Indian Ocean, Western 25 - Marine (High Seas) IBA | Summary

Indian Ocean, Western 25 - Marine

Current view: summary

Country/territory: High Seas

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

Area: 739,979 hectares (7,399.79 km²)

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 7400 km2 and is 800 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 3441 to 3500 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 3.38 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 9.8 and 10.76 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.23 and 0.25 mg/m3.

Key biodiversity
1 species triggers IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 347-372 individuals of Wandering Albatross (VU) from Iles Kerguelen are present at the site during the Incubation (Dec-Mar) life-history stage.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Indian Ocean, Western 25 - Marine (High Seas). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/indian-ocean-western-25--marine-iba-high-seas on 22/12/2024.