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Recreational In-Water Interaction with Aquatic Mammals (Rev.COP14)

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Table of Contents

  1. Preamble
  2. Paragraph 1.
  3. Paragraph 2.
  4. Paragraph 3.
  5. Paragraph 4.
  6. Paragraph 5.
  7. Paragraph 6.
  8. Paragraph 7.

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23 Oct, 2017
17 Feb, 2024 en 23 Oct, 2017 en

Recreational In-Water Interaction with Aquatic Mammals (Rev.COP14)

Concerned that recreational in-water interaction with aquatic wildlife is a fast-growing tourism and recreational activity which may cause disturbance to aquatic wildlife in many different situations and habitats, with potentially serious conservation consequences,Noting that many of the aquatic species affected by in-water interactions are listed on the CMS Appendices,Conscious that a large number of aquatic species are sensitive to the disturbances caused by in-water interactions, and that in addition there is a risk of disease transmission and direct physical impacts, that can lead to injuries and even death,Concerned that in-water interactions with aquatic species put not only the animals at risk, but can also compromise the safety of human participants,Aware that the global growth of the in-water interaction phenomenon has outpaced the advancement of relevant science and the provision of timely and site-specific impact assessments to inform management,Concerned that in many cases effects may only be detected once they have already reached biologically significant levels, hence providing information to decision-makers only when impacts are already occurring,Recognizing the work carried out on whale watching by the International Whaling Commission, andRecognizing that CMS can contribute to regulation and sustainable management of in-water interactions,The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
1.Endorses the Guidelines on Recreational In-water Interactions with Marine Wildlife, contained in the Annex;
2.Urges Parties, in whose areas of jurisdiction recreational in-water interactions with aquatic wildlife take place, to adopt appropriate measures, such as national guidelines, codes of conduct, and if necessary, national legislation, binding regulations or other regulatory tools, to address the consequences of, and carefully regulate, all such activities;
3.Encourages Parties to ensure that these activities do not have negative effects on the long-term survival of populations and habitats and have minimal impact on the behaviour of the exposed animals;
4.Recommends that, insofar as they are applicable, measures adopted by the Parties also cover opportunistic in-water encounters with aquatic wildlife;
5.Also recommends that when vessel-based and in-water activities occur concurrently, measures adopted by the Parties ensure the safety of marine wildlife and human participants;
6.Encourages Parties to facilitate research allowing an assessment of the long-term effects and biological significance of disturbances, noting that this requires information on the biology, behaviour and ecology of the species, adequate historical data, and suitable modelling techniques that use behavioural observation collected over shorter time frames to predict potential long-term effects on populations, and use these predictions to inform management decisions; and
7.Strongly encourages Parties to review any measures periodically to enable any impacts detected through research and monitoring of the populations to be taken into account as necessary.