Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
Foyn Island is the second largest of the Possession Islands, which lie 17 km east of Cape Roget, at the southern extremity of Adare Peninsula, Borchgrevink Coast, northern Victoria Land. Foyn Island extends around 2 km across.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (
Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises the entire island.
The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~370 km to the south in Terra Nova Bay.
The Adélie Penguin colony at Foyn Island had a mean of 30 494 breeding pairs over 6 seasons sampled from 1981 – 2012 (Lyver
et al. 2014). South Polar Skuas (
Catharacta maccormicki) are also present on the island, with 397 breeding pairs recorded in the 1980s (Ainley
et al. 1986), although because this count was made from an aerial survey it has not be used for the purpose of assessing the IBA. No recent information is available on the skua colony, and information on other birds breeding in the area is not available.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
No tourist ships are known to have visited Foyn Island over the last ten years. The last recorded visit was in 1994/95 when 131 passengers landed, and two ships in 1992/93 landed a combined total of 220 passengers (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 02/02/2015).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Foyn Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/foyn-island-iba-antarctica on 24/01/2025.
