Establishment of the Kol River Refuge

The Kol River Salmon Refuge was established by a decree of the Governor of Kamchatka on April 25, 2006. Prior to that, preparation work was conducted by the Wild Fishes and Biodiversity Foundation, the Pacific Institute of Geography, and the Russian Far East section of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The establishment of the refuge was sponsored in part by the UNDP/GEF project entitled “Conservation and sustainable management of Kamchatka salmon biodiversity.” more... 

The Territory

The Kol River Salmon Refuge is a protected area located in the Sobolev administrative district on the western coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. The refuge covers an area 220,242 hectares and includes the spawning grounds of the Kol and Kekhta rivers. Nine salmon species call this area home, including: pink, char, chum, coho, Siberian char, steelhead, sockeye, masu, and Chinook.

The refuge is bordered to the west by the Sea of Okhotsk, to the north by the Unushka and other rivers, to the east by the Sredinny mountain range, and to the south by the rivers Pympta and Pravaya.

The primary goals of the Kol River Salmon Refuge are the preservation, restoration, reproduction, and sound management of salmon, an extremely valuable scientific and cultural resource. The protection of other animal species and their natural habitat is also a goal of the refuge.more...

Fish species of the Kol River Salmon Refuge

Pink Salmon, Chum, Sockeye, Coho, Masu/Cherry Salmon, Chinook more...

Wildlife

There are about 33 species of mammals inhabiting the refuge. more...