**First Call - Submissions of candidate IMMA areas of interest for the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas region** Dear Subscribers, This is to announce the first public call for submissions of Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) areas of interest in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas region. The deadline for all submissions is by midnight Sunday February 24th, 2019. The IMMA is a global initiative developed by the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (IUCN MMPATF). The aim of IMMA classification is to identify and delineate discrete areas of habitat throughout the world's seas and oceans, important for one or more species of marine mammal, that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. This will require the application of a standardized process for the collation and categorization of evidence, using a consistent protocol and agreed methodology. The Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Islands, North East Indian Ocean & South East Asian Seas, and Extended Southern Ocean regions have been sequentially assessed across 2016-2018. The results of these workshops can be accessed via the dedicated IMMA e-Atlas facility www.marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas The next region to be assessed by invited experts will be held in Salalah, Oman, March 2019, at a specially convened regional IMMA workshop for the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas region. To assist those participating experts to investigate where IMMAs may be located the IUCN MMPATF would like to invite interested parties to submit proposals using the IMMA standard web platform, which can be accessed through the following link - https://goo.gl/V3afNz - please be advised that you can only submit one proposal per survey taken. However, should you wish to submit more than one proposal, please complete this survey multiple times using the same link provided. All submissions will be collated and presented to participating experts at the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Seas regional IMMA workshop in March 2019. The IUCN MMPATF would like to thank you for your interest in the IMMA initiative. Further information about IMMAs can be found at the Task Force homepage (www.marinemammalhabitat.org) and on the Task Force IMMA Facebook page (tinyurl.com/zr9rvf4). For any further questions or assistance please contact the IUCN-MMPATF at immacoordinator<at>gmail.com Dr Michael J. Tetley - IMMA Programme Coordinator IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force