Data Zone
Country/territory: French Southern Territories
IBA Criteria met: -
For more information about IBA criteria please click here
Area: 1,279,902 ha
Site description
This Marine IBA is identified using tracking data. It falls within the French Southern Territories Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Indian Ocean, FAO ocean region. The site covers an area of 12799 km2 and is 22 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 35 to 2102 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 3.52 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 2.45 and 3.47 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.24 and 0.95 mg/m3.
Key biodiversity
6 species trigger IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 173-1115 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from Iles Kerguelen are present at the site during the Brood-guard (Mar-Apr), Incubation (Dec-Mar) and Juvenile (Nov-Dec) life-history stages. 604-4697 individuals of Black-browed Albatross (EN) from Iles Kerguelen are present at the site during the Brood-guard (Dec-Jan), Incubation (Oct-Jan) and Post-guard (Jan-May) life-history stages.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Indian Ocean, Antarctic and Southern 23 - Marine. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/03/2023.
