Kamchatka road workers to release young salmon into the river to compensate for environmental damage
The Arbitration Court of the Kamchatka Territory ordered the regional Regional Highway Administration (Kamchatupravtodor) to compensate for damage caused to aquatic biological resources during the reconstruction of the bridge over the Zheleznaya-1 River, the KAMCHATKA-INFORM agency was informed in court.
According to the court’s decision, 7,286 sockeye salmon fry will be released into the Kamchatka Plotnikov River.
In 2021, the Northeastern Territorial Administration of Rosrybolovstvo agreed to work on the Sadovoye Koltso road section in the Yelizovsky district, subject to compensation for damage to the ecosystem. However, despite the start of construction (cutting down trees, installing power lines), the obligations of the agreement on the release of juvenile salmon into the river were not fulfilled.
Rosrybolovstvo insisted on compensation, as the work had already affected the fish habitat. Kamchatupravtodor argued that no harm was done after the termination of the contract with the contractor.
The court rejected the defendant’s arguments, emphasizing that the fact of the impact was confirmed by verification, and the lack of funding does not absolve from responsibility.
According to the court’s decision, the highway administration is obliged to purchase 7,286 sockeye salmon fry (weighing up to 1 g each) and arrange their release into the river.
The court’s decision has not entered into legal force.