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Hintergrundinformationen - Ersuchen des NASF an die Vereinten Nationen

Article 66 of the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty

The world has badly mismanaged its fish stocks. Though fish are an important part of our diet we have not succeeded in implementing sustainable rules and our attitude towards conservation tends to put profits before prudence.

Inter-governmental resolutions have not helped and stocks Atlantic salmon have continued to decline. The North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF) believes that the only way forward is to negotiate and implement commercial conservation agreements. Such agreements have already been implemented through NASF initiatives in various parts of the world. Greenland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Wales, SW England, North Sea, Northern Ireland Conservancy area and in the Trondheim region of Norway. The Canadian Government made commerical agreemenst with fishermen in Labrador and Newfoundland.

On November 15th 2002, the NASF on behalf of a coalition of organizations in France, Germany, Spain, England and Wales and other countries sought the right to co-manage Irish coastal fishery on the provisions of Article 66. At a meeting with the Irish Government on February 11th, 2003 our rights were accepted, provided if indeed our coalition salmon were being intercepted. Subsequent reports on catch statistics and a January 2006 report by the Standing Scientific Committee of the National Salmon Commission have now confirmed that the Irish nets are taking a substantial share of the Coalition salmon stocks.

For several years, in the hope of getting Irish fishery ministers to face the reality of the situation, we have tried every possible approach. All our offers of help and of co-operation in finding the necessary funding to retire most of the drift nets have fallen on deaf eyes.

Despite the international scientific consensus that all mixed-stock drift netting should stop, the declared opposition of all the other Irish political parties and the fact that the Irish government is in serious trouble with the European Commission over its drift netting there is every indication that Irish drift net quotas will again be issued this year. That is why we have been driven to invoke Article 66 of the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty. It provides salmon-producing nations with the right to co-share the management of their native salmon stocks when the fish are migrating in the waters of other countries.

On November 15th 2002, NASF, acting on behalf of a consortium of organizations in France, Germany, Spain, England and Wales and other countries sought the right to co-manage Irish coastal fishery under the provisions of Article 66.

Irish Government representatives conceded we had that right at a meeting on February 11th, 2003, providing that it could be shown that our coalition salmon were indeed being intercepted.

Subsequent and earlier reports on catch statistics and, most recently, a January 2006 report by the Standing Scientific Committee of the National Salmon Commission, all confirm from tag returns that the Irish nets take a substantial share of the salmon stocks of other European nations.

Enclosed, are copies of NASF and Irish government memos that were presented at the February 11th meeting and immediately following the meeting. Please note that they contain considerable differences of interpretation of the February 11 meeting, as seen by the two parties.

In view of the most recent Irish report on the recovery of foreign-tagged salmon the NASF consortium has now made a fresh claim for its rights under the UN Law of the Sea. We have reinforced our case by calling on the Office of Legal Affairs for the UN Division for Ocean Affairs to carry out a formal investigation of Ireland's refusal to co-operate with us.

A copy of the dossier we have forwarded to New York is enclosed.

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