The joint CMS/ASCOBANS Secretariat is closely following the recent standings incident in south-west Britain, in which 26 common dolphins lost their lives and which has attracted considerable international attention. The ASCOBANS Agreement, administered by UNEP, protects dolphins and other small whales in Northern European waters. The Agreement was extended earlier this year and now covers the whole of the Irish Sea and the Eastern Atlantic, where these animals almost certainly originated. The Agreement requires the UK and the other nine Parties to work towards the prevention of significant disturbance to these animals, including disturbance "of an acoustic nature".
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