© Krzysztof Skora Hel Marine Station

The 26th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC26, 2021) encouraged Parties to “consistently include the distributions of all relevant cetaceans listed under ASCOBANS in their national marine spatial plans, for example through reservation areas. Attention should be paid to avoid barriers to cetacean movement throughout their range, including international borders.” AC26 also agreed that guidelines for cetacean-friendly MSP should be developed, and a working group formed to elaborate on how to best develop those guidelines. A draft was circulated to Parties, selected IGOs and NGOs, and identified experts in May 2023 for a review.

A technical workshop will be organized on 27-28 June 2023, online, to present an overview of the feedback received, and to discuss any points that need to be solved before the draft can be presented to the 28th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee. Participation is by invitation. For any queries, including expressions of interest to attend, please contact Jenny Renell, ASCOBANS Secretariat.