ASCOBANS
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ASCOBANS, the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas, is a regional Agreement concluded under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species, or Bonn Convention
Numerous species of small cetaceans live in the North Sea. Among these are dolphins, orcas and harbour porpoises. The harbour porpoise is the most common species of small cetaceans in the North Sea and the only cetacean species native to the Baltic Sea.
While these animals are not deliberately hunted in the area covered by ASCOBANS, they do, nevertheless, face a variety of man-made threats. These include habitat loss, marine pollution, acoustic disturbances from various sources and, most importantly, incidental catch in fishing nets, so-called bycatch. Every year, thousands of animals get ensnared in fishing nets in the North Sea alone.
Since many small cetaceans are migratory species, the threats endangering their survival can only be addressed by cooperation across borders. For this reason, the Agreement was concluded under the auspices of UNEP/CMS in 1991. As of November 2006, ten range states have become Parties to ASCOBANS: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Further Range States are expected to accede soon. All ASCOBANS Parties share the common concern that continuously high bycatch rates, habitat deterioration and other man-made disturbances are likely to threaten the existence of small cetaceans in the Baltic and North Seas. The Agreement promotes cooperation amongst these Parties, but also with non-Party Range States, relevant international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other regional stakeholders in order to achieve and/or maintain a favourable conservation status for the species it covers.
The UNEP/ASCOBANS Secretariat was based in Bonn from 1998 to 31 December 2006. It was the coordinating hub of the Agreement. With a permanent staff of two it provided administrative support, gathered and distributed information relevant to the implementation of the Agreement and organised, prepared and serviced the meetings of the Agreement’s decision-making and advisory bodies. It was also active in raising public awareness of the threats to these animals. In December 2006, the 5th Meeting of the Parties to ASCOBANS decided to restructure the Agreement's bodies by merging the formerly independent Secretariat with the Secretariat of the Bonn Convention. ASCOBANS therefore no longer has a secretariat of its own. Secretariat services ar now provided by various CMS staff and the Executive Secretary of CMS now also holds the title of Acting Executive Secretary of ASCOBANS.
