L'Île Coco

St Brandon's L'Île Coco, Cargados Carajos.

L'Île Coco (Coco Island) is one of the longest islands adjoining the inner lagoon of the St. Brandon archipelago. It is at times inhabited by fishermen as a base for the resident fishing company's fishing activities as well as for fly fishing and fly casting activities.

The island is inhabited by many thousands of sea birds and was one of the reasons the islands of St. Brandon were declared an Important Bird Area ('IBA').

The ecosystem of this island and the other twenty-nine isles of the Cargados Carajos shoals are an internationally recognised Key Biodiversity Area. Coco Island receives the most turtle nesting visits in the archipelago which is the last important nesting area in Mauritius for the Critically Endangered Hawksbill Turtle and the Endangered Green Turtle, giving it national and international prominence.

In 1998, Section 2.5.3. of the Word Bank's Management Report to government stated, 'Two Marine Parks are proposed for the St. Brandon Area: Turtle Lagoon Marine Park and Cocos Island Marine Park (map at end of report). In these areas, no extractive activities will be allowed. Marine Parks are considered an effective means of preserving marine biodiversity, safeguarding against over fishing and replenishing fisheries in adjacent areas. The two Marine Parks are considered to be areas of vital importance for recruitment and feeding of Dame Berri and Capitaine (Lethrinus), the most important commercial species, and to provide a good representation of the slightly different faunal and habitat compositions of the Northern and Southern parts of St. Brandon. Paul and Cocos provide different but complementary examples of the terrestrial habitats of the archipelago. The total area represents roughly 25% of the reef, which is generally considered to be an adequate percentage to safeguard a reef for the purpose of biodiversity conservation and replenishment of fish stocks.'

Map delineating The Saint Brandon Marine Protected Area (Cargados Carajos) by the World Bank in 1998

Birds on L'Île Coco.

See also

• St. Brandon
• Île Raphael
• L'île du Sud
• Raphaël Fishing Company
• Avocaré Island
• L'île du Gouvernement
• Île Verronge
• Casting (fishing)
• Fishing tournament
• Fly Casting Analyzer
• Constitution of Mauritius
• Permanent Grant