Matsyna Aleksandr I(1), Matsyna Ekaterina L(2), Konstantin B. Klokov(3), Evgeny E. Syroechkovskiy(4)

1 Working Group on Shorebirds of Northern Eurasia, [email protected]

2 Working Group on Shorebirds of Northern Eurasia, [email protected]

3 Saint-Petersburg State University, [email protected]

4 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russian Federation / Birds Russia, [email protected]

 

Note: This is a short abstract of a 99-page article

Introduction

The assessment of the hunting pressure on shore- birds in Sakhalin Oblast in 2020 is the second investigation, organised by BirdsRussia together with the Working Group on Shorebirds of Northern Eurasia (WGW NE) to study the hunting pressure on shorebirds in the Russian Far East after Kamchatka in 2019.

EAAFP shorebird populations are in a poor state.

Compared with other flyways in the world, shore-bird populations on the EAAF are the least numerous despite the maximum diversity of species. Hunting in the northeast of Russia has a negative impact on the populations of all species of shore- birds, both rare and those considered relatively “safe”. The apparent stability of relatively abundant species is very fragile and depends on many factors, such as hunting. However, the lack of information at present does not allow an assessment of the hunting pressure on shorebirds. Our project aims to fill this gap.

We conducted a special survey on hunting of shorebirds, at Sakhalin oblast in 2020. For one month ornithologists met with hunters, local residents, officials, conducted surveys, question- naires and directly observed the hunting process at a model plot.

Project Goal And Objectives

The objective of the project is to assess the level of shorebird hunting in the northern part of the EAAF in the northeast of Russia. The project focused on shorebird species, prioritised by EAAFP. Special attention was given to Far Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Whimbrel is a popular hunting species in the Far East of Russia and hunting has a significant impact on the number of this species. Far Eastern Curlew is listed as globally endangered in the IUCN Red List. In Russia it is a protected species and included in the Red Data book. Nevertheless, hunters quite frequently harvest Far Eastern Curlew together with Whimbrel due to misidentification, but often also on purpose, as it is highly desired by many hunters. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is critically endangered and one of the rarest shorebirds in the world. An important objective of the project is to identify current and historic population trends of different species and the impact of hunting (both legal and illegal bird harvest) as well as other factors.

Main conclusions

1. The Sakhalin survey showed that Kamchatka is not the only region in the Far East of Russia where intensive shorebird hunting takes place. The scale of such hunting turned out to be even larger than in
2. Hunting of shorebirds is deeply rooted in society and remains widespread on The proportion of hunters who intentionally hunt shorebirds and the size of the harvest is significantly larger than in those areas of Kamchatka.
3. Shorebird populations of Sakhalin are much less well studied than those of Kamchatka. For more effective conservation measures, shorebirds should be better
4. According to official data, there are 23,000 hunters on Sakhalin, 30% of whom or 7,500 receive a permit for autumn hunting, which does include shorebird
5. The number of hunters has increased, despite overall decline in population. In recent years, road construction on the island made coastal areas more accessible for
6. According to old hunters, hunting of shorebirds peaked in the 1970s and 80s and likely contributed to the decline in many shorebird populations at those
7. Among shorebird species, Whimbrel is the main hunting target on Sakhalin, also Woodcock in the South and also As informal inter-views showed, many hunters also intentionally shoot Far Eastern Curlew.
8. Small and medium-sized shorebirds are mainly harvested under the following circumstances:

• by children and teenagers, who do not legally hunt but get trained to become hunters;
• in the absence of other game, in order not to return home empty-handed;
• by some gourmet hunters who consider it a delicacy.

9. In order to save cartridges hunters shoot dense flocks, when harvesting small and medium-sized shorebirds. This results in a large number of wounded birds that die later and a significant number of killed birds that remain
10. A majority of hunters lack the ability to dis- distinguish shorebird The only exception is Whimbrel, which is often not considered to be a shorebird. Less than 15% of Sakhalin hunters know the names of shorebird species that can be hunted. Their practical ID skills are even worse. The level of the ecological education is extremely low. Nobody has been conducting any educational work on Sakhalin.

 

11. Many Sakhalin hunters intentionally shoot Far Eastern Curlew and can identify it in the This knowledge allowed us to estimate that approximately 1,100 birds were harvested in 2019.

12. Hunting in the Far East of Russia is a more significant factor in the population decline of shorebird species along the EAAF than previously thought. International collaboration need to continue, including under EAAFP, together with AMBI-CAFF and bilateral

13. The sustainability of Whimbrel hunting in Sakhalin is doubtful. The current harvest level is critically high. There is a clear long-term trend in the decline of the population. A temporary mora- torium on hunting is proposed for the population to

14. Sakhalin is an important stopover site for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper were recorded by many researchers during spring and autumn migration. Unfortunately, the main Spoon-billed Sandpiper sites in Sakhalin coincide with those of active shorebird hunting. To harvest shorebirds, hunters often shoot dense flocks consisting of several species, which often consists of Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Thus, they could easily become victim of any such practices.

 

Recommendations

1. The surveys confirmed that there is a significant impact of hunting on many shorebird species in Kamchatka and Sakhalin. In order to create a complete picture for the northern section of the Flyway, it is recommended to continue the re-search in Khabarovsk Krai, Magadan Oblast and Primorsky Krai,
2. There are different trends of Whimbrel on Kam- chatka and Sakhalin. We should identify the reasons for this Different migratory groups of this species might be predominant in Kamchat- ka and Sakhalin. Research with satellite and GPS/ GSM transmitters is recommended to develop conservation measures, streamline the monitoring to be able to make more precise estimates of the Whimbrel population in the region.
3. There is a shortage of systematically collected qualitative data on the population dynamics of all the shorebird species which inhabit Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. It is difficult to assess the status of populations of separate shorebird There is much miscellaneous data from different sites in different years. The monitoring of Far Eastern Curlew, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Great Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, and Spoon-billed Sandpiper should be streamlined. It is advisable to conduct counts during shorebird migration in the summer-autumn period in the north of Sakhalin, together with daily control of hunters’ harvest. It will allow to assess the proportion of harvested Far Eastern Curlews, Godwits and other species in the Whimbrel harvest.
4. The south-western coast of Sakhalin, important for the nesting and migration of shorebirds, has been very poorly studied. The most important bays (Tyk, Viakhtu, Lakh river estuary) lack in data on species and numbers. This is the place where Spoon-billed Sandpiper stayed for a long time (Qing, Syroechkovskiy et al, 2020) and where the habitats of Nordmann’s Greenshank remain. The areas are difficult to access and surveys will require special funding.
5. It is important to revise the population status of Nordmann’s Greenshank, which has disappeared from the majority of known nesting sites on Sakhalin (V.B. Zykov and Z.V. Revyakina per. comm.). Although we have no data of harvest, we are aware similar species (Common Greenshank, Redshank) been harvested during the nesting period in many bays of the island. Taking into consideration the fact that hunters lack the skills to identify this species (even harvested), local hunting may well play a key factor in the decline of the species.
6. Long-term monitoring of shorebird stopovers at the state natural reserve Poronaisky should be developed. The reserve administration is interest- ed in the long-term observation of ornithological data. However there are currently no ornithologists in the reserve.

Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to the project doners: the EAAFP, the Australian State Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, UNEP/ CMS and the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung. We used materials provided by the Ministry of Forestry and Hunting of Sakhalin oblast. We acknowledge employees of this agency, as well as the consultants who provided valuable information on the population and distribution of shorebirds in Sakhalin oblast- Z.V. Revyakina, V.B. Zykov, A.I. Zdorikov. We acknowledge P.S. Ktitorov, A. Soloviev, A.A. Matsyna, S.V. Fadeev and C. Zöckler for the help in organization of field research and preparation of this report.

 

The project is funded by EAAFP (YEAR) Small Grant Fund (HYPERLINK TO THE PAGE)