29 January 2024 - The 4th Meeting of the Common Dolphin Group (CDG4) took place online from 9 to 10 January 2024. The virtual event brought together numerous stakeholders, including governments, scientists, and conservationists, with 32 participants attending. The meeting produced 16 key recommendations related to improving surveys, addressing bycatch, and enhancing data on strandings. These recommendations are designed to strengthen efforts to conserve common dolphins in the Northeast Atlantic, particularly in light of growing environmental threats.

Among the most critical recommendations was the call for Parties and non-Party Range States to encourage fishers to adopt alternative fishing gear that is less harmful to common dolphins. The meeting emphasized the need for broader engagement. This reflects the ongoing need for a collective, cross-national approach to conserve dolphin populations in the region.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for participating countries to deliver updates on their respective conservation work, particularly on strandings data and dolphin distribution. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain presented their latest findings. Ireland shared new research on small cetacean systematic conservation planning in the North-east Atlantic. This research will contribute to more targeted conservation efforts by identifying key habitats and improving understanding of dolphin populations in this region. Spain confirmed the establishment of new national funding and coordination, managed through the Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO), to bolster their stranding networks. This initiative will enhance the country’s capacity to respond to cetacean strandings, a growing issue along its coasts.

Several ongoing projects were discussed during the meeting. Key topics included the OSPAR Quality Status Report and Cetacean Assessments (which provided a comprehensive overview of the health of marine ecosystems in the Northeast Atlantic), France’s Action Plan aimed at reducing small cetacean bycatch in the Bay of Biscay, aerial surveys for megafauna, including dolphins, through CAPECET 2023 (Demolges) which seeks to improve data collection on cetacean distribution and abundance, and seismic risk assessments focusing on the Southwestern coast of Portugal.

The meeting also presented the draft outline of the first progress report on the implementation of the Common Dolphin Species Action Plan (SAP). The report highlighted the ongoing need for Range States to collaborate closely to achieve the strategic goals set out in the SAP. The action plan remains a critical framework for ensuring a coordinated and effective approach to common dolphin conservation in the Northeast Atlantic.

The report of the meeting will be made available in due course here.