The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is very disappointed over the failure of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) to limit Greenland’s salmon harvest to sustainable levels, during negotiations to set regulatory measures at meetings that took place June 2 to 5 in Goose Bay, Labrador. Greenland would not budge below a quota of 45 tonnes, which was more than other Parties to the West Greenland Commission (made up of Greenland, Canada, the United States and the European Union), could accept. Denmark on behalf of Greenland unilaterally committed to limit the total annual catch for all components of its fisheries to take no more than 45 tonnes in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Scientists that advise NASCO have been very clear that there should be no harvest of North American salmon at Greenland. “A compromise would have been a subsistence fishery of no more than 20 tonnes, but more than twice this amount is unacceptable,” said Bill Taylor, President of ASF. “This will have a devastating effect on already endangered, threatened and at-risk salmon populations in North America and southern Europe.