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• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus	LC	breeding	2000	31,550-36,124 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B3, C2, C6
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus	LC	breeding	2000	10,883-29,844 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B2, C3
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus	LC	breeding	1999	114 breeding pairs	B3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	1999-2001	50,000-99,999	A4iii, C4

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1989	Terraght Island (Marine)	Nature Reserve	2
1989	Tearaght Island	Nature Reserve	3
2001	Blasket Islands SAC	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	100
2008	Blasket Islands SPA	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2009	Blasket IslandS	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR)	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Dry siliceous grassland	50
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		50

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
not utilised	80
tourism/recreation	20

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Blasket Islands (Ireland). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/blasket-islands-iba-ireland on 23/11/2024.