President of the Russian Federation Dmitri Anatolievich Medvediev
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Dear Dmitry Anatolievich!
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

The  delegates to the VI Congress of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Russian Far East, held April 23-24 in Moscow are turning to you because of the catastrophic situation in Kamchatka province regarding the organization and conduct of the tender over the fishing grounds for traditional fisheries of Indigenous Peoples.
                The Association of indigenous small-numbered indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia  and the Far East of Russia, and organizations of indigenous peoples of Kamchatka have repeatedly appealed to authorities to make the necessary changes to the register of fishing sites, which in its present form deliberately ignores the specifics of the localities assigned, has no scientific justification. Most of the areas in which indigenous peoples of Kamchatka have for centuries fished in their traditional ways protected the spawning grounds of the pacific salmon, have been transferred into the register of sites for commercial fishing and have been divided up between commercial entities.
  For the fishing as a part of the traditional way of life and traditional economic activities of indigenous peoples, sites have been assigned which are not suitable for this purpose, are located far from their traditional places of residence, and which make it impossible to use traditional fishing methods. Thus, federal laws have been breeched as well as international principles and legislative norms which stipulate that indigenous peoples enjoy preferential access to biological resources and have the first right to fishing sites and, ultimately, have access to traditional food.
  Today in Kamchatka a tender is being held which will bring fishing sites under the control of the successful bidders for a period of 20 years. This creates the danger that indigenous peoples will never been able to return to their traditional fishing grounds on their rivers. Additionally, the Commission which oversees catch of anadromous[1] fish species in Kamchatka Krai in 2009 set the limit of production  to 100% of the expected permissible maximum for some rivers in the area traditionally inhabited by indigenous Peoples of Kamchatka.[2] The commission set particularly ruinous conditions for fishing on the river Kovran, the location of the only settlements where the Itelmen indigenous people constitute the majority.
         Thus, the Indigenous Peoples of Kamchatka, for whom fishing is not just a traditional way of nature use but the sole source of livelihood, have been put into a situation where they are deprived of the last piece of bread as a result of uninformed decisions by the authorities of Kamchatka Krai. Nearly 20 thousand indigenous inhabitants of Kamchatka are losing the opportunity to engage in traditional fishing, which is the basis of their existence. Furthermore, the permission of industrial fishing in the spawning rivers and in areas traditionally inhabited by indigenous peoples and of drift-net fishing will inevitably lead to depletion of fish stocks in Kamchatka, that is, to the destruction of traditional territory of indigenous people.

This comes at a time when the state is taking major decisions such as the recent approval  of the Concept of Sustainable Development of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East and while, according to the greeting address from the President of the Russian Federation to the VI Congress of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East «the  State is taking all steps necessary to preserve the traditional way of life of Indigenous Peoples to address the challenges in the field of socio-economic tasks lying ahead ».

Any continued denial of access of indigenous people of Kamchatka to their traditional fishing grounds may not only aggravate social instability in the region, but also lead either to illegal fishing, or to mass starvation among the indigenous inhabitants of Kamchatka.

Dear Dmitry Anatolievich!
We ask you to urgently intervene and take steps to ensure the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples of Kamchatka Krai to the protection of their native environment and traditional way of life!

Best regards,
President of the Association SN Kharyuchi

[1]    anadromous fish live in the ocean mostly, and breed in fresh water

[2]    This is to say that 100% or more of what was projected was given in quota to commercial fishing companies, thus risking the destruction of the indigenous peoples' livelihood.