Progress was made at WCC in terms of communicating to the wider conservation community ways in which the identification of IMMAs can serve to support global marine conservation (10 October 2016).
On 3 September a round table (“knowledge cafe”) organised by the MMPATF addressed the management of human impacts on marine mammals in the high seas, and saw the participation of about 20 experts exploring the use of IMO and WHC conservation tools within IMMAs to be identified beyond national jurisdiction. A fuller report on the round table result is in preparation and will be posted soon on the Task Force website.
On 4 September a presentation on IMMAs was given within a wider session organised by NOAA in the Oceans & Islands Pavilion. In addition to presenting IMMAs, the session also showcased how marine spatial plans can benefit whales; how technologies such as multi-sensor, acoustic and video recording tags can be combined with advanced visualization tools to bring underwater whale behaviour to the public; and how citizen science tools can engage the public to improve whale conservation.
