Guiding Definitions of Terms Used in Salmon Fisheries Management

Homewater fisheries: Fisheries within the jurisdiction of the countries of origin (within 12 miles).

Population: A group of salmon, members of which breed freely with each other, but not with others outside the group. The smallest group that can be usefully managed.

Stock: A management unit comprising one or more salmon populations. This would be established by managers, in part, for the purpose of regulating fisheries. (The term may be used to describe those salmon either originating from or occurring in a particular area. Thus, for example, salmon from separate rivers are referred to as "river stocks" and salmon occurring at West Greenland may be referred to as the "West Greenland stock" ).

Mixed stock fishery: A fishery exploiting a significant number of salmon from two or more river stocks.

Conservation: The process of ensuring that the abundance of salmon in a stock is maintained at or above a satisfactory level (i.e. above the conservation limit with an agreed probability) and that natural diversity is maintained.

Conservation Limits (CL): CLs demarcate the undesirable spawning stock level at which recruitment would begin to decline significantly. The level cannot be used in management without also defining the acceptable probability (e.g. proportion of years) when the stock may be permitted to fall below the CL.

Currently NASCO and ICES define the CL as the spawning stock level that produces maximum sustainable yield. Formerly referred to as Minimum Biologically Acceptable Level (MBAL) or a Spawning Target.

Management Target (MT): The MT is the stock level employed by managers/scientists to aim at in order to achieve the objective of exceeding the CL for the desired proportion of years and for achieving other management objectives. The MT will therefore be greater than the CL with the margin between them at least reflecting the risks, decided by managers, of stocks falling below the CL .

Stock Rebuilding Programme (SRP): An SRP is an array of management measures, including possibly habitat improvement, exploitation control and stocking, designed to restore a stock above its conservation limit. An SRP could be a part of setting routine management plans.