The Moscos Islands are an island chain in the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...

off the northern coast of the

Tanintharyi Region Tanintharyi Region (, ; Mon: or ; formerly Tenasserim Division and Tanintharyi Division) is a region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the northern Malay Peninsula, reaching to the Kra Isthmus. It borders ...

of southern

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. The islands are administered from the

Dawei District Dawei District () is a district of the Taninthayi Division of Myanmar. The district covers an area of 13,792 km2, and had a population of 493,576 at the 2014 Census. Administrative divisions Townships The district contains the following Town ...

of the Taninthayi Division. No tourism is allowed on any of the islands.

Geography

This 70 km long island chain is located on average around 15 km from the shore. The total combined area of dry land on the Moscos Islands is 49.19 km². The islands are uninhabited, but fishermen from nearby coastal locations stay in temporary settlements on certain islands during the dry season. Traditionally these people have been engaging in fishing, timber felling and collection of

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

eggs, swiftlet nests and forest products.

Ecology

Generally all islands are covered in thick forest and they rise steeply from rocky shores. The small steep rocky islets are important as nesting places for the edible-nest swiftlets (''Aerodramus fuciphagus''). The beaches are breeding grounds for different species of sea turtles. In 1924, during colonial times, the whole archipelago was declared a

game preserve A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

and in 1927 a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

; even then local people went to the islands to collect large numbers of turtle eggs. Presently the whole island group is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

, the Moscos Islands Wildlife Sanctuary. Officially there is a limit to the number of eggs and swiftlet nests that are allowed to be collected.

Islands

There are four distinct groups or clusters of islands in the chain: *North Moscos **Heinze Islands , a group of four islands and one islet named after the Heinze River, the mouth of which is located about 25 km to the NNE. Heinze Bok, the largest island is 3.2 km long and 1.4 km wide. Its highest point is 312 m. **Bok Ye-gan group Bok Ye-gan, round and 2 km in diameter, is the only relatively large island. Its highest point is 359 m. The rest of the cluster are six scattered little islets *Middle Moscos (Maungmagan Islands) Two larger islands and two islets. Sabyat Island is the northernmost; its highest point is 119 m. The largest island, North Island, is 6.8 km long and 3.3 km wide. Its highest point is 312 m. *South Moscos (Launglon Bok Islands) , 6 km long Aek Bok and 10 km long Auk Bok, the main two islands, are aligned in a north-south direction. Hngettaik Kyun is a much smaller 1.5 km long island in between. Auk Bok is the largest island in the Moscos Archipelago. The South Moscos group is surrounded by

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s and there was a proposal in 1982 to declare the South Moscos a

marine national park A marine park is a designated park consisting of an area of sea (or lake) set aside to achieve ecological sustainability, promote marine awareness and understanding, enable marine recreational activities, and provide benefits for Indigenous peop ...

.Marine Protected Areas in Southeast Asia
There is a

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

base in the South Moscos Islands.

References

External links

Myanmar Protected Areas - Context, Current Status and Challenges
{{Islands of Burma Tanintharyi Region Islands of Myanmar Protected areas of Myanmar Wildlife sanctuaries of Asia

Geography

Ecology

Islands

See also

References

External links