Management and Developement of Fisheries in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Author: Möcklinghoff, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1973
• Subjects: General Medicine; New Ground; North Atlantic; North East Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f73-376; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f73-376

The "conventional" fish species of the North Atlantic are mostly being fully utilized or nearly so, some having been overexploited in recent years. Recommendations for management are made by the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) and the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). The factual and conceptual basis for management is provided by the scientists of many nations, coordinated by ICNAF and by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The need in nearly every major North Atlantic fishery is to limit fishing effort, which in practical terms means allocating quotas to states. Such action has been initiated by ICNAF and is under active consideration by NEAFC. The process would have been easier if it had been begun a few years earlier, before several major stocks became depressed, but since new ground is being broken internationally the delay was almost inevitable. Regulations of mesh size in trawls have been in force in both areas for some years. These were successful in providing a greater yield from each year-class of groundfish as it appeared, but could not by themselves ensure a breeding stock adequate for optimum reproduction. Problems of allocation of quotas, of enforcement, and of national claims for the extension of exclusive fishing zones will require continued discussion and goodwill among the nations in the years ahead.