ASCOBANS: Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas

ASCOBANS is a regional agreement whereby Parties undertake to implement a conservation and management plan for cetaceans, as part of their work under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). ASCOBANS was originally called the "Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas". Its title and geographic scope was extended to include the Irish Sea and North East Atlantic in 2003. The implementation of ASCOBANS is coordinated by a small Secretariat, associated with the CMS Secretariat and hosted by UNEP. It is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.