Press Release: European Commission: new convention will strengthen Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation

The European Commission has welcomed the outcome of the annual meeting of the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), which ended on 1 October 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal. Parties were able to agree the text of a new Convention, which will simplify the organisation's structure, strengthen its decision-making processes and give it a clear mandate to manage its fishery resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The meeting also set fishing possibilities for the main fish stocks which NAFO manages, including Greenland halibut. In response to the recommendations on destructive fishing practices, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006, NAFO decided to close an area to all fishing in order to protect concentrations of corals.