This agreement shall apply to all small cetaceans found within the area of the agreement.
Overeenkomst inzake de instandhouding van kleine walvisachtigen in de Baltische Zee, de Noordoost-Atlantische Oceaan, de Ierse Zee en de Noordzee
Geldig vanaf 3 februari 2008
Geldig vanaf 3 februari 2008
Overeenkomst inzake de instandhouding van kleine walvisachtigen in de Baltische Zee, de Noordoost-Atlantische Oceaan, de Ierse Zee en de Noordzee
Opschrift
Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas
Preambule
The Parties,
Recalling the general principles of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, as reflected in the World Conservation Strategy of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, and in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development,
Recognizing that small cetaceans are and should remain an integral part of marine ecosystems,
Aware that the population of harbour porpoises of the Baltic Sea has drastically decreased,
Concerned about the status of small cetaceans in the Baltic and North Seas,
Recognizing that by-catches, habitat deterioration and disturbance may adversely affect these populations,
Convinced that their vulnerable and largely unclear status merits immediate attention in order to improve it and to gather information as a basis for sound decisions on management and conservation,
Confident that activities for that purpose are best coordinated between the States concerned in order to increase efficiency and avoid duplicate work,
Aware of the importance of maintaining maritime activities such as fishing,
Recalling that under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1979), Parties are encouraged to conclude agreements on wild animals which periodically cross national jurisdictional boundaries,
Recalling also that under the provisions of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Berne 1979), all small cetaceans regularly present in the Baltic and North Seas are listed in its Appendix II as strictly protected species, and
Referring to the Memorandum of Understanding on Small Cetaceans in the North Sea signed by the Ministers present at the Third International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea,
Have agreed as follows:
1. Scope and interpretation
1.2
For the purpose of this agreement:
“Small cetaceans” means any species, subspecies or population of toothed whales Odontoceti, except the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus ;
“Area of the Agreement” means the marine environment of the Baltic and North Seas and contiguous area of the North East Atlantic, as delimited by the shores of the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland; to the south-east by latitude 36°N, where this line of latitude meets the line joining the lighthouses of Cape St. Vincent (Portugal) and Casablanca (Morocco); to the south-west by latitude 36°N and longitude 15°W; to the north-west by longitude 15° and a line drawn through the following points: latitude 59°N/longitude 15°W, latitude 60°N/longitude 05°W, latitude, 61°N/longitude 4°W; latitude 62°N/longitude 3°W; to the north by latitude 62°N; and including the Kattegat and the Sound and Belt passages.
“Bonn Convention” means the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1979);
“Regional Economic Integration Organization” means an organization constituted by sovereign States which has competence in respect of the negociation, conclusion and application of international agreements in matters covered by this agreement;
“Party” means a range State or any regional Economic Integration Organization for which this agreement is in force;
“Range State” means any State, whether or not a Party to the agreement, that exercises jurisdiction over any part of the range of a species covered by this agreement, or a State whose flag vessels, outside national jurisdictional limits but within the area of the agreement, are engaged in operations adversely affecting small cetaceans;
“Secretariat” means, unless the context otherwise indicates, the Secretariat to this agreement.