The channel between Malta and Gozo has been listed as the country’s first marine important bird area, putting Malta on the map alongside the Galapagos and the Azores as a refuge for threatened wildlife.
The designation was given in recognition of the island’s international importance for two global and one regional threatened bird species, Birdlife said yesterday.
The red-listed Yelkouan shearwater and the larger Scopoli’s shearwater at Rdum tal-Madonna in Malta and Ta’ Ċenċ in Gozo make use of the channel, congregating over the water in large numbers before returning to the nearby cliff-side nest sites to take their turn incubating their eggs or feeding chicks.
The channel, including Comino, is also an important migration route for the ferruginous duck, acting as a bottleneck through which these near-threatened birds are funnelled on their passage through the Maltese islands between their breeding grounds in Europe and African wintering grounds.
Maltese birdwatchers and ornithologists have been recording observations of the breeding and migrating birds that use the channel for decades. Malta’s first EU Life initiative, the Yelkouan Shearwater Project, provided the resources to allow the intensive studies required to collect the amount of rigorous scientific data.
Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife’s conservation manager, said it was the first time a research project of such a scale to conserve wildlife had been tried in Malta.
“The fact that it has resulted in the international recognition of the Gozo channel for its importance to biodiversity shows this kind of partnership and cooperation between Maltese and international conservation organisations and the government is invaluable for nature conservation efforts,” he said.
The designation of the 123-hectare site follows the assessment of a proposal and data submitted by BirdLife Malta in 2011 against internationally-recognised criteria established by BirdLife International’s IBA Programme.
“The designation of Malta’s first marine important bird area is a step in the right direction but we must not let it stop there because these birds also face threats at sea, away from the breeding colonies and we need to protect them at sea,” Mr Barbara said.