International Accord

Adopted by the Non Government Organisations at the 1998 meeting of the Council of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation

A call to action to save the Atlantic Salmon

The Aim
Wild Atlantic salmon populations throughout the North Atlantic are at their lowest levels in recorded history. The International Atlantic Salmon Accord seeks concerted action to reverse this decline by:

• Optimising the number of Atlantic salmon spawning in their native rivers, and
• Optimising their survival in freshwater and sea ecosystems

Where optimum targets cannot yet be specified, or their achievement accurately measured, the aim must be to maximise numbers.

Saving the Salmon - The Solution

Conservation action to address seven major issues that affect the salmon during its lifecycle:

1. Inadequate in-river production
2. The impact of aquaculture
3. The impact of fisheries targeted against other species
4. Low marine survival
5. The impact of mixed-population fisheries
6. Predation
7. In-river exploitation and management

Underlying Conservation Strategies

Co-operative efforts

Integrated and co-ordinated action to restore the quality of the Atlantic salmon's freshwater and sea ecosystems is needed from all countries which produce or harvest wild salmon.

Precautionary approach

Governments must encourage and adopt conservation measures even where supporting data is not yet complete.

Reduction of mortality

Harvesting of salmon outside their native rivers must be eliminated. River fisheries must allow adequate spawning escapement.

Research co-ordination

International research effort and funding is required to understand the direct and indirect impacts of the ocean ecosystem upon Atlantic salmon.

Recommendations

Issue 1 - Inadequate in-river production

• Remove or prevent obstructions or install adequate fish passage
• Prevent pollution
• Control the use of water to maintain adequate flow rates and river levels
• Initiate and continue habitat restoration and enhancement
• Develop catchment-based salmon management and enhancement policies

Issue 2 - The impact of aquaculture

• Develop and enforce strict environmental assessment procedures for new and existing aquaculture sites
• Specify and enforce permitted effluent and sea lice density levels
• Exclude new aquaculture sites detrimental to wild salmon and sea trout
• Develop strategies to remove existing detrimental sites
• Minimise genetic and other biological interactions between farmed and wild salmon
• Advance technology to reduce harmful effluent, deter escapes and control disease and parasites

Issue 3 - The impact of fisheries targeted against other species

• Institute precautionary management regimes for industrial fishing in the Atlantic salmon's forage areas
• Research the impacts of industrial fishing on the salmon and its marine ecosystem
• Research the impact on salmon of pelagic fishing for human consumption

Issue 4 - Low marine survival

• Develop and implement tracking technologies, ocean surveys and monitoring to determine salmon movements and feeding at sea
• Research the direct and indirect impacts of the ocean ecosystem on Atlantic salmon
• Use these data to develop better predictive models of salmon abundance, in order to facilitate proactive management

Issue 5 - Impact of mixed-population fisheries

• Negotiate permanent closure of mixed-population fisheries in territorial waters with fair compensation
• Negotiate permanent closure of the commercial salmon fisheries of Greenland and Faroe Islands through compensation, or the development of alternative fisheries
• Implement an international surveillance system to detect and prosecute unauthorised fishing for Atlantic salmon in international waters

Issue 6 - Predation

• Document the effects of bird and mammal predation in rivers, estuaries and the open sea, and develop optimum practicable means of controlling damage
• In the interim, permit appropriate local or regional measures based on fair assessment of damage

Issue 7 - In-river exploitation and management

• Develop and implement catchment salmon management
• Manage salmon exploitation on an environmentally sustainable basis
• Conduct population and migration assessment to guide management
• Implement precautionary regulation of exploitation where needed
• Develop catch and release as a management tool

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