Dr Sergei Belikov of the Russian Federation was elected President of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission for the period 2010-2012 at the Commission's annual meeting in November 2009. Dr Belikov replaces Mr Stefán Ásmundsson of Iceland. The NEAFC was established to promote the management of fisheries in the North-East Atlantic are with a view to the long-term conservation of stocks and the marine environment in which they occur. Denmark (in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the EU, Iceland, Norway, and the Russian Federation are the contracting parties to the agreement. in his speech the outgoing president noted that the NEAFC had made significant progress in incorporating the management of all fisheries in the international waters of the Regulatory Area as well as addressing all aspects of the impact of fisheries on the marine environment. The NEAFC has also established substantial surveillance and control measures to challenge the flow of IUU fish into markets in the NEAFC area. Dr Belikov who is currently Head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Federal Agency for Fisheries has a long history of participating in the NEAFC and counts on that experience to continue the work being done by the Commission. He has also had a career at PINRO, Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography in Murmansk. At the annual meeting Mr Johán Williams (Norway) was elected 1st Vice-President and Mr Andrew Thomson (EU) 2nd Vice President.