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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus	LC	winter (1992)	1,086 birds	A4i, B1i
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis	LC	winter (1992)	2,378 birds	A4i, B1i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	resident (1992)	100 pairs	B1i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	winter (1992)	130–486 birds	B1i
Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis	VU	breeding (1992)	11,000 pairs	A1, A4i, B1i, B2
Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans	LC	winter (1992)	560–2,500 birds	B1i
Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus	LC	breeding (1992)	1,000 pairs	B1i
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding (1992)	2,000 pairs	A4i, B1i, B3
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	breeding (1992)	2,000 pairs	A4i, B1i
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding (1993)	16,100 pairs	A4iii

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.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	very low

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

Land use	% of IBA
urban/industrial/transport	major (>10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)
rangeland/pastureland	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)
other	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gulf of Salwah (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gulf-of-salwah-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/12/2024.