Mewstone (23956)
Australia, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Mewstone
Central coordinates: Latitude: -43.7387, Longitude: 146.3723
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 134
Area of KBA (km2): 0.08876
Protected area coverage (%): 99.38
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mewstone is a rocky oval-shaped 9 ha island, about 20 km south of Red Point, between Southport and Port Davey in south-west Tasmania. Composed of Muscovite granite, which is unknown elsewhere in the South-west National Park, the island is very steep and mostly bare jagged rock. The few plant species present on the island are confined to crevices and cavities in the rock where soil has accumulated. An estimated 7500 pairs of Shy Albatross accounts for 60% of the world population; and an estimated 20,000 pairs of Fairy Prion also breed, mostly in crevices and under boulders along the boulder-strewn summit ridge of the island.
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: Other species recorded at Mewstone by Brothers et al. (2001) were Black-faced Cormorant (at least 20 and perhaps up to 30 pairs), Silver Gull (a few pairs and at least 40 roosting birds), Australasian Gannet (individuals occasionally observed loafing), Buller's Albatross (one individual seen over several seasons with Shy Albatrosses), Peregrine Falcon and Forest Raven. Non-bird biodiversity: Up to 50 Australian Fur Seal haul out on ledges on the east and south sides of the island and on the SE rock. White (1981) recorded the land snail Tasmanembryon tasmanicus and noted that Tasmanian Tree Skink were abundant. Senecio leptocarpus, Senecio lautus, Carpobrotus rossii, Poa poiformis, Asplenium obtusatum, Chenopodium glaucum and Sarcocornia quinqueflora were the only plants found.
Other site values: Land owned by the Tasmanian State Government and managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Water. Access is prohibited to protect nesting albatrosses.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No further actions are needed to conserve seabird populations on the island itself. However, additional measures to reduce seabird by-catch by long-line fisheries are needed to conserve Shy Albatross at sea.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Thalassarche cauta. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 29/6/2007 Brothers, N., Pemberton, D., Pryor, H. and Halley, V. (2001) Tasmania's Offshore Islands: Seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. White, G. (1981) Islands of south-west Tasmania. A. T. Sutton & Co. Pty Ltd: Sydney.
Contributors: The nomination was prepared by Peter Britton. Aleks Terauds and Sheryl Hamilton kindly supplied data. Rachael Alderman and Rosemary Gales of DPIW kindly commented on the nomination.