SHETLAND and Fair Isle have been awarded important marine mammal area (IMMA) status recognising the importance of local waters to mammals specifically to harbour porpoises, orcas, minke whale and humpback whale. The submission to the Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, a.
International negotiations are underway to figure out how to protect ocean species, including whales, outside of EEZs. In the more than 222 million km² that make up the high seas, there are almost no marine protected areas.