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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2007 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 Shag Gulosus aristotelis	LC	breeding	2001	663 breeding pairs	B3
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	LC	breeding	2001	1,254 breeding pairs	C6
Great Skua Catharacta skua	LC	breeding	2001	143 breeding pairs	A4ii, B1ii, B3, C3
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	VU	breeding	2000	40,000 breeding pairs	B1ii, B2, C3
Razorbill Alca torda	LC	breeding	2000	3,599 individuals	B3
Common Murre Uria aalge	LC	breeding	1999	39,257 individuals	B1ii, C3
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	1999-2001	90,576 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding	1999-2001	10,210 breeding pairs	A4iii, C4

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2007) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2007. The most recent assessment (2007) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
European Shag Gulosus aristotelis	1,070	663	breeding pairs	62	unfavourable
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	1,200	818	breeding pairs	69	unfavourable
Great Skua Catharacta skua	130	143	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	8,700	40,000	breeding pairs	100	favourable
Razorbill Alca torda	3,060	3,599	individuals	100	favourable
Common Murre Uria aalge	37,612	39,257	individuals	100	favourable
A4iii Species group - seabirds	72,430	90,576	breeding pairs	100	favourable
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	21,911	10,210	breeding pairs	47	unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	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	Unknown	Not assessed	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1963	Fair Isle	Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK)	100
1980	Shetland	National Scenic Area	100
1997	Fair Isle	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	100
2001	Fair Isle	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	100
2011	Fair Isle	Marine Protected Area (OSPAR)	16
2016	Fair Isle	Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Area	16

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland		-
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-
Shrubland	Heathland	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	major (>10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Fair Isle (United Kingdom). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/fair-isle-iba-united-kingdom on 23/11/2024.