Arnarvon Islands

Arnarvon Islands are a group of islands in Solomon Islands. They are located in Isabel Province and nearby to Wagina Island in Choiseul Province.

Geography

The Arnavon Islands consist of:

• Major islands:
  1. Sikopo
  2. Kerehikapa
  3. Maleivona
• Minor islands
  1. Tuma
  2. Leko

Conservation area

The Arnarvon Islands are home to the Arnarvon Marine Conservation Area, which encompasses 157 square km between Santa Isabel and Choiseul islands in the Manning Straights. The Conservation Area was established in 1995 and was the first community-managed marine conservation area in Solomon Islands.[1] It is a nesting ground for critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles.[1] Sightings of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) have been confirmed in the Conservation Area.[2]

References

1. "Sharing stories of the sea: from Torres Strait to the Solomon Islands". Indigenous.gov.au. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
2. "Tursiops aduncus, Ehrenberg, 1833: Solomon Islands, Delphinidae, Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin, Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin". Review of Significant Trade: Species selected by the CITES Animals Committee following CoP14 and retained in the review following AC25 (PDF). CITES Project No. S-380: Prepared for the CITES Secretariat by United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 2012. pp. 2–10. Retrieved 20 May 2014.