email a friend
printable version
FI072
Itäinen Suomenlahti National Park
Location Finland, Etelä-Suomen lääni
Central coordinates 27o 0.00' East  60o 20.00' North
IBA criteria B1i, B1ii, B2, B3, C2, C3, C6
Area 93,253 ha
Altitude
Year of IBA assessment 2000

BirdLife SUOMI-FINLAND



Ornithological information The area holds the largest population of Larus fuscus fuscus in the country, and also is important for other archipelagic species such as Alca torda and Cepphus grylle. During spring migration hundreds of thousands of Arctic ducks stop over within the IBA.

Site description A very large area of outer archipelago covering the whole north-east part of the Gulf of Finland. The site comprises extensive areas of open sea scattered with several large and forested islands, and numerous small, rocky islets. There are some remarkable submerged ridges in the area, and, more importantly for the avifauna, extensive spawning areas of the Baltic herring.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Mew Gull Larus canus breeding  1996  1,000 breeding pairs  good  B2  Least Concern 
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus breeding  1996  1,030 breeding pairs  good  B1i, B3, C3  Least Concern 
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia breeding  1996  11 breeding pairs  good  B2, C6  Least Concern 
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea breeding  1996  1,200 breeding pairs  good  C2  Least Concern 
Razorbill Alca torda breeding  1996  710 breeding pairs  good  B1ii, B3, C3  Least Concern 
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle breeding  1996  560 breeding pairs  good  B1ii, B2  Least Concern 

Protected areas

Protected area Designation Area (ha) Relationship with IBA Overlap with IBA (ha)  
Itäisen Suomenlahden kansallispuisto National Park 707 protected area contained by site 93,253  
Itäisen Suomenlahden saaristo ja vedet - FI0408001 Birds Directive 95,628 protected area contains site 93,253  

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Forest   -
Sea   -
Coastline   -

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
tourism/recreation -
hunting -

Management considerations Human impact is high with all-year-round habitation, persistent recreation, shipping, professional fishing and hunting causing slight to serious disturbance to birds. Spring hunting, once an important dietary supplement for local people, but nowadays just a hobby for young men living in coastal villages, probably causes most disturbance. Part of the area is a candidate SAC.

Protection status National High International High520 ha of IBA covered by National Park (Itäinen Suomenlahti, 520 ha). 93,043 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Itäisen Suomenlahden saaristo ja vedet).

Contribute  Please click here to help BirdLife conserve the world's birds - your data for this IBA and others are vital for helping protect the environment.

Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Itäinen Suomenlahti National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/06/2013

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife