Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds use the site as a stop-over or wintering place. The islands host breeding colonies of species of the central and southern Pacific. The rivers and lakes offer spawning grounds to all 22 species of salmon of the Okhotsk sea region. Although the site is strictly protected since 1983 and comparatively still a natural ecosystem, its development largely depends on the surrounding human activities, which creates a direct and indirect pressure. Marine and island ecosystems suffer strongly from various pollution sources.
Humans use small parts of the site for agricultural farming, fish farming, boating and fishing.