St Francis Island (originally in Dutch: ''Eyland St. François'') is an island on the south coast of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

near Ceduna. It is part of the Nuyts Archipelago. It was one of the first parts of South Australia to be discovered and named by Europeans, along with St Peter Island, mapped by François Thijssen in 't Gulden Zeepaert in 1627.

Flora & Fauna

The flora and fauna of St Francis Island in the 1900s included petrels, Australian sea lions and little penguins.

Protected area status

Statutory reserves

The island is part of the Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area while the waters surrounding its shores are within the Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park.

Non-statutory arrangements

Important Bird Area

The island is part of the Nuyts Archipelago Important Bird Area (IBA), so identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports over 1% of the world populations of

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

white-faced storm-petrel The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), ( Māori: ''takahikare'') also known as white-faced petrel or frigate petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ...

s and pied oystercatchers.

References