Use of IMMA data Sample Clauses

Use of IMMA data. One of the key components of the IWC Ship Strikes Strategic Plan is to identify high risk areas for ship strikes. Workshop participants noted that the IMMA process might allow a systematic way to identify such high risk areas. The IMMA Secretariat of the Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force welcomed feedback from the IWC into the IMMA process with respect to information and data needs. Participants discussed the illustrative maps compiled by Xxxx Xxxxxx that displayed the distribution of IMMAs in the Mediterranean for fin and sperm whales, as well as the potential buffer areas surrounding the IMMAs, shipping density, and marine mammal occurrence records. Participants discussed the potential biases in the underlying data that are used in IMMAs and the shipping data overlays. For example, the species data from OBIS comprise both systematic and opportunistic sightings data, which will have an effort bias. Similarly, AIS data from terrestrial receivers may have an effort bias, with a lower proportion of transmissions received from vessels further offshore. Habitat modelling (not included in the IMMA process) may be useful to identify potential habitat for depleted populations or where survey data are not available for the whole area. The workshop suggested that weighting data for effort could be a useful approach in IMMAs. As well as occurrence data, it would be good to look at how the animals use the IMMA (e.g. feeding, or breeding) to help inform management options. It would also be useful to include records of actual ship strikes. The workshop discussed the role played by existing networks in facilitating the IMMA process. In the Mediterranean, this included work done by ACCOBAMS and its member Governments, and work within the EU processes, and the Ecosystems Approach under the Barcelona Convention. The importance of input from the established network of researchers, governments, and NGOs working in the region was also recognized. The workshop agreed that both small and large cetaceans can be vulnerable to ship strikes, although large whales are more likely to be hit. The IWC Ship Strikes Strategy addresses the problem for all cetaceans. The workshop agrees that Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) represent a systematic and biocentric approach to identifying important habitats, and that as such they can be helpful in identifying potential high risk areas for ship strikes. In particular, if an IMMA contains a species or population that is vulnerable to...