RESOLUTION ON FISHING FOR SALMON ON THE HIGH SEAS

The Council

HAVING REGARD to international law and, in particular, the provisions in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on anadromous fish stocks;

RECALLING the objective of NASCO to contribute through consultation and cooperation to the conservation, restoration, enhancement and rational management of salmon stocks subject to the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean;

RECALLING the prohibition on salmon fishing on the high seas contained in the NASCO Convention;

RECALLING the Regulatory Measures adopted by NASCO;

RECALLING NASCO's Resolution on Fishing for Salmon in International Waters adopted at its Seventh Annual Meeting;

RECALLING the Protocol for States not party to the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean adopted by the Council at its Ninth Annual Meeting;

NOTING that vessels which are registered in countries that are not Parties to the NASCO Convention have harvested and might continue to harvest salmon on the high seas;

EXPRESSING CONCERN that any salmon fishery on the high seas is seriously undermining the conservation measures in force and is contrary to the objectives of the provisions of the NASCO Convention;

HAVING REGARD to Article 2 paragraph 3 of the NASCO Convention which states that the contracting Parties shall invite the attention of any State not a party to the Convention to any matter relating to the activities of the vessels of that State which appears to affect adversely the conservation, restoration, enhancement or rational management of salmon stocks subject to this Convention or the implementation of the Convention;

NOTING THAT appeals have been previously addressed to some non-contracting Parties urging them to take the necessary action to ensure that such fishing activities cease,

1.  Resolves that all non-contracting Parties fishing for salmon on the high seas in the North Atlantic should be invited by NASCO to sign the Protocol to the Convention;

2.  Resolves that the contracting Parties should actively seek to encourage such non-contracting Parties fishing for salmon on the high seas in the North Atlantic to comply with the Protocol to the Convention;

3.  Resolves that the contracting Parties should take appropriate measures for discouraging its nationals and to prohibit vessels owned by its nationals from engaging in any activity contrary to the provisions of the Convention;

4.  Resolves that the contracting Parties should transmit to the Secretary of NASCO information concerning sightings of fishing activities on the high seas of the North Atlantic which may undermine the conservation measures adopted by NASCO;

5.  Given the shared concerns of contracting Parties as to the detrimental effects on the salmon stock of fishing on the high seas, requests the Secretary of NASCO to

- obtain, and compile information provided by contracting Parties concerning sightings of fishing activities on the high seas of the North Atlantic which may undermine the conservation measures adopted by NASCO and disseminate such information to contracting Parties as appropriate;

- draw the attention of the non-contracting Parties concerned to the activities of their vessels and to the resolve of all contracting Parties to deal with this threat to the conservation of salmon in the North Atlantic;

- obtain and compile all available information on landings and transhipments of salmon caught in the North Atlantic by non-contracting Parties, including the details on the name and flag of the vessels; the quantities landed or transhipped within ports and waters of contracting Parties; and the ports through which the salmon was shipped;

- request ICES to undertake research into and analyses of data relating to the by-catch of salmon in other fisheries in the North Atlantic and, in particular, examine the extent to which discarding of such by-catches takes place;

- obtain, and compile all scientific and technical data available on this fishery and provide details of such data;

- establish regular contacts with other international organizations with an interest in the area, in particular NEAFC, with a view to share information about the incidence of fishing by non-contracting Parties and to report on the outcome of his contacts.

This Resolution on Fishing for Salmon on the High Seas was adopted by the Council at its Ninth Annual Meeting in June 1992.