This is the final blog post from my work with Rare Conservation and World Wildlife Fund this summer. Driving through the six Soums (districts) along the Onon River really opened my eyes to the amount of work that has been completed in this area. Each town had billboards portraying members of the local fishing clubs posing with taimen, which were later released. Stickers dot cars, motorcycles, and store windows promoting the Rare Onon Pride Campaign message, and most importantly people were eager to talk about taimen conservation, proud of the work they had completed.

As World Wildlife Fund requested, I completed an assessment of each of the six fishing clubs. Each of these clubs are different and range from memberships as high as 16 to as little as three. Regardless of their size, the passion for taimen conservation was evident in all of the clubs. The members of these clubs know the river better than anyone else, all of them share a love for fishing and most of them have a history of being the biggest taimen killers in the past. One member we spoke with told how he had killed over 200 taimen in the past. Since the campaign he has not killed any taimen and successfully released 30. As a result of this campaign their beliefs about taimen have really changed, and they are now the strongest advocates for taimen conservation along the river.

Despite their passion for saving taimen, these groups lack the authority to enforce taimen rules and regulations, and they all desperately want to be able to play a bigger role in stopping illegal fishing. As feared the concept of hatcheries is still not fully understood, and fishing club members and government officials all supported the idea of a hatchery. The fishing club members hear that hatcheries increase taimen numbers, so they think it must be good for conservation. Gaana did a remarkable job patiently explaining that hatchery fish will take away from the wild character of the Onon River. With a deeper understanding of the downside to hatcheries, the people adamantly opposed the issue.

After meeting with government officials and members of the fishing clubs from each of the six Soums I’m happy to say that the end is in sight. Local elections will be held in October and we are all gearing up to present a unanimous show of support for (1) increasing the official capacity of the fishing clubs; (2) a strict no-hatchery position;, (3) a 25 year agreement for the taimen sanctuary; and (4) a cap to the number of foreign and domestic anglers allowed to fish the Onon.

I want to thank everyone who worked on this trip with me; it was a real honor to get to work with this group. They were the inspiration behind my work in Khovsgol Aimag and I look forward to our continued cooperation. My hat goes off to Mongolian River Outfitters guide and conservationist Yuruult Tumenjargal “Yogi” for his great work translating and representing Mongolian River Outfitters; Jonathan Nock our education consultant and trip photographer; and of course Gaana for all that he has done along the Onon; and to all of our sponsors for making this work possible. The battle is not over but it is one step closer to being won.

This series follows University of Montana graduate student Dan Bailey as he travels the wilds of Mongolia to survey and tag Taimen, the world’s largest trout. Dan is posting to the Club EcoBlu blog as he assists with the Taimen Conservation Project . Taimen are highly endangered, have been known to grow to 6-ft long and more than 200 lbs. The information gathered will aid in drafting a conservation plan to protect this megafish. Trout Headwaters, Inc. is a sponsor of the project.