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Appendix 4

Recommendation SC4.9
Adopted by the Scientific Committee of ACCOBAMS

Monaco, 8 November 2006

Specially Protected Areas for Cetaceans

The Scientific Committee welcomed and commended the work by Hoyt (SC4/Doc21) and
Cañadas et al. (SC4/Inf01), which provided the main background for development of the
Committee’s response to the MOP Resolution on MPAs.

Criteria for Proposals

The Committee emphasized the importance of following a staged process in identifying and
selecting candidate MPA, and it is recommended that proposals should include the following
information:

• Clearly stated objectives of the MPA;
• The rationale for choosing an MPA as the appropriate management tool and the

particular temporal and geographical boundaries (including specification of the data
and analytical techniques used);
• A draft management plan that is linked to documented actual and potential threats to
one or more populations of cetaceans;
• Proposals for mitigation measures (and/or research designed to develop such
measures), with consideration of appropriate compliance monitoring (to ensure that
such measures are correctly implemented) plus scientific monitoring to ensure that
each of the proposed mitigation measures (where there are more than one) are
working as expected;
• Proposals for overall monitoring to ensure that stated objectives are being met;
• Details of consultation with and views of interested stakeholders;
• Details of legal aspects of the proposed MPA, including co-operation with the
appropriate local, national and international authorities must occur.

Format for Proposals

The Committee welcomed the willingness of Cañadas and Sagarminaga to prepare a draft
proposal for an Alborán Sea MPA in the format adopted by the Committee, with the
expectation that this ‘test run’ would facilitate needed refinements and improvements to the
format before it is considered final for delivery to the next Meeting of the Parties.

Sites for Consideration in the Agreement Area

Four pilot MPAs had been proposed at the first MOP in 2002 and confirmed subsequently by
the Scientific Committee:

(1) Kalamos, Greece for common dolphins;
(2) Southern Crete, Greece for sperm whales;
(3) Cape Sarych to Cape Khersones, SW Crimea, Ukraine in the Black Sea, for

bottlenose and common dolphins and harbour porpoises; and
(4) Losinj, Kvarneric, Croatia for bottlenose dolphins.

The Committee noted that the only action that has been taken thus far was in July 2006
when Croatia announced Losinj to be an MPA, although no management or monitoring plans
have been specified. While welcoming the decision of the Croatian Government, the