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housed thousands of workers. Large-scale scraping and bagging of ′white gold′ began in 1843 and peaked two years later. The value was so great that competition was fierce; murder was committed over harvesting rights, and two
British warships were dispatched to restore order over what became known as
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and became a nature reserve in 1987. The islands were returned to
Namibia in 1994 and are managed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR). Ichaboe, along with Mercury and Possession Islands, have permanent residents who partake in research and conservation of the seabirds. Scraping
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of guano continues with concessions granted during the 1980s and in 2000 a wall was put up around the perimeter of the island. The wall was built to prevent winds blowing the guano into the sea and has a few entry points for penguins’ to access the breeding areas.
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the ′Great Guano War′. Britain took possession of the island on 21 June 1861. Guano has been taken off the island regularly, and in 1880 and 1881, Ichaboe Guano was claimed to be the ″richest and most fertilising guano imported into
England″ containing 12 to 13%
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and offshore winds drive the surface water away from the coast. Water rises from depths of hundreds of metres and at speeds of up to 12 m per minute bringing nutrients to the surface. A combination of sunlight and nutrients provide the conditions for
262:. On the western side of the island is a reef which offers some protection from Atlantic waves, although sea spay covers the island during storms. The island was once covered in over 7 m of bird-droppings (
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Ichaboe regularly supports over 50,000 seabirds of at least eight species and is consequently one of the most important and densely packed seabird breeding in the world. The island holds 65% of the world's
336:), despite the global population falling from 9,000 to less than 5,000 pairs over twenty years. Namibia is home to 4,000 of those pairs. The island is the most important location in the world for the
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and this is the reason why southern Africa is home to one of the richest seabird communities in the world. The islands off the west coast of southern Africa provide refuge from predators.
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and the discovery of bird manure to depths of more than 7 m, the focus turned to the quarrying of guano. At one time more than 400 ships anchored off the island and
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Ichaboe Island is a 6.5 ha low-lying island, approximately 1.5 km off the
Diamond Coast of Namibia and 48 km north of
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In the early 19th-century
Ichaboe and other islands of the South African coast witnessed the guano rush, equivalent of the
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which are the foundation for other life in the
Benguela marine ecosystem. Feeding on the phytoplankton are
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584:"Britain takes possession of Ichaboe Island off the Namibian coast in the name of Queen Victoria"
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348:), having 4% of the world's breeding population. Ichaboe also has large numbers of endangered
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Bird Life
International recognizes Ichaboe Island along with other islands such as
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and the nearby coast as an
Important Bird Area for their seabird colonies.
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There are twelve small islands on the
Namibian coast between
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Mode of
Shipping the Guano, Ichaboe Island, Namibia (1844)
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503:Peschak, Thomas (July 2006). "The White Stuff".
312:Cape Provincial Administration of South Africa
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612:. No. 132. 20 January 1881. p. 1.
507:. Vol. 24, no. 7. pp. 52–6.
410:Whales sighted off the island include the
194:(IBAs) for its seabird breeding colonies.
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608:"Important To Farmers (Advertisement)".
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293:and following a visit in 1828 by
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16:Island in ǁKaras Region, Namibia
644:Important Bird Areas of Namibia
289:. The island was once used for
649:Uninhabited islands of Namibia
629:Nature conservation in Namibia
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588:South African History Online
178:is a small rocky island off
407:) may roost on the island.
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634:Geography of ǁKaras Region
452:Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
426:). The cetaceans include,
534:. University of Cape Town
436:common bottlenose dolphin
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479:. University of Pretoria
295:Captain Benjamin Morrell
251:, which are predated by
432:Lagenorhynchus obscurus
362:Phalacrocorax neglectus
346:Phalacrocorax coronatus
104:26.288889°S 14.936667°E
563:BirdLife International
532:Animal Demography Unit
416:Megaptera novaeangliae
375:). Smaller numbers of
334:Phalacrocorax capensis
245:Phalacrocorax capensis
188:BirdLife International
186:. It is recognised by
128:Highest elevation
385:African oystercatcher
168:Lüderitz Constituency
131:7 m (23 ft)
109:-26.288889; 14.936667
420:southern right whale
306:and 27 to 30% guano
448:Heaviside's dolphin
424:Eubalaena australis
354:Spheniscus demersus
192:Important Bird Area
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440:Tursiops truncatus
389:Haematopus moquini
364:), as well as the
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249:goat's-eye limpets
381:Larus dominicanus
342:crowned cormorant
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373:Morus capensis
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275:Mercury Island
253:spiny starfish
237:Morus capensis
216:Southern Ocean
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208:Orange River
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163:Constituency
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639:Guano trade
393:common tern
369:Cape gannet
233:Cape gannet
225:Zooplankton
107: /
83:Coordinates
623:Categories
458:References
442:) and the
401:black tern
366:vulnerable
356:) and the
326:endangered
308:phosphates
204:Walvis Bay
95:14°56′12″E
92:26°17′20″S
568:11 August
377:kelp gull
198:Geography
68:Geography
654:Lüderitz
593:3 August
538:2 August
483:3 August
260:Lüderitz
206:and the
73:Location
444:endemic
304:ammonia
291:sealing
281:History
180:Namibia
143:Namibia
418:) and
399:) and
383:) and
268:manure
239:) and
190:as an
151:Region
477:(PDF)
319:Fauna
264:guano
595:2017
570:2017
540:2017
485:2017
120:Area
454:).
434:),
182:'s
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