Conservation Groups’ Pact Will Help Save Atlantic Salmon

COURTESY OF NOAA
Atlantic Salmon Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Two conservation groups say a deal has been struck with commercial fishermen in Greenland and the Faroe Islands to protect thousands of vulnerable Atlantic salmon.

Commercial fishing for Atlantic salmon is prohibited in the United States, where the fish’s Gulf of Maine population is listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Atlantic Salmon Federation and North Atlantic Salmon Fund say their new deal with Greenland and Faroe Island fishers will allow more fish to return to the rivers of North America and Europe.

Coastal Greenland and the waters off the Faroe Islands are important feeding grounds for the salmon. Fishermen who work those waters take fish that originate in both healthy populations and jeopardized ones in Maine and New Brunswick, Canada.

The agreement places new limits on fishing.