Fourteenth Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee

From 22 to 26 November 2021, the 14th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee was held at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco.

About forty participants were present, including Committee Members, regional representatives, representatives of the Sub-Regional Coordination Units (Mediterranean and Black Sea), various international organisations with actions related to cetacean conservation (ASCOBANS, IWC, CIESM, CMS, ECS, IUCN, Pelagos Agreement), ACCOBAMS Partners as well as many experts.

Photo: M. DAGNINO – Oceanographic Museum of  Monaco

This meeting allowed the Scientific Committee to identify the next conservation actions to be carried out by its different working groups and to transcribe them in the form of 12 recommendations.

Thus, issues related to underwater noise, monitoring of cetacean populations, collisions and the harmful effects of pollution and marine debris were at the centre of the discussions.

These recommendations will then be integrated into draft resolutions that will be submitted to the representatives of the 24 countries of the Agreement during the 8th Meeting of the Parties in November 2022 in Malta. These recommendations will form the basis for the development of the ACCOBAMS work programme for 2023-2025.

This international meeting was also an opportunity to consolidate the collaborations based on the transfer of knowledge and skills between scientists from different regions of the Agreement area. The aim of ACCOBAMS is to promote and facilitate regional cooperation at all levels, through the implementation of the necessary measures to guarantee the conservation of cetaceans.