email a friend
printable version
SJ012
Hopen island
Location Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway), Svalbard
Central coordinates 25o 10.00' East  76o 33.00' North
IBA criteria A4i, A4ii, A4iii, B1i, B1ii, B2
Area 50 ha
Altitude 0 - 370m
Year of IBA assessment 2000





Ornithological information The island is important for its large colonies of breeding seabirds.

Site description An elongated island in the Barents Sea. There is a radio station, located on the east coast.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species Season Period Population estimate Quality of estimate IBA Criteria IUCN Category
Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla breeding  1998  40,000 breeding pairs  -  A4i, B1i  Least Concern 
Thick-billed Guillemot Uria lomvia breeding  1998  150,000 individuals  good  A4ii, B1ii  Least Concern 
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle breeding  1998  1,000 breeding pairs  -  B1ii, B2  Least Concern 
A4iii Species group - seabirds breeding  1998  -  unknown  A4iii   
A4iii Species group - waterbirds breeding  1998  40,000 breeding pairs  unknown  A4iii   

Habitats

IUCN habitat Habitat detail Extent (% of site)
Sea Open Sea  -
Coastline Sea cliffs and rocky shores  -

Land use

Land-use Extent (% of site)
nature conservation and research -
not utilised -

Management considerations No threats are known. The radio station causes no disturbance to birds. The area is a proposed Nature Reserve because of its importance for polar bear Ursus maritimus (35 winter lairs in 1996).

Protection status National None International None

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: Hopen island. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2013

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