charter of commitment

The Marine Mammal Advisory Group is a cohort of independent stakeholders established to collaborate on the protection of biodiversity, and to explore solutions to strikes and collisions for the sailing & boating sector.

Based on previous work MMAG was established in 2022, the founding organizations included: 11th Hour Racing, IMOCA, The Ocean Race, World Sailing, 11th Hour Racing team. Today, MMAG comprises a wide range of organizations from across marine sectors.

CORE STRATEGY

MMAG has established a core strategy for marine mammal collision mitigation for the sailing & boating sector, which is based on all the following key areas:

Technical solutions
Source & share information
Risk assessment
Live reporting & citizen science
Education & outreach

A comprehensive approach to implementing this strategy is the responsibility of the individual stakeholders within the MMAG cohort.

ROLE

While each organization progresses with their respective initiatives on their own timeline, the objective of MMAG is to facilitate:

A common strategy, to ensure a systemic approach to marine mammal strike mitigation, risk assessment and the protection of biodiversity.
Support, knowledge and expertise for specific projects.
Change in the way the marine community approaches, acts on, and communicates biodiversity risks.
A creative commons platform to collate & share, and where relevant disseminate non-confidential information.
Regular meetings and stakeholder events.

COORDINATION

The Marine Mammal Advisory Group is coordinated by a dedicated team from the across the marine sector. This is not a closed group, and MMAG cohort members are welcome to play an active role.

COHORT

MMAG includes a diverse range of organizations, specialists, events, race management, and teams, who have either supported, provide, and/or benefited from, the development of the marine mammal mitigation strategies proposed by the organizations in the Marine Mammal Advisory Group.

COMMITMENTS

Through a common approach to the strategy described above, MMAG welcomes all organizations from the sailing & boating sector who are focused on pragmatic action.

Each organization is free to offer as much direct time and/or support as they are motivated to, this may include but is not limited to: financial support of MMAG and/or independent and projects; actively participating in coordination of MMAG, passively being informed by MMAG and sharing independent workflows that contribute to the broader strategy.

Specific commitments requested of the MMAG cohort members are:

As Ocean citizens to be ambassadors for Ocean biodiversity.
To be proactive ambassadors of MMAG and the common strategy.
To use your organization’s platform to share historic data, report live sightings and drive citizen science to common databases.
To develop a biodiversity plan relating to your own organization's activities, and responsibilities, considering each element of the strategy.
To ensure that promoting the protection of biodiversity is a primary criterion in the implementation of your organization's initiatives, and any eventual technologies.
To source the most recent, credible information, and scientific interpretation, in the creation and implementation of your organization's initiatives.
To share your learnings and nurture collaboration of initiatives that benefit biodiversity, MMAG cohort members and the wider community.

BRAND & LOGO

Respectful use of the MMAG logo by the MMAG cohort members is encouraged but shall be pre-authorized with the MMAG coordinating team, and only used with respect to the guidelines provided by this Charter of Commitment.
MMAG cohort members are invited to provide their logo to www.MMAG.world.

DATA PROTECTION

Information and data compiled by MMAG and the MMAG cohort will comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and international data protection standards.

RESPECT & CONFIDENTIALITY

The opinions and information shared within MMAG by the cohort members shall be communicated with respect to diverse perspectives, pragmatic strategies, best scientific interpretations, and the ideal outcome for biodiversity, boats, and crews.

Information shared and collected within MMAG is confidential and anonymous, each MMAG cohort member shall strictly respect this requirement, and where relevant get express authorization with relevant MMAG cohort members concerned before discussing or sharing any information relating to internal information.

LIMITATIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Marine Mammal Advisory Group (MMAG) is a cohort of independent collaborating stakeholders. Each stakeholder is solely responsible for their own opinions, actions, and services, and shall indemnify and hold harmless MMAG and the MMAG cohort members of the same. MMAG and the MMAG cohort members are not responsible for specific opinions, actions or services offered by other members of the cohort.

INTEGRITY

To ensure the integrity of MMAG, if an unresolved conflict-of-interest arises, MMAG cohort members may be removed from the MMAG group until the compatibility of stakeholders is re-established.