Skoruvik-Skalabjarg (526)
Iceland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Skoruvík-Skálabjarg
Central coordinates: Latitude: 66.3765, Longitude: -14.8698
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 80
Area of KBA (km2): 70.54672
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Sea cliffs in the far north-east of mainland Iceland, c.25 km north-east of the town of Thórshöfn. Land-uses include grazing, tourism, and the collection of eggs of Uria aalge from the cliffs every spring.
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 site supports huge numbers of breeding seabirds, including Uria lomvia (12,000 pairs).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The area is on the list of sites of conservation interest in the Nature Conservation Register. The site results from the merging of two sites identified in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989), `Skoruvík' (former site IS048) and `Langanes' (former site IS049).