ICNAF

Northwest Atlantic
Fisheries Organization

ICNAF

First Meeting of ICNAF in 1951

International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF)

The International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic (ICNAF) was among the first regional fisheries management body to be established in the world (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.) and was considered to have played a leading role in the assessment and management of fish stocks outside of national jurisdictions.

Despite ICNAF’s lead role and innovations in the formulation of fishery management techniques, an overwhelming expansion of long distance fleets in the 1950s and 1960s had a profound and lasting effect on the fishery resources in the northwest Atlantic. An extensive learning curve in understanding status and effects of exploitation on the fish populations, and limits on controls that could be imposed in international waters, diminished the effectiveness of ICNAF.

See below for more information on ICNAF in the drop down menus. A reference list is available as well.

A pdf is available here (952 kb)

History of ICNAF

History of Northwest Atlantic Fisheries - ICNAF years

Science and Statistics

30 August 2012

Science and Statistics

The development of fisheries, biological and hydrographic data collection, scientific research, assessment methods and provision of advice

To support scientific evaluation of the effects of exploitation, STACRES considered the following: landed weights by year, area and species for at least five principal species; by size; annual fishing effort; and estimates of discards, for the development of means for maintaining maximum sustained yield. Thus, the concept of MSY (maximum sustainable yield) was expressed early on by ICNAF as a management objective. This concept was broadened in 1971 to one of achieving optimal utilization.

ICNAF - Catches

30 August 2012

ICNAF - Catches

Landings of groundfish

ICNAF Management

30 August 2012

ICNAF Management

Regulation of the fisheries

ICNAF Symposia

30 August 2012

ICNAF Symposia

At the first meeting of ICNAF in 1951, several biological seminars were held during the evenings to determine “what scientific knowledge is lacking in the NW Atlantic fisheries and how should it be acquired”. essentially the first ICNAF symposia.