Data Zone
Country/territory: Italy
IBA criteria met: A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6 (2002)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 7,582 hectares (75.82 km2)
Site description (2000 baseline)
This area lies on the eastern Adriatic coast, and comprises Valle Bertuzzi (a large brackish lagoon) and Sacca di Goro (an open lagoon), as well as some smaller sites: Lago delle Nazioni, Taglio della Falce, Scannone di Volano and Valli Cannaviè e Porticino. The main activities are fishing and fish-farming.
Key biodiversity
An important breeding and wintering site for waterbirds, notably for colony-breeding gulls and terns, for breeding Ardea purpurea (the largest colony in Italy and one of the largest in the western Paleartic), and for roosting Phalacrocorax carbo in winter (Valle Bertuzzi is the largest such roost on the Adriatic coast). Winter data refer to January 1994 count only. Wintering waders occur on the sandbanks and beaches of Sacca di Goro.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Valle Bertuzzi and Goro lagoon (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/valle-bertuzzi-and-goro-lagoon-iba-italy on 23/12/2024.