Important Marine Mammal Areas - IMMAs

09/07/2026

Do you want to find out more about Important Marine Mammal Areas, IMMAs? This webinar is a good opportunity!! It will provide a solid introduction and then a spotlight on the next IMMA identification region, the SE Atlantic (see the map below). Free registration, also below.

𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐂𝐀𝐇𝐃 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫!

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘: 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛—𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑂𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑛

Marine mammals rely on healthy and well-protected habitats to thrive. But how are these critical areas identified, and how do they contribute to effective marine conservation?

Join us for this webinar to discover the Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) programme, a global initiative dedicated to identifying and conserving key habitats for marine mammals.

𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆: 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑨𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒕 6
𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆: 15:00 𝑮𝑴𝑻

During this session, we will explore:
✔️The goals of the IMMA programme
✔️The scientific criteria and process used to identify IMMAs
✔️ Progress in developing the global IMMA network
✔️How IMMAs support marine conservation and management
✔️The upcoming Southeast Atlantic Ocean IMMA identification workshop

🌐 Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English and French.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3SJKLiL

Gill Braulik
Important Marine Mammal Areas - IMMAs

04/07/2026

**DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 7 Aug. to fill in our IMMA survey!!**

Are you working in management, marine policy, research or protection of the ocean? Are you involved in the shipping, fishing or hydrocarbon industries? Or are you an academic working on marine affairs? Have you ever used the tool of Important Marine Mammal Areas—the IMMA layer—in your work?

We at the IMMA Secretariat and the University of St Andrews are conducting a short survey to understand how Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) have been used and their impact on marine mammal conservation, management, and policy worldwide. We have a short questionnaire at the link — your expertise and perspective would be highly valued and your input carefully considered as we move forward.
You can access the survey here: https://standrews.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5ABFVXNLfnHzimi

Background: IMMAs: have covered 80% of the globe since their launch in 2016. 323 IMMAs have been identified for 109 of the 135 marine mammal species. IMMAs span habitat important for resident dolphins, seal breeding haul-out sites, areas of high diversity, important feeding grounds, and vast baleen whale migratory corridors. Since 2019 the IMMA spatial data has been requested >1,500 times by users in 97 countries and 6 continents. Check out our IMMA e-Atlas here: https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas/

03/06/2026

We’re so pleased to have our IMMAs leading off the latest issue of The Pod, the Bulletin of the Marine Mammal Consortium of India. In their article “Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) and Areas of Interest (AoI) in Indian waters”, the authors celebrate 10 IMMAs and several AoI spanning Indian waters covering about 260,000 sq. km and providing critical habitats for 27 of the 90 cetacean species and one of the four…sirenian species. The threatened species include Arabian Sea humpback whales, Ganges River dolphins, dugongs, Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, and Irrawaddy dolphins.
In their article, the authors who are also distinguished marine mammal scientists, K Sivakumar, Ketki Jog, Mahi Mankeshwar and Divya Panicker, write: “In India, IMMAs have served as an important tool for amplifying the significance of marine mammal habitats and species and providing scientific and policy weight to ecosystems and populations that had been overlooked in broader conservation frameworks. The IMMA Task Force has also been a catalyst for multi-stakeholder engagement in India, most notably through its visit to the Andaman Islands in November 2018.
By providing a science-based framework, IMMAs in the Indian context can play a vital role in directing research efforts towards data-deficient species and ecologically critical habitats. They also offer key insights to inform marine protected area design and broader marine spatial planning. The IMMA process actively bridges institutional silos and important stakeholders together. Weaving IMMAs into national conservation frameworks can significantly strengthen India's commitment to global marine conservation goals while advancing marine mammal protection in Indian waters.”

The full issue of POD 4 is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1brI4BNID5EZFRc4gDufnfmq28Y4nELBf/view

24/03/2026

Our Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) comic, Making Space, is now published in Portuguese and being used in communities along the coast of Brazil where IMMAs are found! Follow the story below for links to download the Portuguese as well as the English edition.

We join the Instituto Baleia Jubarte (Humpback Whale Institute) to announce today the publication of Espaços Vivos, the Portuguese translation of MAKING SPACE: The story of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) and how they help to protect whale habitats. Printed copies of Espaços Vivos, translate...