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• Text account
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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2009 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
Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris	LC	resident	2001-2006	233-391 individuals	A4i
Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis	EN	non-breeding	2001-2006	557-872 individuals	A4i
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis	NT	non-breeding	2001-2006	4,246-8,903 individuals	A4i
Pacific Gull Larus pacificus	LC	resident	1993-2006	118-540 individuals	A4i
Fairy Tern Sternula nereis	VU	resident	1993-2006	2-108 individuals	A1, A4i
Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster	CR	non-breeding	1995-2007	5 individuals	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Residential and commercial development	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
-	Phillip Island	Phillip Island Nature Park	<1
1981	French Island (east)	Reference Area	<1
1981	French Island (north)	Reference Area	<1
1982	Western Port	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	96
1997	Reef Island and Bass River Mouth N.C.R	Natural Features Reserve	<1
2002	Mornington Peninsula & Western Port	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	100
2002	French Island	Marine National Park	4
2002	North Western Port N.C.R.	Natural Features Reserve	2
2002	French Island National Park	National Park	2
2002	Yaringa	Marine National Park	2
2002	Churchill Island	Marine National Park	1
2002	Warrengine Creek SS.R.	Natural Features Reserve	<1
2008	Warneet N.F.R.	Natural Features Reserve	<1
2013	Phillip Island Nature Park	Other	1

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)
Marine Neritic		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)
military	minor (<10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)

Unreserved Crown Land, coastal, nature, marine & public purpose parks & reserves managed by Parks Victoria; waters and sea beds (unreserved Crown Land) & shoreline near Somers managed by DSE; declared naval waters managed by Dept of Defence; Port of Hastings managed by Victorian Channels Authority; Shoreline Stony Point to Jacks Beach managed by Committee of Management; Finders Phillip Island Nature Park managed by park authority; Elizabeth and Sandstone Islands (both very small) - freehold.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Western Port (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/western-port-iba-australia on 22/11/2024.