Species listed on Appendix III are species that are to enjoy special conservation
measures. Here, the parties are required to control the exploitation of these animals in
a way that ensures a favourable conservation status. Closed seasons, temporary
prohibitions and the regulation of trade are means by which this is to be achieved.
Six seal species, including the harp and hooded seal, can be found on this appendix.
Concerning whales, the Appendix is rather sweeping: “All species not mentioned in
Appendix II.” In other words, all whale species are in one way or another protected
by the Bern Convention while also some seal species that are faring well are to be
regulated. Indeed, as we have seen in Chap. 2, the harp seal is far from being an
endangered species in any of its three subpopulations.
When considering the Bern Convention, two drawbacks in the analysis arise:
first, I cannot ascertain when a specific species was put on any of the appendices,
therefore not allowing me to place their listing in a wider context of marine mammal
utilisation or conservation. Were whales listed from the very beginning or is this a
more recent phenomenon? Second, I am not able to find any guidance on how the
Bern Convention responds to calls for population culls, for example for seals. Arie
Trouwborst and others have explored this issue in relation to the Norwegian wolf
policy, which involves a winter wold hunt despite its strict protection under Appendix II of the Bern Convention. The authors have concluded that Norway is, at least in
parts, at odds with the convention but that there are indeed several issues that remain
unresolved.
20 Therefore, the seemingly clear approach to conservation that the Bern
Convention applies, i.e. to take “requisite measures to maintain the population of
wild flora and fauna at, or adapt it to, a level which corresponds in particular to
ecological, scientific and cultural requirements,” may be at odds with the strict
protection provisions for species listed in Appendix II.
Be that as it may, from the above it has become clear that within the European
Union as well as for the European continent the protection of marine mammals
ranges high on the environmental agenda. While, potentially, the Bern convention
might see amendments to the appendices, which would list the strict protection of
some marine mammal species, other regimes are in place for the European Union
that still affects importation, killing and trade. Either way, particularly concerning
whaling, the EU has adopted a common position of all its IWC member states at
IWC meetings.
4.3.2 The North Atlantic
The North Atlantic Ocean has seen a large number of international regimes dealing
with the marine environment, with fishing and with marine mammals. As we will see
in Chap. 6, it is especially seal hunts which have been regulated in the North
Atlantic. This is hardly surprising. After all, the North Atlantic Ocean is the adjacent
ocean to the European continent—a continent that is home to peoples having
20 Trouwborst et al. (2017).
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4 The Global Framework for the Environment and Marine Mammals
measures. Here, the parties are required to control the exploitation of these animals in
a way that ensures a favourable conservation status. Closed seasons, temporary
prohibitions and the regulation of trade are means by which this is to be achieved.
Six seal species, including the harp and hooded seal, can be found on this appendix.
Concerning whales, the Appendix is rather sweeping: “All species not mentioned in
Appendix II.” In other words, all whale species are in one way or another protected
by the Bern Convention while also some seal species that are faring well are to be
regulated. Indeed, as we have seen in Chap. 2, the harp seal is far from being an
endangered species in any of its three subpopulations.
When considering the Bern Convention, two drawbacks in the analysis arise:
first, I cannot ascertain when a specific species was put on any of the appendices,
therefore not allowing me to place their listing in a wider context of marine mammal
utilisation or conservation. Were whales listed from the very beginning or is this a
more recent phenomenon? Second, I am not able to find any guidance on how the
Bern Convention responds to calls for population culls, for example for seals. Arie
Trouwborst and others have explored this issue in relation to the Norwegian wolf
policy, which involves a winter wold hunt despite its strict protection under Appendix II of the Bern Convention. The authors have concluded that Norway is, at least in
parts, at odds with the convention but that there are indeed several issues that remain
unresolved.
20 Therefore, the seemingly clear approach to conservation that the Bern
Convention applies, i.e. to take “requisite measures to maintain the population of
wild flora and fauna at, or adapt it to, a level which corresponds in particular to
ecological, scientific and cultural requirements,” may be at odds with the strict
protection provisions for species listed in Appendix II.
Be that as it may, from the above it has become clear that within the European
Union as well as for the European continent the protection of marine mammals
ranges high on the environmental agenda. While, potentially, the Bern convention
might see amendments to the appendices, which would list the strict protection of
some marine mammal species, other regimes are in place for the European Union
that still affects importation, killing and trade. Either way, particularly concerning
whaling, the EU has adopted a common position of all its IWC member states at
IWC meetings.
4.3.2 The North Atlantic
The North Atlantic Ocean has seen a large number of international regimes dealing
with the marine environment, with fishing and with marine mammals. As we will see
in Chap. 6, it is especially seal hunts which have been regulated in the North
Atlantic. This is hardly surprising. After all, the North Atlantic Ocean is the adjacent
ocean to the European continent—a continent that is home to peoples having
20 Trouwborst et al. (2017).
70
4 The Global Framework for the Environment and Marine Mammals