The Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean, ratified in 1982 provides a mechanism for managing the international commercial fishery for Atlantic salmon for the purpose of conserving and restoring salmon stocks. The Convention provides a forum for coordination among members, proposing regulatory measures, and for making recommendations regarding scientific research. The Treaty was adopted by the USA, Canada, Greenland as represented by Denmark), Iceland, Faroes Islands, Norway, and the EC. Russia joined later. The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), was formed by this treaty. NASCO is charged with the international management of Atlantic salmon stocks on the high seas. The NASCO is composed of three geographic Commissions: Northeast Atlantic, West Greenland, and North American.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) 1973 is responsible for providing scientific advice to be used by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation organisation (NASCO) members as a basis for formulating biologically sound management recommendations for the conservation of North Atlantic salmon stocks.
Measures taken on the international, national and U.S. state levels to restrict the harvest of U.S. origin Atlantic salmon have the ability to affect the abundance and survival of Atlantic salmon in the Northeast United States. Despite their breadth, these laws have not prevented the observed declines in salmon stocks.
Existing regulatory mechanisms either lack the capacity or have not been implemented adequately to decrease or remove the threats to wild Atlantic salmon.