International and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations

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Because fish and other marine species cross national boundaries, the United States shares living marine resources with other countries. The way other countries manage these shared marine resources can directly affect the status and long-term use of fish stocks and protected or endangered species of importance to the United States.

For this reason, the United States participates as a member or an observer to several Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and other regional fisheries bodies and agreements. RFMOs are treaty-based bodies whose objective is to ensure the sustainable conservation and management of shared fish stocks and other living marine resources through international cooperation. Each RFMO has regularly scheduled meetings in which nations adopt binding conservation and management measures, and throughout the year, there are typically intersessional meetings of RFMO subsidiary bodies to address specific scientific and management issues.

Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and Related Agreements

Atlantic Ocean

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

ICCAT is an intergovernmental fishery organization responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas. The Commission is responsible for providing internationally coordinated research on the condition of these species and developing regulations for their sustainable management. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

 Learn about the ICCAT Advisory Committee

North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization

NASCO is an international organization whose objective is to conserve, restore, enhance, and rationally manage Atlantic salmon through international cooperation, taking into account the best available scientific information. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization

NAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management body responsible for the management of most resources in the region, except salmon, tunas/marlins, whales, and sedentary species. NAFO’s objective is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources in the Convention Area and to safeguard the marine ecosystems in which these resources are found. 

South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization

SEAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management body whose objective is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of all living marine resources in the South East Atlantic Ocean, and to safeguard the environment and marine ecosystems in which the resources occur. Economically important fish species under SEAFO’s purview include sedentary, discrete, and straddling species such as alfonsino, orange roughy, oreo dories, armorhead, sharks, deepwater hake and red crab. The United States has signed but not ratified the Convention because there is no U.S. fishing activity in the Convention Area at present.

Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission

WECAFC is an advisory regional fisheries body formed to promote the effective conservation, management, and development of the living marine resources in the Wider Caribbean, in accordance with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and to address common problems of fisheries management and development faced by members of the Commission. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles

The IAC for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the legal framework for countries in the Americas and the Caribbean to take actions for the benefit of sea turtles. The IAC entered into force in May 2001 and has 14 contracting Parties.

Indian Ocean 

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

IOTC is a regional fisheries management organization mandated to manage tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas. Its objective is to promote cooperation among its members by ensuring, through appropriate management, the conservation and optimum utilization of stocks and encouraging sustainable development of fisheries based on such stocks. IOTC has authority over tuna and tuna-like species, with a main focus on albacore, bigeye, and yellowfin tunas. The United States participates as an observer of this organization.

Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement

SIOFA is a multilateral agreement formed to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources and to promote the sustainable development of fisheries in the Southern Indian Ocean. The agreement covers fishery resources including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other sedentary species within the area, but excluding highly migratory species and sedentary species subject to the fishery jurisdiction of coastal states. The United States has participated in meetings under the agreement as an observer.

Pacific Ocean 

Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program

AIDCP is a legally binding agreement for dolphin conservation and ecosystem management in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. The objectives of the Agreement are to reduce incidental dolphin mortalities in the tuna purse-seine fishery through the setting of annual limits, to seek alternative means of capturing large yellowfin tunas not in association with dolphins, and to ensure the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks and marine resources in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. The United States is a party to this agreement.

Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission

IATTC is an international commission responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other marine resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The overall objective of this commission is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fish stocks covered by the Convention, in accordance with the relevant rules of international law. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

NPAFC was established under the Convention of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean. The NPAFC serves as a forum for promoting the conservation of anadromous stocks and ecologically related species—including marine mammals, sea birds, and non-anadromous fish in the high seas area of the North Pacific Ocean. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea

The Pollock Convention is an intergovernmental agreement aimed at establishing an international regime for conservation, management, and optimum utilization of pollock resources in the Bering Sea. The United States is a party to this agreement.

Pacific Salmon Commission

PSC was created under a treaty between the United States and Canada that aims to establish and implement fishery management regulations for the international conservation and harvest of North Pacific salmon stocks. The Commission provides regulatory advice and recommendations for sustainable management of Pacific salmon stocks. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission

WCPFC provides a forum for management, long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks, such as tunas, billfish, and marlin, in the western and central Pacific Ocean. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

International Pacific Halibut Commission

IPHC is an international fisheries organization responsible for the management of Pacific halibut stocks within the Pacific waters of its member states (the United States and Canada). It was founded in 1923 by an international treaty to conserve, manage, and rebuild the halibut stocks in the Convention Area to levels that would achieve and maintain the maximum sustainable yield from the fishery. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization

SPRFMO is an intergovernmental organization formed to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources of the South Pacific Ocean and to safeguard the marine ecosystems in which the resources occur. The SPRFMO Convention applies to non-tuna fisheries in the high seas of the South Pacific. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

North Pacific Fisheries Commission

NPFC is an intergovernmental organization formed to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fisheries resources in the Convention Area of the North Pacific Ocean, while protecting the marine ecosystems in which these resources occur. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Southern Ocean 

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources

CCAMLR was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. This was in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem. The United States participates as a member of this organization.

Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna

CCSBT is an intergovernmental organization responsible for the management of southern bluefin tuna throughout its distribution. The CCSBT's objective is to ensure, through appropriate management, the conservation and optimum utilization of southern bluefin tuna. The United States participates as an observer of this organization.