Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is a small archipelago, also known as ‘Les Iles Purpuraires’, consisting of the Ile de Mogador and several associated islets, only some 800 m offshore from the Atlantic coastal port of Essaouira. The islands are composed of stabilized and fossilised sand-dunes, and consist of largely flat terrain broken by holes and fissures. The highest point on the islands is only 29 m. The chief plant species are
Lycium intricatum,
Suaeda fruticosa and
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. The site harbours the world’s largest breeding colony of
Falco eleonorae and is one of only three nesting sites known on the Atlantic coast of Africa (two in Morocco and one in the Canary Islands). Although normally a cliff-nesting species, on the Archipel d’Essaouira
Falco eleonorae nests on the ground, often in cavities one or two metres deep. Another eight species regularly nest, including 4,000 pairs of
Larus argentatus—the largest colony in Morocco. In addition the islands harbour one of the major Moroccan colonies (60–70 pairs) of
Phalacrocorax carbo maroccanus, a subspecies restricted to Morocco and Mauritania. In April 1997, eight breeding pairs of
Apus unicolor, a restricted-range species (of the Madeira and Canary Islands Endemic Bird Area, EBA 120) which only occasionally breeds in Morocco, were reported.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is a Permanent Biological Reserve and has been identified as a priority 1 SIBE (No. L26). Access by tourists and fishermen is forbidden, although the control of unauthorized landings is a problem for the Eaux et Forêts warden. This measure has apparently reduced the collection of gulls and falcons’ eggs, with a resultant increase in their populations. Surveillance needs to be maintained and reinforced, as every year some visitors succeed in landing on the islands without a permit and disturbing nesting birds.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Archipel d'Essaouira (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/archipel-dessaouira-iba-morocco on 23/12/2024.
