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Booby Island (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Coordinates: 17°13′37″N 62°36′38″W / 17.22681°N 62.61053°W / 17.22681; -62.61053
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Booby Island
A cone-shaped islet sticking out from the ocean.
Booby Island in 2019
Map
Geography
LocationThe Narrows, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Area1 ha (2.5 acres)
Length38 m (125 ft)
Highest elevation38 m (125 ft)
Administration
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Demographics
Population0
Additional information
Time zone

Booby Island is an uninhabited islet in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is found in The Narrows, the channel between the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, about midway between the two. Booby Island is cone-shaped, consisting of a steep hill and a rocky shoreline. The island is designated as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International to protect its bird population. The Booby Island Sailing Regatta has been held annually in the waters around the island since 2008.

Geography

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Booby Island lies in The Narrows, the channel between the islands of Nevis and St. Kitts, where it is an approximate midpoint between the two islands.[1] It is one of two islands in The Narrows, alongside Cow Island, which measures about 1.8 metres (6 ft) high and 2 metres (6.6 ft) across.[2][3]

Booby Island is a cone-shaped islet,[4] measuring approximately 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in area. The island predominantly consists of a steep hill with rocky outcroppings, while its shoreline is made up of large rocks.[1] The length across the island and the height of its peak are both approximately 38 metres (125 ft).[2][3] The interior of the island contains dense populations of brushy plants, and no mammal populations were discovered on the island in a 2004 survey.[1] A sample of basaltic andesite from Booby Island's southeast coast was predominantly composed of silicon dioxide by weight (56.41%).[5]

Bird population

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A bird standing on the ground
The sooty tern is the most common seabird on Booby Island.

Booby Island is a major seabird nesting site in St. Kitts and Nevis.[1][4] BirdLife International designated Booby Island as an Important Bird Area, which includes the entire island and seas up to one kilometre away.[1] Eight species of seabird are found on Booby Island, where nesting season begins in April or May and ends between August and October.[4] Booby Island is not subject to any special environmental protections.[1]

A 1997 survey of the island's seabird population found that it hosted 400 to 600 nesting pairs,[4] and in 2008, it was estimated that there were approximately 425.[1] The most common in the 1997 survey were sooty terns, followed by bridled terns, laughing gulls, roseate terns, and brown noddies.[4] Red-billed tropicbirds can also be found on Booby Island.[1] All of these species are rare to St. Kitts and Nevis and are not found in any part of the country besides Booby Island.[6] The island also has a population of brown pelicans, which are colloquially referred to as "boobies" despite not being members of the Sula genus.[7] The seabird population is fragile, as eggs are easily accessible and chasing birds from their nests causes the eggs to quickly overheat. 15 pairs of roseate terns were identified in 1997, but only two were found the following year.[4]

Human interaction

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Booby Island is uninhabited. It is controlled by the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis and is not privately owned. The island's geography makes human access challenging, as boats cannot dock and visitors must swim over the rocky shoreline.[1] Fishermen sometimes collect the eggs of laughing gulls and other species of bird, which may have a negative effect on the bird population.[1][4] Over time, the fishing community of Newcastle has shifted its fishing grounds from the coasts of Nevis and St. Kitts to the coast of Booby Island, to save on fuel use and to avoid overfished areas.[8]

Since 2008, the Booby Island Sailing Regatta has been held annually to promote tourism outside of the usual tourist season.[9][10] It historically lasted one day, but it deviated from this in 2015 with a three-day event. The main event is the Booby Island Cup, in which sailors race around Booby Island in an informal, open-entry boat race.[9][11] Three boats participated in the first Booby Island Sailing Regatta, with that number growing to 16 by 2014.[12]

An American student was bit by a tiger shark while swimming off the island's coast in 2021, resulting in amputation above the knee.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Collier, Natalia; Brown, Adam (2008). Wege, David C.; Anadón-Irizarry, Verónica (eds.). Important Bird Areas in the Caribbean: Key Sites for Conservation. BirdLife International. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-946888-65-8.
  2. ^ a b Patuelli, Jacques (1980). Guide des Antilles : croisières de Grenade aux Îles Vierges [Guide to the West Indies: cruises from Grenada to the Virgin Islands] (in French). Neptune nautisme. p. 119. ISBN 9782857130161.
  3. ^ a b Doyle, Chris (1989). Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands. Cruising Guide Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN 0-944428-04-5.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Horwith, Bruce; Lindsay, Kevel (1999). Towle, Judith (ed.). A Biodiversity Profile of St. Kitts and Nevis (PDF) (Report). Island Resources Foundation. p. 36.
  5. ^ Baker, P. E. (1984). "Geochemical evolution of St Kitts and Montserrat, Lesser Antilles". Journal of the Geological Society. 141 (3): 404. Bibcode:1984JGSoc.141..401B. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.141.3.0401. ISSN 0016-7649.
  6. ^ Horwith, Bruce; Lindsay, Kevel (1999). Towle, Judith (ed.). A Biodiversity Profile of St. Kitts and Nevis (PDF) (Report). Island Resources Foundation. pp. 37–38.
  7. ^ Vitaliev, Vitali (1 May 2017). "After All: Transport- A Real-Life Caribbean Techno Dream in St Kitts". Engineering & Technology. 12 (4): 98. doi:10.1049/et.2017.0439. ISSN 1750-9637.
  8. ^ Granderson, C.; Ramkissoon, A. (2022). Report of the vulnerability and capacity assessments in coastal and fishing communities in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Caribbean Natural Resources Institute. p. 41. ISBN 978-92-5-135162-8.
  9. ^ a b "Booby Island Sailing Festival in May". Caribbean Compass. April 2015. p. 11.
  10. ^ "Brantley Phillips Make North America Tourism Blitz Press Release". The St Kitts Nevis Observer. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Nevis Booby Island Regatta and Sailing Festival". Yahoo Finance. Marketwired. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  12. ^ "May 8–10: Nevis Booby Island Cup and Sailing Festival". All At Sea. April 2015. p. 61.
  13. ^ "News item: Young woman seriously injured after shark attack in Saint Kitts and Nevis". Faxinfo. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  14. ^ "US student fights off shark in Caribbean waters". Loop News. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
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17°13′37″N 62°36′38″W / 17.22681°N 62.61053°W / 17.22681; -62.61053

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