Current view: Text account
Site description (2014 baseline):
Site location and context
The Zubair group comprises ten main islands and a couple of small rocks. All the islands are of volcanic origin, being eroded ash cones and lava. They are situated adjacent to the deep waters of the central Red Sea trench (all around the island the sea has depths of 500 m or more) and close to the Red Sea shipping lanes
The Zubair group of islands hold important breeding populations of seabirds with significant populations of notably brown booby, sooty gull, white-eyed gull and sooty falcon (c25 pairs). The islands also may be the northernmost colony of masked booby.
Other wildlife: evidence of turtles nesting on several islands
Several islands are devoid of vegetation and only a few have sandy shores suitable for landing. Resident passerines were absent from these islands . possibly on account of the large population of summer breeding Sooty Falcons.
Breeding terns were also absent.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats: With the exception of Saba island the overall level of disturbance to birds on the islands appears low, because of difficulty in landing and in moving around on them. Since the Eritrean occupation of Hannish island further south in the 1990s, the islands have become politically sensitive and as a result there are now small army camps on Zubair and Centre Peak islands. The personnel of these camps are a threat to the seabirds as they collect birds eggs and young for food. They are also probably the source of introduced cats on those two islands and possibly the dog that has been reported on Zubair island. Fishermen use the islands as sheltered anchorage at night and appear to regularly come ashore to sleep and to seek out birds’ eggs and probably also turtle eggs. The islands are also visited by boats form the mainland seeking to capture live ‘tropical fish’ for the aquarium trade. The islands are also possibly impacted by floating rubbish and plastic
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Zubayr group of islands (Yemen). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/zubayr-group-of-islands-iba-yemen on 23/11/2024.
