The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals signed at Bonn on 23 June 1979 was amended in 1985 to include the Wadden Sea population of the common or harbour seal. This Agreement shall be deemed to be an agreement as defined in Article IV paragraph 4 of the Convention. The Parties shall cooperate closely with a view to achieving and maintaining a favourable conservation status for the seal population. For this purpose the Parties shall develop on the basis of scientific knowledge a conservation and management plan for the seal population and they Parties shall coordinate their research programmes and projects and their monitoring of the seal population to increase their knowledge of the biology and the habitats including harmful effects of human activities on the seal population to provide a basis for measures to improve its conservation status. The Parties shall prohibit the taking of seals from the Wadden Sea. They shall take appropriate measures for the protection of habitats and take measures to reduce pollution of the North Sea.