Valle Bertuzzi and Goro lagoon (2741)
Italy, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Valle Bertuzzi e Sacca di Goro
Central coordinates: Latitude: 44.7833, Longitude: 12.2500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1 to 1
Area of KBA (km2): 75.75859
Protected area coverage (%): 98.17
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This area lies on the eastern Adriatic coast, and comprises Valle Bertuzzi (a large brackish lagoon) and Sacca di Goro (an open lagoon), as well as some smaller sites: Lago delle Nazioni, Taglio della Falce, Scannone di Volano and Valli Cannaviè e Porticino. The main activities are fishing and fish-farming.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: An important breeding and wintering site for waterbirds, notably for colony-breeding gulls and terns, for breeding Ardea purpurea (the largest colony in Italy and one of the largest in the western Paleartic), and for roosting Phalacrocorax carbo in winter (Valle Bertuzzi is the largest such roost on the Adriatic coast). Winter data refer to January 1994 count only. Wintering waders occur on the sandbanks and beaches of Sacca di Goro.
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (80%) | hunting (80%) | nature conservation and research (80%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 32 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 32 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 32 | |
| Forest | 1 | |
| Shrubland | 2 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Important threats to the waterbird colonies are: erosion and subsidence of the islets; predation by rats Rattus; predation, disturbance and competition for breeding sites by Larus cachinnans; disturbance by aquaculture workers. Some or all of the site is covered by a management plan. There have been studies on the colony-breeding waterbirds (since the 1970s), on the impact of Phalacrocorax carbo on fish-farming, and on plants and invertebrates.