Scott Island Group (11047)
Canada, North America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1d, B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2008
National site name: Scott Island Group
Central coordinates: Latitude: 50.8008, Longitude: -128.8312
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 312
Area of KBA (km2): 1186.71576
Protected area coverage (%): 99.99
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Scott Islands are a group of five islands extending in a line westward from 10 to 46 km offshore of Cape Scott at the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island. The inner two islands, Cox and Lanz, are large forested islands, whereas the outer two, Triangle and Sartine, are completely treeless. Beresford, the smallest island, lies in the middle of the chain and exhibits transitional features.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The Scott Islands support the largest concentration of breeding seabirds in the eastern North Pacific south of Alaska, and are the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in British Columbia. Twelve species of seabirds breed in this group of islands, with virtually all the nesting occurring on Triangle, Sartine and Beresford Islands. Together these Islands support over two million breeding birds. Three of the seabird species nesting on the islands occur in globally significant numbers (i.e., greater than 1% of their population). These species are: Cassin?s Auklet (as much as 55% of the global, and 73% of the national population); Rhinoceros Auklet (as much as 7% of the global, 9% of the continental, and 12% of the national population); and Tufted Puffin (2% of the global, and almost 90% of the Canadian population). Other species that are present in at least nationally significant numbers (i.e., greater than 1% of the national population) include: Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (1.5% of the Canadian population), Leach?s Storm-Petrel (2.3% of the western Canada population), Pelagic Cormorant (just over 1% of the North American, and 17.5% of the Canadian population), Brandt?s Cormorant (40% of the Canadian population) Black Oystercatcher (almost 3% of the Canadian population), Glaucous-winged Gull (about 4% of the national population), Common Murre (as much as 95% of the western Canada population) and Pigeon Guillemot (6% of the national population). Other species of seabirds nesting on the islands include Thick-billed Murre (the only known site in Canada where the Pacific population nests) and Horned Puffin (less than 25 pairs in British Columbia). The marine areas surrounding the islands are important feeding areas for the nesting seabirds as well as other marine birds such as Sooty Shearwaters. Large numbers of migrating and wintering seaducks such as White-winged Scoters also frequent the area, particularly in the vicinity of Cox and Lanz islands. Triangle Island supports several pairs of Peregrine Falcons (ssp. pealei ) a species considered nationally vulnerable. Peregrine Falcons are also recorded at each of the other four islands in the group and Bald Eagles nest throughout.
Delineation rationale: 2011-06-06 (BL Secretariat): site area updated from 144000 ha to 120000 ha, following GIS analysis of site polygon by Bird Studies Canada (J. Moore & S. Marquez in litt. 2009). Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach to marine IBAs.
Habitats
Land use: not utilised
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 33 | |
| Forest | 33 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 33 |