Data Zone
Country/territory: Belize
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A4i, A4ii (2007)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,219,671 hectares (12,196.71 km2)
Site description (2008 baseline)
This IBA is comprised of five Marine Reserves: South Water Caye, Gladden Spit, Silk Cayes, Sapodilla Cayes and Glovers Reef. Halfmoon Caye Natural Monument, Laughing Bird Caye National Park and Man of War Caye Bird Sanctuary make up the island areas. There are ten Spawning Aggregations: Northern Glovers Reef, Sandbore, South Point Turneffe, South Point Lighthouse, Rise and Fall Bank, Seal Caye, Dog Flea, Gladden Spit, Nicholas Caye and Caye Glory included in this IBA.
Key biodiversity
This 1,219,671 ha area has 157 recorded species of which 50 are residents, 42 are known or thought to breed in the area, 116 are species not known to nest in the area and 107 that are considered migrants. These include species that meet the A1, A2, A3, A4i, A4ii trigger criteria.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Belize Off-shore and Barrier Islands (Belize). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/belize-off-shore-and-barrier-islands-iba-belize on 23/12/2024.