Addressing the weakness of high seas fisheries management in the north-west Atlantic

Management of high-seas stocks in the north west Atlantic was placed under the auspices of the North-west Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) in 1979. Regulatory Area contains important straddling stocks and others that reside completely on the Flemish Cap. Despite a developed management strategy, by the mid-1990s, moratoria had been placed on most of the important and heavily depleted species on the Nose and Tail and the Flemish Cap. During the 1990s, the development of a more effective surveillance, monitoring and enforcement system has attempted to address weaknesses in NAFO's ability to enforce measures on its members and non-members alike. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.