9 May 2011 - The ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC) held its 18th Meeting from 4-6 May 2011 at the Secretariat's premises, the historical high-rise building Langer Eugen in the city of Bonn, Germany. The first meeting to be guided by a new team, Sami Hassani (France) as the new Chair and Penina Blankett (Finland) as Vice-Chair, the 29 representatives of the ten Parties and 15 observers and invited experts provided advice and information to the Parties and the Secretariat on how to implement the decisions of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP).

In particular, intersessional tasks for working groups on bycatch and underwater noise were agreed. Collaboration with fisheries organizations and the European Commission were prioritised. The Committee also accepted the invitation of the sister Agreement ACCOBAMS to form a joint working group on the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. At the 2012 Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, a joint workshop with ECS and ACCOBAMS would be held on the implementation of the cetacean components of the Habitats Directive.

Seven project proposals were discussed and prioritised, and a project to undertake a survey of harbour porpoises and other cetaceans in the Dogger Bank (Southern North Sea) was identified as the first priority for funding.

A list of action points and decisions, as adopted by Parties at the end of the meeting, can be accessed here. The full report will be made available on this website shortly.