The First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas

• An array of autonomous hydrophones and recording devices was deployed along
the BC coast to measure ambient sound and evaluate whether anthropogenic
noise levels can be used in models to describe preferred cetacean habitat and to
identify relatively quiet areas for use in marine planning (including MPA
designation). Although the long travel distances of low-frequency sound may
limit our ability to design “quiet” MMPAs in pelagic regions, it may be possible
to do so in geographically complex regions such as the fjord areas of BC, Chile,
and New Zealand.
General Recommendations (adopted in plenary on 3 April 2009):
• A worldwide effort must be made urgently to identify and define marine
mammal critical habitats and hotspots. This information then needs to be
mapped with other species and ecogeographic data to assist in the design and
creation of MPA networks in national waters and on the high seas, working
through national governments as well as various regional and international
bodies. Critical habitat is not defined simply as high-density areas. Less densely
occupied areas may be more critical to survival, depending on behavior and
population/stock structure and on whether threats are present in these areas that
have impacts on the population. <strong>The</strong>refore, it is necessary to map not only
critical habitat, but also threats and human activity.
• As part of networking, a strong effort should be made to transfer essential skills
and resources to researchers and management staff in less developed countries
(i.e., build capacity) so that they are better able to obtain the data necessary to
develop MMPAs. (A website with extensive resources and mentoring contacts
should be part of this.)
Recommendations Specific to this Workshop:
• It is important to assemble an expert advisory group in MPA development to ensure full
stakeholder engagement and appropriate scientific expertise in design.
• Good planning (investing 10% of funding for survey design) and employing a variety of
survey techniques can help achieve a more nearly comprehensive understanding of
cetacean (marine mammal) critical habitat. <strong>The</strong>re is a need for excellent survey design and
for understanding population structure, behavior, and threats as well as sighting locations.
(A working group was convened to draft a “toolkit” for collaborative research techniques
that could be used to investigate questions related to cetacean (or marine mammal)
habitat.)
• Global databases covering environmental, oceanographic, and species characteristics may
assist in the identification of critical habitat and design of MPAs, but such databases need
to be “ground-truthed” against local data, or by an expert group using a Delphic process.
• It is necessary to clarify (i.e., specify) the population or populations that are under study
and therefore what is to be protected within a given MPA.
• It is important that social, cultural, political, and economic factors be taken into account
when designing MMPAs, but the primary role must remain to conserve species and
ecosystems.
ICMMPA <strong>Conference</strong> Proceedings
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