Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization

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The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) ( Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization ) is an international organization for monitoring and research into fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic . Jacques Verborgh heads the organization.

tasks and goals

The international waters monitored by NAFO are located between 42nd and 59th parallel west longitude and north of 35th longitude . The aim is an optimal economic use of these waters. In order to achieve this, balanced management is propagated, combined with the conservation of fish resources in the North Atlantic, quotas for catches between the members and the protection of young fish.

prehistory

The North American Council on Fishery Investigations (NACFI) were first established in the 1920s and 1930s . Representatives from Canada , Newfoundland , the USA and France met annually on topics related to deep-sea fishing in the Northwest Atlantic. For example, the methods for recording fish stocks have been standardized. Data on temperature, salinity and ocean currents were collected. They also researched the eating habits and hiking trails of various fish species such as cod , haddock , mackerel and herring .

Due to the Second World War , the NACFI no longer held annual consultations. After the war, the need for food and with it the fishing of the Atlantic increased sharply. That is why the United States initiated a conference in Washington, DC in 1949 , from which the International Convention for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) emerged. ICNAF members were Canada, the USA, Denmark , Iceland and the UK . Like NACFI, the ICNAF were just regular meetings. There was no international organization with a regulated administration . The task of the ICNAF was to commission and / or have evaluated fishing statistics.

Controversy arose within the ICNAF in the mid-1970s. The United States and Canada expanded their Exclusive Economic Zone to 200 nautical miles . Denmark did the same to them around Greenland . This created overlapping zones between Canada and Greenland. The Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries in Ottawa should be the basis of a multinational organization that should solve such and other future problems, among other things. This is how NAFO came into being on January 1, 1979.

structure

The General Council meets annually and consists of up to three representatives from each of the 12 contracting parties. The President of the Council is also the President of NAFO. Among other things, the council is responsible for the organization of NAFO and it coordinates the finances. The General Council is supported by the Standing Committee on Finance and Administration (STACFAD) , which is subordinate to it and which constantly monitors the organization's budget.

Like the General Council, the Scientific Council meets once a year. He coordinates the scientific work of NAFO and submits proposals to the Fisheries Commission, for example on the level of catch quotas . Four standing committees are subordinate to the Scientific Council:

  • STACFIS = Standing Committee on Fisheries Science - Assessment of fish stocks.
  • STACREC = Standing Committee on Research Coordination - Coordinates the scientific cooperation between member countries.
  • STACPUB = Standing Committee on Publications - responsible for publications.
  • STACFEN = Standing Committee on Fisheries Environment - examines the effects of environmental influences on fish stocks.

The Fisheries Commission is also an annual meeting. Your task is to manage fish stocks to optimize fishing and preserve fish resources. The sub-committee STACTIC (Standing Committee on International Control) is responsible for the monitoring of agreements, which for example include inspections of fishing trawlers .

Members

Current contract members are:

  • Denmark
  • European Union
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Russian Federation

Working groups

There are the following working groups:

  • Joint Advisory Group on Data Management (JAGDM)
  • Working Group on Statistics (WGStats)
  • Working Group on the Future of NEAFC (WGFN).

Publications

The Fisheries Commission publishes its meeting minutes annually. In addition, reports on the implementation of inspections and compliance with catch quotas are published. Scientific articles can be found in the Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science , the journal published by NAFO.


Other fisheries organizations related to the Atlantic include a. the following:

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Structure of NEAFC. neafc.org. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  2. ↑ FAQs About NEAFC. neafc.org. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  3. ^ NEAFC Committee and Working Group Information. neafc.org. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  4. ↑ Fishing in the framework of international and regional organizations. portal-fischerei.de. Retrieved February 25, 2018.