Marine experts in the Greater Caribbean region have long stressed the need to improve knowledge and strengthen regional collaboration on marine mammal populations and their monitoring. The same applies to seabirds, for which knowledge in the Caribbean and the Guianas is still very limited and essentially confined to breeding colonies.

The development of abundance and distribution maps for the species has been identified as a priority in the SPAW protocol action plan for the conservation of marine mammals in the Caribbean. This information is essential for assessing their conservation status and the areas of overlap between the species and human activities.

Within phase 1 of the CAMAC project (2023), work on workpackage 4 has been highly collaborative, focusing on the formation of a regional working group and consultation with stakeholders in a variety of ways.

Over 43 marine mammal experts and 6 seabird experts from 20 countries or territories in the Caribbean and Guyana participated throughout the year in the working group and the two main workshops.

Their work helped to define the appropriate monitoring methods to be put in place:

1. A boat transect campaign with an acoustic component consisting of a towed hydrophone to inventory marine mammal and bird species;
2. A seabird monitoring programme to improve knowledge of offshore feeding grounds that could interact with human activities.

Priority areas have also been defined by the experts. As CAMAC's geographical area is particularly vast, it would not be possible to carry out surveys over its entire perimeter. These sectors have been defined according to several criteria, such as areas where there are existing threats, areas that play a functional role for species or areas where a stakeholder is willing to implement campaigns.