RECOGNISING that the narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) is endemic to the East Asia region and that the species was included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered (A2bcde+3bcde+4bcde) in 2017, because of historical and anticipated future population declines;

AWARE that N. asiaeorientalis occurs in China, Korea and Japan, with the largest number of N. asiaeorientalis occurring off the western and southern Korean Peninsula;

GIVEN that the number of N. asiaeorientalis off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula is estimated to have declined from 36,000 in 2005 to 13,000 in 2011, a decrease of 64%, and that this decline is likely continuing, although no more-recent abundance estimate is available to confirm this and there is no time-series of estimates for assessing trends throughout the entire Yellow Sea;

TROUBLED that the continued decline in abundance of N. asiaeorientalis can be attributed mainly to bycatch in gillnet, trawl-net and stow-net fisheries in the area;

CONCERNED about other pressures on ecosystems associated with the species, from fishing activities such as fish farming and lost or abandoned (ghost) fishing nets;

NOTING that additional efforts are needed to monitor the status of the species and its populations, especially given the very limited surveys in the Republic of Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ);

DETERMINED to promote action to reduce the toll from fishing on N. asiaeorientalis;

ACKNOWLEDGING the efforts of the government of the Republic of Korea to conserve N. asiaeorientalis in-situ, which include the following:

a. designating an area of 210 ha off the coast of Goseong Province as a national Marine Species Protected Area for conserving N. asieorientalis under the name of ‘Gyeongnam Goseong-gun Narrow Ridged Finless Porpoise Marine Species Protected Area’ as of 31 December 2019;

b. including N. asiaeorientalis in the national list of marine protected species as of 28 September 2016, which prohibits any commercial activities that cause a threat to the species;

c. designing and experimenting with excluder devices to reduce mortality of the species due to bycatch; and

d. monitoring the population of N. asiaeorientalis off the coast of the Republic of Korea, along with the levels of bycatch; and

COMMITTED to reversing the declines of N. asiaeorientalis and stabilising its populations such that the species is eventually evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species;