Data Zone
Country/territory: South Africa
IBA Criteria met: -
For more information about IBA criteria please click here
Area: 3,834,787 ha
Site description
This Marine IBA is identified using tracking data. It falls within the South Africa Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Indian Ocean, FAO ocean region. The site covers an area of 38348 km2 and is 154 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 355 to 5098 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 3.09 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 6.28 and 8.63 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.2 and 0.37 mg/m3.
Key biodiversity
3 species trigger IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 251-456 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from Iles Crozet are present at the site during the Immature (Feb-Oct) life-history stage. 555-4967 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from Prince Edward Island are present at the site during the Brood-guard (Mar-Apr) and Post-guard (Apr-Dec) life-history stages.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Indian Ocean, Western 69 - Marine. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 21/03/2023.
