Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
An industrial area in Zeebrugge harbour.
This is an important tern colony, with the only breeding site for
Sterna albifrons and
S. sandvicensis in the country. The area also holds 114 breeding pairs of
Charadrius alexandrinus.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
As a result of the development of harbour activities, the available breeding area for terns and plovers has dramatically decreased, while colonization of the (protected) beach area is partly successful but limited by space. The suitable habitats in the most important breeding area of the Voorhaven will be lost in the near future as a result of harbour activities. The area is a proposed Ramsar Site.
National Partial
International None45 ha of IBA covered by State Nature Reserve (Baai van Heist, 45 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Voorhaven Zeebrugge and Baai van Heist (Belgium). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/voorhaven-zeebrugge-and-baai-van-heist-iba-belgium on 23/11/2024.
