Fingerlings of chum salmon released into Tym River with support from Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
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On June 16, the release of juvenile chum salmon occurred for the tenth time with support from Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Almost 170,000 young fish raised in the Ado-Tymovsky Salmon Fish-Breeding Station were released into the Tym River. Three years later, they will return to Sakhalin Island's rivers to spawn. The release of fingerlings will have a positive impact on the salmonid livestock in both the Tym River, one of the most vital and largest spawning areas in Sakhalin, and the entire northeastern part of the island.
“The beginning and middle of summer are perfect for releasing juvenile fish into their natural habitat. Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has been supporting measures for artificial breeding of salmonids in line with the assumed obligations to compensate for the damage caused to aquatic biological resources starting from 2012. Within ten years, we have released over 33 million chum salmon fry as part of this program,” said Anna Ivanitskaya, Lead Engineer of the company's Environmental Division.
The artificial breeding of salmonids begins in autumn, when the eggs of spawning fish are collected in fish hatcheries to be sorted out and placed in special incubators. The fish eggs evolve under the control of the hatchery's specialists for several months, and then fry hatch out and stay in the care of fish breeders for about six months. With the coming of warm weather, the breeders assess the state of chum salmon fingerlings – only those weighing at least 0.7 grams can be let out into natural bodies of water. The fingerlings are released in small groups during several weeks, and just like the chum salmon born in natural conditions they travel down the river into the Sea of Okhotsk to gain weight, in order to return to the Tym River or neighboring rivers in a few years.
“Environmental compliance during the construction and operation of oil and gas facilities is the company's priority. We appreciate the region where we run our business and we realize how fragile and vulnerable the nature of northern Sakhalin is. The activities aimed at restoring and sustaining the chum salmon population are an important line of the company's environmental efforts,” said Valery Guryanov, Director General of Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Background
Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom focused on developing fields within the Kirinsky block offshore Sakhalin Island as part of the Eastern Gas Program (Sakhalin III project).
By developing these reserves, the company will make a substantial contribution to meeting the energy demand of Russia's Far East and creating opportunities for natural gas exports to Asia-Pacific.
A subsea production system is used for the first time in the history of the Russian gas industry to extract hydrocarbons from the Kirinskoye gas and condensate field.
Gazprom Dobycha Shelf Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk adopted and put into effect a number of integrated systems, such as the ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system, the GOST R ISO 31000–2010 risk management system, the ISO 9001:2015 (GOST R ISO 9001–2015) quality management system, and the ISO 45001:2018 occupational health and safety management system. The company employs over 600 people. Its head office is located in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.