Gulf coral islands (Saudi Arabia) - BirdLife IBA factsheet

SA007

Gulf coral islands

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

The site was identified as important in 1994 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
Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis	VU	breeding	1991-1993	30 breeding pairs	A1, B2
Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus	LC	breeding	1993	34,400 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	breeding	1993	2-3 breeding pairs	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	non-breeding	1993	50 individuals	B3
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding	1993	10,400 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i, B3
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	breeding	1993	24,250 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i
Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii	LC	breeding	1993	3,500 breeding pairs	A4i, B1i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding	1993	72,550 breeding pairs	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1994) may differ.

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2013	not assessed	high	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	unset	unknown

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Energy production and mining	likely in short term (within 4 years)	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A management plan exists but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Not assessed	low

Habitats

Habitat¹	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Neritic		major (>10)
Desert		minor (<10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	major (>10)
tourism/recreation	major (>10)
other	minor (<10)

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gulf coral islands (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gulf-coral-islands-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/11/2024.