The first regulatory convention that pertained to the North Atlantic was the 1943 Draft Convention relating to the Policing of Fisheries and Measures for the Protection of Immature Fish (Halliday and Pinhorn 1996, Sen 1997). However, Canada and USA shared doubts that North American interests would be well served by a North Atlantic-wide organization dominated by European states. That convention never came into force in the northwest Atlantic.

Formation of ICNAF – events leading up to the 1949 conference 

The first regulatory convention that pertained to the North Atlantic was the 1943 Draft Convention relating to the Policing of Fisheries and Measures for the Protection of Immature Fish (Halliday and Pinhorn 1996, Sen 1997). However, Canada and USA shared doubts that North American interests would be well served by a North Atlantic-wide organization dominated by European states. That convention never came into force in the northwest Atlantic.
 

The treaty, entered into force on July 3, 1950 to

"investigate, protect and conserve fisheries of the northwest Atlantic Ocean, in order to make possible the maintenance of a maximum sustained catch from those fisheries".

Thus, the concept of sustainable use of fishery resources was introduced.

Additional Information:

ICNAF Handbook. ICNAF Secretariat.1965

The Delimitation of Fishing Areas in the Northwest Atlantic, By R. G. Halliday and A. T. Pinhorn, JNAFS, Vol. 10

The Commission, composed of up to three representatives of each Contracting Party, was responsible for carrying out the tasks laid out in the Convention. The composition of Contracting Parties changed over time as countries became more or less involved in fisheries in the Convention area.