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ASCOBANS News

2022 Season's Greetings from the ASCOBANS Secretariat

© ASCOBANS Secretariat

© ASCOBANS Secretariat

Check out also the ASCOBANS Newsletter for an overview of news in 2022!

20 December 2022

Call for Expressions of Interest: Coordination of the Jastarnia and WBBK Plans

Harbour porpoise. © Tilen Genov / Morigenos

Harbour porpoise. © Tilen Genov / Morigenos

The ASCOBANS Secretariat is welcoming Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organisations and individuals to provide technical coordination for the implementation of the ASCOBANS Recovery Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoises (Jastarnia Plan), and ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for the Harbour Porpoise Population in the Western Baltic, the Belt Sea and the Kattegat (WBBK Plan).

20 December 2022

Internship Opportunities at the CMS Aquatic Species Team in 2023

Are you a university student or a recent graduate?  Are you interested in aquatic migratory species?  Are you interested in the work of a multilateral environmental agreement of the United Nations?  If your answer is yes, consider applying for an internship in our Aquatic Species Team! (CMS, ASCOBANS, Sharks MOU, IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU, Dugong MOU)

19 December 2022

3rd Meeting of the ASCOBANS Common Dolphin Group

Delphinus delphis © Benjamin GUICHARD / French biodiversity agency.

Delphinus delphis © Benjamin GUICHARD / French biodiversity agency.

The 3rd Meeting of the Steering Group for the ASCOBANS Species Action Plan (SAP) for the North-East Atlantic Common Dolphin (Common Dolphin Group) was held online from 15 to 16 November 2022. Attended by 30 participants from France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the UK, European Commission, ACCOBAMS, and a number of NGOs and academic institutions, CDG3 discussed progress in SAP implementation and a number of other topics feeding into that progress.

21 November 2022

27th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee

Harbour porpoise © Hanna Michel.

Harbour porpoise © Hanna Michel.

The 27th meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC27) took place online, for the second consecutive time, from 28 to 30 September 2022. This meeting covered bycatch, resource depletion, marine debris, surveys and research, and use of stranding records, as requested in ASCOBANS Resolution 8.1 (Rev.MOP9).

04 October 2022

Call for Expressions of Interest: Develop Guidelines for Cetacean-friendly Marine Spatial Planning

Photo by Krzysztof Skóra Hel Marine Station

Photo by Krzysztof Skóra Hel Marine Station

The ASCOBANS Secretariat is welcoming Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organisations or individuals to develop guidelines for cetacean-friendly Marine Spatial Planning for the ASCOBANS region.  

22 September 2022

Call for Expressions of Interest: Coordination of the Species Action Plan for North-East Atlantic Common Dolphin

Benjamin GUICHARD/French biodiversity agency

Photo courtesy of Benjamin GUICHARD/French biodiversity agency.

The ASCOBANS Secretariat is welcoming Expressions of Interest (EOI) from qualified organizations or individuals to provide coordination of the ASCOBANS Species Action Plan for North-East Atlantic Common Dolphin (or the "Common Dolphin SAP").

27 June 2022

Call for Expressions of Interest: Review of the North Sea Plan

© Peter G.H. Evans / Sea Watch Foundation

© Peter G.H. Evans / Sea Watch Foundation

The ASCOBANS Secretariat is welcoming Expressions of Interest (EOI) from qualified organisations or individuals to review and update the ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena L.) in the North Sea (or the “North Sea Plan”).

21 June 2022

Second Workshop on Management of MPAs for Small Cetaceans in Helsinki, Finland

Tursiops truncatus © Benjamin GUICHARD / French biodiversity agency.

Tursiops truncatus © Benjamin GUICHARD / French biodiversity agency.

The 2nd ASCOBANS Workshop on MPA Management for Small Cetaceans took place in Helsinki, at the kind invitation of the Ministry of the Environment, Finland, from 31 May to 2 June 2022.

07 June 2022

International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise 15 May 2022

The International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise 2022

The International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise 2022

The third Sunday in May of each year is the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise (IDBHP). It was introduced 20 years ago by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS). IDBHP aims to raise awareness on the critical conservation status of the only cetacean species population native to the Baltic Sea.

13 May 2022