Data Zone
Country/territory: Seychelles
IBA criteria met: A4i, A4iii (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 57 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
The site lies c.300 km south-west of Mahé in the Amirantes group. It is a low-lying coral island dominated by coconut-palms and Casuarina equisetifolia. There is a resident human population engaged in agriculture and fishing. The island is bisected by an airstrip, but there are no regular, scheduled flights. The site is used as a support base for the collection of Sterna fuscata eggs on the neighbouring island of Desnoeufs to the south-west, where there is no resident population outside the nesting season.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. Marie Louise differs from all other populated coral islands of the Amirantes group in that it retains large numbers of breeding seabirds. This is presumed to be due to the absence of rats. It is the only outer island with large numbers of breeding Anous tenuirostris. It also hosts the largest population of Gygis alba in the outer islands. There are no indigenous landbirds and just one introduced species, Passer domesticus.
Non-bird biodiversity: The turtles Chelonia mydas (EN) and Eretmochelys imbricata (CR) nest and may be taken by poachers.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Marie-Louise Island (Seychelles). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/marie-louise-island-iba-seychelles on 22/11/2024.