CMS - The Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of
the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Areas
(ACCOBAMS)
As with other cetaceans worldwide, the whales, dolphins, and
porpoises of the Mediterranean and Black Seas move between
their breeding, feeding and over-wintering ranges, or follow their
prey over long distances. On route they encounter a variety of
man-made threats, including accidental entanglement in fishing gear
(bycatch), marine pollution, acoustic disturbance, hunting,
whale-watching and competition with fisheries. Since migrating
cetaceans regularly cross national boundaries, their effective
protection requires international cooperation.
The Agreement on
the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean
Seas (ACCOBAMS) was concluded in Monaco in 1996 and
entered into force in 2001. ACCOBAMS is the first agreement of its
kind to bind the countries of the two seas to work together on a
problem of common concern. The Agreement requires members to
implement a comprehensive Conservation Plan, based first on
legislation banning the deliberate capture of cetaceans in fishing
zones by their flag vessels or those subject to their jurisdiction,
on measures for minimising incidental capture and, finally, on the
creation of protected zones, important for the feeding, breeding
and rearing of cetaceans. Governments also undertake to assess and
manage human-cetacean interactions, conduct research and
monitoring; develop programmes to inform, train and educate the
public, and set up emergency response measures. Membership is open
to all littoral states and to non-coastal States of the Agreement
area ('third countries') whose vessels are engaged in activities
which may affect cetaceans.
The UK has contributed funding on a voluntary basis to the
Agreement.
JNCC has provided advice to the Government
(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the
Foreign Office) on the Agreement's conservation objectives, and
staff have joined or formed the UK delegation sessions of the
Meeting of the Parties since 2002.
June 2013