![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/TaimenDistribution_Map_Version3-1.png\")
Taimen face habitat loss and unsustainable fishing pressure on their native rivers, which span across the <\/span>Japanese Island of Hokkaido<\/span><\/a>, Russia\u2019s Sakhalin and Kuril Islands and <\/span>far eastern mainland Russia<\/span><\/a> (see inset map), Mongolia<\/a>, China, and the Korean peninsula. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers taimen species status to range from vulnerable to <\/span>critically endangered<\/span><\/a>. However, because taimen are not a commercially harvested species, they have been poorly studied until recently.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n To further understand and conserve taimen, Wild Salmon Center launched an International Taimen Initiative to bring together scientists, resource managers, outfitters, and conservation groups around the Pacific Rim. As part of this initiative, WSC is working on research with the IUCN Salmonid Specialist Group<\/a> and partners across the Western Pacific. These research efforts are focused on three separate areas:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Through community involvement, education and science-based strategies to identify and protect taimen strongholds, we have an important opportunity to protect these critically endangered, flagship species, and to make a lasting contribution to the health of Asia\u2019s remarkable wild salmon ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wild Salmon Center has also begun a new collaboration with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Mongolia River Outfitters to conduct cutting-edge taimen research<\/a> in that country, including research on taimen food webs, taimen physiology and movement, and establishing a climate monitoring network of major river systems. This research aims to understand what taimen need to thrive, especially in the face of a changing climate.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere in the Western Pacific, we\u2019ve conducted field studies to better understand the feeding patterns of Siberian taimen (Hucho taimen<\/em>), which are the only populations that eat returning adult Pacific salmon. We have worked closely with Russian partners to establish protected areas for this species in Khabarovsk, in the lower Amur River region. (Below: WSC\u2019s Guido Rahr travels to the Tugur River deep into the Russian Far East, to the land of taimen.)<\/em><\/span> The <\/span>Koppi River<\/span><\/a> in Khabarovsk is a Sakhalin taimen stronghold, and one of the most biodiverse salmon ecosystem in the world\u2014featuring Amur tigers, <\/span>Blakiston\u2019s fish owls<\/span>, Steller\u2019s sea eagles, and Russia\u2019s strongest remaining runs of Sakhalin taimen and Asian <\/span>masu salmon (also known as cherry salmon)<\/span><\/a>. With local partners, we have worked here to secure base levels of protection for the Koppi’s wild fish, including taimen, from headwaters to sea.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the coming years, WSC will help to gather international researchers for scientific meetings focused on taimen. We will also bring together outfitters and scientists to expand our network of data collection and educate guides and outfitters on best practices for taimen catch-and-release fishing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Research and Collaboration<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/vimeo.com\/673321342
WSC helped carry out ten years worth of research to conserve the seagoing Sakhalin taimen (<\/span>Parahucho perryi), <\/span><\/i>including a two-year study on <\/span>Japan\u2019s Sarufutsu River<\/span><\/a>. An important component of the research efforts was highlighted in a scientific paper describing <\/span>Sakhalin taimen extinction risk<\/span>. The authors identified the crucial role that river floodplains play in conserving this species, especially large lagoons.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Taimen](\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/taimenspawnerMakiYamamoto.jpg\")
![\"Taimen](\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Koppi-Sakhalin-taimen.jpg\")
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Hero Image<\/h3>
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