25 Years ASCOBANS: The Birth of the Agreement
White-sided Dolphins © Luca Lamoni This year marks the 25th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) in New York on 17 March 1992. Over the past 25 years, ASCOBANS has provided the framework for international cooperation for the protection of small cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoises – in northern and western European waters. But getting the Agreement ready took quite some effort.