Under NASCO's Agreement on Adoption of a Precautionary Approach, it is agreed that:

• application of a Precautionary Approach should involve all parties concerned with salmon conservation, management and exploitation;
   
• the Precautionary Approach will be applied by NASCO and by its Parties to the entire range of their salmon conservation and management activities;
   
• initially application of the Precautionary Approach will be to management of North Atlantic salmon fisheries, the formulation of management advice and associated scientific research, and the area of introductions and transfers (including aquaculture impacts and the possible use of transgenic salmon);
   
• as the next step, NASCO and its Parties should address application of the Precautionary Approach to freshwater habitat issues and the by-catch of salmon in other fisheries.

Management of North Atlantic salmon fisheries

NASCO and its Parties have agreed to apply the Precautionary Approach to the management both of fisheries regulated by NASCO and those in homewaters.  This will require at least the following:

• that stocks be maintained above the conservation limits (currently defined by NASCO as the spawning stock level that produces maximum sustainable yield) by the use of management targets;
   
• that conservation limits and management targets be set for each river and combined as appropriate for the management of different stock groupings defined by managers;
   
• the prior identification of undesirable outcomes including the failure to achieve conservation limits, and instability in the catches;
   
• that account be taken, at each stage, of the risks of not achieving the fisheries management objectives by considering uncertainty in the current state of the stocks, in biological reference points and fishery management capabilities;
   
• the formulation of pre-agreed management actions in the form of procedures to be applied over a range of stock conditions;
   
• assessment of the effectiveness of management actions in all salmon fisheries;
   
• that stock rebuilding programmes (e.g. habitat improvement, stock enhancement and fishery management actions) be developed for stocks that are below their conservation limits.

The management procedures for all salmon fisheries could include the following elements:

• definition of target spawning stock levels in the relevant rivers;
   
• definition of pre-fishery abundance of individual salmon stocks or groups of stocks occurring in the relevant fishery;
   
• utilisation only of the surplus;
   
• socio-economic factors.

The establishment of river-specific conservation limits for stocks in the North-East Atlantic Commission area has been identified as a priority for immediate action.

Management advice and scientific research

NASCO has revised its request for scientific advice from ICES to ensure its consistency with the Precautionary Approach.

Introductions and transfers (including impacts of aquaculture and transgenic salmon)

The Agreement recognises that full implementation of the measures in NASCO's agreements to minimise impacts of introductions and transfers (including aquaculture impacts and possible use of transgenic salmon) is essential and that NASCO's Parties should consider the need to re-examine the agreements and complement them with additional measures.

Future application of the Precautionary Approach

The adoption of a Precautionary Approach by NASCO will ensure that, where the scale of an impact is uncertain, priority is given to conservation.  Over the coming years NASCO will be developing further the concepts and details of how the Precautionary Approach is applied to its work in order to address the very serious situation facing the wild salmon stocks.  A detailed Action Plan designed to guide NASCO and its Parties in applying the Precautionary Approach has been agreed.

Impacts of Aquaculture on Wild Salmon Stocks

During the last two years, NASCO has given increased attention to impacts of aquaculture on the wild stocks, which may have genetic, disease and ecological implications.  Containment measures are currently not adequate to deal with the problem of escapes.  A European escapement of only 1% leads to a significant proportion of farmed salmon in the wild and further increases in salmon production would mean that containment levels would have to improve just to ensure the number of salmon escaping remained stable.  There is a potential risk of irreversible genetic damage to the wild stocks from continuing escapes of farmed salmon, but there is a lack of scientific consensus on the full extent and nature of the risks.  In such circumstances the Precautionary Approach would require that the needs of future generations are taken into account, that changes which are not potentially reversible are avoided, that corrective measures are initiated without delay and that consideration is given to an appropriate placement of the burden of proof.  In this regard NASCO has already developed a number of Agreements designed to safeguard the wild stocks from genetic, ecological and disease and parasite impacts, and these will need to be fully implemented and stronger measures considered, where appropriate, so as to ensure their consistency with the Precautionary Approach. 

The Resolution by the Parties to the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean to Minimise Impacts from Salmon Aquaculture on the Wild Salmon Stocks (the "Oslo Resolution") was unanimously adopted by NASCO in 1994, with a view to full implementation by 1998.  The measures in this Resolution are designed to minimise genetic and other biological interactions and the risks of transmission of diseases and parasites to the wild stocks.  In 1998, the Council reviewed the implementation of the Oslo Resolution in the light of the information arising from the ICES/NASCO Symposium on "Interactions between salmon culture and wild stocks of Atlantic salmon: the scientific and management issues" held in April 1997, and adopted an Agreement on Implementation of the Oslo Resolution.  This Agreement concludes that:

• in order to have confidence that the wild stocks are protected from irreversible genetic change, from ecological impacts and from the impacts of diseases and parasites, the measures in the Oslo Resolution need to be fully implemented and stronger measures considered where appropriate;
   
• there is a need for improved reporting by the Parties concerning the measures in force to minimise the impacts from aquaculture on the wild stocks;
   
• each year in a Special Liaison Meeting with the aquaculture industry, reports should be made by two Contracting Parties on how various aspects of the Oslo Resolution are implemented, and the priority issues;
   
• although there have been improvements to cage structures to reduce escapes, containment measures are not currently adequate to deal with the problem;
   
• there is a need to cooperate with the salmon farming industry in developing guidelines on physical containment and husbandry practices for salmon farms so as to reduce escapes and protect the wild stocks;
   
• the use of sterile salmon in aquaculture should be the subject of a substantial review by the Council;
   
• the Parties should give emphasis, where appropriate, to the use and effects of wild salmon protection zones;
   
• gene banks can be of value as a measure to protect genetic diversity of the wild stocks where these are threatened with loss.

The first Special Liaison Meeting to Review Measures to Minimise Impacts of Aquaculture on Wild Stocks was held in 1999 and involved presentations by Canada and Norway on what steps they have taken to minimise impacts.

In order to retain and strengthen NASCO's relationship with the salmon farming industry, a Wild and Farmed Salmon Liaison Group has been established to "provide the international forum for liaison between the salmon farming industry and managers of the wild Atlantic salmon stocks on issues of mutual interest and to make recommendations for action".  The Council has agreed that it wishes to develop closer, more open and broader cooperation with the aquaculture industry so that the industry throughout the North Atlantic can participate.  In this regard a new liaison structure will be initiated early in the year 2000.  It is intended to focus initially on the development of Guidelines on Physical Containment and Husbandry Practices.

The Council has reviewed the pros and cons of the use of sterile salmon in aquaculture.  While such use would eliminate genetic interactions with the wild fish, there could be disadvantages for the salmon farming industry, including reduced yields and marketing difficulties.  The Council agreed that, in line with the Oslo Resolution, there was a need for further research in order to assess the contribution sterile salmon might make to protection of genetic diversity and quantify any difficulties in their use.

Unreported Catches

Unreported catches introduce uncertainty into the scientific advice and management process.  Guess-estimates of unreported catches indicate that during the period 1985-1996 an average of 28% of the estimated total catch was unreported.  A number of factors have been identified which could give rise to unreported catches, including:

• absence of a requirement for catch statistics to be collected;
   
• suppression of information thought to be unfavourable;
   
• local sale or consumption;
   
• innocent inaccuracies in making returns;
   
• fishing for salmon in international waters;
   
• illegal fishing.

In order to review the factors leading to unreported catches and the measures being taken to minimise them, the Parties have agreed to provide to the Council, on an annual basis, the following information:

• a description of their management control and reporting systems by country;
   
• an estimate of unreported catch for each country, broken down to show the different categories of unreported catch and indicating whether or not they result from legal or illegal activities;
   
• an explanation of how the figure for unreported catch is derived (along the lines of the breakdown of factors leading to unreported catches listed above);
   
• the extent of catch and release fishing;
   
• the measures taken to further minimise the level of unreported catches.

Initial returns by the Parties indicate that, while considerable efforts are made to obtain detailed and accurate catch statistics from the salmon fisheries, catches may be unreported for a number of reasons.  Illegal fishing appears to be a particular problem for a number of Parties.  The Council has expressed continuing concern about the high level of unreported catches and has strongly emphasised the need to take stronger measures to minimise the level of such catches. 

By-catch of Atlantic Salmon

In recent years there has been an enormous growth in fishing for pelagic species of fish in the North-East Atlantic Commission area, particularly for herring and mackerel in the Norwegian Sea.  The fisheries for both mackerel and herring overlap in space and time with the north-ward feeding migration routes of European post-smolts, i.e. salmon in their first year at sea, giving rise to concern about a possible by-catch in these fisheries.  Purse-seine vessels are known to target the large concentrations of herring, and it has been suggested that these dense schools tend to deter other species from mixing with the herring; the potential for capture of salmon might, therefore, be low, although there is anecdotal historical evidence from Iceland of a by-catch of both post-smolt and adult salmon in purse-seine fisheries for herring.  There is, however, particular concern about the possible by-catch of salmon in the trawl fishery for mackerel in the Faroese zone and in the international area of the Norwegian Sea, which is presently at a high level, and is not anticipated to diminish in the near future.  Assessing the scale of the by-catch is, however, difficult.  The Council is urgently seeking information from those countries participating in the pelagic fisheries, and from other sources.  In this regard collaborative studies between Russian and Faroese scientists are planned during 1999 to investigate by-catch in both the herring and mackerel fisheries.

Fishing for Salmon in International Waters

During the period 1989-1994, reports were received that salmon long-lining vessels which had registered in non-NASCO States were fishing for salmon in the area of international waters to the north of the Faroe Islands.  Diplomatic actions taken by the Council and NASCO's Parties resulted in actions by the States concerned to address the problem and there have been no sightings of vessels fishing for salmon in international waters since 1994.  However, there is a need for constant vigilance, and NASCO is collaborating with the coastguard authorities in the North-East Atlantic Commission area, with the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and with the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) in order to obtain the best available surveillance information. 

Research Fishing for Salmon

Under Article 2 of the Convention, fishing for salmon is prohibited beyond 12 nautical miles from the baselines except at West Greenland (where it is permitted to fish for salmon up to 40 nautical miles from the baseline) and in the North-East Atlantic Commission area where fishing within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the Faroe Islands is permitted.  Under the Resolution on Scientific Research Fishing adopted by the Council in 1997, scientific research fishing for salmon by Norway, EU (Scotland) and Canada has been approved.  In view of the decline in salmon abundance linked to a period of low marine survival, these programmes should provide valuable information on the biology of salmon post-smolts at sea.

Catch and Release

Catch and release angling is a relatively recent phenomenon that has been promoted as a conservation measure for Atlantic salmon.  It is becoming increasingly widely practised and the proportion of the total rod catch that was released in 1998 was 100% in the USA, 81% in Russia, 52% in Canada, 30% in England and Wales, 19% in Scotland and 7% in Iceland.  Catch and release angling is considered to be a conservation measure relative to retention angling, due to the generally low levels of mortality, but caution is needed in its implementation under certain conditions and in handling and releasing the fish if the conservation benefits are to be maximised.  NASCO has developed guidelines on catch and release and more than 30,000 copies have been distributed around the North Atlantic area.

Special Session on Habitat Issues

Conservation of freshwater habitat is a vital requirement if wild stocks are to flourish.  The Council held a Special Session on Habitat Issues which included a review of freshwater habitat issues in relation to Atlantic salmon and reports from North America and Europe on measures to conserve, restore and enhance habitat.  A separate report of the Special Session will be published.

Other Issues

NASCO now has 25 Non-Government Organizations with observer status.  The Council has welcomed their contribution, which has improved the transparency of NASCO's work.  The Council believes that there are significant benefits to this relationship. 

There are a number of international fisheries Commissions which exist to conserve other salmon stocks.  There is a growing realisation that these organizations should work more closely.  The Council has agreed to cooperate with the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) and the International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission (IBSFC) in order to exchange information on problems facing salmon at sea and on the application of the Precautionary Approach.  The Council has also agreed to cooperate with all the North Atlantic Fishery Commissions to review aspects such as the Precautionary Approach, control and enforcement schemes and data collection.

NASCO has established a web site which can be accessed at www.nasco.org.uk .