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Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
A dolphin called Arnie with a shell

Dolphins catch fish using giant shell tools

In Shark Bay, Australia, two groups of dolphins have figured out how to use tools...
Common dolphins at surface

Did you know that dolphins have unique personalities?

We all have personalities, and between the work Christmas party and your family get-together, perhaps...
Leaping harbour porpoise

The power of harbour porpoise poo

We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are...
Holly. Image: Miray Campbell

Meet Holly, she’s an incredible orca leader

Let me tell you the story of an awe-inspiring orca with a fascinating family story...
Humpback whale. Image: Christopher Swann

A story about whales and humans

As well as working for WDC, I write books for young people. Stories; about the...
Risso's dolphin at surface

My lucky number – 13 years studying amazing Risso’s dolphins

Everything we learn about the Risso's dolphins off the coast of Scotland amazes us and...
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Port River dolphins

New report reveals 100,000 dolphins and small whales hunted every year

When you hear the words ‘dolphin hunts’ it’s likely that you think of Japan or...

Minke whale hunts stop in Iceland

Iceland’s commercial hunt of minke whales has ended for this year. The common minke whale is the...

Australian Government to block Japanese whaling proposal

Japanese Government officials have reportedly confirmed that they will propose the resumption of commercial whaling...

Pregnant whales once again a target for Japanese whalers

Figures from Japan's whaling expedition to Antarctica during the 2017/18 austral summer have revealed that...

Did Icelandic whalers really kill a blue whale?

*Warning - this blog contains an image that you may find upsetting* They say a...

Icelandic whalers breach international law and kill iconic, protected whale by mistake

Icelandic whalers out hunting fin whales for the first time in three years appear to...

Doubts remain after Icelandic Marine Institute claims slaughtered whale was a hybrid not a blue

Experts remain sceptical of initial test results issued by the Icelandic Marine Institute, which indicate...

Japan set to resume commercial whaling

Reports from Japan suggest that the government they will formally propose plans to resume commercial...

End the whale hunts! Icelandic fin whaler isolated as public mood shifts

Here’s a sight I hoped never again to witness. A boat being scrubbed and repainted...

Norway increases whaling quota despite declining demand

Norway's government has announced an increase in the number of minke whales that can be...

Icelandic fin whale hunting to resume

Iceland’s only fin whaling company, Hvalur hf,  announced today that it will resume fin whaling...

SOS alert for whales off Norway!

I have to admit to bitter disappointment when I arrived in Tromsø, northern Norway, a...

Where do whales, dolphins and other marine mammals live?

It’s a big ocean out there. We’re learning a lot about whales these days in nearshore waters but good information on where exactly they live in most of the ocean is in short supply. At the same time, a quarter of the 90 whale, dolphin and porpoise species are threatened and half are not well enough known even to classify them as threatened or not.

A new tool — Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs — aims to provide the best expert assessment of the location of special places in the ocean where whales, dolphins and other marine mammals feed, breed, socialize and raise their young.

The IMMA e-Atlas, a new online facility to display the IMMA tool, reveals the latest results from two expert workshops that have put IMMAs on the map of the Mediterranean and across the Pacific Islands. The creation and development of IMMAs is part of a six-year global project co-ordinated by the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, with partners including Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Tethys Research Institute, Eulabor and the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI). The work is largely funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Government with additional funding from the MAVA Foundation.

“IMMAs are based on the best science on offer, as part of a systematic, transparent process,” says Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, co-chair of the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force and aquatic mammal councillor for the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). This week, 23-28 October, as the CMS Convention of the Parties (CoP) meets in Manila, Philippines, Notarbartolo di Sciara is facilitating a side event: “IMMAs to Support CMS Goals.”

 “Worldwide, we have more than 700 marine protected areas that supposedly include protection of marine mammal habitat,” says Erich Hoyt, Research Fellow with Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Task Force co-chair. “The problem is that these are political or economic compromises often based on limited data. IMMAs tell us what marine mammals really need in terms of areas crucial to their survival that must be protected or monitored.”

Mapping an IMMA may trigger zoning or the need to extend the boundaries of marine protected areas. In other cases it may be possible to adjust shipping lanes or other human activities to avoid ship strikes or reduce noise. Long range, IMMAs can also help the monitoring of climate change effects on marine mammals.

IMMAs are modelled on the successful conservation tool developed by BirdLife called “Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas”, or IBAs. IBAs have been used for decades to show areas of land and water that need protection. But compared to birds, marine mammals have been left out of the conservation picture. With more than 100 countries adopting marine spatial planning in their national waters, knowing the important areas for marine mammals will enable a more systematic conservation approach and ensure that whale and dolphin habitats are included.

“But the biggest gap in knowledge and conservation is the high seas, the two-thirds of the ocean outside of national waters,” says Hoyt. “The deep ocean is the frontier for research as well as industrial development and exploitation. Without efforts to identify whale and dolphin habitats in these areas there will be little marine mammal conservation. There is a lot to lose. Not just the whales and dolphins but the high levels of biodiversity in their favoured habitats.”

More information about the e-Atlas and the CMS CoP Side Event can be found here: https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/immas-new-spatial-tool-making-waves-ocean-conservation/

Background Notes

What is an IMMA?

An important marine mammal area, or IMMA, is a discrete portion of habitat, important for one or more marine mammal species, that has the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation.

“Important” in the context of IMMA classification refers to any characteristic that extends perceivable value toward conservation. Candidate IMMAs are determined through expert workshops weighing expert information against various criteria and then subjecting the results to independent peer review.

An IMMA is not a marine protected area (MPA), but rather it’s a tool, independent of political and economic concerns, to inform the development and management practice of place-based conservation including:

 • Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) identified through the IUCN Standard.

 • National and regional measures to create, zone, evaluate, and refine MPAs and MPA networks, as well as to help in marine spatial planning (MSP) decisions.

 • The IMMA process will also assist in providing strategic direction and priorities to the development of spatially explicit marine mammal conservation measures, such as ship strike directives through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and future potential ocean noise directives through CMS, CBD and International Whaling Commission (IWC).