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The site was identified as important in 2012 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	LC	breeding	2007	820-1,100 breeding pairs	A4ii
Polynesian Storm-petrel Nesofregetta fuliginosa	EN	breeding	2007	200-500 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Phoenix Petrel Pterodroma alba	VU	breeding	2007	2,300-3,800 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Christmas Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis	LC	breeding	2007	4,000-7,000 breeding pairs	A4ii
Tropical Shearwater Puffinus bailloni	LC	breeding	2007	3,100-4,100 breeding pairs	A4ii
Brown Noddy Anous stolidus	LC	breeding	2007	15,000-31,000 breeding pairs	A4i
Black Noddy Anous minutus	LC	breeding	2007	100,000 breeding pairs	A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2012) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2012. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Marine Neritic	good (> 90%)	good (> 90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Very little or no conservation action taking place	negligible

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1975	Cook Islet Closed Area (Kiritimati WS)	Bird Reserve	-
1975	North-west Point Closed Area (Kiritimati)	Closed Area	-
1975	Motu Upua Closed Area	Closed Area	-
1975	Motu Tabu Islet Closed Area (Kiritimati)	Closed Area	-
1979	Ngaontetaake Islet Closed Area (Kiritimati)	Closed Area	-
1999	Kiritimati Atoll (Christmas Island)	Multi/Multiple Use Conservation Area	-

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Neritic		100

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kiritimati (Christmas Island) Marine (Kiribati). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kiritimati-(christmas-island)-marine-iba-kiribati on 22/11/2024.