Data Zone
Country/territory: Mauritius
IBA criteria met: -
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,874,052 ha
Site description (2012 baseline)
This Marine IBA is identified using seaward extensions around breeding colonies. It originates from the Mauritius Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and falls within the Indian Ocean, Western FAO ocean region. The site covers an area of 18741 km2 and is 376 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 1 to 2111 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 2.2 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 25.76 and 26.27 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.08 and 1.97 mg/m3.
Key biodiversity
5 species trigger IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. Seaward extensions around breeding colony; Cargados Carajos shoals (Saint Brandon) include key near-colony areas for breeding populations of Brown Noddy (LC) 6750-19200 individuals, Lesser Noddy (LC) 22500-36000 individuals, Common White Tern (LC) 15000-15000 individuals, Roseate Tern (LC) 780-1140 individuals and Sooty Tern (LC) 24000-48000 individuals.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cargados Carajos shoals (Saint Brandon) - Marine (Mauritius). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cargados-carajos-shoals-(saint-brandon)--marine-iba-mauritius on 30/11/2024.