The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) has announced measures to strengthen the scientific basis for management decisions, to increase compliance and to improve the quality of catch data it collects, at NAFO’s 36th Annual Meeting.
One of the major topics up for discussion was the review of closed areas for protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) which was carried out this year. Current closures were extended until 2020 and two new closed areas were also adopted in the NAFO Area.
Witch flounder on the southern Grand Bank has now recovered sufficiently to be reopened with a total allowable catch (TAC) of 1,000 tonnes, it had previously been under a 20 year moratorium. But the TAC for redfish on the northern Grand Bank increased by almost 50% to 10,400 tonnes so a harvest control rule for this species was adopted.
The mandates of the Joint Working Groups for Risk Based Management Strategies (RBMS), Ecosystem Approach Framework to Fisheries Management (EAFFM) and Catch Reporting (CR) and By-catches, Discards and Selectivity will continue.
Maintaining stability in catch opportunities and sustainability of stocks remains a priority for NAFO, with development of a management plan for cod on the Flemish Cap underway.
Based on scientific advice the Northern shrimp stock continues to decline and in order to be precautionary it has also been placed under moratorium.
