International Research Organizations

Coordinated international research efforts include those with the NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs and the organizations listed below. Information on select international conferences and workshops involving the AFSC is also available on the AFSC website. Note: these links will take you off the AFSC web site.

• IWC
  The IWC (International Whaling Commission) is the intergovernmental body responsible for the conservation of whales and the management of whaling. The main duty of the IWC is to keep under review and revise as necessary the measures which govern the conduct of whaling throughout the world.
  
  
• PICES
  PICES, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization, is an intergovernmental scientific organization made up of representatives from Canada, People's Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States of America. The purpose of PICES is to promote and coordinate marine research in the northern North Pacific and adjacent seas.
  
  
• ICES
  ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, coordinates and promotes marine research in the North Atlantic including adjacent seas such as the Baltic Sea and North Sea. ICES acts as a meeting point for a community of more than 1,600 marine scientists from 19 countries around the North Atlantic.
  
  
• GLOBEC
  GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics) was established 1991 in response to a need to understand how global change will affect the abundance, diversity and productivity of marine populations comprising a major component of oceanic ecosystems. GLOBEC focuses on zooplankton, the most important prey for larval and juvenile fish.
  
  
• CBS 
  The Convention on the Conservation and Management of the Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea is an international body established in 1994 to include People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America for the conservation, management and utilization of the walleye pollock resources in the high seas of the Bering Sea in the area  commonly known as the "donut hole."
  
  
• NPAFC
  The North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) was established by Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United States to promote the conservation of anadromous stocks in the North Pacific Ocean.
  
  
• IPHC
  The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) was established in 1923 by a Convention between the governments of Canada and the United States of America. Its mandate is research on and management of the stocks of Pacific halibut within the Convention waters of both nations.