Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is the northernmost island of the Amirantes group and lies c.220 km west of Mahé; it includes 720 ha of coastal marine habitat. It formerly comprised two islands but, by 1976, South Island had eroded, leaving a small sandstone ridge exposed only at low tide. The remaining land area, North Island, is a small, flat sandstone island (30 ha), with no human settlement. There is a derelict automatic lighthouse. It is frequently visited by poachers and there is considerable exploitation and disturbance of nesting birds. Tourists occasionally visit by charter yachts. The island is almost treeless (one coconut tree in 1995), being otherwise covered in grass and low-growing vegetation.
See Box for key species. The colony of
Sterna fuscata was once much larger; in 1955 it was estimated at 40,300 pairs and in 1974 at 20,300 pairs. The site holds one of only three colonies of
Sterna dougallii in Seychelles, with 82 pairs. Other species include
Sterna bergii (six pairs in 1974, possibly no longer breeds).
Non-bird biodiversity: The turtles Chelonia mydas (EN) and Eretmochelys imbricata (CR) nest and may be taken by poachers.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The island is protected under the Wild Birds Protection (Nature Reserve) Regulations 1966. However, enforcement of the law is extremely difficult as the island has no human presence to report the activities of poachers. The site could potentially support more than 20,000 pairs of
Sterna fuscata were it not for poaching. Eggs of
Anous stolidus are probably also taken.
Sterna bergii,
S. dougallii and
S. sumatrana may also suffer from poaching, or at least from disturbance.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: African Banks (Seychelles). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/african-banks-iba-seychelles on 27/12/2024.
