19th March 2026
The IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force is honoured to receive the Ocean Impact Award in the inaugural Pink Dolphin Awards ceremony held today in Hong Kong. Noted were the Task Force’s significant contributions to the identification and implementation of Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs, in the waters of coastal countries around the world as well as on the High Seas.
Task Force deputy chair Simone Panigada picked up the award and spoke about the now ten-year work that has resulted in 323 IMMAs after examining almost 80% of the global ocean. Some of these IMMAs are inspiring new marine protected area proposals, modifications regarding ship traffic as well as providing a base map for biodiversity conservation in the global ocean.
Among those also receiving Pink Dolphin awards were Hong Kong-based Lindsay Porter OBE as an Ocean Policy Leader while an Ocean Wave Maker Award was given jointly to CCTV, Guangdong TV, and Zhuhai Media Group for their exceptional story telling in a documentary on the Chinese pink dolphins. Porter is a world expert on the pink dolphins, as well as Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and Senior Scientist for SEAMAR, which conducts research on threatened marine species. Porter is an active supporter of Task Force work, having helped organise IMMA workshops. The IMMA Secretariat was also represented by Margherita Zanardelli.
The ceremony, which also marks the official launch of the Pink Dolphin Fund, was held at the Dorsett Hotel in Kowloon. The Pink Dolphin Fund plans to dedicate its efforts to combating the critical decline of this iconic species, one that stands as a vital barometer of marine ecosystem health. The fund’s mission is rooted in safeguarding pink dolphins and driving action to restore the balance in marine environments. At the same time, it plans to honour and support ocean champions in their scientific and conservation work to protect biodiversity in the larger region.
To date, besides the 323 IMMAs, the Task Force has put 191 Areas of Interest on the IMMA e-Atlas. The identified IMMAs provide important habitat for 109 of the 135 recognised marine mammal species. The 11 regional workshops have engaged more than 320 experts. To date, the IMMA e-Atlas has registered more than 1,400 downloads of the freely accessible IMMA spatial layers, with users from 97 countries and 6 continents. Users include government ministries, marine spatial and MPA planners, conservation groups, academics and shipping and other industry preparing environmental impact assessments.
