Sea-mammal hunting

The state of the branch
Meat of sea-mammals (grey whale, Greenland whale, and white whale) accounts for 50% of the annual consumption of the aboriginal population.

There are 50 sea-mammal slaughter companies, public and private, with the total number of 328 employed. Sea-mammal hunting usually implies the use of traditional skin boats (baidarka), modern open whaleboats and sea-going ships. Since the Okrug agriculture development program has been underway, the material and technical basis has been considerably modernized. Sea-mammal hunting brigades received:

2 radio stations;
476 weapons;
958 thousand bullets (various calibers and functions);
41 automobiles;
52 off-roaders;
63 tractors;
141 snowmobiles;
75 hunting boats and;
122 boat engines.

In 2003, the Government of the Okrug supplied the farms with 7 refrigerators of 40 m3 in volume and 20 refrigerators of 8 m3 volume, as well as 7 fast-freezing refrigerators. Fat melting facilities have been installed, and a tanning shop has been built and put into operation in Anadyr.

Investment perspectives

Major resources of the branch are not meat but bioactive substances and enzymatic and endocrine materials. Advanced processing of lard, thymus, spleen, adrenal glands, and other organs of sea mammals for production of bioactive substances may result in the annual profit of $0.5 mln. The proximity of the potential outlets (South-Asian countries) determines the expediency of re-orientation of sea slaughter for provision of the aboriginal population with mean and production of raw materials for modern pharmaceutical industry.

The project of setting up a factory producing OMEGA-3 (polyunsaturated fatty acids) implies processing not only small pinniped animals, but also alternative raw materials, such as cheap species of fish. The expected number of the company staff is 56 people (16 of whom are qualified specialists); the production may be organized in the form of a movable factory. The estimated capacity of the factory is 12 thousand small pinniped animals a year (100 tons of fat).

The perspectives of whale industry depend on the moratorium for commercial catch of whales. International Whaling Commission memorandum put a complete ban in 1982. Legal catch can only be possible for the purpose of keeping ethnic tradition or within the framework of scientific programs. Chukotka and Alaska have quotes of traditional catch of whales by the aboriginal population (140 and 40 pieces a year respectively); Japan (910), Iceland (34), and Norway (639) have quotas for the catch of whales for scientific purposes.
Duly taken security measures allowed for the restoration of the population, and now the number of the protagonist countries for the commercial catch of whales in the International Whaling Commission is growing. If in 2001 72% of the members of the Commission voted against, in 2005 their number dropped to 40% (40% nays, 9% abstained from voting).
Considerable lobbyist attempts are made by Japan, which has repeatedly announced about its determination to get the Memorandum banned by 2006.
This way, the prospective catch of sea mammals as an industrial branch will remain open.
Meanwhile 65% of the total value of the whaling industry is advanced processed products used in pharmaceuticals (bioactive additives and enzyme endocrine materials). In case of restoration of commercial whaling, the increasing popularity of a healthy way of life will make it possible for Chukotka to take leading positions in the production of bioactive additives.

Anadyr

9:53 -14°C

COMMENTS

The program of economic development in Chukotka can be carried out, considers vice-premier of government CHAO M. Sobolev.

First of all, the long-term program leans on resources of peninsula. Let’s begin that geological resources of Chukotka are explored today on 10 %-17 %. The next regions are explored much better. And even on these, tentative estimations resources here can be found. The proved resources of gas on the Priosernoe deposit - 7,3 billion cubic meters. Oil resources are estimated approximately in 10 million tons, the proved stocks make 4 million tons of them. They are dispersed on small Fields, such, as Hatirskoe, where extraction is conducted by "Sibneft" company. But it is not necessary to dismiss a shelf – it’s insufficiently studied yet, but there are data, that it’s resources can make up to 14 billion tons of conditional fuel. Exxon Mobile Company in similar ice conditions, in Baffin bay has constructed 7 platforms. What prevents to construct them here?
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Reindeer breeding can be profitable: E. Marochkin acting on the head of agriculture and foodstuffs department makes comments.

There was a moratorium on an industrial slaughter of deers in district till 2006. But now it is removed, farms have allocated a contingent for commodity slaughter this year. It is planned to hand over in a trading network about 9 thousand deers this year. Within the limits of national project the agrarian and industrial complex have got slaughter area on terms of financial leasing which is assembled in Kanchalan. Basically its value is in that correctly cut production will receive a trade look and will answer all established norms. The livestock of deers for September, 1st - from above 183 thousand. It’s below the level of 1990 (490 thousand heads), nevertheless, in Chukotka a livestock grows on faster rates, than on Yamal, and it’s our main competitor. Potential market - not only Vladivostok, but also Japan, Korea, China. Reindeer breeding is, at least, preservation of a traditional way of life of native people and food safety of region and when sales volumes become great enough, branch can turn in profitable.
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