Moving toward the Implementation of Important Marine Mammal Areas — IMMAs
Results of pilot studies
Humpback whale, Arabian Sea subpopulation
A monitoring tool to help evaluate the status of Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs, has been tested in six IMMAs scattered across the world ocean. The results are summarized in a new report from the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, released this week.
Five partners—senior marine mammal scientists and conservationists—were selected to undertake pilot studies across six different IMMAs. The study partners were Joanna Alfaro (Central Humboldt IMMA, Peru); Sandra Teoh Zhi Yi, Fairul Izmal Jamal Hisne and Louisa Ponnampalam (Satun-Langkawi Archipelago IMMA, Malaysia); Michael G. Mwang’ombe (Watamu-Malindi and Watamu Banks IMMA and Kisite-Shimoni IMMA, Kenya); José Truda Palazzo, Jr., Bianca Righi and Victor Libardi (Abrolhos Bank IMMA, Brazil); and Andrew Willson (Gulf of Masirah and Offshore Waters IMMA, Oman) (See Figure 1).
Figure 1 Locations of the six IMMAs selected for the study
The monitoring assessment of each IMMA was conducted using a combination of desktop reviews of available data and stakeholder engagements. In every engagement, stakeholders were provided a brief overview of IMMAs and their objectives. Study partners subsequently utilised the IMMA Monitoring Tool, comprised of a set of standardised questions directed to all users, to guide the discussions. The users include commercial and artisanal fishers, whale watching and nature tour operators, shipping companies, government managers, academics and conservation groups, among others.
Overall, the IMMA Monitoring Tool was found to be an accessible mechanism to support status evaluation of a particular IMMA and for future monitoring. While its impact on implementing conservation strategies may be constrained by the reliability and depth of data collected, it remains particularly valuable, especially in areas with limited resources or at the early stages of a conservation project where it can guide the development of more targeted monitoring and implementation programmes.
Information and training sessions with Kenyan rangers
Indian Ocean humpback dolphin
Study partners noted that the use of the IMMA Monitoring Tool, supplemented with awareness materials tailored to each respective IMMA, was helpful in facilitating efforts to raise awareness about IMMAs among the stakeholders which led to more engaged discussions. The IMMA Monitoring Tool provided a good platform to evaluate existing conditions in each IMMA and to identify areas of opportunity for further improvements.
One important aspect of the effort of evaluating the conservation effectiveness of IMMAs concerns the ability to assess the abundance of species for which any particular IMMA was identified. It is hoped that a future output of the IMMA monitoring and implementation effort will be abundance estimates (at a minimum, relative abundance), which would enable, with time, an indication of trend. The information could then provide one metric of whether the IMMA is achieving the primary goal of maintaining healthy marine mammal populations and, if applicable, aiding their recovery.
The studies were funded by the Global Returns Project, and the summary report was funded by the Litowitz Foundation. Facilitation of the funds was through Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC and WDC North America).
To learn more about the IMMA Monitoring Tool and to download the report, go to: https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/download/moving-from-important-marine-mammal-area-imma-identification-to-marine-mammal-conservation-action-evaluation-and-implementation-of-conservation-action-in-immas/
Citation: IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. 2025. Moving from Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) Identification to Marine Mammal Conservation Action: Evaluation and Implementation of Conservation Action in IMMAs – Summary Report. Unpublished report. 28 p.
