ÃŽle Raphael is an island in the
Saint Brandon archipelago, a group of 30
outer islands of
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. The island is named after Veuve Raphaël.
Veuve Raphaël's husband was a sea captain and had installations on the corner of rue (route) des Pamplemousses and rue Fanfaron in Port Louis. Captain Raphaël travelled regularly to Île Raphael,
St Brandon from
Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
and, on 17 May 1816 and November 1817, is on record as bringing back
salted fish (Poisson Salé) on a
Lugger
A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or more masts. Luggers were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...
called 'Le Cheriby' ('angel' in old French). Île Raphaël is today the headquarters and principal fishing base of the
Raphael Fishing Company which is the
second oldest commercial company in Mauritius.
Population
Today, ÃŽle Raphael's population amounts to around 40 people and constitutes the majority of
Saint Brandon's entire resident population. Some employees of
Raphael Fishing Company stay and work on the island for periods of up to seven months, depending on the season.
Key Biodiversity Area
In 1968, the island was visited by the Mauritian scientist
France Staub and his seminal work called ''Birds of the Mascarenes and Saint Brandon'' was partially based on his experiences here. In the Chapter (7) called '' Seabirds of Saint Brandon'', Staub lists breeding seabirds and determines that Saint Brandon then had amongst 'the largest colonies in the world of Sooty Tern'.
This island is located on the
Cargados Carajos
Saint Brandon (), also known as the Cargados Carajos Shoals, is a southwest Indian Ocean archipelago of sand banks, shoals and islets belonging to the Republic of Mauritius. It lies about northeast of the island of Mauritius. It consists of fiv ...
coral reef atoll system, part of a CEPF designated
Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in the Southwest Indian Ocean. The
Cargados Carajos
Saint Brandon (), also known as the Cargados Carajos Shoals, is a southwest Indian Ocean archipelago of sand banks, shoals and islets belonging to the Republic of Mauritius. It lies about northeast of the island of Mauritius. It consists of fiv ...
are closely skirted by busy Southeast Asian shipping lanes (North and South of the Archipelago) making its unique ecosystem vulnerable to a variety of risks which pose threats to its long-term existence as a Key Biodiversity Area.
Ongoing and future threats include: -
* (i) Rust & heavy metal seepage from existing
shipwrecks
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
into coral reefs.
* (ii) Seepage of rust and heavy metals from future shipwrecks
* (iii) Spillage of petroleum/ heavy oil as a direct consequence of new shipwrecks
* (iv) Cyclones and high winds up to with associated flooding.
* (v) Tsunami, potentially from any future earthquake in southern Sumatra to the East and, speculatively, from the Reunion Hotspot inter alia
* (vi) Outbreaks of disease and importation of
Invasive Alien Species (IAS) into its globally unique flora and fauna.
Image gallery
Image:Protecting the Fauna of St Brandon.jpg,
Image:Raphael Fishing - Protecting the Fauna of St Brandon Atoll.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 01.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 02.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 03.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 04.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 05.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 06.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 07.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 08.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 09.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 10.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 11.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 12.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 13.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 14.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 17.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 18.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius69.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 20.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 21.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 22.jpg,
Image:The Thirteen Islands of St Brandon - Images of ÃŽle Raphael, Cargados Carajos in Mauritius 23.jpg,
See also
*
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...
*
St Brandon
*
France Staub
*
Avocaré Island
*
L'île du Sud
L'île du Sud (South Island, l'île Boisées) is an island located in the St. Brandon archipelago. It is one of the three islands (the others being Île Raphael and L'Île Coco) used as a base of operations for fishing activities by Raphael Fishin ...
*
L'île du Gouvernement
*
Permanent grant
*
L'ÃŽle Coco
L'ÃŽle 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 fishin ...
*
Raphael Fishing Company
*
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ile Raphael
Islands of St. Brandon
Outer Islands of Mauritius
Reefs of the Indian Ocean
Fishing areas of the Indian Ocean
Insular ecology
Important Bird Areas of Mauritius
Atolls of the Indian Ocean
Biodiversity
Quarantine facilities
Fly fishing
Fishing tournaments
Environment of Mauritius
Natural history of Mauritius