The Wild Salmon Center

The Wild Salmon Center was originally created to provide anglers access to some of the best fishing in the world in return for funding research and conservation. Starting in 1998, the Wild Salmon Center expanded from angling tourism to the implementation of conservation programs aimed at protecting salmon rivers in the Russian Far East and U.S. Pacific Northwest. This case discusses the Wild Salmon Center’s efforts to protect the pristine watersheds of the Kamchatka peninsula by developing ecotourism angling expeditions to raise funds for the Center’s conservation efforts there. The case touches on involvement of local Kamchatka residents, the development of the angling expeditions, and the challenges that the Wild Salmon Center faced as it grew and its strategic direction evolved to larger scale conservation efforts.