Nemuro Strait, also called Notsuke Strait and Kunashirsky Strait, is a strait separating Kunashir Island of the Kuril Islands, Russia (claimed by Japan) from the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaidō, Japan. The strait connects the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the Izmeny Strait (пролив Измены) in the south. It is located on the southeastern borders of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, and Nemuro Subprefecture of Japan. Along the strait runs the border between the two states. The Strait of Nemuro is approximately 24 km wide and 74 km long. The maximum depth is 2500 m. The Japanese towns of Rausu and Shibetsu overlook the strait. The history of this land is interwoven with the abundant natural resource; salmon. As such it has come to be known as "the mecca of salmon".