Acronyms and Lexicon

Lexicon

[ List of Acronyms ]

Abundance: The number of fish that make up a stock

Anadromous fish: Fish species that return to their spawning rivers from the ocean at certain seasons to breed in fresh water.

Biomass: Abundance of a stock in units of weight.

Bycatch: The catch of species other than the intended species being fish.

Canada's 200-mile limit: An area extending 200 nautical miles seaward from Canada's coastlines, which are under Canada's sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting marine resources. Also known as Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Canada's National Plan of Action (NPOA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Activities: A plan that identifies actions to complement guidelines set within the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Activities (IPOA-IUU) and expand on Canada's efforts to combat these activities.

Coastal Fisheries Protection Regulations: Regulatory changes were approved May 4, 2004, to allow Canada to bring into force a number of recent measures adopted by NAFO.

Coastal State: Country or political entity that borders an ocean.

Custodial management: Unilateral action to extend fisheries jurisdiction beyond a country's 200-mile limit.

Discards: The components of a catch thrown back after capture.

Discrete fish stock: Fish stocks that are geographically bound.

Distant-water fleet: Fishing vessels operating largely in waters outside their country's 200-mile limit.

Ecosystem-based governance: Governance which recognizes that modifications in one aspect of an ecosystem can affect other areas.

Exclusive economic zone (EEZ): An area extending 200 nautical miles seaward from the coast in which a country has sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting marine resources.

Exploitation rate: The percentage of a biomass removed by fishing in a defined period of time.

FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI): A body of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that examines major international fisheries and aquaculture issues.

Fish stock: A grouping of fish usually based on genetic relationship, geographic distribution, and movement patterns.

Fishing effort: The amount of fishing gear of a specific type used on the fishing grounds over a given unit of time.

Flag state: The State whose nationality the ship possesses. Flag States are entitled to regulate and control their ships on the high seas. Only flag States may regulate and control ships with immunity, which include warships and ships owned or operated by a state and used only on government non commercial service.

Foreign fishing vessel: Any fishing vessel other than a vessel of the coastal State.

Governance: The manner in which ocean resources such as fish stocks are regulated.

High seas: The area of the oceans that is beyond all national jurisdictions or EEZs.

High seas fish stocks are present to varying degrees beyond a country’s 200-mile limit in international waters and are harvested by various countries and entities.

Highly migratory fish stocks travel through large areas of international waters and through the 200-mile limits of coastal States. Tuna is an example of a highly migratory species.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities: Activities conducted by: 1) vessels within the 200-mile limit of a country without its permission or in contravention of its laws; 2) vessels which operate in contravention of conservation and management measures adopted by the regional fisheries management organization to which their flag State belongs; or 3) vessels found in violation of national laws or international obligations.

Incidental catch: See bycatch.

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT): The regional fisheries management organization responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas. ICCAT has 39 Contracting Parties.

International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Activities (IPOA-IUU): A comprehensive toolbox developed within the framework of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries by member countries of the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to address overfishing and illegal fishing activities. Although the IPOA is voluntary, its basic principles exist in other binding instruments, such as UNCLOS and UNFA.

Moratoria fish stock: Fish stock closed to directed fisheries, but where limited amounts may be caught incidentally, e.g., as bycatch to other fisheries.

NAFO Regulatory Area (NRA): An area managed by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization that covers approximately 775,000 square nautical miles of fishing grounds outside Canada's 200-mile limit on the East Coast.

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO): A multilateral, regional fisheries management organization that manages straddling and discrete fish stocks that are found in the Northwest Atlantic outside the 200-mile limit. There are 13 NAFO Contracting Parties: Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Denmark (in respect of Faroe Islands and Greenland), the European Union, France (in respect of Saint Pierre and Miquelon), Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States.

Observer Program: NAFO requires that all Contracting Party vessels in the NRA have an independent and impartial observer on board to report on fishing activities and discards; verify entries in logbooks; collect data on catch and effort (set by set); collect samples for scientific work; monitor the satellite system; and report infringements to inspection vessels.

Overfishing: A rate or level of fishing that is not sustainable, i.e. that hampers the rebuilding or recovery of a fish stock.

Precautionary Approach: Canada's Oceans Act defines the precautionary approach as "erring on the side of caution." This approach is a key principle to be applied in the management of ocean activities where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage.

Recruitment: The number of fish added to the exploitable stock each year through growth or migration.

Regional Fisheries Management Organization: A multilateral organization that manages straddling and other fish stocks that occur in a specified region of international waters outside the 200-mile limits of coastal States.

Spawning stock biomass: The weight of fish in a stock that are old enough to reproduce.

Straddling fish stocks “straddle” or migrate across the outer limit of the national fisheries waters of coastal States and the adjacent high seas (i.e. outside the 200-mile limit). Cod, flounder, and turbot are examples of straddling fish stocks in Canada.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS): A comprehensive legal text that establishes jurisdiction and governance parameters (rights, obligations and duties) of many key natural resources, including high seas fisheries.

United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFA): A framework for international co-operation in the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS): Since January 1, 2001, NAFO has required all Contracting Parties vessels fishing in the NRA to be equipped with a satellite tracking device. This positional information is forwarded regularly to Contracting Parties with an inspection presence in the area (Canada and the EU).