The 8th Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area

At this meeting, held in St. Julians, Malta, from 29 November to 2 December 2022, the 24 ACCOBAMS Parties of committed to the conservation of cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic area.

The Presidency shifted from Türkiye to Malta, and a new Bureau composed of 5 countries – Malta (Presidency), Bulgaria, Lebanon, Montenegro and Portugal – was elected for the period 2023 to 2025.

An ambitious work program including measures for the conservation of cetaceans will be implemented during the next 3 years in order to improve actions aimed at responding to the many threats posed to cetaceans – underwater noise, cetacean bycatch in fishing gear, ship strikes, strandings, amongst many other.

The long-term, regional-scale cetacean monitoring campaigns is a priority for future ACCOBAMS achievements, building on the unprecedented international monitoring campaign on dolphins and whales in the ACCOBAMS area.

The ACCOBAMS Parties adopted a communication strategy as a central tool for information and awareness and, gradually, as a central repository of knowledge on cetaceans in the ACCOBAMS area, in order to disseminate knowledge and encourage different audiences to take actions aimed at cetacean conservation.

The 8th Meeting of the Parties adopted 23 Resolutions, half of which resulted from the Recommendations issued by the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS.

@ERA

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