Special Attributes. See individual machine information pages. 24b. Not Applicable
Special Attributes. Sub-criterion Di: Distinctiveness Areas which sustain populations with important genetic, behavioural or ecologically distinctive characteristics. Sub-criterion Dii: Diversity Areas containing habitat that supports an important diversity of species. These criteria are not hierarchical in design. Any candidate IMMA need only satisfy one of the listed criteria or sub- criteria to successfully qualify for IMMA status. In practice, most cIMMAs satisfy at least two criteria. Any of the 8 IMMA criteria or subcriteria—after filtering by species (sperm, fin, blue etc) and overlaying ship traffic lanes to measure intensity—could potentially identify a place where ship strikes are an issue; there is no one criterion related to ship strike occurrence. However, Criterion A (Species or Population Vulnerability) indicates a threatened species so that could be an additional reason for conservation concern. Criterion Dii on Diversity will indicate multiple species in an area, some more subject to ship strike than others, so that could be an additional reason for conservation concern. Subcriteria Ci Reproductive Areas and Cii Feeding Areas may indicate more intensive use of an area than Ciii Migration Routes. Species spending considerable time in a given area thus may be more susceptible to ship strike if the ship lanes go through the IMMA. Migrating baleen whales indicate seasonal use of an area; sperm and other toothed, and potentially non-migrating baleen whales may have more consistent use of an area. IMMAs, by necessity, draw upon a wide range of data sources in order to assess the relative importance of an area against the IMMA selection criteria. As much as is possible, the data sources should be considered in ensemble. They are divided into primary and secondary currencies of information, considered most suitable for use in the assessment of the selection criteria for the identification of an IMMA. Primary currencies include, in order, abundance of animals, probability of occurrence, observed sightings, area of occupancy, extent of suitable habitat and range. The following secondary currencies of information are also useful to support the identification of an IMMA: records of habitat use, measures of difference, indices of diversity. Approaches that are able to quantify the number of animals likely to occur within a given cIMMA have the highest rank of confidence for potential IMMA end-users. The IMMA process relies upon experts to bring evidence to bear and to sum...
