Research carried out by the University of Plymouth and its partners has proved critical to the western English Channel being identified as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA).
IMMAs are discrete portions of habitat identified as having importance to marine mammal species, and while they are not in themselves statutory designations they represent suitable areas for conservation and for future MPAs.
They are designed to identify areas worldwide that may have been previously overlooked by Marine Protected Area designations.
The new IMMA stretches along the coastline from North Cornwall to East Sussex, including the Isles of Scilly and parts of the coast of France, and signifies the importance of the area for several marine mammal species.
It is an area that scientists and students from the University, onboard the sailing yacht Take the Helm, have surveyed extensively in recent years through annual cetacean surveys.
Working with partners across the region through the South Coast Bottlenose Dolphin Consortium, the University has also led research which has highlighted the vulnerability of England's only resident bottlenose dolphins which also use this IMMA.
The consortium is a partnership of research and conservation organisations collaborating with the public to advance understanding and public awareness of bottlenose dolphins in the Channel.
Their recent findings reported that this population numbers only 40 individual dolphins, making them highly susceptible to decline.
It is hoped that this new status will help managers provide marine mammals in the Channel with the conservation priorities they desperately need.
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