email a friend
printable version
close| Location | Morocco, Nador |
| Central coordinates | 2o 51.00' West 35o 10.00' North |
| IBA criteria | A1, A4i |
| Area | 18,000 ha |
| Altitude | 0 - 105m |
| Year of IBA assessment | 2001 |
Ornithological information See Box for key species. A total of 160 species has been recorded at Sebka Bou Areg, many of them breeding. Phoenicopterus ruber and Glareola pratincola are both former breeders. The site is well known for its large numbers of waders and other waterbirds. In addition to the six species which regularly exceed IBA threshold levels, Glareola pratincola may do so exceptionally. Numenius tenuirostris formerly occurred, but the last confirmed sightings were of three overwintering birds in 1990 and 1991.
Site description The site is a long narrow lagoon on the Mediterranean coast in north-east Morocco, lying between the Cap des Trois Fourches and the Cap de l’Eau (Ras el Ma). Sebkha Bou Areg (also known as Ma Chica) is separated from the open sea by a 24-km-long sandbar, broken near its middle by a narrow channel. The site is bordered on the north-west by the port of Beni Enzar, to the west by the town of Nador, and to the south by the village of Kariat Arkmane. Although covering almost 18,000 ha, the lagoon is shallow, nowhere more than 7 m deep, and in some areas salt is precipitated through evaporation of seawater. The limits of the IBA encompass the lagoon, its sandbar, and the fringing coast, including a rocky conical hill on a promontory which rises to 105 m, but most of the site lies below 10 m. Annual rainfall is 400 mm. The lagoon vegetation consists of Zostera marina and Posidonia caulinii: on shore, Salicornia dominates and there is a well-developed reedbed near Kariat Arkmane.
Populations of IBA trigger species
| Species | Season | Period | Population estimate | Quality of estimate | IBA Criteria | IUCN Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus | winter | - | 800-990 individuals | - | A4i | Least Concern |
| Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis | winter | - | 5,000 individuals | - | A4i | Least Concern |
| Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus | winter | - | 991 individuals | - | A4i | Least Concern |
| Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii | winter | - | 1,257 individuals | - | A1, A4i | Near Threatened |
| Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis | breeding | - | 5,457 breeding pairs | - | A4i | Least Concern |
| Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis | winter | - | 74 individuals | - | A4i | Least Concern |
Land use
| Land-use | Extent (% of site) |
|---|---|
| agriculture | - |
| fisheries/aquaculture | - |
| hunting | - |
| tourism/recreation | - |
| urban/industrial/transport | - |
| other | - |
| Notes: Collection of eggs and chicks of terns and gulls. | |
Other biodiversity Two nationally rare skinks, Chalcides ghiari and C. mauritanicus, are present.
Management considerations The site is a priority 2 SIBE (No. L2), but currently has no legal protection. The main human activities are fishing, fish-farming and salt harvesting. The site is threatened by industrial and tourist development; overfishing of the lagoonal resources including molluscs (particularly Pinna nobilis); and reclamation of areas of the lagoon for agriculture and pollution. Breeding species are increasingly threatened by human disturbance including shooting, egg-collecting and destruction of nests of ground-nesting species such as terns and gulls.
References BCEOM-SECA (1995c).
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: Sebkha Bou Areg. 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
|
|