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Site description (2012 baseline)
The Ringgold Isles are an archipelago in Fiji, forming an outlier group to Vanua Levu. The Budd, Nukusemanu, and Heemskercq reefs form part of the group. The small sand cay islands such as Vetauua, Nukubasaga, Nukupureti, and Nukusemanu are uninhabited, while the larger Naqelelevu has a small village with extant residents. The Qelelevu group (Tauraria and Tainibeka) are mainly low, jaggered limestone islets. In 1984, Fergus Clunie extensively surveyed the Ringgold group and documented the significant population of breeding seabird colonies. Nukubasaga and Nukupureti, which sometimes feature as Nukubalati on most charts, are two small islands within the one discrete reef at the east of Adolphus reef and thirteen kilometres east of the Nukusemanu reef, northern point of the great Heemskercq shoals. Nukubasaga is the larger of the two islets and lies at approximately twenty-five kilometres southwest of Qelelevu. Nukupureti is located south-west of Nukubasaga. A shallow lagoon of about 1.6 kilometres divides the two islets. Nukubasaga is vegetated with bush and coconut whilst Nukupureti supports a small stand of bush and an unusual “park” vegetation community of short grass studded with small trees on the shore facing Nukubasaga (Jenkins 1986). The main threat to seabirds at these sites was removed through the eradication of invasive mammals in 2008. However, regular visits by fishers from local communities exploiting marine resources provide a potential path for reinvasion of invasive mammals and need careful biosecurity measures in place. Occasional monitoring visits take place with the Ringgold Islands Site Support Group.

Key biodiversity
Nukubasaga and Nukupureti islets were first visited by the Whitney South Seas Expedition in 1924. Beck in his journals grouped these two islands together and referred them as Nukubalati. He noted breeding Red-footed Boobies, Lesser Frigatebird and Black Noddies (Jenkins 1986). Clunie visited in 1984 and 1985. He found that Nukubasaga and Nukupureti between them constitute one of the most important breeding grounds for Lesser Frigatebird in Fiji. In 1984 the entire weathered or east coast of Nukubasaga was one long extended Frigatebird colony, with nests on the ground and in low, wind-cropped scrub at the beach crest, with nesting in all stages except fully fledged chicks. Nukupureti also had a large Frigatebird colony. In 1984, Clunie observed nests on the bare ground or in short grass, other nests were scattered or grouped in clusters in bushes and trees throughout the island at a similar stage of breeding as Nukubasaga. In 1985, the situation was different: the ground nesting “parks” were deserted but the density of tree nests remained the same. Previous observations ( Jenkins 1986) revealed that Red-footed Booby also nests on both the islands with 450 breeding pairs recorded in 1984. Brown Boobies also nest on both the islets. Nukupureti supports a much larger colony of Brown Boobies than Nukubasaga, which were approximately 250 breeding pairs. Common Noddy nested on both the islands, more nests were on Nukubasaga than Nukupureti. Some nest was being built but most nests contained a single egg. Black Noddies was the other breeding Noddy species. Nests were present only on Nukupureti though evidence of breeding was present on Nukubasaga (Jenkins 1986). Subsequent surveys took place in 2007, 2008 and 2010 (Jit et al. 2007, Seniloli et al. 2009, BirdLife International 2010).

Non-bird biodiversity: The area supports globally and regionally significant populations of marine turtles, humpback whales, seabirds and semi-nomadic reef fish, and may hold concentrations of cold-water corals. The site is the main foraging areas for Fiji‘s most significant nesting sites for hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate Critically Endangered) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas, Endangered). Taveuni, the third-largest island in Fiji is located next to a major shipping passage and some of the most significant soft coral walls in the country.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Important Bird Area factsheet: Nukubasaga & Nukupureti. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/nukubasaga-&-nukupureti-iba-fiji on 27/09/2023.