Babel Island Group (23907)
Australia, Australasia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a

Year of last assessment: 2009

National site name: Babel Island Group

Central coordinates: Latitude: -39.9485, Longitude: 148.3347

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 0 to 200

Area of KBA (km²): 4.934

Protected area coverage (%): 99.30

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Babel Island Group IBA consists of Babel, Cat and Storehouse islands, east of Flinders Island in Bass Strait. These are granite islands with sandy soil, dominated by the grass Poa poeformis. Babel Island is owned by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and is much larger (441 ha) than Cat and Storehouse Islands, both of which are Conservation Areas. The central hill at Babel Island slopes gently to the shoreline, where there are two large beaches, a sandy spit at the southwest side, and several buildings at West Beach, the Gulch, South East Beach and along the east coast. Cat Island (39 ha) is flat, with steep cliffs on the east side; and Storehouse Island (20 ha) has a gently undulating landscape.

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: 1585 pairs of Crested Tern and 29 pairs of Sooty Oystercatcher. Peregrine Falcon breeds at Babel Island. Cat Island has a pair of Hooded Plover and is important as a site for the potential re-colonisation of Australasian Gannet, though nesting habitat has not fully recovered from a very destructive fire in 1984, when the impressive 5000-10000 birds found here in 1908, and 1000 in 1938, had already declined to a very small colony. Deployment of decoys since 1988 has not been successful but manual re-colonisation of reared chicks is being considered. Non-bird biodiversity: Bennett's Wallaby, Tasmanian Pademelon, Water Rat, Metallic Skink, Three-lined Skink, White's Skink, Blue-tongued Lizard and Tiger Snake are some of the other animals recorded, mostly at Babel Island. Vegetation is dominated by Poa poiformis, Rhagodia candolleana, Tetragonia implexicoma, Atriplex cinerea and areas of scrub (especially myrtaceous species).

Other site values: Cat Island and Storehouse Island are Conservation Areas; Babel Island is owned by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. Permission should be sought from the Tasmanian Aboriginal community or DPIW before visiting these islands.

Habitats

Land use: hunting

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	100

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Monitor rate and impact of harvesting of Short-tailed Shearwater on Babel Island. Upgrade status of Cat Island (which is regularly visited by helicopters and boats) and Storehouse Island to Nature Reserve status. Consider eradication of cats and mice from Babel.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Named species	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities		Ongoing

Additional information

References: Brothers, N., Pemberton, D., Pryor, H. & Halley, V. (2001). Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art gallery: Hobart. Phillipps, H. (1993). Last chance for Cat Island. Wingspan 9: 4-6. Skira, I.J., Brothers, N.P. & Pemberton, D. (1996). Distribution, abundance and conservation status of Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris in Tasmania, Australia. Marine Ornithology 24: 1-14.