Data Zone
Country/territory: Bahrain
IBA criteria met: A4i, B1i (1994)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,350 hectares (13.50 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2007 | very poor | very high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (1994 baseline)
A shallow, sheltered bay in an urban/industrial area, with saltmarsh vegetation, extensive mudflats (mainly on the east side) and a large area of mangrove Avicennia (the last remaining area in the country) in the south-west corner of the bay at Sanad. Tidal amplitude is up to 2.5 m and salinity exceeds 4.0%. There are many freshwater springs offshore and onshore, the latter associated with Phragmites reedbeds and date-palm gardens. The bay is an important spawning and nursery area for fish and prawns. It receives irrigation run-off from the date gardens and also fully treated sewage effluent.
Key biodiversity
The most important site in the country for migrating and wintering coastal waterbirds. See box for key species. Other wintering species include Egretta garzetta (100), Charadrius hiaticula (300), Calidris minuta (1,000), Arenaria interpres (250), Larus ichthyaetus (150) and Larus ridibundus (2,000).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled by Dr S. A. Mohamed and E. Hirschfeld.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tubli Bay (Bahrain). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tubli-bay-iba-bahrain on 27/12/2024.