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The Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area, or ACCOBAMS, is a regional international treaty that binds its States Parties on the conservation of
According to Article 1 of the Agreement, the geographic scope of this Agreement is as follows:
* All the maritime waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and their gulfs and seas
* The internal waters connected to, or interconnecting, these maritime waters
* The Atlantic area contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea west of the Straits of Gibraltar
In 2010, at MOP4, Portugal and Spain both submitted proposals to extend the Agreement area to cover parts of their respective
Signed, but not ratified: * * Other Range States: * * *
ACCOBAMS website
{{Authority control Environmental treaties Cetacean research and conservation Treaties concluded in 1996 Treaties entered into force in 2001 2001 in the environment Treaties of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of Egypt Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Greece Treaties of Italy Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Malta Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Morocco Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Ukraine
Cetacea
Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...
in their territories. The Agreement aims is to reduce threats to Cetaceans in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
s, as well as in the contiguous Atlantic area west of the Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa.
The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
.
Bodies of the agreement
Meeting of the Parties
The Meeting of the Parties (MOP) is the main decision-making body of the Agreement. It meets triennially to review progress made towards the implementation of the Agreement, as well as any challenges this implantation faces. The MOP also adopts the budget for the Agreements and reviews scientific assessments on the conservation status of cetaceans of the Agreement area. Finally, at the MOP, member states also lay out the priorities for the next triennium. Member states of the Agreement are automatically entitled to representation at the MOP and each have one vote. Additionally, organisations qualified in the conservation of cetaceans may also be represented by observers in the MOP.Bureau
The Bureau is the working body of the agreement and acts as the decision-making body for the agreement in-between the MOP, and carries out interim activities on it behalf. It also provides guidance to the Secretariat concerning the implementation and promotion of the Agreement. The Bureau is composed of a Chair and Vice-Chairs, all elected by the MOP. Additionally, the Chair of the Scientific Committee is invited to participate as an observer. The Bureau meets at least once a year.Secretariat
The Secretariat is the executive body of the Agreement. It coordinates and organises the activities of the MOP, the Bureau and the Scientific Committee in order to ensure they can fully perform their assigned duties. Additionally, it monitors the budget, works to increase public awareness concerning the Agreement and its objectives, executes decisions addressed to it by the MOP and creates a report to present at each MOP on the work of all bodies of the Agreement.Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee acts as an advisory body to the MOP. Its main duties include: * Providing advice to the MOP on scientific and technical matters * Conducting scientific assessments of the conservation status of cetacean populations in the Agreement Area * Advising on the development and co-ordination of international research and monitoring programmes * Preparing for each session of the MOP a report of its activities The Scientific Committee is composed of "persons qualified as experts in cetacean conservation science" and meets at the request of the MOP.Agreement area
According to Article 1 of the Agreement, the geographic scope of this Agreement is as follows:
* All the maritime waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and their gulfs and seas
* The internal waters connected to, or interconnecting, these maritime waters
* The Atlantic area contiguous to the Mediterranean Sea west of the Straits of Gibraltar
In 2010, at MOP4, Portugal and Spain both submitted proposals to extend the Agreement area to cover parts of their respective exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
s. The proposal was adopted at the MOP, as Resolution A/4.1, and is currently in effect.
Species
The Agreement covers 28 species of Cetacean that migrate throughout the range of the Agreement. Balaenidae * North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) Balaenopteridae * Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) * Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) * Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) * Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) * Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Delphinidae * Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) * Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus) * Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) * Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata) * Long-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas) * Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) * Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) * Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) * Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) * False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) * Black Sea Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) Kogiidae * Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps) * Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima) Phocoenidae * Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) * Black Sea Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) Physeteridae * Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) * Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia simus) Ziphiidae * Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) * Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens) * Gervais' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon europaeus) * True's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon mirus) * Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris)Member States
States Parties
The following are all the States Parties to the Agreement, as well as the date the Agreement entered into force in waters under their jurisdiction:Range States
The following are the Range States that have not ratified or acceded to the Agreement:Signed, but not ratified: * * Other Range States: * * *
See also
*List of environmental agreements
This is a list of international environmental agreements.
Most of the following agreements are legally binding for countries that have formally ratified them. Some, such as the Kyoto Protocol, differentiate between types of countries and each na ...
*ASCOBANS
Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas, often abbreviated to ASCOBANS, is a regional agreement on the protection of small cetaceans that was concluded as the Agreement on the Con ...
*Convention on Migratory Species
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their r ...
(CMS)
*Marine Protected Area
A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...
* Mediterranean cetaceans
Mediterranean cetaceans constitute a unique assemblage of species found in the virtually closed basin of the Mediterranean Sea. This assemblage differs from those found in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic or the Red Sea. In the Mediterranean Sea ...
References
External links
ACCOBAMS website
{{Authority control Environmental treaties Cetacean research and conservation Treaties concluded in 1996 Treaties entered into force in 2001 2001 in the environment Treaties of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of Egypt Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Greece Treaties of Italy Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Malta Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Monaco Treaties of Morocco Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Ukraine