birding-aus

Tourism plan to exploit unique [Abrolhos] islands

To: birding aus <>
Subject: Tourism plan to exploit unique [Abrolhos] islands
From:
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 16:59:00 +0800
I first heard about this plan on the ABC radio news this morning.  I was
surprised.  However, I will wait until I see the plan or at least further
details.  There is certainly the opportunity to have tourism for the
islands if it is done sensibly.  After all there has long been large
numbers of crayfishermen living on a few of the islands during the annual
cray season, and there is already a reasonable tourism industry.  There is
already at least one airstrip plus float planes and helicopters that visit
the islands.

I don't think that there should be alarm at this stage as these islands are
definitely the most important marine area of WA, and CALM and others will
certainly be very vocifierous if inappropriate development is proposed.
Hopefully the plan will formalise the tourism that already occurs, and
place limits and controls now before it is too late and the horse has
bolted.

Please don't quote the 90 species of breeding seabirds.  This is incorrect.
As far as I am aware there are Wedge-tailed & Little Shearwater,
White-faced Storm-Petrel, Lesser & Common Noddy, Bridled & Sooty & Caspian
& Crested & Roseate & Fairy Terns, Pied & Little Pied Cormorants, Eastern
Reef Egret, Spotless Crake, Red-tailed Tropicbird, White-bellied Sea-Eagle,
Osprey, Red-capped Plover, probably Pied & Sooty Oystercatcher, and
probably a few I can't think of off the top of my head.  So maybe 25 to 30
species of "seabirds" breed there.  90 is possibly the number of species
that have been recorded there.

However it is the sheer numbers of birds which is truly mind blowing.  In
December you can see 10,000s of several species breeding packed together in
a number of areas, and the total number of birds breeding would be at least
1,000,000 (probably several million).  For anyone interested in birds, you
should definitely visit the Abrolhos Islands at least once in your life.


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