Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
A group of four main islands of mostly very rugged topography off the Dhofar coast, up to 500 m high, although there are some flat areas. There is a massive limestone cliff on the north-east point of Al Hallaniyah island. Most of the land is bare or supports only a very sparse, low shrub layer; the islands of Jazirat al Qibliyah and Jazirat al Hasikiyah are lightly covered in bird guano. The islands are in the centre of a zone of strong upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water during the south-west monsoon of May–September (especially June–August), when seas are very rough and very strong winds, driving spray and mist prevail. The only habitation is a village at the western end of Al Hallaniyah (c.150 people), with an airstrip. Local people have boats and visit all the islands, weather permitting.
See box for key species. A very important breeding site for seabirds, and the surrounding seas also provide very important feeding grounds for pelagic species visiting from the southern oceans. Other breeding species include
Pandion haliaetus (8+ pairs), and
Bulweria fallax may breed (see below). Non-breeding seabirds attracted to the upwelling include
Puffinus carneipes (common),
P. pacificus (infrequent),
Oceanites oceanicus (abundant) and
Sula leucogaster (rare). The site is not visited very often due to its isolation, remoteness and the difficulty of access during the hazardous south-west monsoon, and knowledge is thus incomplete.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: large numbers of cetaceans occur offshore, including a probable breeding population of Megaptera novaeangliae (V). Reptiles: a few sea-turtles Chelonia mydas (E) nest on the beaches. Flora: three plant species with very restricted ranges (apparently endemic to Oman) occur, as does a rare lichen Simonyiella.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Islanders and visiting fishermen take eggs and adults of
Sula dactylatra and
Sterna bergii and eggs of
Phalacrocorax nigrogularis and
Larus hemprichii for food: this over-exploitation may have reached critical levels, with attendant disturbance and persecution of nesting birds. Introduced mammals are a major problem and include feral goats (on Al Hallaniyah: supported by brackish seepages inland), feral cats (on Al Hallaniyah and Jazirat as Sawda) and rats (
Rattus norvegicus on Jazirat al Hasikiyah and
Rattus rattus on Al Hallaniyah). At present there are no control or removal measures in place. The area comprises four proposed National Nature Reserves (defined areas include surrounding seas to 500 m beyond the low water mark): Jazirat al Qibliyah (800 ha), Al Hallaniyah (7,000 ha), Jazirat as Sawda (2,000 ha) and Jazirat al Hasikiyah (400 ha). The proposed reserves cover all the important seabird nesting sites.
Data-sheet compiled by Simon Albrecht; summary bird data supplied by Oman Bird Records Committee (per Jens Eriksen).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Halaaniyaat Islands (Oman). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/halaaniyaat-islands-iba-oman on 23/12/2024.
