NAFO Fishery
The fishery regulated by NAFO takes place in the so-called NAFO Regulatory Area (RA), i.e. the portion of the NAFO Convention Area outside the coastal 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). NAFO manages most fishery resources of the Northwest Atlantic except sedentary species (e.g. shellfish) and species managed by other fishery bodies, i.e. salmon (NASCO), tunas/marlins (ICCAT), and whales (NAMMCO).

Over the past decade, NAFO member states have undertaken significant efforts to improve the protection of fish stocks in the NAFO area and implemented a large number of new regulations that are compiled in the NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures. A few examples are:

  • the NAFO Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) that keeps continuously track of the position of fishing vessels in the NAFO Regulatory Area
  • application of the Precautionary Approach
  • independent observers on board of each fishing vessel
  • efficient by-catch reducing gear requirements for the shrimp fishery
  • multi-year management plans for Greenland halibut and others
  • IUU List
NAFO Regulatory Area (purple)

Some facts about fishing activities in the NAFO Regulatory Area

The main gear type used in the NAFO RA is the bottom trawl. The NAFO fishery targets approximately 25 commercial species of which 11 species are managed by NAFO. Catches are reported to NAFO and published on this site when they become publicly available (usually about a year later).

In 2005, our catch estimates for the NAFO Convention Area (FAO statistical area 21) amounted to just under 2.1 million tons. Of this total, just under 2.0 million tons were taken by Coastal States in their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ, under national jurisdiction) and approximately 98,000 tons, i.e. about 5% of the total catches, in the NAFO Regulatory Area.

In 2006, 92 vessels from 16 countries fished in the NAFO Regulatory Area. A typical fishing trip in the NAFO RA extends between two weeks and four months, on average about three months.

At-sea inspections in the NAFO Regulatory Area are frequent and random (see also NAFO Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, MCS). Of the 334 at-sea inspections carried out in 2006, 18 (e.g. 5%), indicated that the vessel inspected might have violated NAFO regulations.