Current status of the Sakhalin taimen, Parahucho perryi (Brevoort), on the mainland coast of the Sea of Japan and the Okhotsk Sea

Sakhalin taimen, Parahucho perryi (Brevoort), is considered one of the most ancient and largest salmonids in the world. Unlike Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), Sakhalin taimen do not migrate far out to sea. These fish adopt a K-selected life history strategy that is characterized by late age at maturity and iteroparity. This life history type makes them unusually vulnerable, especially in the face of unsustainable harvesting pressure. In Russia, the threats Sakhalin taimen face are anthropogenic, and stem largely from direct catches of fish and not the degradation of their habitats. The main reason is excessively high mortality caused either by commercial fishing (bycatch take and related fishing infrastructure, including nets and weirs) and recreational fishing. Trappers and fishermen usually do not release captured Sakhalin taimen.