Wadden Sea Board
WSB 4
3 November 2011
Ribe/Denmark
__________________________________________________________________________
Agenda Item: 7
Subject: Seal Management Plan
Document No. WSB 4/7/1
Date: 25 October 2011
Submitted by: TG-M
__________________________________________________________________________
In the attached document TG-M advises WSB on further steps regarding the finalisation of the
Seal Management Plan 2012-2016 (SMP). The draft SMP, as elaborated by the Trilateral
Seal Expert Group together with the seal managers representing the competent
authorities of the four regions (TSEG+) is in Annex 1, which is attached as separate
document.
Proposal The meeting is referred to the proposals from the document
WSB 4/7/1 Seal Management Plan 2012-16 page 2
Conservation and Management Plan for the Wadden Sea Seal Population
2012 – 16
1. Objective
Advise on and subsequent adoption of the Conservation and Management Plan for
the Wadden Sea Seal Population 2012 – 16 (Seal Management Plan).
2. Status
The draft (amended) Seal Management Plan (SMP) 2012 – 16 (Annex 1) has been
elaborated by the Trilateral Seal Expert Group together with the seal managers
representing the competent authorities of the four regions (TSEG+). Prior to the
submission of the SMP to the Wadden Sea Board (WSB) for approval for the next 5
year period the Task Group Management (TG-M) has been tasked to advise the
WSB.
The draft SMP is to be considered an update of the existing SMP 2006-10, which has
been prolonged by a year. The structure of the SMP is
Column 1 is the Seal Agreement including its various paragraphs.
Column 2 is the required effort and objectives in conservation and
management terms in consequence of the Agreement; very few amendments
have been made to this column but they include some very principal
amendments
Column 3 encompasses the actions to be implemented in 2012 – 16, partly
an update of the existing actions, partly new ones.
Overall, the TG-M underlines that the seal population is thriving well in spite of an
increase in recent years of seals taken to the seal centres. The increase in the
population since the coordinated countings, which started in the mid1970s, has been
remarkable after the two devastating seal epidemics in 1988 and 2002. This was a
clear sign that the joint efforts of the parties and their managers and experts were
successful. It is important to maintain and extend the successes of the common seal
management, building on the successes of the past.
3. Advice TG-M
TG-M has reviewed the draft SMP 2012 – 16, as elaborated by TSEG+, in terms of
the amendments of the current SMP, in particular with emphasis on consistency with
the Seal Agreement and of the possible financial consequences. TG-M is of the
opinion that the draft constitutes an appropriate and uncontroversial update and
outlines an effective and adequate action programme for the coming 5 year period
and can be adopted at the forthcoming WSB 4, provided that the draft is amended on
a number of points of which the Agreement Area and the proposed inclusion of the
grey seal constitute the most fundamental ones, and, furthermore, that the Terms of
Reference for the Expert Group are aligned with the overall structure of the
Cooperation.
TG-M hence recommends WSB to adopt the draft Seal Management Plan 2012-16
as drafted by the TSEG+ with the following amendments:
WSB 4/7/1 Seal Management Plan 2012-16 page 3
Re. para. 2 Agreement Area
The draft proposes to revise the Agreement Area, being the Wadden Sea Area in the
existing SMP. TG-M however proposes to
Delete added text in column 2; add “as attached” (the map to be attached to
the SMP)
Add in column 3 revised text to substitute current text: “Management of the
Wadden Sea seal population will include developments outside the
Agreement Area to the extent relevant. The expert group will in the coming
period provide a specific advise on implications for the management of the
population in the Agreement Area.”
Rationale
The Seal Agreement is a legally binding instrument and the Agreement Area has
been defined in the Agreement and cannot be amended without amending the
Agreement. The Agreement Area was defined as the Wadden Sea Area in the
current SMP in force.
Re. Inclusion Grey Seal
TSEG+ proposes to include the grey seal in the SMP and in the Agreement on the
same terms as the harbor seal. The grey seal has been included in various text parts
of the draft SMP and in Chapter 7 (“Additional measures for the protection of the grey
seals in the Wadden Sea”) in the same format, suggesting that the grey seal should
be treated similarly to the harbor seal. It is proposed to revert the structure of the
current SMP, so as to divide strictly in a formal sense between the harbor seal and
the grey seal and to instruct the CWSS to edit the SMP 2012-16 accordingly.
Rationale
The Seal Agreement is confined to the harbor seal Phoca vitulina in accordance with
Appendix II of the Bonn Agreement. The Appendix II species list does not include the
grey seal in the Wadden Sea and the Agreement can therefore not be amended to
include the grey seal. For that formal reason the grey seal cannot be incorporated in
the SMP. The practical solution to manage the grey seal in concert with the harbor
seal in the regions where possible should be continued in the pragmatic way as
outlined in the existing SMP, This implies that Chapter 7 of the draft SMP will be
formatted similar to the existing SMP and that all text parts from chapters 1-6 of the
draft SMP related to the grey seal will be moved to chapter 7.
Re. Terms of Reference Expert Group
The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Expert Network Groups, including the Seal
Expert Group, have been defined in §6 of the Trilateral Working Group Structure as
adopted by WSB, i.e.:
(1) ensure the exchange of information and experience between the various
regions in the context of the WSP Targets and policies.
(2) coordinate monitoring within the TMAP, assess the results of the
monitoring and suggest any necessary amendments to the TMAP.
(3) provide advice on the scientific basis for management in a trilateral
context.
(4) provide an annual progress report on the above points.
Separate ToR for the Seal Expert Group should therefore not be included in the draft
SMP and relevant text parts of the draft SMP must be edited so as to be consistent
with the ToR for Expert Network Groups as in the Working Group Structure.
WSB 4/7/1 Seal Management Plan 2012-16 page 4
Rationale
The Terms of Reference of the Trilateral Seal Expert Group should be aligned with
the overall Terms of Reference for the Expert Network Groups as agreed by the
Wadden Sea Board also to achieve a clear separation between expert advise and
management. TG-M is tasked with management issues also related to the Wadden
Sea seal population.
Re. para. 16 Monitoring
Revise text in 3rd column “ Based on scientific findings….” to “Based on a scientific
assessment the expert group will provide a proposal for 3 extra coordinated
countings once every five year (2 during pupping season, 1 during moult) for
consideration by the management authorities.”
Rationale
Parties cannot commit themselves to additional expenditures in the period before a
sound scientific rationale has been delivered.
Re. para. 10 Dredging
Action in column 3 on dredging should be confined to the impact on seals. North Sea
Conferences to be deleted in column 3 and substituted by OSPAR.
Rationale
Agreement and subsequently SMP is confined to harbor seals. North Sea
Conferences have ceased to exist, OSPAR has been designed the lead.
4. Proposal
TG-M recommends WSB to
(1) Adopt the Seals Management Plan 2012-16 including the amendments
proposed in 3.
(2) Confirm the Terms of Reference for the Seal Expert Group in accordance with
§6 of the Trilateral Working Group Structure as adopted by WSB and to agree
to assign their national scientific experts in this field to the Seals Expert
Group.
(3) Instruct the secretariat to make the necessary editorial changes and publish
the Seal Management Plan at the earliest possible date.
(4) Commend the seal experts and managers for their excellent work for the
conservation and management of the Wadden Sea seals being a true
conservation success and their invaluable input to the amendment of the
SMP 2012-16.