Indian Ocean, Western 3 - Marine


Country/territory: High Seas

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

Area: 27,629 hectares (276.29 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 276 km2 and borders the coastline. The depth ranges from 3429 to 3984 m, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 11.38 and 11.84 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.38 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 3 - Marine (High Seas). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/indian-ocean-western-3--marine-iba-high-seas on 26/12/2024.