Indian Ocean, Western 31 - Marine (High Seas) IBA | Summary

Indian Ocean, Western 31 - Marine

Current view: Summary

Country/territory: High Seas
IBA Justification: A1, A4ii (2012)

Area: 16,004,288 hectares (160,042.88 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 160043 km2 and is 620 km away from the closet coastline. The depth ranges from 3498 to 4361 m, with a mean annual wind speed of 1.78 m/s, mean annual sea surface temperature falls between 27.02 and 28.2 °C and mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations found to range between 0.17 and 0.94 mg/m3.

Key biodiversity
1 species triggers IBA criteria at this Marine IBA. BirdLife analyses of tracking data estimates that 244-355 individuals of Trindade Petrel (Round Island Petrel) (VU) from Round Island are present at the site during the Non-breeding (Year-Round) life-history stage.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Indian Ocean, Western 31 - Marine (High Seas). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/indian-ocean-western-31--marine-iba-high-seas on 24/01/2025.