The setting of Total Allowable Catch for NAFO fish stocks will take centre stage at the 36th Annual Meeting to be held in Vigo, Galicia from 22-26 September 2014.

The meeting, hosted by Spain with support from the European Commission, will see the representatives of 12 NAFO Contracting Parties discuss the setting of catch limits based on the best scientific advice.

During the course of the one-week meeting, the Parties will touch on a range of conservation and enforcement measures under NAFO's remit. The protection of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) will be discussed as current closures expire by the end of the year. The EU has shown its commitment to this with its significant contribution to the NEREIDA seabed mapping project which seeks to improve our knowledge on the sea bottom.

A new challenge for the organisation is the expansion of oil and gas exploratory activities in the NAFO regulatory area which risk undermining conservation efforts. Other priorities for the EU will be to make control and enforcement as efficient as possible. To this end a process for a major overhaul of the observer system and of port state control will be pushed. As part of the new CFP reforms the discard ban will also be discussed, most notably though a proposal for a shark fins attached policy.

Background

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) is a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation established in 1979 which aims to contribute towards the optimum utilisation, and the rational management and conservation of the fishery resources of the Convention Area. Its current Contracting Parties are Canada, Cuba, Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland), the European Union, France (in respect of St. Pierre et Miquelon), Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the United States of America. NAFO is responsible for the management of 19 commercially fished stocks.

Read Shark Advocates International, Shark Trust UK, Submon, WWF, EEA and Project AWARE's Joint letter to the EU Commission regarding the annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization - working together toward better NAFO rules for sharks and skates

Photo: Thorny Skate