Parks & Reserves: Far East Marine Reserve (Dalnevostochny Morskoy Zapovednik)

"Situated in the translucent blue-green waters of Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan, Dalnevostochny Morskoy Zapovednik (or Far East Marine Nature Reserve) was the first reserve in Russia created to protect marine ecosystems. The underwater world of the reserve is rich in algae, invertebrates, cold and warm water species of fish, and marine mammals. Convergence of warm and cold ocean currents, mixing of air masses, and the complex relief of the shoreline and ocean floor create conditions for unrivalled plant and animal diversity. Above water, the many islands in the reserve are home to colonies of cormorants, black-tailed gulls, and rare Chinese egrets. Larga seals — all but vanished in the Primorye Region — breed on the islands’ protected shores. A diversity of plant communities extends inland from steep cliffs and rocky coastlines. Broadleaf and deciduous trees grow in tight, windswept clumps, intertwined with vines. Marshes, meadows, and brackish wetlands take over openings in the forest canopy." Founded in 1978, the reserve is known for its protection of the region's biodiversity, a re-population area for open-sea fisheries, and the site of important marine biological research.