With the achievement of its design capacity, the enterprise in the Nevelsky district will be able to reproduce up to 27 million Pacific salmon fry per year. This year, the first 2.5 million chum salmon eggs were laid for incubation. Thanks to the launch of production, 10 jobs have been created.

– The fishing industry complex is a crucial sector for the island region. Science proves that the activities of fish hatcheries have a positive effect on the salmon population. We strive to create attractive conditions for investors and for starting new enterprises. Everything is done so that the residents of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands can buy fish at affordable prices, – noted Governor Valery Limarenko.

The new fish hatchery is located on the southwestern coast of Sakhalin, on the Onenusi River, in the Nevelsky district. This is an investment project of the fishing company "Kanif". The total volume of investments is estimated at 150 million rubles.

Construction will be fully completed next year. Currently, two phases have been commissioned. The modern plant is equipped with nearly a hundred high-efficiency "Box" and "Atkins" type incubators, the capacity of which will allow the placement and hatching of up to 45 million eggs.

The plant's nursery, with an area of 2,000 square meters, will ensure the maintenance of 30 million larvae during the holding period. For the gradual adaptation of fry, a pond has also been set up on the plant's territory, with a working volume of 350 cubic meters. The total capacity of the nursery and the pond will yield 27 million young chum salmon per year.

To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the enterprise, a power transmission line was built and a backup generator was installed.

– The construction of the plant was complicated by difficult logistics. It is located in a hard-to-reach area. We also faced supply disruptions during the pandemic. However, we are confident that it was all worth it, and the plant will deliver the expected result, – said Viktor Pogodin, Deputy Director of LLC "Kanif" for fish farming.

In 2022, the third phase of the plant is planned to be commissioned. A gravity-fed technical water conduit and fencing will be constructed, and landscaping of the territory will be completed.

– Today, 68 salmon hatcheries in the Sakhalin Oblast are engaged in aquaculture, including the artificial reproduction of Pacific salmon, – said Ivan Radchenko, head of the Sakhalin Oblast Fisheries Agency. – Every year, these hatcheries raise and release about 1 billion young Pacific salmon into the region's spawning rivers.

Fish hatcheries provide stable returns of chum salmon to the island region. Almost all of the harvested chum salmon is predominantly of artificial origin.