Chapter 11 The North Atlantic Conservation Organization (NASCO): Surpassing a 25 Year Voyage in Transboundary Cooperation but Still Confronting a Sea of Challenges

David L. VanderZwaag and Emily J. Pudden*

Introduction

The North Conservation Organization (NASCO) was established in 1984 under the authority of the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean1 (Salmon Convention) to promote the conservation, restoration, enhancement, and rational management of North Atlantic salmon stocks.2 NASCO serves as a forum for cooperation, consultation, and informa- tion-sharing among participating states and organizations. Current members include Canada, the United States, the European Union (EU), Norway, Denmark (in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), and the Russian Federation. In addition, over 30 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participate in NASCO as observers.3 Several factors combined to create a climate ripe for the development of an international management structure for Atlantic salmon. In the 1960s and 1970s, the harvesting of salmon in international waters in the North Atlantic increased dramatically, with the result that domestic management initiatives were no longer suffi cient to regulate the exploitation of this highly mobile species.4

* This chapter is an updated and revised version of a previous publication, D. L. VanderZwaag and E. J. Pudden, “The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO): Nearing a 25 year voyage in transboundary cooperation but still confronting a sea of challenges,” in S. Hart (ed.), Shared Resources: Issues of Governance, Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 2008, pp. 169–197. 1 Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean, 2 March 1982, C.T.S. 1983/11 (entered into force 1 October 1983) [hereinafter Salmon Convention]. 2 North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), Report of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization 2002–2003, Edinburgh: NASCO, 2003, 4. 3 For a complete list of NASCO-accredited observer groups, see the NASCO Web site, online: (accessed 9 August 2009). 4 M. L. Windsor and P. Hutchinson, “International management of Atlantic salmon, salar L., by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, 1984–1994,” Management and Ecology 1, 1994, 31 at pp. 31–32.

Dawn A. Russell and David L. VanderZwaag (eds), Recasting Transboundary Arrangements, pp. 307–346. ©2010 Konkinklijke Brill NV, The Netherlands. ISBN 978 90 04 17440 5. 308 David L. VanderZwaag and Emily J. Pudden

Overfi shing, particularly on the high seas, was considered the primary reason for a decline in Atlantic salmon stocks, and states in whose rivers the salmon originated were particularly concerned about the impacts of these distant-water commercial fi sheries.5 Discussions at the 1978 Atlantic Salmon Symposium iden- tifi ed the need for an international agreement to regulate salmon catch levels, and work began on developing a draft treaty.6 The early 1980s marked a period of growing international cooperation in the management of ocean resources. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea expanded coastal states’ fi sheries jurisdictions7 and encouraged parties to cooperate in managing anadromous fi sh stocks through regional organi- zations.8 In light of these developments, a group of states with interests in the salmon fi sheries of the North Atlantic signed the Salmon Convention in 1982, laying the foundation for the establishment of NASCO. After fi rst providing a brief overview of the Salmon Convention and NASCO’s administrative workings, this chapter highlights NASCO’s voyage in transboundary resource management and then proceeds to summarize key challenges still facing NASCO in the wake of the 25-year milestone. Five components of NASCO’s transboundary cooperative ‘voyage’ are described: addressing fi sheries management; adopting the precautionary approach; broaden- ing the NASCO net to cover aquaculture and other issues; encouraging scientifi c research; and reviewing NASCO’s effectiveness. Following this, the chapter summarizes ten key challenges still confronting NASCO: putting precau- tion into practice; embracing the ecosystem approach; enhancing public partici- pation; considering indigenous participation and rights; getting better grips on unreported catches; getting all salmon jurisdictions into the NASCO fold; preventing escape of farmed salmon; ensuring implementation of existing com- mitments; reaching agreement on a performance review; and addressing dispute resolution.9

5 NASCO, Twenty-Year Milestones and Next Steps – A Vision for the Future, Edinburgh: NASCO, 2004, p. 3. 6 Ibid. 7 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 10 December 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 16 November 1994), Articles 56–57. 8 Ibid., Article 66. 9 The ‘top 10 list’ provided is, of course, not exhaustive. For example, how to control the spread of the parasite and sorting out the role for hatcheries in restoring threatened and endangered salmon populations are ongoing challenges. On the latter issue, see R. A. Myers, S. A. Levin, R. Lande, F. C. James, W. W. Murdoch, and R. T. Paine, “Hatcheries and endangered salmon,” Science 303 (5666), 2004, 1980.