Indian Ocean, Western 6 - Marine


Country/territory: High Seas

IBA Criteria met: -
For more information about IBA criteria please click here

Area: 13,389,886 ha


Site description
This Marine IBA is identified using tracking data. It falls within High Seas International Waters and the Indian Ocean, FAO ocean region. The site covers an area of 133899 km2 and is 726 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 1430 to 5119 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 2.62 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 16.53 and 18.64 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.19 and 0.59 mg/m3.

Key biodiversity
4 species trigger IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 23-32 individuals of Amsterdam Albatross (CR) from Ile Amsterdam are present at the site during the Non-breeding (Apr-Nov) life-history stage. 278-321 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from Iles Crozet are present at the site during the Juvenile (Dec-Jun) life-history stage. 599-599 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from South Georgia are present at the site during the Juvenile (Jun-Oct) life-history stage. 563-2400 individuals of Sooty Albatross (EN) from Iles Crozet are present at the site during the Non-breeding (Year-Round) life-history stage.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Indian Ocean, Western 6 - Marine. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/03/2023.