Marie Louise
Marie Louise lies 310 kilometres southwest of Victoria and measures 52.5 hectares. It is oval-shaped, about 1 kilometre by 0.5 kilometre. The rock structure is similar to Desnoeufs but hidden by vegetation and the airstrip. The island name was given by the Chevalier du Roslan in 1771, for unknown reasons (Wikipedia claims Marie Louise was the name of du Roslan’s ship but this is incorrect; it was actually Heure du Berger.)
HistoryThere is an account of Marie Louise and Desnoeufs dating from 1846 which states that although “there is anchorage in some places amid these islands…a chain cable is necessary. Seals of a large size resort to them. Being without water, or at least without digging for it twelve feet deep, these isles are only fit for a temporary residence for turtle-catching, planting cocoa and cotton, and the fishery, for which they are used by the Seychellians [sic], to whom they have been conceded by the Government of Mauritius”. The island used to be coconut plantation and coconut palms still dominate the vegetation.
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ConservationThe island is classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. Marie Louise is the only populated coral island of the Amirantes group with large numbers of breeding seabirds, including the largest population in the outer islands for Lesser Noddy and Fairy Tern. Brown Noddy and Cattle egret are also common. Wedge-tailed Shearwater breed near the southern tip, Pointe Fouquet. The island also has the only breeding population of Red-footed Booby in the Amirantes, which colonised (or more likely re-colonised) around 1997. It hosts nesting hawksbills and green turtles.
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Economic ActivitiesThe prison facilities on Marie-Louise built in 2012 to house convicted drug traffickers closed down in September, 2017. There is an airstrip, permitting IDC flights from Mahé to service the island. An agreement signed by IDC and ICS laid the foundation for Marie-Louise to be an island for bird observation.
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