New Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) spotlight whale habitats needing protection in the NW Atlantic and Caribbean 13 February 2025. 43 new Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) have been approved and placed on the map in the North West Atlantic Ocean and Wider Caribbean. The new IMMAs highlight habitats for threatened marine life: blue whales, North Atlantic right whales and Rice’s whales, sperm whales, as well as manatees in the south of the region and polar bears in the north. Globally, there are now 323 IMMAs. To date, 79% of the world ocean has been examined for IMMAs, with IMMAs comprising nearly 18% of the surface area. IMMAs are divided into 52% within exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and 48% in international waters on the high seas. Since 2016, the eight-member IMMA Secretariat has engaged 314 scientists from more than 80 countries to join in this work. The North West Atlantic Ocean and Wider Caribbean Region covers a quarter of the Atlantic Ocean from southern Labrador to Venezuela. Species rich, besides the threatened whale species above, there are Risso’s, Fraser’s, and common bottlenose dolphins, dwarf sperm whales, and many species of deep-diving beaked whales. Several species reside entirely in this region including the North Atlantic right whale. The recently identified Rice’s whale, native to the Gulf of Mexico, now has its first IMMA, as do the polar bears, harp and hooded seals in the Southern Labrador Pack Ice Whelping Area IMMA. IMMAs are defined as discrete portions of habitat, important to marine mammal species, that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. They are not legal designations but independent, peer-reviewed assessments based on criteria supported by the best data. To download the North West Atlantic Ocean and Wider Caribbean IMMA report, go to https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/resources/documents/ To obtain shapefiles and detailed background information for the 43 approved IMMAs, go to https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/immas/imma-spatial-layer-download/ For more information, contact Task Force co-chairs: Erich Hoyt, erich.hoyt@imma-network.org or Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, disciara@imma-network.org — Erich Hoyt