Malgas Island is a small, , uninhabited island lying in the northern part of the entrance to

Saldanha Bay Saldanha Bay ( af, Saldanhabaai) is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Mu ...

, in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It lies about from the mainland in the

Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...

upwelling Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The nutr ...

system. It is circular in shape and flat, with the highest point about above sea level. It is known for its large breeding colony of

Cape gannet The Cape gannet (''Morus capensis'') is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine ...

History

Malgas was subject to

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

removal in 1845, an activity which also resulted in the presence of low retaining walls, paths and, on the eastern side, several buildings and a jetty. Since 1986 it has been part of the

West Coast National Park The West Coast National Park lies north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is bordered by the At ...

Birds

Most of the central part of the island is occupied by the Cape gannet colony, one of only six in the world, and which, with some 20,000 breeding pairs, holds 25% of the world population. Other breeding seabirds include

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

and

Cape cormorant The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (''Phalacrocorax capensis'') is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It breeds from Namibia south to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of t ...

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...

and

Hartlaub's gull Hartlaub's gull (''Chroicocephalus hartlaubii''), also known as the king gull, it is a small gull. It was formerly sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the silver gull (''C. novaehollandiae''), and, as is the case with many gulls, it has t ...

s, and

African penguin The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiff ...

African black oystercatcher The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (''Haematopus moquini''), is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This near-threatened oystercatcher has a population of over ...

s are also resident. The island forms part of the West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay Islands

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

, identified as such 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 ...

.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay islands. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-05-07 Therefore, only select researchers will be allowed to go ashore. The Cape gannets have been studied intensely, and their breeding success is watched over by Honorary Rangers.

References

{{reflist Uninhabited islands of South Africa Seabird colonies Landforms of the Western Cape Protected areas of the Western Cape Guano trade Important Bird Areas of South Africa Atlantic islands of South Africa Penguin colonies