First Announcement of the 24th Conference of the European Cetacean Society The German Oceanographic Museum is proud to announce the 24th Conference of the European Cetacean Society (ECS), entitled "Marine Mammal Populations: Challenges for Conservation in the Next Decade" The conference will be held from 22nd to 24th of March 2010 in Stralsund, Germany, a beautiful mediaeval UNESCO world heritage town. The accompanying workshops will take place on the 20th and 21st of March 2010, and an excursion will be offered on the 25th of March. Submission of abstracts on the conference theme and other topics is welcome, and will be available soon on www.europeancetaceansociety.eu. The deadline for abstract submission, workshop applications and support requests will be Friday, 13th November 2009. Further information will be provided in the second announcement and on the conference website to be available within the next few weeks at www.ozeaneum.de/en/ecs-2010.html. If you have any questions, please contact ecs2010@meeresmuseum.de We are looking forward to welcoming you in Stralsund in March 2010! On behalf of the Organizing Committee for the ECS 2010, Ursula Verfuss