CELTIC LEAGUE: DOLPHIN DEATHS - INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ACTION NEEDED
The Celtic League General Meeting in Dublin later this year will be asked to support an appeal to both International bodies and National governments seeking greater protection for Marine Mammals.
A draft resolution will be proposed by the Celtic League Director of Information who will cite recent incidents in which Marine Mammals have become disorientated, stranded and died in areas where Naval exercises have been under way.
In early June 30 Dolphins died in an incident near Falmouth in Cornwall. Earlier in the year five Cuvier's beaked whales, a species rarely seen in British waters, beached off the west of Scotland. In both cases there was military activity in the area at the time.
The text of the draft resolution to be moved at the meeting is set out below:
'a) Calls upon the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs to institute research work to identify and mitigate the damage caused to Marine Mammals by noise and sonar pollution associated with military exercises at sea.'
'b) Calls upon the governments of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal and Ireland to acknowledge their obligations under Article 65 - Marine Mammals - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and restrict both commercial and military activity which may be contrary to the spirit of the Convention.'
Background:
«Article 65 Marine mammals Nothing in this Part restricts the right of a coastal State or the competence of an international organization, as appropriate, to prohibit, limit or regulate the exploitation of marine mammals more strictly than provided for in this Part. States shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals and in the case of cetaceans shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management and study.»
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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
29/06/08
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