- The aim of the Commission is to promote conservation, sustainable management and study of marine mammal stocks in the North Atlantic.
- The Commission's activities are based on the Agreement between the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway on Cooperation in Research, Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals in the North Atlantic signed in Nuuk in April 1992, which entered into force in July 1992. The Agreement, in turn, is built upon the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 1990, to establish an informal North Atlantic Committee for Cooperation on Research on Marine Mammals (NAC).
- NAMMCO headquarters is in Tromsø, Norway.
- There are four NAMMCO Parties - the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway. The Russian Federation has an observer status.
- The Commission works through its Council, Management Committees (Cetaceans and Seals & Walrus) and the Scientific Committee. Its structure also comprises the Committee on Hunting Methods, the Committee on Inspection and Observation, Inspection and Observation Scheme for the Hunting of Marine Mammals, Working Group on By-Catch, the Finance and Administration Committee and the Secretariat.
- The NAMMCO Agreement applies to all marine mammal species in the North Atlantic - cetaceans (baleen and toothed whales, dolphins) and pinnipeds (seals and walruses).
The Polar Branch participates in the following meetings of NAMMCO:
- annual meetings of the NAMMCO Council to address such issues as management of marine mammal stocks, hunting methods and technologies, the role of marine mammals in the ecosystem and the state of their environment, organization and joint control of whaling, seal and walrus hunting, and a wide range of research issues;
- annual meetings of the NAMMCO Scientific Committee to present national reports on marine mammal research in the North Atlantic, discuss status of cetacean and pinniped stocks and provide recommendations to the NAMMCO Council;
- joint ICES/NAFO/NAMMCO Working Group on Harp and Hooded Seals (WGHARP), which performs assessment of seal stocks, estimates permissible catch and discusses implementation of research programs.
More information can be found at: www.nammco.no/