Report of the NAFO Performance Review Panel - Northwest Atlantic ...

NAFO Performance Review 2011 2152. Whereas Article 7 (1) repeats the provisions of Articles 63 (1) of UNCLOS mentioned above, Article7(2) further develops and clarifies these provisions. There is a requirement that measures establishedfor the high seas and those adopted for areas under national jurisdiction shall be compatible in order toensure conservation and management of such stocks in their entirety, and to that end coastal Statesand high seas fishing States have a duty to cooperate for the purpose of achieving compatiblemeasures in respect of such stocks. Article 7(2) then enumerates several factors to be taken intoaccount by States in determining compatible measures. The intention is clearly to ensure that themanagement principles in UNFSA are applied in a consistent and harmonized manner both on thehigh seas and in areas under national jurisdiction to ensure the measures adopted are effective.1978 NAFO Convention53. Article I of the 1978 NAFO Convention defines the geographic area to which the Convention appliesas the Convention Area, which includes:‗the waters of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean north of 35°00' north latitude and west of a lineextending due north from 35°00' north latitude and 42°00' west longitude to 59°00' northlatitude, thence due west to 44°00' west longitude, and thence due north to the coast ofGreenland, and the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay south of78°10' north latitude.‘54. The Convention Area therefore includes not only the high seas but also areas under the nationaljurisdiction of coastal States 27 .55. The NAFO Commission is responsible for management and conservation of the fishery resourceswithin the Regulatory Area (Article I (2) and XI (1)), which is defined as that part of the ConventionArea beyond any coastal State EEZ. Article XI (3) exhorts the Commission to ‗seek to ensureconsistency‘ between any proposal that applies to straddling stocks, or associated or dependent stocks,occurring within the Regulatory Area and in an area under the fisheries jurisdiction of a coastal State;and any measures or decisions taken by the coastal State for the management and conservation of thatstock or group of stocks with respect to fishing activities conducted within the area under its fisheriesjurisdiction [emphasis added]. In order to achieve the desired consistency, Article XI (3) also imposesobligations on each coastal State to keep the Commission informed of its measures and decisions, andon the appropriate coastal State and the Commission to promote the coordination of such proposals,measures and decisions. Each coastal State is further obliged to keep the Commission informed of itsmeasures and decisions for the purpose of seeking to achieve the consistency being sought.2007 NAFO Amended Convention56. The Amended Convention retains the provisions of the 1978 Convention with only minor refinements.Article 11 of the former provides that the Commission shall seek to ensure consistency between(emphasis added):(i) any measure that applies to a stock or group of stocks found both within the Regulatory Area andwithin an area under national jurisdiction of a coastal State, or any measure that would have an effectthrough species interrelationships on a stock or group of stocks found in whole or in part within an areaunder national jurisdiction of a coastal State; and(ii) any actions taken by a coastal State for the management and conservation of that stock or group ofstocks with respect to fishing activities conducted within the area under its national jurisdiction.57. Article 11 further provides that the Commission and the appropriate coastal State shall accordinglypromote the coordination of their respective measures and actions, and each coastal State shall keepthe Commission informed of its actions for the purpose of ensuring such consistency.27There are four coastal States bordering the Convention Area: USA, Canada, France (in respect of St. Pierre et Miquelon),and Denmark (in respect of Faroe Islands and Greenland).