Much loved whales John Coe and Aquarius from the West Coast Community of killer whales were spotted on Wednesday 5th May near Porthgwarra, southwestern England.  Nine days later on the 14th May, the pair were seen back in the Hebrides by Anthony Rigell from Waternish Point, Isle of Skye around 550 miles north of Porthgwarra, and on the 17th May they were spotted off Lochboisdale, South Uist from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust’s research vessel, Silurian.

The ASCOBANS Secretariat expects to be able to support a few research and conservation projects in 2021-2022.  At the next Advisory Committee Meeting, to be held from 8 to 12 November 2021, Parties will make a decision on the use of any available funds. The deadline for proposal submission to the Secretariat is 30 April 2021.

The First Meeting of the Joint Bycatch Working Group of ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS took place from 10 to 12 February 2021.  One hundred and fifty participants from 34 countries took part in the meeting organized online. Day 1 and Day 2 of the meeting were open to observers, which brought in 130+ people outside the Working Group, following presentations and participating in the discussions. Day 3 was dedicated to the Working Group members, to elaborate on their Programme of Work for 2021 and 2022.  The work plan, recommendations, and the meeting report will be posted on the meeting page in due course.

The 9th Meeting of the Steering Group for the ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for Harbour Porpoises in the North Sea (the North Sea Group) took place online from 20th to 21st January 2021. Parties reported on implementation of the Actions listed in the Conservation Plan, such as bycatch observation programmes, review of current pingers / development of alternative pingers and gear modifications, review of the stock structure of harbour porpoises, and collection of incidental porpoise catch data through stranding networks.