Indian Ocean, Western 2 - Marine (High Seas)

Indian Ocean, Western 2 - Marine

Current view: summary

Country/territory: High Seas

IBA criteria met: A1, A4ii (2012)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 46,416 ha

Site description (2012 baseline)
This Marine IBA is identified using tracking data. It falls within High Seas International Waters and the Indian Ocean, FAO ocean region. The site covers an area of 464 km2 and is 484 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 3720 to 4003 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 2.75 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 12.88 and 13.37 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.39 and 0.41 mg/m3.

Key biodiversity
2 species trigger IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 23-26 individuals of Amsterdam Albatross (CR) from Ile Amsterdam are present at the site during the Non-breeding (Apr-Nov) life-history stage. 981-1570 individuals of Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (EN) from Prince Edward Island are present at the site during the Post-guard (Jan-Apr) life-history stage.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Indian Ocean, Western 2 - Marine (High Seas). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/indian-ocean-western-2--marine-iba-high-seas on 24/11/2024.