Russia as a whole, but also in the fact that it was developed by the region and integrated into the local portal of public services, demonstrating an attempt to use digital technologies to solve environmental problems.
The key stage of the project, the release of juveniles into rivers, is scheduled for the period from May 19 to May 29, 2025. The first such event will be held on May 19 at the Malki Salmon hatchery. The organizers intend to invite to this ceremony the citizens who have shown the greatest activity and made the most significant contribution, thereby emphasizing the importance of public participation in environmental initiatives.
In recognition of the contribution, all participants of the campaign will receive electronic diplomas through their personal accounts on the portal. gosuslugi41.ru . Companies and individual entrepreneurs have the opportunity to publicly declare their support by placing logos among the official partners of the project – this is a way to hold businesses accountable for the conservation of biodiversity.
It is important to note that “Save the Salmon” was the first environmental project in Russia implemented through the regional public services platform. Transparency of the process is provided by the opportunity for participants to observe the stages of growing juveniles online through the official resources of Glavrybvoda, which makes it possible to assess the effectiveness of the invested funds and efforts.
The project is conceived as a long-term program, calculated until 2030. It will be repeated annually, following the natural biological cycles of salmon reproduction. This approach demonstrates the understanding that the restoration of populations undermined by human activity requires systematic and long-term efforts, rather than one-time actions.