The reservoir age correction (R) values for the Northern Pacific seas are still not well established. Following the approach by Kuzmin et al. [Radiocarbon, 2001, v. 43(2A): 477-481], we obtained collection of ‘pre-bomb' (ca. 1905-1945 AD) mollusc shells from Japanese waste disposals, located on the shore of Sakhalin Island and created before the end of Second World War when Sakhalin was part of Japan. The Sakhalin Island touches two seas, Japan Sea and Sea of Okhotsk, with very different R values previously estimated as ca. 370 yrs and ca. 710 yrs, respectfully. Three samples from the western (Sea of Japan) coast of the Sakhalin, at Tomari, Ostrovki, and Ilyinsky, show average R value of ca. 420 yrs, which is consistent with our data and general R value of the Kuroshio Current water, ca. 400 yrs. There were a few definite outliers in our dataset, Chkalovo 2 and Chaikino, with R values of ca. 870-750 yrs. It can be explain by mollusc trade/transportation with the Okhotsk Sea coast. For the eastern (Sea of Okhotsk) coast of Sakhalin, four samples collected at Makarov, Davydov Cape, Uda River mouth, and Porechye, gave the average R value of ca. 900 yrs. This is consistent with previous R estimates of ca. 1000 yrs. Two samples were collected in the open Northwestern Pacific, on the coast of the Zeleny Island (Lesser Kuriles, Habomai group). The average R value is ca. 670 yrs, which is consistent with our results from the neighbouring Kunashir Island (ca. 710 yrs). The Tsushima Current as one of the branches of the warm Kuroshio Current brings water to the western coast of Sakhalin, and our recent results are quite consistent with previous data from Japan and the Russian Far East. The R value for Sea of Japan now can be estimated as ca. 400 yrs (delta R of ca. + 40 yrs). For the eastern coast of the Sakhalin, the main source of water in central Okhotsk Sea is the cold Oyashio Current, which comes from the Bering Sea and open Northern Pacific. It has much higher R value of ca. 900 yrs (delta R of ca. + 500 yrs). At southern Kurile Islands (Kunashir and Habomai), the mixture of Oyashio and Kuroshio waters gives slightly ‘younger' R value of ca. 700 yrs.
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