South Jason Island
South Jason
Islas las Llaves | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates: 51°12′14″S 60°52′59″W / 51.204°S 60.883°W | |
| Country | Falkland Islands |
| Island group | Jason Islands |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.75 km2 (1.45 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (FKST) |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively. | |
South Jason is an island north west of West Falkland in the Falkland Isles. It is part of the Jason Islands group, and is considered a group alongside other islands as "Islas las Llaves" in the Spanish language. The island has breeding colonies of seabirds, which were threatened by a fire started accidentally by the British military in 2001.
History
[edit]South Jason is one of the Jason Islands in the north west Falkland Islands.[1] In Spanish it is considered one of "Islas las Llaves" (eastern, Seal Rocks and North Fur Island).[2] Such a distinction doesn't exist in English between the two groups of the islands. South Jason is a narrow island some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) wide, covering an area of 375 hectares (930 acres), with its highest peak at 288 metres (945 ft) above sea level.[3][4][5]
It is north west of Westpoint Island. In 1912, the lease on South Jason expired and the island became a Crown reserve.[6]
Wildlife
[edit]Fur seals and sea lions are known to use the island; in 2014, a total of 13 sea lion pups were counted, and by 2021, the breeding sea lions had 34 pups.[7] Birdlife on the island includes black-browed albatrosses, rockhopper penguins, Magellanic penguins, prions and striated caracara.[8][9]
Falklands War
[edit]During the Falklands War, one Argentine McDonnell Douglas A-4C Skyhawk crashed on the island on 9 May 1982;[10] the pilot, 1st Lt Jorge Casco was killed.[4] On 12 January 2001 an EOD team visited the island to dispose of any live ordnance that had become apparent from the aircraft crash since their last annual visit. A fire was caused by the army engineers disposing of the ordnance, which swept across the island and devasted about 90% of the Tussac grass.[11] The fire burned for five days and was thought to have caused many deaths in nesting birds on the island such as albatrosses and penguins.[12] However, a report by conservationists released on 12 February 2011 stated that "..some nests were scorched around the edge of the colony but the majority of birds appeared to have had a very lucky escape."[13] By 2008, the tussac grass had regrown.[14]
The remains of Lt Casco were not found until after the war at 51°12′23″S 60°53′26″W / 51.20639°S 60.89056°W. He was buried on 7 March 2009 in the Argentine Military Cemetery on East Falkland.[15] Casco's family requested that his remains be buried on the Falklands, even after they had been returned to Argentina in July 2008 for DNA testing in order to confirm their identity.[16]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Jason Islands" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "The toponymy of the Falkland Islands as recorded on maps and in gazetteers" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels - ACAP Breeding Sites No. 45. South Jason Island – at risk to fires". www.acap.aq. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Falkland Conservation: "An environmental disaster"". MercoPress. 18 January 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ Wheeler, Tony (2004). The Falklands & South Georgia Island. London: Lonely Planet. p. 142. ISBN 1740596439.
- ↑ "Jason Islands" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 3. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ Baylis, Alastair; Poncet, Leiv; Orben, Rachael (2021). "2021 census of southern sea lions and South American fur seals breeding at the Falkland Islands: preliminary results". www.falklands.gov.fk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ Crofts, Sarah (June 2014). "The Falkland Islands". British birds. 107 (6). Bexhill-on-Sea: BB2000: 319. ISSN 0007-0335.
- ↑ "Falklands fire devastates seabirds". BBC News. 19 January 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ Smith, Gordon A. (1989). Battles of the Falklands War. London Shepperton: Allan. p. 62. ISBN 0711017921.
- ↑ Unwin, Brian (20 January 2001). "Rare albatrosses 'killed in Falklands fire'". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ Elliot, Valerie (20 January 2001). "Army sparks Falklands wildlife disaster". The Times. No. 67041. p. 3. ISSN 0140-0460.
A fire started by British troops is believed to have seriously damaged one of the most important seabird sites in the world. Conservationists fear that hundreds of black-browed albatross and rockhopper and magellanic penguin chicks died when the fire swept over South Jason Island in the South Atlantic. The fire, which lasted for five days, was started accidentally by an eight-man ordnance disposal team clearing the area where two Argentine Skyhawk planes were shot down during the Falklands war. Becky Ingham, of Falklands Conservation, said that it had caused an environmental disaster and that 90 per cent of the "tussac" grass on the island had been destroyed. She said aerial photographs taken on Wednesday showed blackened grass on the edge of the colony.
- ↑ "Census Reveals Severe Decline in Falklands Black-browed Albatross". MercoPress. 17 February 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "Falkland Islands State of the Environment Report 2008" (PDF). www.globalislands.net. 2008. p. 186. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "UK military honours for Argentine remain burial in Falklands". MercoPress. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ "Argentine remains to be buried in Falkland Islands". MercoPress. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
Sources
[edit]- Strange, Ian J. (1985) [1972]. The Falkland Islands and their natural history (3 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0715385313.