Northwest Atlantic
Fisheries Organization

Symposia and Conferences

NAFO has held nine symposia since 2001, often in conjunction with other organisations sharing similar interests on the long-term sustainability of fisheries, fish stocks and the ecosystems they occupy. These have been supported by four dedicated workshops covering a variety of specialised topics that support the work of the Scientific Council. Proceedings are published in the NAFO’s Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science or in the journal of the organising partner. A full list is given below:

ICES PICES UNCOVER Symposium on Rebuilding Depleted Fish Stocks - Biology, Ecology, Social Science and Management Strategies (2009)

(November 2009 co-sponsored by NAFO)

Many of the world's fish stocks are heavily overfished and some are severely depleted. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, governments committed themselves to restore fish stocks to levels that can provide a Maximum Sustainable Yield no later than 2015. To achieve these goals, functioning strategies for rebuilding overfished stocks are necessary.

The EU-funded scientific research project UNCOVER is presently evaluating alternative strategies to recover some of the important fish stocks in the ICES area. In the Northwest Atlantic and the North Pacific, there are similar situations of mixed success.

Research scientists, managers, policy makers and other stakeholders are invited to present and discuss recent status and strategies for the recovery of overexploited fish stocks. Biological, ecological, modelling as well as socio-economic and management aspects will be covered. The symposium should also serve as a forum to exchange ideas and views across disciplines and stakeholders.