Major
intergovernmental agreements and actors
Convention
on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
The Convention, adopted in 1978 and in force in 1979, established
the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
Organization (NAFO). The 1978 Convention (here also as a pdf
file) replaced the 1949 International Convention for the Northwest
Atlantic Fisheries and NAFO replaced the International Commission
for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF). The prime objective
of NAFO has been to contribute through consultation and cooperation
to the optimum utilization, rational management and conservation
of the fishery resources of the Convention Area. NAFO promotes
contemporary ideas for international collaboration in the high
seas based on the scientific research fundamentals.
Convention
for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean
The objective of the Convention, adopted in 1982 and in force
in 1983, is to prohibit fishing of salmon beyond areas of fisheries
jurisdiction of coastal state, and also to prohibit fishing of
salmon beyond 12 nautical miles from the baseline from which the
breadth of the territorial sea is measured except within the area
of fisheries jurisdiction of the Faroe Islands and in the West
Greenland area. See also NASCO Council Resolutions.
The
Convention establishes the North
Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, NASCO. The objective
of NASCO is to contribute through consultation and cooperation
to the conservation, restoration, enhancement and rational management
of salmon stocks subject to the Convention taking into account
the best scientific evidence available to it. Regional commissions
of NASCO are the North
American Commission, the North-East
Atlantic Commission, and the West
Greenland Commission.
International
Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
The Convention (see also pdf
file) was adopted in 1966 and entered into force in 1969.
The purpose of the Convention is the conservation of the resources
of tuna and tuna-like fishes of the Atlantic Ocean. The International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
was established in 1969, under the Convention, as an inter-governmental
fishery organization responsible for the conservation of tunas
and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas.
ICCAT
is the only fisheries organization that can undertake the range
of work required for the study and management of tunas and tuna-like
fishes in the Atlantic. The Commission's work requires the collection
and analysis of statistical information relative to current conditions
and trends of the fishery resources in the Convention area.
Treaty
Between the United States and Great Britain Relating to Boundary
Waters, and Questions Arising Between the Untied States and Canada
Signed
in 1909, the Treaty provides the principles and mechanisms to
help resolve disputes and to prevent future ones, primarily those
concerning water quantity and water quality along the boundary
between Canada and the United States. The Treaty requires that
the International Joint Commission
give all interested parties a "convenient opportunity to be heard"
on matters under consideration. Today, the Commission invites
public participation and advice when it undertakes studies under
References, when it deals with Orders of Approval and when it
prepares reports to Governments. In many instances, citizens,
both specialists and non-specialists, also serve on Commission
boards and task forces. The Commission is specifically authorized
to develop a public information program under the Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Great
Lakes Fishery Commission,
GLFC
The GLFC was established by the Convention
on Great Lakes Fisheries between Canada and the United States
in 1955. The Commission has two major responsibilities: To develop
coordinated programs of research on the Great Lakes, and, on the
basis of the findings, to recommend measures which will permit
the maximum sustained productivity of stocks of fish of common
concern; and to formulate and implement a program to eradicate
or minimize sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes.
Great
Lakes Information Network, GLIN
GLIN is a partnership that provides one place online for people
to find information relating to the binational Great Lakes-St.
Lawrence region of North America. GLIN offers a wealth of data
and information about the region's environment, economy, tourism,
education and more. Thanks to its strong network of state, provincial,
federal and regional partner agencies and organizations, GLIN
has become a necessary component of informed decision-making,
and a trusted and reliable source of information for those who
live, work or have an interest in the Great Lakes region. From
the beginning, the GLIN project has been managed by the Great
Lakes Commission, a nonpartisan, eight-state compact agency
with the mandate to represent the collective views of the eight
Great Lakes states.
North
American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation,
NAAEC
The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC)
is the environmental side agreement to NAFTA (North American Free
Trade Agreement). The NAAEC was signed by Canada, Mexico and the
United States and came into force January 1, 1994. The Agreement
creates a framework to better conserve, protect and enhance the
North American environment through cooperation and effective enforcement
of environmental laws.The North
American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is
the executive body for the Agreement. The Commission addresses
regional environmental concerns in North America, helps prevent
potential trade and environmental conflicts, and promotes the
effective enforcement of environmental law, all as part of its
mandate under the Agreement. This is done through the following
programs: Environment, Economy and Trade; Conservation of Biodiversity;
Pollutants and Health; Law and Policy; and Other Initiatives.
Marine issues are found under "Stewardship
for Shared Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems and Transboundary
Species": Cooperation on the Protection of Marine and
Coastal Ecosystems; Mapping Marine and Estuarine Ecosystems of
North America [will commence in 2001]; North American Marine Protected
Areas Network; and North American Biodiversity Conservation Mechanisms.
International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES
ICES
is the oldest intergovernmental organisation in the world concerned
with marine and fisheries science. Since its establishment in
Copenhagen in 1902, ICES has been a leading scientific forum for
the exchange of information and ideas on the sea and its living
resources, and for the promotion and coordination of marine research
by scientists within its member countries. Since the 1970s, a
major area of ICES work as an intergovernmental marine science
organization is to provide information and advice to Member Country
governments and international regulatory commissions (including
OSPAR and the European Commission)
for the protection of the marine environment and for fisheries
conservation.
