 The
4th Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation
of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS)
took place in Esbjerg, Denmark from 19-22 August 2003.
At the invitation of the Government of Denmark, representatives
of the 8 North and Baltic Sea Parties, Estonia and a large
number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations
met in Esbjerg to chart the course for the conservation
of small cetaceans not only for the Baltic and the North
Seas but soon also for the Eastern North Atlantic. At the
meeting there was consensus on extending the Agreement to
also cover parts of the North Atlantic and to incorporate
waters adjacent to Ireland, Portugal and Spain into the
Agreement area. This will, when ratified, close the gap
between the Agreement areas of ASCOBANS and its sister agreement,
the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black
and Mediterranean Seas and contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).
The Meeting focused on issues such as bycatch, disturbance
and a new large-scale abundance survey for the extended
ASCOBANS Agreement area.
A keypoint was the strong support to the ASCOBANS recovery
plan for the particularly threatened harbour porpoise in
the Baltic Sea (the Jastarnia Plan). Moreover, the Meeting
agreed to begin the process of elaborating a recovery plan
for harbour porpoises in the North Sea. While the conservation
status and conservation problems are different between the
Baltic Sea and the North Sea, the experience gained in the
elaboration of the Jastarnia Plan will prove useful in develop
a North Sea recovery plan .
UNEP/ASCOBANS was concluded in 1991 under the auspices
of the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species (UNEP/CMS) to coordinate and implement conservation
measures for dolphins, porpoises and other toothed whales
in the Baltic and North Seas. Currently, eight European
countries - Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands,
Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom - are Parties to the
Agreement. The accession of further Range States is expected
in the near future. The ASCOBANS Secretariat is based in
Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
For further information please visit the UNEP/ASCOBANS
website or contact:
UNEP/ASCOBANS Secretariat
Tel.: + 49 228 815 2416
Fax: + 49 228 815 2440
email: ascobans@ascobans.org
website: www.ascobans.org
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