International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is the oldest intergovernmental organisation in the world concerned with marine and fisheries science. The council was first established in Copenhagen in 1902, but now operates under the terms of the 1964 Convention for the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Since its establishment in 1902, ICES has been a leading scientific forum for the exchange of information and ideas on the sea and its living resources, and for the promotion and coordination of marine research by scientists within its member countries. The area of competence of the council is, broadly speaking, the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas, with an emphasis on the North Atlantic. There is no precise delimitation of this area.