2007
10 December 2007: In today's joint statement, the Year of the Dolphin Partners
express their satisfaction that the import of dolphins caught in the wild into
the Dominican Republic was stopped. Many organisations protested against the use
of these animals caught in drive hunts in captive facilities, with the YoD
Partnership using their diplomatic and economic influence. Read full press
release:
German
English
8-9 November 2007: CMS Standing Committee Takes Stock of Progress in the Merger of CMS and ASCOBANS Secretariats
The 32nd Meeting of the CMS Standing Committee, convened in Bonn on 8-9 November 2007, has considered progress in the merger of CMS and ASCOBANS Secretariats. The joint CMS/ASCOBANS Secretariat gave a report on main ASCOBANS events and activities since the previous meeting of the Committee (Sept. 2006). A synthetic report was also submitted in writing, and is available on the CMS website. The Secretariat submitted also a separate paper focusing mainly on changes in the Secretariat staffing, and on pros and cons of the merger. This paper is also available from the CMS website.
The Standing Committee took note of the developments concerning the merger, and expressed continued support to the merged CMS/ASCOBANS Secretariat in undertaking the tasks assigned by ASCOBANS MOP5. The meeting also expressed great appreciation for the work of the ASCOBANS Coordinator/CMS Marine Mammal Officer in relation to CMS initiatives, and to the Government of the Netherlands for their offer to finance an independent review of the new arrangements, to be carried out in mid-2008. The meeting finally expressed the wish that outstanding issues from previous years could be quickly solved and energies and resources be fully devoted to moving the implementation of the agreement forward.
In the margins of the Standing Committee meeting, an informal meeting was convened by the Federal Ministry for the Environment of Germany, which involved the Chair and Vice-Chair of the CMS Standing Committee (UK and Australia), the Chair of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee, the representative of the MOP5 Chair (the Netherlands) and the joint Secretariat. The group discussed interim results of the merger of the Secretariats, including both positive aspects and problems encountered. They then turned their attention to the future and considered ideas and strategies for the time until the next ASCOBANS MOP, in order to make the new Secretariat arrangement a success. The open and constructive discussion will no doubt help in setting the priorities for the next months.
29 October - 1 November 2007: Year of the Dolphin Conference in Stralsund:
On the invitation of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU www.bmu.de) and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN www.bfn.de), a conference entitled "Year of the Dolphin in Europe - Conservation of Small Cetaceans and Marine Protected Areas" was held in cooperation with the German Oceanographic Museum (DMM www.meeresmuseum.de) in Stralsund, Germany, from 29 October - 1 November 2007.
In a welcome address to the participants, Heidrun Frisch, the CMS/ASCOBANS Coordinator, provided an overview of the ongoing Year of the Dolphin campaign. She explained the aims and elements of the campaign and highlighted key activities of the partners and supporters. Conferences like the one organised in Stralsund certainly are one of the highlights in this regard. A special pleasure was to announce the extension of the campaign to 2008, which was welcomed by the audience.
Seeking to cover a wide range of actual and current topics in small cetacean conservation, the conference was divided in three parts. On the first day, the speakers were invited to highlight the pros and cons of different approaches for Marine Protected Areas, drawing from examples throughout the European waters. On the second day, problem management with regard to various threats, such as different types of underwater noise, fishery interactions such as bycatch and vessel collisions, was discussed. The third day focused on the specific situation and needs for action in the Baltic Sea.
The participants included scientists, conservation managers, policy makers and representatives of non-governmental organisations. Recommendations from the meeting and presentations shown will be published on the website www.habitatmarenatura2000.de shortly.
22-25 October 2007: 3rd Meeting of the Parties to ACCOBAMS
Reducing accidental cetacean catches in drift nets, reducing the impact of fishing, preserving habitats and establishing new Marine Protected Areas are some of the topics that have been dealt with by the Third Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), which Croatia hosted in Dubrovnik. The report will be available shortly on the ACCOBAMS website. A joint statement by the NGOs present at the meeting is available on the WDCS Germany website.
Representing CMS as well as ASCOBANS, Marine Mammals Officer Heidrun Frisch took part in the meeting. Her statement at the concluding press conference can be read here.
8-10 October 2007 UPDATE: Workshops Successfully Concluded
After three very intense and productive days of workshops in the ASCOBANS Secretariat's seat in the UN Campus in Bonn, the experts invited to the Population Structure Workshops left with a bit of "homework".
The first two days were used to consider the advantages and limitations of different methods to study cetacean population structure and dynamics and for reporting on the state of knowledge with regard to the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, the short-beaked common dolphin, the white-beaked dolphin and the Atlantic white-sided dolphin. The group then started to draw up a summary of methodological approaches and their features, including a rough power analysis, with a note on the costs and sample sizes required for each method. This will be published together with the proceedings and recommendations on population differentiation or possible management units for each of the species under consideration to provide policy makers with the information needed to make informed decisions.
The third day considered the current knowledge about genetics and population structure of the Baltic harbour porpoise. Due to its rarity, it is extremely difficult to study and the available information shows many gaps. Therefore, the group decided to prepare a project proposal for EU funding for an international and interdisciplinary coordinated research effort, providing not only an overview of available material, but also helping to connect the various actors around the Baltic Sea who are studying and trying to protect this small and possibly distinct population.
8-10 October 2007: Two joint ASCOBANS/HELCOM Workshops to be held in Bonn
A Workshop on Small Cetacean Population Structure in the ASCOBANS Area will be held on the
first two days, drawing together almost thirty experts in order to provide a forum for informal
presentation and discussion and for promoting and facilitating cooperation across borders. The
third day is reserved for a Workshop on Genetics and Population Structure of the Harbour
Porpoise in the Baltic, which will be held in a smaller group specialised on the specific
situation of the only native cetacean in the Baltic Sea. At both workshops, experts will review
available information and methods and discuss the best way ahead in order to improve the
knowledge on which any successful conservation and management efforts must be based.
Read full
press release
13 September 2007: Extension of Year of the Dolphin in 2008
Buoyed by the enthusiastic reception of Year of the Dolphin 2007, the founding Partners CMS,
its two whale and dolphin agreements ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Society, and the German-based global travel enterprise TUI AG, today announced their decision
to extend the initiative into 2008 to ensure that many more new activities to conserve dolphins
and their marine environment will take place around the world.
Commenting on today's announcement, Robert Hepworth, Acting Executive Secretary of ASCOBANS,
said: "YoD is gathering momentum and we have officially endorsed a variety of activities in 30
countries since the campaign began in January 2007. The Partners decided we should carry on the
campaign into 2008 to give more individuals, organisations and countries the chance to
participate in the Year of the Dolphin".
(Read full press release [PDF])
June/September 2007: Static Acoustic Monitoring of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise
Following relevant recommendations by the 3rd Meeting of the Jastarnia Group and the 14th Meeting of the Advisory Committee, ASCOBANS is financially supporting - through pledges from Germany and Finland - the development of a coordinated project aimed to improve the knowledge of the geographic distribution, density and size of the harbour porpoise population in the Baltic Sea using static acoustic monitoring techniques. Under the lead of Dr. Mats Amundin, experts from six Baltic countries came together for the first workshop in Stockholm on 19-20 June and a later follow-up meeting in Helsinki on 27-28 September to explore the possibilities of a Baltic-wide joint acoustic monitoring project. The feasibility of different set-ups was discussed and an outline for a project proposal to be submitted to the European Union produced. Also, preliminary tasks such as the creation of habitat maps were coordinated and methods for site selection and open sea surveys agreed. A full project proposal is expected to be finalised and submitted for funding by December 2007.
Petra Deimer and Hans-Jürgen Schütte of GSM (left), receiving the ASCOBANS Award from Heidrun
Frisch, ASCOBANS Secretariat
Petra Deimer and the Society for the Protection of Marine Mammals (GSM) receive the ASCOBANS Award on the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise
Bonn/Quickborn 20th/21st May. For the past five years now, the third Sunday of May has been celebrated as the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise. But this day of honour for the barely 5 feet long whale is no joyous occasion: the Baltic Harbour Porpoise is close to extinction. Therefore, the Secretariat of the UN Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS) is using 20th May, the Harbour Porpoise Day 2007, to present the "ASCOBANS Award" to a true champion of marine mammal protection and the society she founded almost thirty years ago.
Read full
press release
Celebrating the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise in the Region
On Sunday, 20 May, for the fifth year running, museums and dolphinaria around the Baltic Sea will be celebrating the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise, which was established to draw the attention of the public to this endangered animal about which so little is known.
The Särkänniemi Dolphinarium in Tampere, Finland, has organized a whole day of special activities and events for children. One of these will be the sale of dolphin balloons, with the profits going towards research on the harbour porpoise and its conservation. For more information see http://www.sarkanniemi.fi.
The Lithuanian Sea Museum in Klaipéda (http://www.juru.muziejus.lt) is again planning a day of fun and information. The events include an exhibition about the harbour porpoise (open from 10.30 - 18.00), and between 11.00 and 13.00 the chance for children to take part in a quiz about the Baltic harbour porpoise. There will of course be prizes for the winners. Visitors can also be photographed and look at their pictures later on the museum website (see also www.bendrikrantai.lt). From 13.30 - 14.30 the museum is staging an event entitled "The Truth about the Baltic Harbour Porpoise", with a lecture followed by a film about the dangers porpoises face from fishing nets.
The German environmental organisation GSM (Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Meeressäugetiere), based in Hasloh near Hamburg, is running a children's painting competition to draw attention to the plight of the critically endangered harbour porpoise. Closing date for entries is 20 October 2007. The logo for the competition "Children painting for harbour porpoises" was designed by the well-known German cartoon artist Kim Schmidt (http://www.gsm-ev.de/index3.htm).
As the only species of whale living in the Baltic Sea, the Harbour Porpoise has been the focus of the research conducted in the German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Meeresmuseum) in Stralsund. To increase public awareness of the plight of this endangered species, a special "ambassador" was created:
"We use this amiable little harbour porpoise not just to advertise our museum and work, but especially to draw attention to the need to protect this species", says Director of the Museum and cetacean scientist Dr. Benke. Children are the primary focus of this initiative, since they are usually very interested in the conservation of whales and dolphins. Until 28 May. they can now assist the museum staff in naming the new "colleague" (http://www.ozeaneum.de/index.php?id=205#855).
The Aquarium of Cologne (http://www.zoo-koeln.de/index.php?id=25) will host a small exhibition on ASCOBANS' role in protecting the Baltic Harbour Porpoise and will display some information material for visitors to take home with them.
'Iberian (and European Cetacean Society) Launch' of the Year of the Dolphin
On the evening of 20 April 2007, the Executive Secretary of CMS/ASCOBANS, Robert Hepworth, launched the Spanish version of the Year of the Dolphin 2007 leaflet. He presented the objectives and activities of the Year of the Dolphin campaign to the delegates of the 14th Advisory Committee Meeting of ASCOBANS, alongside the Secretariat's Scientific Officer, Marco Barbieri, and the newly appointed ASCOBANS Marine Mammal Officer Heidrun Frisch. The beautiful launch venue, the Aquarium of Donostia-San Sebastián in the Basque Country of Spain, tangibly underlined the need to protect the marine environment and educate both children and adults about the fascinating marine life and the role they themselves can play in its conservation. Each delegate received a personal copy of the outreach material produced so far and governments and NGOs alike were encouraged to actively support the campaign.
Robert Hepworth and Marco Barbieri of CMS/ASCOBANS present the Year of the Dolphin Leaflet in San Sebastián Aquarium
Several requests to become a registered YoD-Supporter have already been received from Spain and Portugal. These individuals and organisations carry out classroom activities, plan art contests, organise exhibitions, produce information material or engage the public in conservation activities, to name but a few examples.
At the 21st Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society and through the San Sebastián Aquarium more than two thousand Year of the Dolphin leaflets, calendars and posters and hundreds of postcards were distributed to the public and marine scientists alike, informing them about the campaign and ways to share in. Also, two large exhibition panels at the venue caught everybody's attention and served as background for countless photos taken by the delegates and the local press.
Meeting venue of the 21st Annual Conference of the ECS
To keep up to date with the activities carried out around the globe as part of the campaign, please visit the website www.YoD2007.org. It also offers information about many dolphin species, explains ways to join in the campaign and provides information material for download.
Joint Workshops of ASCOBANS and the European Cetacean Society held on the Margins of the 21st ECS Conference
Workshop on Wind Farms and Marine Mammals (San Sebastian, 21 April 2007)
As a follow-up of the decision of the 13th Advisory Committee Meeting of ASCOBANS to review the effect of wind farms on small cetaceans and Resolution No. 4 of the 5th Meeting of the Parties, Dr. Peter Evans convened this joint ECS and ASCOBANS workshop. It aimed at providing an overview of the possible impacts of offshore wind energy production on cetaceans and seals. The most pronounced danger in this regard is the effect of noise associated with the construction of wind farms, but to a lesser degree also their operation. Distinct avoidance behaviour had been observed for several species and areas, even though in some cases this was reversed when the construction phase was completed. Another possible impact is habitat alteration, with changes in species composition of fish and plants and barrier effects that might deter cetaceans. Also, wind farms require regular maintenance, leading to an increase in ship traffic in some areas.
Various methods for surveying and monitoring were discussed, through which data on cetacean abundance and behaviour can be gathered, ranging from visual and acoustic surveys to satellite tracking. A main reason for convening the workshop was to gather opinions on best practice in construction, surveying and monitoring of the effects of offshore wind farms in order to provide advice to policy-makers and energy-producers. In order to be able to assess the impact of a wind farm on marine mammals, baseline studies must be conducted before commencing construction activities and both cetacean activity and noise levels should be monitored. Some possible mitigation measures were discussed, such as measures for reducing the spread of the sound, conducting noisy activities like piling only after visual and acoustic surveying has confirmed no marine mammals are close and could be damaged through high sound levels, and timing of those activities so that they don't coincide with times of particularly high abundance in the area.
Further, the need for independent research based on agreed standards for baseline studies and site monitoring was stressed, notably in relation to Impact Assessment. The idea to develop a generic set of solutions and tools that can be selected for site-specific problems was discussed. In this way, knowledge gained and experiences made at one site might be utilised by other projects, while always bearing in mind that results obtained at one site cannot be automatically transposed to another site, and animals of the same species have been found to react differently to construction of wind farms in different areas. ASCOBANS was encouraged to take a leading role in the development of such guidelines.
One outcome of the workshop will be a list of recommendations produced by a small working group. These will be published together with short articles reiterating the topics discussed during the presentations in proceedings of this productive event.
Workshop on Selection Criteria for Marine Protected Areas for Cetaceans (San Sebastian, 22 April 2007)
The 5th Meeting of the Parties of ASCOBANS in Resolution No. 7 recommended the holding of a one day workshop to establish criteria and guidelines for the identification of sites of importance for small cetaceans. Accordingly, Dr. Peter Evans kindly organised this event on behalf of ECS, ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMS, to be held on the margins of the 14th Advisory Committee Meeting of ASCOBANS and the 21st Annual Conference of the ECS. In his introduction, he noted that specific guidelines for the identification of sites of importance for cetaceans are so far lacking to a large extent. The purpose of the workshop, therefore, was to analyze and discuss the development, scope and appropriateness of possible criteria such as high-density areas, feeding or breeding sites, and migration corridors, including methods to identify those sites. Examples of Marine Protected Areas and their effectiveness in conserving cetaceans were highlighted and the results of existing research indicating important areas were presented.
When discussing the most appropriate methods for identifying suitable areas for the selection of MPAs, the need to apply multiple techniques combined with multivariate habitat modelling to identify hotspots in a wider area was highlighted. The experts also pointed out that an adaptive management approach based on regular monitoring should be followed, since variation can be high on all time scales, possibly necessitating flexible boundaries of the sanctuary depending on the season or adjustment of conservation measures.
More often than not, the knowledge of abundance, population structure or habitat preferences of a target species is very patchy. Nevertheless, the precautionary principle requires that suitable conservation measures be taken if there is any doubt of the continued sustainability of the status of the population. Accordingly, the advice of the experts present at the workshop is that such decisions should be based on the best available knowledge of the species' ecology, while concentrating on aspects most likely to be impacted by anthropogenic threats. MPAs can in this regard be considered as one possible tool, which is appropriate in some cases and not so effective in others.
All in all, a Marine Protected Area under any set of legislation can only be useful if it really comprises key habitat of the species to be conserved, conservation measures are actually implemented, regular monitoring of effects and appropriate adjustments of human activities is carried out and the cetaceans themselves can notice that something has changed for the better.
Proceedings of this workshop as well as a set of agreed recommendations will be published as soon as possible.
The Way Forward for ASCOBANS
The 14th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee met in San Sebastián, Spain, from 19-21 April. It was the first meeting since the CMS and ASCOBANS Secretariats were merged for a two year trial period in January 2007, and provided the opportunity for the new members of the core "CMS/ASCOBANS Team", i.e. the acting Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth, the Scientific and Technical Officer Marco Barbieri, and the newly appointed CMS/ASCOBANS Coordinator Heidrun Frisch, to introduce themselves to the Party representatives.
The ASCOBANS Advisory Committee considered activities of the Parties and the Secretariat in the last year and set the course for the coming year. Issues discussed included information on impacts of fishing effort, pollution, noise and disturbance, the implementation of mitigation measures and outreach activities. Recently available information on population sizes, structure and distribution was considered.
Furthermore, nominations for the second ASCOBANS Award were considered and the winner decided upon. This year, the German NGO "Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Meeressäugetiere" was selected for its outstanding role in raising awareness, educating as well as engaging the public and facilitating data gathering on cetaceans and other marine mammals.
At the end of the meeting, a new Chair and Vice-chair were elected, Stefan Bräger (Germany) and Jan Haelters (Belgium) respectively. The Secretariat and the ASCOBANS Party representatives warmly thanked Peter Reijnders and Mark Tasker for their excellent work. Peter Reijnders had chaired the Advisory Committee from its first meeting in 1995 until 2001, when he became Vice-chair under Mark Tasker, himself previously Vice-chair of the Committee.
2007 will be an exciting year for ASCOBANS: the westward extension of the Agreement Area to include Irish and Iberian waters is expected to enter into force in the course of the year, enlarging not only the geographical coverage but also opening the way for three additional range states to formalise their relationship with this intergovernmental cetacean conservation treaty [map].
At the same time, the ASCOBANS Secretariat is heavily involved in the multi-stakeholder initiative "Year of the Dolphin 2007". The main aims of the campaign are to increase general awareness of dolphin conservation, provide effective educational and information tools for better outreach to a broad audience, stimulate concrete activities for the conservation of these species and their habitats, and contribute to the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target [www.yod2007.org]. All ASCOBANS Parties and Partner organisations are encouraged to contribute to the success of the Year of the Dolphin by undertaking, registering and reporting on research, conservation activities and public awareness campaigns, by offering a prize for the best small-scale conservation project and/or educational activity, by providing financial support to YoD activities or production of educational material or by translating information material into their languages and producing them locally.
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