Bismarck Sea (30105)
Papua New Guinea, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Bismarck Sea
Central coordinates: Latitude: -3.8599, Longitude: 151.7635
System: marine
Area of KBA (km2): 5221.10635
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
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.
Delineation rationale: The site boundary is based upon a precautionary seaward extension of 25 km around at sea sightings of Beck's Petrel yielding a population estimate of <50 individuals from Shirihai, H. (2008a) Rediscovery of Beck’s Petrel Pseudobulweria becki, and other oservations of tubenoses from the Bismarck archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’Club 128: 3-16; Shirihai, H. (2008b) Tubenoses at the Bismarck Archipelago: Surveying at sea populations of the Beck’s Petrel; in search of the Fiji-like Petrel Expedition # 3. Unpublished report, August 2008.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 100 |
Threats
| 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 |
| Pollution | Garbage & solid waste | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Only in the future |