Marine mammals

Launch of the Dugong & Seagrass Hub

In recognition of World Seagrass Day 2021, we are thrilled to announce the official launch of the Dugong & Seagrass Hub. The Hub is a communal platform for dugong and seagrass conservationists to collate and share information, resources, best practice and lessons learned working to conserve seagrass ecosystems in dugong range states.

01 March 2021

Spotlight on the Critically Endangered Atlantic Humpback Dolphins in Africa

A collaborative effort between scientists and conservation organisations around the world, including CMS, has resulted in the launch of a new trilingual website that highlights the plight of Atlantic humpback dolphins and provides resources to support a broad range of stakeholders in an effort to protect the species. Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) are considered Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are in danger of sliding toward extinction without urgent conservation intervention.

01 February 2021

New Guidelines Help Minimize the Impact of Bycatch of Small Cetaceans

CMS in collaboration with WWF has published Guidelines for the Safe and Humane Handling and Release of Bycaught Small Cetaceans from Fishing Gear, which set out best practice on how to handle and release small cetaceans accidentally caught in fishing gear. Preventing fisheries bycatch is a top priority to ensure the conservation of species or populations. However, when these efforts fail and small cetaceans are found alive in or on fishing gear, this clear and comprehensive set of guidelines for the fishers involved will be of great benefit.

24 August 2020

Guidelines for the Safe and Humane Handling and Release of Bycaught Small Cetaceans from Fishing Gear - CMS Technical Series No.43

These guidelines, in their full text format, are intended to provide fisheries managers at any level, as well as those who work with fisheries to improve their sustainability, with bestpractice methodology on the safe and humane handling and release of small cetaceans accidentally bycaught in fishing gear. They are intended to enable managers and ‘trainers’, as well as anyone involved with fisheries policy or management to understand the rationale and need for ‘best practice’, as well as the science that supports the recommended practices.

14 March 2024

Mediterranean Monk Seal Back from the Brink

The size of the Mediterranean Monk Seal population off Mauritania’s Atlantic coast is recovering after centuries of continuous decline. The species’ largest colony in the Cabo Blanco peninsula has more than tripled since 2004. Thanks to the effective implementation of a regional Action Plan, it now numbers 360 individuals.

05 July 2019

Jastarnia Group Meets in Turku

The 15th meeting of the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group has successfully concluded in Turku, hosted by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and the Turku University of Applied Sciences. As well as reviewing progress under the conservation plans for the Harbour Porpoise in the Baltic Sea (the “Jastarnia Plan”) and in the Western Baltic, Belt Sea and Kattegat (WBBK), the meeting heard a presentation from a representative of the European Commission on the EU Technical Measures Regulation, which will replace Regulation 812/2004 governing bycatch mitigation.

20 March 2019