Eleven prime areas for threatened and vulnerable dolphin and porpoise species in the Black and Caspian Seas have been formally awarded Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Task Force on Marine Mammal Protected Areas.  These areas were identified as significant for those species during the IMMA regional workshop in February 2021, drawing on decades of scientific work and an intensive peer review process.

The newly recognised IMMAs are a subset of the 14 IMMAs, one candidate IMMA and 11 areas of interest (AoI) that were approved, all of which are now listed on the dedicated IMMA e-Atlas.  Such recognition will put these habitats in the spotlight, helping national and regional conservation programmes to select high biodiversity areas for protection, and contributing towards the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.