The Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) was concluded in 1991 under the auspices of CMS. Since January 2007, the secretariat of the parent convention ASCOBANS, CMS (Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals), has acted as the secretariat for the agreement.

The joint secretariat, administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), is based in Bonn. It carries out the necessary administrative tasks, collects and disseminates information relating to the implementation of the Agreement, prepares and organizes the meetings of the decision-making and advisory bodies of the Agreement. The Secretariat also carries out activities to raise public awareness of the dangers facing small cetaceans.