The first session of the fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS)—an agreement adopted under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species—took place from 18-20 September 2006, in Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands.

The Meeting was adjourned and is expected to reconvene for a second session, to be held in The Hague, the Netherlands, in mid-December 2006.
According to IISD sources, the meeting laid the groundwork for an increase in ASCOBANS activities in the coming years. Participants discussed and adopted resolutions on numerous issues, including: the implementation of the Jastarnia Plan; the further development of a recovery plan for the North Sea; the extension of the agreement area approved at MOP-4 (and expected to enter into force in 2007); the possible extension of the scope of the agreement to cover all species of cetaceans (including the great whales) in the area; scientific workshops to be carried out within the framework of the Agreement; and outreach and educational work. Parties and NGOs underscored the importance of the agreement ASCOBANS in cetacean conservation. The second session of MOP-5 in December 2006 will likely be devoted mainly to budgetary issues and institutional arrangements for the Secretariat.
Link to further information
Report of the meeting