Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
An offshore islet of calcareous rock, mainly upper coralline limestone, which is bounded by cliffs and screes. The top of the islet is a plateau which is not easily accessible from below. The screes of loose boulders and rock debris surrounding the base of the cliff result mainly from past bombing practice by the military (up to 1971). Shore erosion due to wind and wave action is a predominant feature.
The screes have proved to be ideal breeding sites for
Hydrobates pelagicus, and the islet supports one of the largest colonies in the Mediterranean. Other breeding seabirds include
Calonectris diomedea and
Larus cachinnans; the latter is the main predator on
Hydrobates pelagicus and several tens of pairs breed below the cliffs.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Numbers of
Hydrobates pelagicus are probably decreasing after storms washed away some of the scree. Scientists visit the islet two or three times a year during the breeding season to ring and census birds. The Nature Reserve was established in 1988, but no management plan exists. Permission has to be obtained in order to land on the island and to carry out any activities; permits are only granted for scientific and educational purposes. Legal Notice to Mariners No. 16 of 1987 prohibits the berthing or navigation of any craft within an area of one nautical mile radius off Filfla as well as swimming, underwater activities and any activity connected with fishing and trawling. This notice was superceded by Government Notice No. 173 of 1990 which permits fishing from surface vessels within one nautical mile off Filfla.
National High
International High6 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Filfla Islet, 6 ha). 2 ha of IBA covered by Mediterranean Specially Protected Area (Filfla Islet, 2 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Filfla islet (Malta). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/filfla-islet-iba-malta on 23/11/2024.
