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

Bonn, 20 Decebember 2022 - 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).

Building on the work already undertaken, the individual or organization providing coordination should, under the supervision of the Secretariat, deliver on the following tasks:

• Coordinate efforts to deliver the action plans, identifying synergies and opportunities for efficiency savings;
• Review progress under the Jastarnia and WBBK Plans and make proposals for amending the Action Points in advance of the Jastarnia Group meeting;
• Review latest available information on harbour porpoise bycatch from the fleets operating in the Belt and Baltic Seas;
• Collate regional information on life history parameters (e.g. age structure, age at sexual maturity, reproductive information) for harbour pporpoises in the areas covered by the two plans, ensuring synergies with other fora;
• Provide technical support at the ICES WGBYC annual meetings and other relevant fora (e.g. Baltic Sea Advisory Council, HELCOM) as feasible;
• Provide technical support at meetings of the Regional Coordination Group which will develop the regional implementation of the Data Collection Framework (DCF), assuming this is practically feasible; and
• Provide advice on appropriate funding mechanisms for the long-term implementation of the two action plans and support fundraising efforts.

Closing date for EOIs is 20 January 2023.   For further details, please refer to https://www.ascobans.org/en/page/opportunities > 'Calls for tender'.