North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission

The North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) is an international inter-governmental organization composed of five member countries (Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America). It was established by the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean, an international agreement signed by Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America on February 11, 1992. It took effect on February 16, 1993. On May 27, 2003, the Republic of Korea acceded to the Convention bringing the current number of Commission members to five countries. The primary objective of the Commission is to provide a mechanism for international cooperation promoting the conservation of anadromous stocks in the NPAFC Convention Area, which is the international waters of the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas north of 33° North beyond the 200-mile zones (exclusive economic zones) of the coastal States. For the purposes of NPAFC, anadromous fish include Pacific salmon and steelhead trout. Anadromous stocks are the stocks of these species that migrate into the Convention Area.