This informal working group was established upon recommendation of the 6th Meeting of the Parties (MOP6, 2009) in order to provide advice to Parties:
- To summarise information on abundance, distribution and status of large cetacean species occurring within the ASCOBANS Agreement Area.
- To identify major issues likely to be having a negative effect upon large cetacean populations in the Agreement Area, and the extent to which they can be addressed alongside small cetaceans.
- To make informal recommendations of appropriate mitigation measures.
The 19th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC19, 2012) decided that the report of the Informal Working Group on Large Cetaceans would in future be combined with that of the Extension Area Working Group.